8

DIRECTIONS FOR SENDING SPECIMENS.

All packages sent must be marked with the name of the sender, in addition to the ordinary direction, and a letter of advice must be sent by mail with each shipment, enclosing a list of samples forwarded, the necessary affidavit, and a remittance covering the probable. amount of charges for analysis, according to schedule of fees given below.

Ores and Minerals.

In sending ores and minerals any amount from two to eight ounces of each will be sufficient for analysis. Each sample should be carefully wrapped in strong paper and numbered (if there are more than one). These may then be either sewed in cloth, if perfectly firm and not liable to become powdered in transit, or sent in a light box, packed tightly with paper, cotton, or other packing material, and forwarded by mail or express, freight prepaid.

Coals

should be sent in somewhat larger quantities, from one-half to two pounds, as may be convenient, and preferably boxed.

Mineral Waters.

Take a five-gallon jug, wash and rinse it perfectly clean, and fill it directly from the spring or well, sending only the clear water, without sediment. Cork tightly and seal it securely. It is best to ship by express, prepaying charges. If an analysis is wanted of the sediment it may be collected in sufficient quantity and forwarded at the same time.

Directions for Taking Soil Specimens.

• First. Do not take samples indiscriminately from any locality, but consider what are the two or three chief varieties of soil which, with their intermixtures, make up the cultivable area of your region, and carefully sample these first of all.
• Second. As a rule, and whenever possible, take specimens only from spots that have not been cultivated or otherwise changed from their original condition of "virgin soil;" that is, not from ground frequently trodden over, such as roadsides, cattle-paths, small pastures, or squirrel holes and stumps, or even the foot of trees, or spots that have been washed by rains or streams, so as to have undergone a noticeable change, and therefore not be a fair representative of the general soil.
• Third. Observe and record carefully the normal vegetation, trees, herbs, grass, etc., of the average land. Avoid spots showing unusual growth, whether in kind or quality, such as are likely to have received some animal manure or other outside addition.
• Fourth. Always take specimens from more than one spot judged to be a fair representative of the soil intended to be examined, as an additional guarantee of a fair average.
• Fifth. After selecting a proper spot, pull up the plants growing on it, and scrape off the surface lightly with a sharp tool, to remove half decayed vegetable matter not forming part of the soil as yet. Dig a vertical hole, like a post hole, at least twenty inches deep; scrape the sides clean, so as to see at what depth the change of color or tint occurs which marks the downward limit of the surface soil, and make a note of it; take at least half a bushel of the earth above this limit, and, in a cloth or paper, break it up and mix thoroughly, and put up at least a quart of it in a sack or package, marking the package plainly. This specimen will ordinarily constitute the " soil." Should the change of color occur at a less depth than six inches, the fact should be noted, but the specimen taken at that depth nevertheless, since it is the least to which rational culture can be supposed to reach. In case the difference in the character of a shallow surface soil and its subsoil should be unusually great, as may be the case in tule or other alluvial lands, or in rocky districts, a separate sample of that surface soil should be taken, besides the one to the depth of six inches.
  Specimens of salty, or "alkali," soils should, as a rule, be taken only toward the end of the dry season, when they will contain the maximum amount of the injurious ingredients which it may be necessary to neutralize.
• Sixth. Whatever lies beneath the line of change, or below the minimum depth of six inches, will constitute the subsoil; but should the change of color occur at a greater depth than twelve inches, the soil specimen should nevertheless be taken to a depth of twelve inches only, which is the limit of ordinary tillage; then another specimen from that depth down to the line of change, and then the subsoil specimen beneath that line. The depth down to which the latter should be taken will depend on circumstances. It is always desirable to know what constitutes the foundation of a soil down to a depth of three feet at least, since the questions of drainage, resistance to drought, etc., will depend essentially upon the nature of the substratum; but in ordinary cases ten or twelve inches of subsoil will be sufficient for the purposes of examination in the laboratory. The specimen should be