Soil science is perhaps one of the oldest practical sciences, having been of concern to man probably from the time he progressed from a strictly preda- tory life to one in which agriculture became important. In view of the anti- quity of concern with the subject, it is perhaps surprising that it can be approached from a fresh viewpoint, as is done in this book. Because soil science is an applied science, it is not surprising that the approach is usually descriptive, rather than imaginative. For agriculturalists and other land users, perhaps the most important part of soil science is the...