Dirt Pa

by Logan,William Bryant

• ISBN13: 9780393329476
• ISBN10: 039332947X
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-17
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

'œYou are about to read a lot about dirt, which no one knows very much about.' So begins the cult classic that brings mystery and magic to 'œthat stuff that won't come off your collar.' John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Saint Phocas, Darwin, and Virgil parade through this thought-provoking work, taking their place next to the dung beetle, the compost heap, dowsing, historical farming, and the microscopic biota that till the soil. With fresh eyes and heartfelt reverence, William Bryant Logan variously observes, 'œThere is glamour to the study of rock'; 'œThe most mysterious place on Earth is right beneath our feet'; and 'œDirt is the gift of each to all.' Whether Logan is traversing the far reaches of the cosmos or plowing through our planet's crust, his delightful, elegant, and surprisingly soulful meditations greatly enrich our concept of 'œdirt,' that substance from which we all arise and to which we all must return.

Table of Contents

Clyde's Pickup	1
PART I: THE ECSTATIC SKIN OF THE EARTH	5
Stardust	7
The First Soil	10
Humus	14
Saint Phocas as Fertilizer	17
Sweet and Sour Soils	20
The Sand Drowns the Sea, the Sea Takes the Sand	24
Virgin Soil	27
PART II: THE MATRIX	31
Fire and Ice	33
Dirt	38
The Theory and Practice of Manuring	40
John Adams's Manure Piles	42
The Compost Man	45
The Soil of Graves	54
The Dung Beetle	59
The Almost Perfect Recipe	62
PART III: ON DIGGING HOLES	67
Lessons in Digging	69
On Digging Holes	75
Phalloi and Calendars	80
The Hole to China	84
PART IV: EARTH AND STONE	89
Earthquakes and Moonquakes	91
The Circulation of Stone	95
Old Quarries	98
The Foundations of Cathedrals	103
Groundwater	108
PART V: CLAY ALIVE	113
In a Landscape of Clays	115
The Theory of Silt	116
Crevice Invasion	119
Clay and Life	123
Kaolin	129
The Path of a Clay Crystal	133
PART VI: IN THE DARK	137
On Gopher Humps	139
Of Worms	144
Perception in Earthworms	147
The Pharmacy of Molds	151
PART VII: HUMAN SOIL	155
The Soil and the Devil	157
The Soil Apocalypse of George Perkins Marsh	162
Husbandry in Rome	163
Dio-He-Ko	168
PART VIII: VISIONS OF THE SOIL	175
Underground Horizons	177
Wind and Soil	182
The Soil Man	186
Into the Pits	194
The Earth for Jefferson and Adams	197
Stardust	202