The British pint is about 20% larger than the American pint since the two systems are not compatible. Almost all other countries have standardized on the metric system, so the size of what may be called a pint varies depending on local custom.
It is usually measured by the depth (in mm) of the water layer that can enter the soil in one hour. An infiltration rate of 15 mm/hour means that a water layer of 15 mm on the soil surface, will take one hour to infiltrate. In dry soil, water infiltrates rapidly.
RE: Soil Cohesion. Granular material is better to work with than clay. It is hard to really do much wth out some laboratory testing, yet that rarely happens. Regarding cohesion: Cut slopes: Cohesion is at its maximum prior to drainage. As the soil drains, the cohesion decreases and the friction (phi) increases. For normally consolidated soils, the strenth gain from friction is greater than the cohsion loss, so the soil increases in strength. For over consolidated soils, that may not be true.