Soil texture Soils that have a high percentage of sand, such as sandy loam, or sandy clay, have a gritty texture. Soils that have a high percentage of silt, such as silty loam or silty clay, feel smooth. Soils that have a high percentage of clay, such as clay loam, have a sticky feel. Although the texture by feel method takes practice, it is a useful way to determine soil texture, especially in the field. The hydrometer method of determining soil texture is a qualitative measurement providing estimates of the percent sand, clay, and silt in the soil. The hydrometer method was
Duplex soil is highly variable, with the top-soils ranging from coarse sand to clay loam and the subsoils from light to heavy clay. Some duplex soils are distinguished by the presence of an A2 bleached horizon, a character also used as a diagnostic key for the distinction between these type of soils. The diagnostic properties used by Northcote for the definition of duplex soils consider only the soil texture (texture contrast and type of boundary between horizons A and B) and the colour is used for their differentiation (i.e. brown, red and yellow duplex soils). Under the Australian Soil Classification they can