In this paper the history of soil mechanical analysis is traced and evaluated to place our current concepts in perspective, from both a research and teaching viewpoint. The early period of research in mechanical analysis (from 1880 to 1920) is characterized by laborious separation techniques such as decantation and elutriation, which were replaced in the 1920s by the modern pipette and hydrometer methods. The pipette method is based on Stokes' Law and has become the standard method, whereas the Bouyoucos hydrometer method is empirical and its popularity is based on simplicity and speed of use at the expense of accuracy. Revised hydrometer methods based on Stokes' Law improve its accuracy, but continued use in research and instruction of the 2‐h hydrometer reading tends to promulgate an approximation as a method of choice. Alternatives to the Bouyoucos method for use in soils teaching laboratories are discussed.
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Miller et al. (1988) studied this question.