The effect of dilution on the composition of a soil solution of Magnolia sandy clay loam subsoil was investigated. Samples of a Ca‐ and K‐saturated soil as well as samples of a soil saturated with K and mixed with CaCl 2 were equilibrated with water in various soil‐water ratios. Equilibrium solutions were separated and analyzed for Ca and K. Dilution increased the total amount of solution electrolytes with a concurrent change in the relative amount of each of the solution cations. The following equation was derived from Langmuir's isotherm to describe the desorption of neutral salts from soil surfaces: S = S t V/( a + V ) where S is the total meq of solution cations in volume V ml, and S t and a are constants. The ratio‐law of Schofield was adequate to describe the change in the relative amount of each cation upon dilution of one soil system, but a correction term was added to the formulation of the ratio‐law in order to describe the data of the other soil system. This formulation of the ratio‐law is given as urn:x-wiley:03615995:saj2sssaj196703615995003100020010x:equation:saj2sssaj196703615995003100020010x-math-0001 where m is the number of solution mmoles, V is the solution volume in ml, and k and h are constants. The two foregoing equations provide the means for predicting the composition of a soil solution upon dilution.
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Khasawneh et al. (1967) studied this question.