SOGNEFJORD 485 SOLAR CYCLE therefore no valid distinction between good and evil. The passages in the Koran which speak of a paradise and a hell are only allegorical. Man's soul existed be- fore his body, and will transmigrate when he dies into other bodies till sufficiently purified to be absorbed into the deity. SOGNEFJORD, an extensive fjord on the W. coast of Norway, exhibiting mag- nificent rock and glacier scenery. SOIL, that part of the disintegrated surface of the earth's crust in which the roots of plants ramify, and from which growing plants derive the mineral sub- stances necessary for their proper devel- opment. Soils are formed by the disinte- gration of the rocks through the continued action of water and air at various tem- peratures, and by the accumulation of the decaying remains of vegetable organisms. In the process of disintegration water acts variously, as in the bursting action of frost, the gradual wear of running water, and the sawing, grinding, and dashing of the glacier and mountain tor- rent. The action of the atmosphere is dependent upon the carbonic acid which it contains. This acid is capable of de- composing the silicates of potash and soda, which form part of rocks, seizing the pot- ash and soda and converting the same into carbonates, which are subsequently washed out by water. Besides carbonic acid, chloride of sodium, or common salt, possesses a very powerful solvent action, having in solution the power of dissolv- ing the phosphates of the alkaline earths. The tendency of water and atmosphere combined is to level the earth's surface by destroying eminences and filling up hollows. We often find, therefore, in the plains a soil differing widely from its un- derlying stratum, on account of its being a mixture of the deposits of streams and the debris of neighboring or more distant mountains. On hills the soil is usually of the same nature as the subsoil. The proportion of organic matter varies exceedingly in different soils. The mix- ture of various earths and humus, termed loams, constitute the best of soils. These are classified according to the earths which prevail in them, as a sandy loam, etc.; according to their degree of friabil- ity, as a free loam, a stiff loam, etc. ; or according to both, as a free calcareous loam, etc. They are generally laid on the sides of valleys, along the bases of hills or mountains, or on the banks of upland rivers. In general, much more depends on the texture of a soil, and on its capacity for retaining or parting with water and heat, than on its chemical composition. SOISSONS, a town and fortress of France, in the department of Aisne; on the Aisne river; 65 miles N. E. of Paris. It is the key of Paris for an army invad' ing France from the Netherlands, and is the meeting point of several military roads. The principal building is the cathedral, founded in the 12th century, the library of which contains many rare MSS. There are also some remains of the great castellated abbey of St. Jean des Vignes (1076), where Thomas a Becket found refuge when in exile. The church of St. Peter (Romanesque) dates from the 12th century; there are slight remains of the once celebrated abbey of Notre Dame (founded 660) and of the abbey church of St. Leger (1139). Quit* near to Soissons is an institution for deaf and dumb, which occupies the site of the famous abbey (560) of St. Medard, where Clothaire and Siegbert were buried. The civil buildings embrace a college and a museum of antiquities. Soissons is one of the oldest towns in France, and was celebrated even in the time of the Romans, when it bore the name first of Noviodu- num, and afterward of Augusta Suessio- num; hence its modern name of Soissons. It was the second capital of Gallia Bel- gica, and subsequently the most important town of _ the Romans in northern Gaul. Near to it Clovis overthrew Syagrius, the Roman commander, in 486. The same prince made Soissons the seat of the Frankish monarchy of Neustria. Here Pepin was crowned king, and Louis the Pious imprisoned. It was the gathering place of more than one important council and has been repeatedly captured and sacked in war — e. g., six times during the Hundred Years' War, by the Armagnac party in 1414, by Charles V. (1544), the Huguenots (1565), three times in 1814, and by the Germans in 1870. The town suffered severely in the World War (q. v.). It was captured by the Germans, and was retaken by the French on Aug. 2, 1918. Pop. about 14,300. SOKOTO, or SACKATOO, a large town in Central Africa, on the Sokoto or Rima river, which falls into the Niger. It is surrounded by lofty walls, is fairly well built, and has regular streets, a royal residence, several mosques, manufactures of cotton cloth, and carries on an exten- sive trade. Pop. at one time given at 80,000. The same name belongs to an extensive Fellata Kingdom, of which the town was formerly the capital, though Wurno has now that rank; area, over 100,000 square miles. SOLAR CYCLE, in chronology, a term applied to one of those artificial periods made use of in chronological researches. It comprehends a period of 28 years, com- pounded of 7 and 4, the number of days in a week, and the number of years in the
