SUMMARYThe shear moduli of the<2 μm size fraction of three soils have been measured for samples of 10–35% w/w solid. Samples were thixotropic, the shear modulus increasing with time. This increase can be described by simple models and visualized in terms of the formation of links between particles. For a given soil the shear modulus increases with ionic form in the order Ca2+∼Mg2+