1 H i: A M E R I C A N B OTA N 1 ST 99 



( f their significance wlun a snlTicicnt acidity i> met. 



An experimental boj^ may be no larger than an area six 

 l)v nine feet. It shonld copy the natural bog in being an 

 cntrap[)e(l drainage area; be sheltered thru depression; se- 

 cure an "acid" content b\ tlie use of the tannin residues such 

 as the commercial extracts of oak or hemlock bark, as they 

 come in concentrated form prei)ared for the tanning trade. 



These bark extracts dilute rcadih- in water, contain a 

 very minute percentage of acid, i)ut seem to develop a rather 

 marked amount as their constituents undergo chemical change 

 in moist soil. Thru a continuous supply of the tannin, favor- 

 able conditions arise for growing the more pronounced types 

 of so called acid soil plants, and because of this, at a degree 

 much less than that of their usual habitats. That is. the tests 

 by the Wherry n^ethod using the LaMotte indicators, show 

 we may grow arbutus, pink lady slip[)er and i)uckbean for in- 

 stance, at thirty points or less beyond neutral, whereas one 

 rarely finds a natural station for them except it be w^ell beyond 

 that point. 



For such a six b}- nine planting we recommend the fol- 

 loAving procedure. Select some situation in full sun. and ex- 

 cavate an area of seven by ten feet down to a depth of three 

 feet. At the bottom a saucer of puddled clay must be formed, 

 two cubic feet of such material being needed. Ha\ing donned 

 rubber boots and moistening the clav at intervals it can i)e 

 trodden into moper consistency, about that of a stiff putty. 

 It may tiien be shai)e(l into a saucer with a mason's trowel to 

 a thickness of ten inches with edges arising as perpendicularly 

 as possible on th.e inside, and its finished periphery conforming 

 to the six by nine feet recpiired. The edges should run up 

 .so that there is a depth of about sixteen inches in the center 



