LIMING THE SOIL. 57 



A Valuable Experiment. 



To determine the relative effect of liming the soil on dif- 

 ferent plats, try liming a part of a field that is to be sown to 

 alfalfa or clover. Try lime in different quantities on different 

 plats or parts of the field. Note the differences if any between 

 the plats receiving and those not receiving lime. 



Testing Soil for Lime. 



Pour muriatic acid on a small quantity of soil taken from 

 the part of the field and depth of soil to be tested, and if there is 

 lime in the soil the acid will produce an effervescence. 



Experiments. 



1. Dry a lump of pure limestone and burn it. What was this called 

 before and what is it called after burning? What was the weight before, 

 and after burning? What has been driven off by burning? 



2. Pass your breath through a tube into the bottom of a tumbler 

 of limewater. Observe the white cloud formed by the union of carbon 

 di-oxide of the breath with the lime dissolved in the water. This reverses 

 the results attained by burning. What is the white cloud now called? 

 Is it any different than the limestone in the quarry? 



3. Expose a lump of freshly burnt lime to ordinary moist air; in 

 the course of a few days or weeks, depending largely upon the amount 

 of moisture in the air, it will be found to have crumbled into a fine 

 powder. What is this kind of lime called? Weigh the lime before and 

 after the experiment. 



4. Pour water on a lump of fresh burnt lime. It will crumble into 

 powder immediately, with the evolution of considerable heat. This shows 

 that chemical action and a change is taking place. There is a chemical 

 combination of water and lime. If the proper ampunt of water is used 

 the powdered lime will be as dry as the quicklime. What is this lime 

 called? Weigh lime before and after the experiment. 



Litmus paper can be secured from a druggist. Place the 

 litmus paper in contact with the moist soil. After some moments 

 the color of the paper will change. If the soil turns red litmus 

 paper blue, the soil is alkaline. If the soil turns blue litmus paper 

 red, the soil is acid. A neutral effect shows neither lime nor 

 acid. 



Drop a small lump of soil into a glass containing strong 

 vinegar; if lime is present, bubbles will come from the lump and 

 will continue to rise for a few minutes. 



Still better and more accurate than the litmus paper test is 

 the acid test by means of the "Standard Soil Tester." (See page 



60). 



