LIME 113 



test soil for sourness or acidity strips of blue litmus paper 

 are used (purchase at drug store). Acid turns the paper 

 pink or red. Since the acid in a sour soil is weak, it will 

 change the color of blue litmus paper not to red, but to 

 pink. 



Cut a slit with a knife in the moist soil to be tested and 

 place the blue paper in this slit. Press the damp soil 

 against both sides of the paper for about two minutes. If 

 the paper becomes pink where it has been moistened by 

 the earth, the soil is acid. The deeper or redder the color, 

 the more acid is the soil. 



Large areas of acid soils in the South. In regions where 

 the long-leaf or yellow pine is the principal forest tree, 

 much acid soil is usually found, especially in the low 

 places. Farther from the coast sandy soils are sometimes 

 found to be acid even on the tops of mountain plateaus. 

 Spots of poorly drained bottom lands, known as " crawfish 

 land," are often sour. 



Some plants are able to grow in a slightly acid soil. 

 Fortunately for the farmer who has acid soil, many useful 



After R. I. Expt. Station 



FIG. 70. WATERMELONS FROM EQUAL AREAS 

 i and 3, limed; 2 and 4, not limed. 



plants grow fairly well in such land. Some of the crops 

 that can endure slight acidity of the soil are cotton, corn, 

 cowpeas, and watermelons (Fig. 70). It may not pay to 



