CHAPTER IV 

 EVIDENCES OF ACIDITY 



Character of Vegetation. The character 

 of the original forests is determined much 

 by the lime-content, and the practical man, 

 when buying a farm, rates its productive 

 power by the kinds of timber it has pro- 

 duced. The black walnut, ash, shellbark 

 hickory, black and white oak, sturdily 

 grown, evidence a soil rich in lime, while 

 the pines, small blackjack and post oaks, 

 and the chestnut are at home in non-cal- 

 careous soils. The latter class of lands 

 gains nothing in lime as time passes, and 

 the timber continues to be a sure index, but 

 in the former class the surface soil may 

 have lost enough lime to limit crop produc- 

 tion materially while the trees continue to 

 find in the subsoil all that they need. It 

 does not follow that the land has gone down 

 in value to the naturally lime-deficient 

 class, but its power to produce is impaired, 

 and will remain so until there has been 

 restoration of its original alkaline state. 



Sorrel and Plantain. We determine 



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