FERTILIZERS 27 



or cup. Add enough water to turn it into thin mud. 

 Then bury part of the Htmus in the mud. In han- 

 dhng the paper, care should be taken not to touch 

 that part which is to be tested, as one's hands may 

 be acid. If the soil is sour, the paper will turn 

 from blue to red. This shows that such soil needs 

 lime. 



The foregoing experiment is very interesting for 

 classes in school. Many samples of soil may be 

 brought and tested. If the soil proves acid, lime 

 may be added till it is neutral and the paper stays 

 blue. Put a tablespoonful of lime in a glass of 

 water, stir well, and mix the water with the mud, 

 a little at a time, till the desired result is ob- 

 tained. 



Application of Lime. — The amount of lime to 

 apply varies with the condition of the land. For 

 heavy, damp lands, it would not be too much to 

 apply twenty-five pounds to each twenty-foot 

 square, every third year. If the land is rather light 

 and sandy, fifteen pounds every year for each 

 twenty-foot square would be sufficient. As lime 

 tends to wash away from light land, it needs more 

 frequent dressings and rather more lime than the 

 heavy soil. Do not apply the lime with the dressing. 

 Scatter it over the surface of the harrowed land in 

 the early spring. The tendency of lime is to work 

 into the soil and gradually wash down through it to 

 the subsoil. 



