leached out. In the formation of clay, 

 for instance, the water merely washes 

 out the base, potash, leaving the feldspar 

 residue, clay, which contains no large amount of 

 base. 



"Many chemists ridicule the litmus paper 

 test, but all are agreed that if the soil does not turn 

 blue litmus paper pink, the soil does not need lime. 

 This test is best carried out in the following way: 

 Either take a sample of moist soil or moisten a 

 sample with water and make the mud into a 

 mud ball. Place a piece of litmus paper (which 

 can be purchased from your druggist) on a glass 

 plate, being careful not to wet the litmus paper, 

 and then place the mud ball upon it, leaving one 

 end of the litmus paper uncoverd for the purposes 

 of comparison. Allow the mud ball to remain in 

 contact with the litmus for fully five minutes. 

 Then examine the litmus, looking through the 

 glass plate. If the paper is pink in spots or over 

 the whole end, an acid soil is indicated. 



"If your soil is apparently acid, it is advisable 

 to send a three or four ounce sample to your State 

 experiment station and ask the chemist to tell you 

 the approximate amount of lime that should be 

 applied. The chemist will usually run one of the 



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