ISO 
pound tlie whole to dust, and dissolve out the lime with diluted acid in 
the manner I shall direct, when we come to ascertain the amount of lime 
in the sifted soil. Now replace the remaining 825 grains of fine sifted 
matter, on your shovel, previously heated red hot, and burn it tho¬ 
roughly over a hot fire, until every thing combustible is burnt out, this 
will take from fifteen to thirty minutes. Again weigh—just 715. We 
have burnt off 110 grains which is nearly all organic. Care must be 
taken in inspecting the soil to ascertain whether it is peaty or full of 
rooty fibres, for in such cases the organic matter is not in a suitable con¬ 
dition to nourish vegetation ; in this soil it is mostly decomposed—con¬ 
verted into what Liebig, and most chemists call humus ; Berzelius and 
Dr. Dana, call the same substance geine ; and in a suitable condition for 
vegetable use—note down—humus 110. Next, put the remaining 715 
parts in an earthen bowl or Wedgwood mortar, pour over it two or three 
ounces of diluted muriatic acid—equal parts rain water and acid—stir it 
well and let it stand twenty-four or forty-eight hours, occasionally give 
it a stirring—by this all the lime will be dissolved ; pour off the clear 
liquid—avoid riling it up in the least—add more water, stir and let 
stand till it again settles, pour off-—repeat two or three times ; by this 
process the lime will all be worked out. If upon applying the acid* 
to the original specimen, as directed above, no effervescence occur, 
this last process may be omitted, for there is no carbonate of lime 
where there is no effervescence. You may be surprised to see so little 
effervescence when the dilute acid was poured upon the soil in the above 
process; this is owing to your having expelled the most of the carbonic 
acid, by the heat necessarily employed to burn off the organic matter. 
All the lime, however, still remains; but in the form of an oxide, com¬ 
monly called quick lime, instead of the carbonate. Throw the whole on 
blotting paper to drain, then dry on a hot shovel, and weigh. You per¬ 
ceive our 1000 grains have dwindled down to 565. We have washed 
out 150 grains, which we will set-down as “salts of lime;” this is not 
quite true, for there is probably a small quantity of iron, potash and 
* Nitric, Sulphuric, or auy of the strong acids will produce similar results, but not so 
certainly as the muriatic. Any acid that will unite with lime, and liberate the carbonic 
acid gas, on the escape of which the effervescence depends, will of course produce this 
phenomenon. 
