H. C. Experiment Station 
5 
amount of the accumulation varied with the treatment and was gen¬ 
erally inversely comparable to the yield. (8) 
4. Root-rot disease was present on the corn from these test plants, 
the severity being parallel to the discolorations of the nodal tissue. (8). 
The effect of liming on the reaction of soils from plats on the ATissen 
farm is shown in the following tabulation of results furnished by Dr. 
J. J. Skinner of the U. S. Department of Agriculture: 
TABLE I 
The Reaction of Muck* Soils from Terra Ceia as Influenced by 
Applications of Lime and Acid Phosphate 
Treatment pH 
No lime. 4.0 
1 Ton Limestone per acre. 3.9 
2 Tons Limestone per acre . 3.9 
3 Tons Limestone per acre. 4.4 
4 Tons Limestone per acre. 4.5 
Acid Phosphate . 3.6 
Discussion 
At first inspection, many of the foregoing observations seem incom¬ 
patible not only with each other but also with the findings of other 
investigators. 
The reactions noted in Table I show that moderate applications of 
lime increased the acidity of the soil. The same effect is noted as a 
result of the application of acid phosphate. ATo other case is on record 
in which lime has increased soil acidity and Burgess (1) has stated that 
the long continued use of acid phosphate on an upland soil has resulted 
in a slight decrease in soil acidity. 
It is assumed that the work of Hartwell and Pember (6), Conner and 
Sears (4), Mirasol (12) and others has demonstrated that the ill effect 
on plants of acid soil conditions is due primarily to the presence in the 
soil of soluble compounds of iron and aluminum which are toxic. These 
authors all agree, however, that applications of soluble phosphates de¬ 
crease the concentration of toxic salts of iron and aluminum. 
A plausible explanation of these apparent contradictions is suggested 
by a consideration of the peculiarities of these muck soils. During 
the long period of submergence, nitrogen has been accumulated to such 
an extent that the typical soils now cleared for cultivation contain one 
per cent or more of that element in organic combination. Up to the 
time of drainage, this had been protected from oxidation and loss by 
, 
the excess of water. Subsequently the oxidative bacterial flora may be 
assumed to have developed so that nitrification of the organic matter 
would proceed as on normal soils. The heat generated in burning over 
these soils may have delayed this bacterial development temporarily. 
