t 33 | 



cmrtd never perceive that they derived the lea ft 

 advantage from it. 



J 

 Lime in fomc ftates, and under fbme circum- 

 fiances, is lb very different a thing from lime in 

 other ftates, and under other circumltances, thai 

 unlcfs its condition be pretty accurately defcri*. 

 bed, it is fcarcely poffible to treat intellig 

 about it. There are fcarce any two bodies which 

 difljbr more in their properties, than the proper- 

 ties of quick lime do from thofe of effete lime; 

 therefore, to affert any thing of the virtue of 

 lime, either as a medicine or a manure, without 

 defcribing its ftate and condition, and the cir- 

 cumltances of ufing rt, is to fay nothing that is 

 intelligible, or that can convey the lead bene- 

 ficial information. The fubject, however, is wor- 

 thy of the inoft thorough inveftigation, though 

 it appears to have been very little attended to 

 by the practical farmer or philofophical experi- 

 menter. With fome, it is the fine qua non of 

 fuccefsful practice; with others, a certain heavy 

 expence attended with no kind of advantage. 

 Where its greatefr effects are faid to have been 

 experienced, I believe it is more owing to a for- 

 tunate concurrence of circumftances than to the 

 fkill of the hufbandman, acting upon principles 

 deduced from the reafon and nature of the thing. 



However, 



