I02 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jail., 



the value of the dried blood was practically doubled as a result 

 of liming. Such facts as these and those also- brought out in 

 connection with certain phosphatic manures, show that the effi- 

 ciency of fertilizers is by no means always due to the character 

 of the manures themselves, but that the soil is sometimes an 

 equally important factor. Such being the case, the farmer him- 

 self is often to blame if good results are not secured, in con- 

 sequence of his neglect to put his soil in proper condition for 

 profitable agricultural operations. 



It would be absurd to claim that the majority of soils in 

 Rhode Island, or that the majority in certain sections of other 

 states, need liming in as great a degree as the soil at Kingston, 

 yet no doubt many individual soils may stand in equal or in- 

 deed in still greater need of lime. Even if the influence of 

 these conditions is not ordinarily as great, the kinds of plants 

 with which difficulty is likely to be most quickly met, have now 

 been pointed out, and this ought to serve as a useful guide in 

 liming operations elsewhere. Before leaving this subject it 

 should be stated that even in Rhode Island upland soils have 

 been found which were more in need of liming than the soil 

 at Kingston, upon which most of these experiments were con- 

 ducted. Furthermore, in the case of most of the soils tested 

 in the five counties of the State, lime was so badly needed that 

 the yields of many of the important crops, such as clover and 

 timothy, were most seriously depressed. 



THE NEED OF LIME WIDESPREAD. 



The Rhode Island experiments have shown that the need of 

 lime in that State is by no means confined to the Station farm, 

 but that it is more or less general in every county. Since this 

 work was begun experimental data have come to hand showing 

 that lime is needed in parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

 Connecticut, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, 

 and other States. 



One farmer writing from the State of New York says that 

 thanks to the liming hints from the Rhode Island Station he 

 is securing good crops of clover and grass where both failed 

 or partially failed before. Another communication from a 

 farmer in the same State began with an apology for the long 

 letter which he said was necessary in order to properly express 

 his thanks for the services rendered. He had taken up an 



