FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 155 



wondering whether it still remains on our statute books as such. Per- 

 haps some of our Lansing people can tell us. It would be a good idea, 

 if it as hard to start as Mr. Braman indicates, I do not see why our 

 farmers should be afraid of it. It is now recognized as one of the best 

 soil renovators known. If we can succeed in growing it, it will be 

 a good thing. It conies in and fills a gap, for it is good for forage, 

 makes good silage, and better in the earlier part of the season than 

 alfalfa. I would be glad to have it more generally cultivated. We do 

 not get much honey from alfalfa and if we can get both honey and forage, 

 from this same plant, we would like to have it. If it is classed as a 

 noxious weed, we had better have it changed on the law books. 



Answer : Last winter I had this matter looked up, and it Avas classed 

 as a noxious weed. 



A Member: I know of one experiment in this State. There was a 

 little two-acre field that had on it a good stand of sweet clover. That 

 was plowed under about two feet and I never saw such fodder corn 

 as was raised off that piece in all my life. There may be some difficulty 

 in getting it started, but when it is once started, it will well pay out 

 and give wonderful results. 



In regard to the sowing time for clover, I have decided notions on 

 this. But for twenty years I have summer-fallowed for my seeding, 

 and sow late in August. I have my land in perfect condition. I find 

 that my meadows produce almost double than when I use a nurse crop. 

 I believe in summer-fallowing and last summer I used it as a cleaning 

 process. 



THE USE OF LIME IN AGRICULTURE. 



PROF. M. M. MC COOL, EAST LANSING. 



I desire to state that the Secretary suggested that I change the sub- 

 ject on which I was announced to speak this afternoon, and talk for 

 a short time on the subject of lime. In view of what has been said 

 on the subject, and from the fact that the use of lime as a soil improver 

 has been common for centuries we will not call it a new subject. In 

 England during the 10th and 17th century, lime was used extensively, 

 sometimes as high as 50 tons to the acre being applied. While the sub- 

 ject is in fact an old one possibly we can dress it up a little and inject 

 into it a few ideas new to some of us. 



If we examine the soils of the United States east of the Mississippi 

 River, we will find that probably one-half of them are more or less acid. 

 So the subject is really a national one as well as a State problem. 



Coming down to the State of Michigan, the majority of the soils are 

 acid or sour in reaction. We have found during tlie past year that 

 practically all of the samples of sandy soil and also many of the clays 

 and others that have been received from various parts of the State are 

 acid in reaction. Some of them need as high as 8,000 pounds of lime 

 to the acre to correct the acidity. 



