Z7^ AGRICUIvTURE OP MAINE. 



WHEN AND HOW TO APPLY LIME. 



For the improvement of pastures, ground limestone may be 

 applied at any time during the late fall or winter months, if 

 there is not a covering of snow on the ground, and provided 

 there is no danger of its being washed away and lost. Other- 

 wise, it should be applied as early in the spring as possible or 

 during the early autumn. Frequently a single application of 

 ground limestone, applied in this way, will bring in an abundance 

 of white clover and vastly improve the value of pasture land. 

 In the case of land which is plowed in the late autumn, the 

 ground limestone may be spread at once or, if the land is so 

 level that washing need not be feared, it may even be spread 

 during the winter. It is always important to bear in mind the 

 economy of labor and the desirability of doing as much work of 

 this kind as possible in the winter months when other farm work 

 is not pressing. If ground limestone cannot be applied in the 

 winter, it can at least be shipped and hauled home on the snow. 



An excellent time to apply lime is just before seeding land 

 to clover and grass. This is particularly true when the grass 

 and clover seed are sown with winter wheat or in the spring 

 with barley, for these crops are more in need of lime than oats, 

 which in turn require it more than rye. 



If ground, burned lime, air-slaked lime or water-slaked lime 

 are used, it is always desirable to apply them with a lime 

 spreader, taking care to drive in the direction from which the 

 wind is coming in order to keep it out of the horses' hair, and 

 out of the eyes of the horses and workmen. These forms of 

 lime should always be thoroughly harrowed into the soil imme- 

 diately after their application, in order to avoid lumping and 

 consequent loss of efficiency. Ground limestone can be applied 

 by spreading it from a stone drag, a low gear, or cart, or from 

 heaps on the ground, but wherever it is possible, it should be 

 distributed by means of a suitable fertilizer or lime spreader. 



The most important point is to have the ground limestone 

 evenly distributed so that a particle of it will come as nearly as 

 possible in contact with every particle of soil. Even distribution 

 is greatly furthered by harrowing the land once after it is 

 plowed, and then sowing the lime, and harrowing it in. This is 

 for the reason that more even distribution can thus be secured 



