Winter Meeting. 293 



•fact that there should be a definite ratio existing for different 

 crops between the amount of lime and magnesia. While his work 

 was largely laboratory work, and doubtless needs to be modified 

 in many particulars with reference to work in the field or or- 

 chard, still the fundamental fact remains that most plants require 

 more available lime in the soil than magnesia, and the ratio is 

 usually directly dependent upon leaf surface. Unfortunately, less 

 work has been done upon orchard plants than upon herbaceous 

 ones, so that there is yet much opportunity for valuable work along 

 this line. (Note that buckwheat has a ratio of 3 of lime to 1 of 

 magnesia, while oats has a ratio of 1 to 1. Does this explain the 

 poor yield of buckwheat in Missouri soils?) 



2nd. The application of lime for the correction of acidity is 

 now quite generally practiced. It was not, however, until quite 

 recently that the agricultural experiment stations and prominent 

 orchardists in the different states have awakened to a full knowl- 

 edge of the need of lime by agricultural soils. In Rhode Island, in 

 Alabama, in Missouri and in various other states it has been 

 shown that many types of soil require lime, and the matter of a 

 cheap and effective lime for agricultural purposes is one which 

 well deserves the attention of every horticultural and agricultural 

 organization. It is true, however, as previously indicated, that 

 apple soils need not, from some points of view, be quite so rich in 

 this substance as others. Many plants, however, particularly bush 

 fruits, and, so far as the results go, Japanese plums, and grapes, 

 quite generally show improvement upon the addition of lime. From 

 the work thus far published, however, with reference to acidity, I 

 cannot draw the conclusion that many trees are injured by a slight 

 degree of acidity, provided that the soils are otherwise in fair con- 

 dition. They may, however, be greatly affected in an indirect 

 manner, as when the availability of potash becomes important. 



3rd. It is further well known in agricultural procedure, as 

 hinted above, that where potash is held in insoluble connection 

 with alumina and other soil substances, a dressing of lime may 

 serve to render available some of this potash. The same may be 

 effected to a certain extent, apparently, by the application of sod- 

 ium salts, so that while sodium, such as one would obtain in Chilian 

 saltpeter, is not directly a plant food, it may be of benefit when 

 the available potash is present in less than normal quantity. 



4th. An application of lime favors the decomposition of or- 

 ganic matter and the action of the nitrifying organisms. 



5th. In addition to all the above, there is the well known 



