The Bulletin 7 



food that can be used alone for as long a time with as gogd results on the 

 average North Carolina soil as ground limestone. 



In the same paragraph the useless warning is sounded against depend- 

 ing on lime alone, as no one is ever likely to advocate such a general 

 practice in our present state of knowledge. It is true, however, as 

 the circular admits, that there are many soils in the State that need 

 only lime to enable them to produce large yields for many years. In 

 such cases the limestone corrects any soil acid and reacts with the abun- 

 dant mineral and nitrogenous constituents of the soil and renders them 

 available for plant growth. In such soils as these unhurned lime alone 

 can be depended upon to give large yields of our general crops for years 

 in succession. Indeed, one of the leading functions of unhurned lime 

 in agriculture is to enable the farmer to utilize hi^ otherwise unavailable 

 stores of native plant foods. 



The whole of paragraph 1, page 3, of the circular seems to be intended 

 as a warning to the farmer against the use of lime ; and, as the circular 

 does not say what form of lime is being discussed, the farmer is left 

 free to apply the spirit of the paragraph to unhurned as well as burned 

 lime. He may thus fear to use either form, and lose heavily by the 

 advice given. 



In the first part of paragraph 2, page 3, the circular states that lime 

 is good for legumes, but seldom needed for such crops as cotton, corn, 

 etc. In the same paragraph, however, it says: "The writer has seen 

 applications of lime made to soils in a sour condition change the 

 yield of corn from what was a complete failure the year previous 

 to splendid yields the year following the application. In cases 

 like this the chemical and physical conditions of the soil were such 

 that, although the soil had abundant plant food for large yields for 

 many years, yet ordinary crops like corn would not grow to any 

 extent until these conditions were made suitable for their growth. 

 When lime was added it neutralized or destroyed the acidity of 

 the soil and at the same time improved its physical and chemical 

 condition and its biological character to such an extent that after- 

 wards, for years, the yields were good." And, in spite of all this, 

 lime is not classed as a plant food, but as a plant medicine, forsooth, 

 notwithstanding it is absolutely essential to the development of the plant 

 tissues, and is found as a necessary constituent of these tissues. The 

 fact of the matter is that ground limestone and marl are both direct and 

 indirect plant foods of inestimable value, if properly applied, to all 

 l^orth Carolina soils. 



In the last part of paragraph 2, page 4, the circular lays great stress 

 on soil exhaustion from the use of lime. It says lime liberates inert 

 potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen more rapidly than they would be 

 liberated by natural causes in the absence of lime. '* Hence," it says, 

 *'lime tends to hasten the exhaustion of these constituents of the 



