6i4 



Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. 



[lo Oct.. 1912. 



cheaper than ground limestone, mor- especially when freights are taken 

 into consideration. As previously stated, i ton of burnt lime is equivalent 

 in lime content to 1.3 tons of slaked lime, and 1.8 tons of ground lime- 

 stone or carbonate. Hence, if burnt lime is quoted at 25s. per ton, ground 

 limestone, leaving freights out of consideration, is worth, as a source of 

 lime, only 14s. per ton. The present price is jQi per ton. The freight on 

 a ton of burnt lime is 5s. 4d. per 150 miles. The freight on an equivalent 

 amount of lime in the form of ground limestone would therefore be 5s. 4d. 

 X 1.8 = 9s. 7d. In other words, if a farmer, situated 150 miles from a 

 lime quarry, were to purchase the equivalent of a ton of pure lime in the 

 form of burnt lime and ground limestone, his purchase would pan out as 

 follows : — 



I ton of burnt lime at 35s.. ])lus freight. 5s. 4d = 30s. 4d. 



Equivalent in ground limestone == i .8 tons at ^r per ton, freight, 

 9S. lA.^£2 5s. 7d. 

 So that the lime in ground limestone would really cost him 50 per cent, 

 more than in burnt lime. This should not lie. ^^'ith the vast deposits of 



FIG. 3. LIMING LAND FOR LUCERNE. 



high quality limestone in this State, and the improved rockgrinding ma- 

 chinery now available, it should be possible to bring the price of ground 

 limestone to nearly half its present level. With an increasing demand for, 

 and an increasing output of ground limestone,, the price will doubtless drop 

 considerably. The price must drop if it is to be used extensively. In 

 other countries the ultimate cost to the farmer has been reduced by free 

 haulage on the railways. Whether Victoria should follow in this regard 

 is a matter of railwav policy. It is to the farmers' interest, however, that 

 lime and ground limestone or carbonate of lime should be railed at bedrock 

 rates. It is also to the farmers' interest that the various lime compounds 

 on the market should be sold on a guarantee basis just as is now done with 

 phosphatic nitrogenous and potassic fertilizers. 



What Form of Lime to Use. 

 ^^'e have already seen that lime may be applied in the mild form of 

 carbonate, in the active form of burnt lime, slaked lime, or quicklime, and 

 in the form of '' land plaster "" or gypsum. With regard to gypsum, it 

 must be understood that on some soils it has little or no value. It improves 

 the mechanical condition of stiff clay soils, and liberates large amounts of 

 potash, but it does not correct the soil acidity. It is not alkaline, and 



