Manuring Grass Lands. 213 



pleasing appearance, even at great cost, the thing was to be 

 attejnpted. It was almost to an acre old grass land, as corn at 

 that elevation will not often reach maturity. I was engaged to 

 direct the remodelling of the fields, and the manuring of nearly 

 all the property. Most of the soil lay on poor clay or shale, and 

 lime was used to a great extent, llather extensive draining was 

 done on the clay land ; and the material thrown out of the drains 

 being of a soft and very cohesive character, we did not return it 

 into the drains. It was mixed with lime ; and our object being to 

 destroy or reduce the nature of the clay, we put clay and lime 

 together in about equal bulk : the lime nearly burnt the clay ; to do 

 that about fourteen days were required. The compost was then 

 turned over altogether in a powdery state. In due course it was 

 applied to the land, and in a few weeks there was ample evidence 

 that the practice was correct. The compost acted sooner than 

 lime alone would have done ; it has been equally^ or, I might 

 say, to some extent more effective. About 1000 tons of lime 

 have been used on these small farms, at the rate of 8 or 9 tons 

 to the acre, and a great improvement brought about. The lime 

 costs here 125. per ton. It was brought thirty miles by water, 

 and two and a half miles by carts. In one year after the lime 

 had been applied, IO5. to \hs. per acre advance in rent was 

 readily obtained. Bones have been used here to a limited 

 extent, but unless applied in double the quantity sufficient for 

 most lands in low altitudes the change is not satisfactory. 



Since the extended use of bones for grass lands, either on old 

 turf or land newly seeded down, lime has been much less used 

 in some counties than formerly. Within the last three or four 

 years, however, it has been more in favour. This is, perhaps, in 

 some degree from tlie higher rate of bones, or the greater facili- 

 ties for obtaining lime at reasonable cost by rail or water car- 

 riage. It certainly is a great help to all seed grasses, as well as 

 to old turf, particularly on light ferruginous soils, or any thin- 

 skinned land, which is apt to burn in hot dry weather. When 

 used on newly-seeded land, it should be applied in compost, 

 and not in a caustic state. On the arid sandy soil which I have 

 limed, and which formerly Avas burnt up every hot summer, 

 nothing of the kind has taken place since, the herbage retaining 

 a rich green through the summer months. 



With some who have used lime it does not obtain its due esti- 

 mation as a help to land, merely from the fact of an insiifficiency 

 having been employed. If an objectionable condition exists, 

 ample power is required to produce a change, and, in my expe- 

 rience, I have always found it the safest and soundest economy 

 to obtain the effect at once, and not by niggardly or piecemeal 

 applications. 



