USEFUL PROJECTS. 
answer; on moors, Best bogs, and 
peat-fens, chalk is more beneficial 
than marle, as doneatwiets a larger 
Proportion of calcareous earth. 
Lime has furnished matter for 
volumes; but the best chance of 
obtaining the plain truth will be, to 
reject Opinions and examine expe- 
riment alone. Of the exact nature 
of lime, there is some difference 
among chemists: it may be ob- 
tained from the burning of all hard 
calcareous substances whatever, as 
marble, limestone, chalk, spar, &c. 
The operation of fire expels from 
these substances certain portions of 
water and carbonic acids, leaving 
nearly pure calcareous earth. From 
this circumstance its properties are 
sufficiently apparent, and are the 
same as those of chalk and marle, 
as far as calcareous earth is con- 
cerned; it neutralizes acid salts, 
and consequently will act power- 
fully on all peat soils, but will not 
give the tenacity to sands, or the 
friability to clay, which chalk will 
effect: it is, when slacked, of such 
extraordinary divisibility, that it is 
capable of much more intimate com- 
bination with other substances, than 
either marle or chalk. it may be 
collected almost in every situation ; 
for limestone exists in many dis- 
tricts unknown to the farmer: the 
common test of the stone is by 
pouring upon it a strong acid; yet 
this is not always practically cor- 
rect, Calcination, or burning, is 
the preparation of lime, a process 
too common to need description. 
The state in which lime is applied is 
either fresh from the kiln while hot, 
or else after it is slacked; each 
method has its advocates: where 
putrefaction is the object of the 
application, it should be made as 
soon after it is burned as possible, 
967 
Summer is undoubtedly the best sea- 
son fur the application of lime ; but 
it may be laid on at other periods, 
The quantity of this manure varies 
more, perhaps, than in any other : 
it has becn used up to seven hundred 
bushels to an atre, but the im- 
provement has not been always in 
proportion to the quantity; for 
much depends on the soil. Upon 
peat-bogs, and moors, and moun- 
tains, experience speaks an uniform 
language : on these the benefit of 
applying lime is great and decided ; 
its caustic powers destroy the spon- 
taneous productions of the soil, and 
convert them into a mucus, which 
the atmosphere turns into vegetable 
mould, All wastes are best re- 
claimed by lime. When Meriden 
Heath, in Warwickshire, was in 
closed, part was trebly folded, part 
well dressed with rotten dung, and 
part limed: oats were sown over 
the whole: the part folded pro. 
duced scarcely any corn, and the 
seed not worth suving: the part 
dunged succeeded very little better, 
but that which was limed produced 
an excellentcrop. It does worst of 
all on a cold hungry soil, and on 
strong deep clay extremely retentive 
of moisture, no perceptible good is 
produced by it. 
Limestone has been tried, and 
found excellent in ameliorating such 
soils as other calcareous manures 
operate upon successfully. ‘The 
 sutirazes of Dr. Anderson and lord 
Kaims, are decidedly in its favour. 
When pulverized and reduced by 
breaking, it is not very dissimilar 
from lime which has been slacked : 
it is the best of all manures for im. 
proving a bog, its great weight ziv- 
ing the pressure so much wanted on 
peat-moss. 
CLAY, L@AM, and SAND, are sub- 
3Q4 stauces 
