CARBONATE OF LIME. 127 



ers of great size and power were installed at lime- 

 stone quarries and quantities of limestone dust ac- 

 cumulated. Finally men began hesitatingly to use 

 this limestone dust. The results were astonishingly 

 good. Then quarrymen began advertising the 

 ground limestone and selling it at a low price. The 

 farmers took hold of it in Ohio, Illinois and some 

 other states, and at last quarrymen began installing 

 large crushers and grinders that took the raw rock 

 from the quarry and reduced it to powder, making 

 the whole output fit for farm use. This is usually 

 put on cars in bulk and sold for from 75 cents to 

 $1.50 per ton. The low price quoted is from a point 

 in Illinois where the writer believes the state, with 

 convict labor, grinds limestone for agricultural 

 purposes. 



Limestone Harmless. This ground limestone is 

 harmless to the soil, so one may use as much of it 

 as he chooses. Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins of the Illinois 

 experiment station has applied it at the rate of 100 

 tons to the acre with not the least sign of injury to 

 the soil. It is pleasant stuff to work with, not acrid 

 and biting like burned lime if it gets on your skin, 

 nor does it get caked together if it happens to get 

 wet. One may put it on his soil at any time that 

 suits his convenience. He may put it on in connec- 

 tion with manure if he wishes and no harm will 

 result. It cannot burn out the humus, it attacks 

 nothing. Soil acids attack the particles of limestone 

 and are neutralized, but the lime itself does no harm 

 no matter how much is used. It is nature's way of 



