Alfalfa in Kansas. 229 



of limestone would be only partly burnt, leaving a cone of unchanged lime- 

 stone. Of course the charcoal and cone ash of the fuel will be more or 

 less mixed with the lime, but for liming soils this will do no harm. As is 

 well known, the burnt lime can be crushed very easily, so that its applica- 

 tion to the soil will be readily effected. 



Should one ship lime or limestone very far it might become eco- 

 nomically desirable to have it all burnt in order to reduce weight. In 

 burning lime from limestone the heat drives off carbonic acid gas, thereby 

 reducing the weight. For theoretically pure lime carbonate, each 100 

 pounds will be reduced to 56 pounds by burning. In other words, a pure 

 limestone is 56 per cent quicklime and forty-four per cent carbonic acid 

 gas. As our Kansas limestones are about 10 per cent impure, we would 

 have a reduction in weight of 44 per cent of 90 per cent, or a little less 

 than 40 per cent. This is a great reduction in freight and drayage, and 

 should be considered carefully by each one for himself. The 56 pounds of 

 quicklime obtained from 100 pounds of limestone does exactly the same 

 good as the original 100 pounds of limestone. 



MODE OF PULVERIZING LIMESTONE. 



We now have in the state of Kansas quite a number of Portland- 

 cement plants, each of which is using limestone in the manufacture of 

 Portland cement. Every factory, perhaps, could be prevailed upon to 

 sell crushed limestone, and the rate at which it could be bought would 

 depend upon the degree of fineness to which it was ground. It costs money 

 to grind limestone to a fine powder, especially if it is ground to an impal- 

 pable powder. These Portland-cement plants, of course, are located on 

 railroads, and if one would wish to buy finely ground limestone and have 

 it shipped to his station it might be best to buy of them. It is a business 

 not yet worked up, and the farmer should not be discouraged if the 

 cement companies at first should ask too high a price, or ignore him en- 

 tirely. 



We also have a few factories built especially for selling crushed lime- 

 stone for concrete and for railroad ballast. Each of these could supply 

 a large amount of the raw limestone for use if it is not desired too finely 

 ground. 



It is probable, however, that if liming soils becomes general in Kan- 

 sas, portable crushers will be used to a great extent, so as to save freight 

 and drayage. A number of the large manufacturers of rock-crushing 

 machinery already have on the market portable crushers and grinders 

 that crush and grind limestone to a degree of fineness amply sufficient 

 for liming soils. .Such portable crushers could be taken from point to 

 point along the outcropping ledges of limestone, so that the distance 

 farmers would have to haul the crushed rock would not be prohibitive. 



GOOD ROADS AND LIMING. 



I can not close this paper without calling attention to the close rela- 

 tion which might be made to exist between liming soils in eastern Kan- 

 sas and building good roads. It is well known that in many parts of the 

 state our country roads are actually worse now than they were twenty 

 and thirty years ago. In the western part of the state, where rainfall is 



