INSPECTION OF AGRICULTURAL LIME PRODUCTS 

 FOR THE SEASON OF 1926 



BY H. D. HASKINS, OFFICIAL CHEMIST, ASSISTED BY L. S. WALKER 

 AND M. W. GOODWIN 



MANUFACTURERS AND BRANDS 



For 1926, 23 firms or individuals registered 26 different brands of agricultural 

 lime and two brands of land plaster or gypsum. The general nature of the prod- 

 ucts registered is as follows: 



Hydrated or slaked lime 14 



Lime ashes 1 



Precipitated Hme 1 



Ground limestone 9 



Ground shell Ume 1 



26 



Gypsum or land plaster 2 



With the following exceptions, all of the registered products have been sampled 

 and analyzed. 



Products Not Sampled 



Edward Bryant Co., Boston, Mass., Tolman Land Lime. 



New England Lime Co., Pittsfield, Mass., Connecticut Agricultural Lime. 



Vermarco Lime Co., West Rutland, Vt., Vermarco Agricultural Lime. 



HYDRATED OR SLAKED, PRECIPITATED AND AIR-SLAKED LIMES 



AND LIME ASHES 



Reference to Table I shows that the guarantees on these products have been 

 well maintained in all cases, and in many instances the calcium and magnesium 

 oxides found have very much exceeded the minimum guarantee. This is no 

 doubt due to the fact that many of the products vary in composition on account 

 of the chemical absorption of carbonic acid from the air. This increases the weight 

 of the package but lowers the percentage of calcium and magnesium present. 

 For this reason the guarantees of these two elements are usually placed sufficiently 

 low to take care of any resulting variations. 



It is believed that greater care is used in the preparation of Ume products used 

 as soil amendments than was apparent a few years ago. None of the hydrated 

 or slaked limes analyzed during the season showed an excess of moisture, and 

 many of them showed that in the hydrating process the addition of water had been 

 cut down to produce as concentrated a product as possible and yet one that would 

 not burn or produce unpleasant effect on application. 



GROUND LIMESTONE AND GROUND SHELL LIME 



With one exception, the combined oxides of calcium and magnesium in the 

 ground limestones fully equal the minimum guarantee, although in one instance 

 the magnesium is found slightly deficient and in another case a deficiency in cal- 

 cium is noted. Since in both cases the other ingredient is found in excess, the 

 neutralizing power of the product is not impaired. 



The Monarque brand of ground limestone, put out by Clifford L. Miller of West 

 Stockbridge, was found deficient in calcium oxide 7.97 per cent and showed an 

 overrun in magnesium oxide of only 1.85 per cent, thereby showing an actual 



