No. 2. 



Diolorrut betioecn a Father and Son. 



45 



roads, and large clods cut from the sides of 

 the high ways, and from tlie margins of 

 rivers and woods, all which, if applied imme- 

 diately as a dressing to the soil, would be in- 

 jurious rather than otherwise, inconsequence 

 of the acidity which they contain: lime is a 

 corrector of that evil. 



2nd. And the heat which is engendered at 

 t!)e time of its slaking, adds exceedingly to 

 its power in this respect, expanding and di- 

 viding the hardest clods in a surprising man- 

 ner, and breaking up and pulverising the 

 most compact masses in an incredibly short 

 space of time ; they in th^ir turn, imbibing 

 and preventing the vapor, which arises dur 

 ing the process, from flying off" and being 

 dissipated. 



3rd. And here the effect is truly astonish- 

 ing, rendering that which was before stub- 

 born, inert and unyielding, mild and gene^ 

 reus ; what was before injurious to vegeta- 

 tion, fit for tiie support of the most delicate 

 herbs and flowers, and rendering the soil 

 with which it is mixed light and friable, 

 wanner in v/inter and cooler in summer. 



Frank. — Warmer in winter and cooler in 

 summer? 



Father. — Yes — the soil made lighter and 

 consequently more porous by the action of 

 the lime, permits the superabundance of 

 moisture in the winter to pass off; while its 

 absorbent qualities retain the moisture in hot 

 weather; and the whiteness of color which 

 it communicates to the soil, mitigates the 

 power of the sun's rays — put your hand on 

 this dark-colored door, now the sun is shin- 

 ing on it — 



Frank. — Why it is burning hot ! 

 Father. — Now place it on the door frame, 

 which is painted white. 



Frank. — I declare it is quite cool ! 

 Father. — The dark color absorbs the rays 

 of the sun; the white color throws them off. 

 It is a pretty, but common experiment, to 

 place two pieces of cloth, one black and the 

 other white, on the snow when the sun 

 shines — the black cloth soon sinks into the 

 snow, which is melted by the rays of the 

 sun passing through it; the snow under the 

 white cloth is not affected in the least. 



Frank. — Then now I understand why you 

 keep the outside of the dairy, even the shin- 

 gles on the roof, so nicely white-washed — it 

 is to throw off the rays of the sun, by which 

 the house is kept so cool, even in the hottest 

 weather, as to draw the notice of every one 

 who enters it. 



Father. — Just so — in short, lime acting 

 like leaven, purifies the whole lump. And 

 4th, The violent degree of heat evolved 

 during the operation of slaking, is destruc- 

 tive to the weeds and their seeds, of which 

 these soda are full, the d?ppsites and seed- 



ings of many years ; as also to worms, 

 sings, bugs, and other vermin and insects, 

 rnasiiyig their eggs, and turning them into 

 valuable manure. But you must have ob- 

 served, and I have been expecting that you 

 would notice the circumstance, that I do not 

 mix the manure with the lime and sods on 

 the first formation of the heaps, but delay 

 doing so until the time of turning them. 



Frank. — I have observed that, and ought 

 to have noticed it, but my head was so full 

 of the idea of cooking the vermin and roast- 

 ing their eggs, with the probability of fur- 

 nishing a dish of stewed onions for the treat, 

 that I let slip the proper opportunity, but I 

 should have remembered it presently I know. 

 But do tell me why you delay mixing the 

 dung with the lime and sods until the time 

 of turning the heaps. 



Father. — There are two reasons which 

 weigh with me, and which I will mention. 

 1st. I conceive that the dung would be in- 

 jured by the heat of the lime, and a great 

 portion of the most valuable part of it would 

 be driven off and dissipated by its violent ac- 

 tion while in the process of slaking. 2nd, 

 Because I think it very probable that, should 

 the dung come in contact with the lime while 

 in such large and unmixed masses, it might 

 operate as an antisceptic (you know the 

 meaning of that term) or a preventive of de- 

 composition, rather than as a sceptic, or agent 

 of dissolution — ^just as we see that a small 

 quantity of salt will bring on or hasten fer- 

 mentation, while a large quantity will pre- 

 vent it altogether. Our object is, you know, 

 to dissolve or decompose the mass; so when 

 the violent heat and action of the lime has 

 subsided, and the clods are well broken up 

 and mixed, I then add the dung, which soon 

 becomes so decomposed as to form with it a 

 pulverised compost, peculiarly fitted for atop 

 dressing to the young clovers, stimulating 

 their growth, and bringing the Crop to the 

 scythe so early as to leave sufficient time to 

 bring a second crop of hay, or a crop of seed 

 to full maturity, wheat always following. 



Frank. — But it would be inconvenient for 

 you to use so much lime, if you did not bum 

 it for yourself. I have thought that if you 

 would describe your very convenient lime- 

 burning establishment, and publish the ac- 

 count in the Farmers' Cabinet, it might prove 

 of great service to many who are so situated 

 as to be able to take advantage of your ex- 

 perience. 



Father. — This is very probable; suppose 

 then, we describe our lime-kiln, and the 

 situation in which it is placed, as also the 

 mode of working it ; as you say, some per- 

 sons may be benefited by it, and that should 

 be an inducement with us, to communicate 

 what we know. Our kiln, then, is situated 



