30 



QUERIES a:sd answers. 



Ijme. 



Lime. 



Ashes. 



Stable 

 Manure. 



Soils. 



Soil 

 Substances 



Subsoil. 



Peat. 

 Peat. 



Alluvium. 

 Rotation, 



Chemical 

 Action. 



hundred aud ten cars of green and canned fruit, at an average valuation 

 of $6000, or one and one-quarter millions of dollars. 



A single California grower of.Bartlette pears shipped in 1892 seventy- 

 five cars from the trees of one ranch. 



139. Q. Why is it that lime can be advantageously applied to many 

 soils? 



A. Because by its chemical action it sets free ammonia from depths 

 below the reach of the plow. 



140. Q. How should ordinary lime be applied ? 



A. It should be first reduced to a powder by a slacking process, and, ' 

 when perfectly dry, spread evenly upon the surface, care being taken to 

 break any lumps. 



141. Q. Of what value are unleached wood ashes as a fertilizer? 



A. Valuing potash at 5 cents per pound, and insoluble phosphoric acid 

 at 5 cents per pound, hardwood ashes, as produced in ordinary stoves, is 

 worth about $12 per ton. 



142. Q. Is it proper to apply stable manure simultaneously with lime? 

 A. No ; no manure of any kind should be applied with lime, as its value 



would be reduced. It would be best not to apply such manure for two 

 or three months after an application of lime. 



143. Q. What constitutes a loamy soil ? 



A. Loam is a mixed material of earth formed of disintegrated rocks 

 and generally found removed from the locality of its origin. It is more 

 fertile than clay, containing more vegetable matter. 



144. Q. What are the two principal substances in soil ? 



A. The organic, as oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen, products 

 of substances once endowed with life. The inorganic, wholly mineral, as 

 oxygen, sulphur, phosphorus, carbon, silica, potash, lime, soda, and iron. 



145. Q. Is a good subsoil important to a garden ? 



A. Very important, as a clay, near the surface, keeps the surfiice satu- 

 rated with water after a rain, causing it to be cold, or if the subsoil be of 

 gravel and near the surface it passes off surface moisture too rapidly. 



148. Q. How may peaty soils be improved ? 



A. By draining and by burning the surface. 



147. Q. How are peaty soils formed ? 



A. They are composed of mosses and water plants mixed with sand 

 and clay deposited by water, the whole amalgamated into a spongy mass. , 



148. Q. How are alluvial soils formed? 



A. By a deposit of sand and earth by water. These soils are generally 

 remarkably fertile. 



149. Q. Why is rotation of crops practiced ? 



A. Various plants require different foods ; without rotation a soil would 

 be exhausted of those elements mostly used by the plant cultivated. 



150. Q. Why do different results follow the application of the same ma- 

 nure upon soils apparently similar? 



A. Because of distinct chemical action in the soil of different localities, 



