250 RIPENING OF CORN. 



8. Does lime always hasten the ripening of corn? 



In my little work on the Use of Lime, I have stated, " that 

 it is true of all our cultivated crops, but especially of crops of 

 corn, that their full growth is attained more speedily when the 

 land is limed, and that they are ready for the harvest from ten 

 to fourteen days earlier." But in a note, I have added, as the 

 results of information given me by farmers in the counties 

 referred to, " that in East Northumberland the liming of the 

 land does not hasten the ripening of the crop. It makes the 

 land more productive, and the crop larger, though not ready 

 to cut at so early a period. This is explained on the spot, by 

 saying that the growth of straw and ear being greater than 

 before, the ripening is retarded by this cause. In Caithness, 

 bog-marl is said to make the oats later, while quicklime makes 

 them earlier."* 



These extracts suggest the questions 



1. Are there really any exceptions to the general rule f 

 that lime applied alone, without any other change in the ordi- 

 nary treatment of the land, hastens the ripening of the crop ? 



2. Where crops are apt to be overtaken by an early winter, 

 will a more copious use of lime enable them to ripen and to be 

 reaped before the winter arrives ? 



3. If there be exceptions to the general rule, under what 

 circumstances do they occur? What is the peculiarity of the 

 soil, of its condition, treatment, exposure, &c., ; and what sen- 

 sible difference, if any, is seen in those crops, the ripening of 

 which is not hastened by the use of lime ? 



The experiments to be undertaken with the view of obtain- 

 ing answers to these questions are sufficiently obvious. 



9. Suggestions for miscellaneous experiments ivith lime. 



There are many miscellaneous inquiries in respect to the use 

 of lime which may be made the subject of experiment, such 

 as 



1. The season of the year, and the period of the rotation at 



* Use of Lime in Agriculture, p. 111. 







