372 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



It will thus be seen that the use of some form of lime for cor- 

 recting the acidity of soils and thus encouraging the growth of clover 

 and other legumes with their wonderful power to enrich the soil in 

 nitrogen is certainly good farm practice. Any form of lime which 

 is finely divided and can be thoroughly mixed with the soil will 

 serve to correct the soil acidity, whether it be ground limestone, marl, 

 or chalk, or fresh burned lime, water-slaked lime, or air-slaked lime. 



The other effect produced by lime, the effect for which it has 

 been most used in past ages, is the decomposition of the soil itself. 

 In this decomposition the organic matter of the soil is destroyed with 

 the liberation of nitrogen and phosphorus held in organic form 

 and the mineral particles of the soil are disintegrated with the libera- 

 tion of some plant food elements, as potassium and phosphorus held 

 in inorganic form. This effect is produced by fresh-burned lime or 

 fresh slaked lime. 



Thus it will be seen that the first effect of lime, the correction 

 of soil acidity, results in a building-up process through the in- 

 creased growth of legumes and nitrogen-gathering bacteria; while 

 the second effect, the decomposition of the soil, is in all respects a 

 destructive process, serving only to liberate and reduce the stock of 

 plant food stored in the soil. Whether this second effect is desirable 

 will depend upon the nature of the soil itself. 



For the benefit of those who may desire to employ lime, a few 

 practical suggestions about liming may not be out of place. 



First. Sandy soils should not be limed heavily. For such soils 

 carbonate of lime and wood ashes are to be preferred. If slaked 

 lime is to be used upon such soils, that which has been long exposed 

 to the air is best. Half a ton to a ton of slaked lime per acre or 

 twice that quantity of either ground limestone or wood ashes may be 

 used in a single application. 



Second. For very heavy clay soils, or such as are rich in sour 

 humus, twice as large amounts of lime may be used as for sandy 

 Boils. For use upon such soils pulverized burned lime or water-slaked 

 lime may sometimes be preferable to finely ground limestone or 

 wood ashes. 



Third. To make liming immediately effective, the material 

 should be spread upon the furrows and be harrowed into the soil 

 most thoroughly. When applied in grain drills its benefits are often 

 not strikingly noticeable the first year, owing to the fact that it does 

 not become intimately mixed with the soil until after the first 

 season. 



Fourth. After being sown, the lime should not lie upon the 

 surface over night or during a storm, but it should be introduced 

 into the soil at once If potatoes are grown in rotations, the liming 

 ghould follow the removal of the potato crop. One exception to this 

 might be made if potatoes must be grown at the outset when one is 

 taking up acid-exhausted soil. In such a case it is often better to 

 lime oefore planting the first crop, though in later years liming 

 should be deferred until after the potatoes are harvested. In no 

 case should treatment of the seed tubers with corrosive sublimate 



