240 OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: MONTHLY BULLETIN 



PEAT AS A FERTILIZER 



I have a peat bog on my farm and have been told that the peat is valuable 

 as a fertilizer. Can you give me some information in this regard ? 



C. E. H., Miami County. 



Reply. We have made no experiments in the use of peat as a fertilizer nor 

 do we advise the use of such material in that way, unless your peat bog is so 

 convenient to your wheatfields that the haul will be a comparatively small 

 matter, as it should be applied in even larger quantity than barnyard manure, 

 and then should be reinforced with liberal applications of acid phosphate. 



Ordinary peat as it comes from the swamp would not be as valuable as 

 barnyard manure, ton for ton. After drying, it would contain relatively more 

 nitrogen, but practically no potash. The nitrogen, however, would be in com- 

 paratively unavailable form, so that practically the only way hi which it can 

 be used to advantage in ordinary farm operations is as above described. 



We are aware that dried peat is used as a carrier of nitrogen in fertilizers, 

 but the slow availability of its nitrogen makes it an inferior material for that 

 purpose. Department of Soils. 



EFFECTIVENESS OF LIMESTONE, HYDRATED AND BURNED LIME 



Am writing to ask if your Station has any data as to the comparative value 

 of hydrated lime to ground limestone, also as to the time each becomes 

 available. A. E. B., Summit County. 



Reply. Little difference in effectiveness in neutralizing soil acidity has 

 been shown in comparative tests of burned lime, hydrated lime, and ground 

 limestone, when the amounts of these added to the soil were such that equiva- 

 lent amounts of basic calcium were furnished. The choice of the forms of lime 

 to use should depend largely upon relative costs. The one that can be laid down 

 on the farm at the lowest cost being the one to use if an equivalent amount of 

 calcium is supplied. 



Many of the commercial brands of hydrated lime on the market contain 

 too much lime carbonate (limestone) to be classed as hydrated limes. 



Limestone can be reduced to a much finer condition by burning than by 

 grinding, so that hydrated lime is in a finer condition than ground limestone. 

 This, however, is not of sufficient importance to justify the increased cost of 

 hydrated lime. If the limestone is ground so that it all passes a 10-mesh sieve, 

 50 percent a 50-mesh sieve and 40 percent through a finer than a 100-mesh 

 sieve, it will be satisfactory. 



Department of Chemistry, 



