CH. xiii] Lime and Limestone 225 



neglected. There is no doubt that neither liming nor 

 chalking is done as regularly as it should be, and that 

 fertility is suffering in consequence. 



One of the first steps to be taken in improving run 

 out land is to apply lime or chalk and in some countries 

 facilities for doing this are afforded by the State: e.g., in 

 Illinois limestone is ground at the State Penitentiaries 

 and sold at a very cheap rate to farmers, Clay soils in 

 particular stand in need of lime, because of their ten- 

 dency to become deflocculated, but sandy soils also re- 

 quire dressings because they readily become sour. 



Lime has usually proved inferior to ground lime- 

 stone in the long series of experiments at the Maryland 

 Experiment Station^ and in the still longer series at 

 the Pennsylvania Experiment Station^. Milburn and 

 Gaut obtained similar results in the Lancashire trials^. 

 This inferiority, however, is sometimes outweighed by 

 another consideration: 1 cwt. of lime is equivalent to 

 If cwts. of ground limestone and this difference becomes 

 important where freight is high. Limestone can be kept 

 in bags but lime must be used as soon as possible. 

 Instead of lime the farmer may sometimes be able to 

 buy lime ashes or trade wastes cheaply, but he should 

 only do this after an analysis has been made. 



Ground limestone or lime should be applied in 

 autumn or early spring and may with advantage be 

 put on to the clover crop or to turnips : both crops re- 

 spond well, indeed clover (and other leguminosse) will 

 often fail when lime is deficient in the soil while turnips 

 or swedes become liable to finger and toe. The potato 

 crop, however, does not usually benefit except on very 



1 Bull. No. 110, 1906. 2 Annual Report, 1907-8, p. 93. 



Lancashire C. C, Bull. No. 2-t, 1914. 



E. s. 15 



