Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 171 



posted with water and turning in heaps, but that would occasion 

 expense beyond value probably, unless it could be composted with 

 manure for market garden purposes. The hauling might be good 

 work for idle teams. Spread the stuflf rather thinly to be covered 

 in with fall plowing, so that its decay could be promoted during the 

 rainy season. 



Slow Stuff as a Fertilizer, 



Hozv can K't' use sazi'Jitst and slun'iiigs from our high school shop 

 so as to combine it zvith street su'eepings, knvn cutti)tgs, etc., and insure 

 ready decay zvithout objectionable features? 



Do not mix sawdust and shavings with lawn clippings and street 

 sweepings, because of the great difference in susceptibility to decay. 

 The lawn clippings and street sweepings, which would contain con- 

 siderable horse manure, would be readily transformed into a good 

 fertilizer by composting. Such treatment, however, would have no 

 appreciable effect upon sawdust or shavings for a considerable period 

 of time, and they would still be too coarse in their character to be 

 of any value unless you have to deal with heavy clay soil, and in that 

 case the sawdust and fine shavings might be dug in at once and 

 trusted to decay slowly in the soil, at the same time improving its 

 friability by their coarser particles. If, however, you are dealing with 

 light sandy loam, such coarse material would cause too rapid drying 

 out and injure the plant, which might be benefited by lawn clippings 

 and street sweepings. The best way to get rid of the sawdust and 

 shavings is to set up an altar, such as we have in our own backyard — 

 a piece of an old boiler about two feet in diameter and two and a 

 half feet high, in which we currently burn all rubbish which is not 

 available for quick composting into a fertilizer. 



Lime on Sandy Soil. 



Do you think 300 pounds of lime per acre would help a sandy soil 

 zvhich has not been enriched by pasturing or legumes? Of course,, zve 

 zvould not apply the lime until next fall before plozving. 



Lime is not usually called for in a sandy soil, which probably re- 

 quires jlirect fertilizing with stable or commercial fertilizers. 



Lime on Alfalfa. 



What effect docs putting lime on land have in holding moisture? 

 Also, zvill it pay to put it on a large field of alfalfa? The land is adobe. 

 I can get slaked lime for the hauling, distance being about five miles. 



The lime will make the land more friable and, therefore, less dis- 

 posed to bake and lose moisture by evaporation. Alfalfa is hungry 

 for lime and is generally advanced by the application of it. 



Fertilizing Alfalfa. 



Can new cow manure be put on alfalfa? Is not the best way to use 

 the above as a fertiliser in form of liquid being run from barn via 



