Improving the Condition of the Soil 



the effect being still quite marked in the second and 

 even the third year. During this period the soil is 

 rendered permeable, very workable, liberally acces- 

 sible to air and water, and consequently subjected to 

 violent reactions. All the time too the organic 

 matters of the soil have been yielding their am- 

 monia and producing nitrate ; the humus has been 

 oxidized ; the phosphates and the potassic salts 

 have been freed by the humates which have been 

 destroyed ; and all this nutriment, which the plants 

 were incapable of absorbing in the short time in 

 which it was produced, has sunk into the soil and 

 been carried off in the drains by the rain water. 

 The fertility of the soil has been destroyed, the " old 

 force " has disappeared, the ground has been ruined, 

 and the productivity of subsequent years reduced 

 to such a low ebb that it can only represent loss to 

 the farmer. 



It will take several years, and the application 

 of considerable quantities of organic matter, mostly 

 in the form of farmyard manure, to restore the soil 

 to its former fertility. 



In the case of soils ruined by liming, and con- 

 verted a long time since into poor pasture, a reason- 

 able dressing of lime will enable them to produce 

 fresh crops. 



Lime may be applied at intervals for years, until 

 poppies are seen in the wheat and the cornflowers are 

 disappearing. Then it must be only applied in 

 reduced quantities. 



Ground Lime or Agricultural Lime. — ^This product 

 is frequently devoted to a purpose for which it is 

 not suitable. Often it is nothing but waste from 



136 



