66 



Ql\)C ianncr's illontl)la bisitor. 



Blances, itself becoming n cuibonnte ; ami, by 

 his change, substances timt were furmerly tlc- 

 stiiictive to fertility, cotnbiniiii,' in part with the 

 lime, are resolved into their sitnple ileiiient!?, and, 

 assuming a new character, gradually become ca- 

 jial)fe of sustaining an improved vegetation. Of 

 course, as we have already shown, the lime will 

 act on the tilHous vegetable reinains in the soil, 

 combine with them, and convert them by degrees 

 into soluble and fructifying nutriment for vege- 

 tables, if, after peaty lands have been once lim- 

 ed, it sliouhl be l()und advisable, for any cause, 

 to break up a lea, (this should be done as seldom 

 as possible, such lands bciug belter laid to grass;) 

 it would l)e an iuiprovcineiit to d<> so by paring 

 and burning, as, by the application of heat, a por- 

 tion of the lime, now conveited into carboiialc, 

 from being so long buried and iji close contact 

 with the soil, would be Ireed from its acquired 

 acid, aildUestore(i anew toils original state of 

 purity wfien first applied— or, in oilier words, be 

 recovered into (piick-linie— and would tlius be 

 rendered capable of e.\ening a renewed action 

 on the peaty substances present, and, from its re- 

 covered causticity, again promote the various 

 processes of decomposition and recoinposition 

 so favorable to the development of healthful, lux- 

 uriant vegetation. 



3. 'J'he action of lime on clayey or aluminous 

 soils is as follows : 



It operates in both the fertilization and com- 

 minution of clayey soils. From the minuteness 

 of its particles, they easily insinuate themselves 

 into the clay. On the particles of lime, too, en- 

 countering any enclosed organic matter in these 

 aluminous inasses, u strong action immediately 

 takes place l)etweeii the lime and such matter, 

 which, by combining with, disorganizing, and 

 reducing* such organic matter, destroys the con- 

 tinuous stiliility of the clay which contained it; 

 and from this, with the evolution of the gases 

 and other attendant action, the Ktiibborn clay at 

 length becomes cellular. 



4. In sandy soils, lime ojierales beneficially as 

 follows : — 



Jt is well known that sand (silica) differs much 

 from clay (alumina) and lime, in two important 

 characteristics particularly. Both lime and alu- 

 mina have a great affinity for organic matter and 

 inoistine, and retain both these substances by a 

 powerful attraction ; sanJ has no such ufiiuiiy, 

 anil on this depends its harremiess. It is merely 

 comminsliiig "iii' organic matter iit any time, 

 never chemically comliining with it in any quan- 

 tity, and retaining it by no degriio of attraction 

 whatever, ill this way it oilers no resistance to 

 the rapid escape of such substances by combina- 

 tions with the coinponeuls of moisture deposited 

 by the atmosphere and the constituents of the at- 

 mosphere itself; and the fructifying properties 

 of the manures are thus quickly withdrasvn from 

 the soil, and escape from il, ill the tL-rial form, into 

 the atmosphere. Besides this, they are washed 

 away, in part, by heavy rains ami superabnn<lant 

 moisture, beyond the reach of the root fibres of 

 the crop they were iuteudeil to nourish. To cure 

 these defects, lime is applied. From its afiiuily 

 for moisture, it iiltracts it iiom the atmosphere, 

 and, when voluntarily discharged from this 

 source, promotes its retention in the body of the 

 soil. IJy combining with any organic manures 

 that may be added to the soil, it prevents their 

 wasteful and too rapid escape ; and thus by ren- 

 dering the soil more relciilive of moisture and 

 organic substances, and improving its texture and 

 consistence, eminently promotes and increases 

 ts fertility. 



Alter I lie explanation wo have just given, it i.M 

 difficult to see how lime can be dispeuseil with 

 in the improvement and perfecting of any soil, 

 unless that soil should be naturally calcareous. 

 Such a .soil ellervesces powerfully with acids, and 

 is thus easily detected by the most untuiored in- 

 quirer. The only case in which we found lime 

 to produce no great sensible or perceptible ben- 

 eficial effect, or very little, was when siiperabuu- 

 dant moisture existed. But, even where the soil 

 had been previously exhausted by overcropping 

 and bad cleaning, we have found (piick-lime, by 

 destroying insects and their hirvie, and the secils 

 and lOotB of noxious and uiiprolitahle |^l«ntK,Bnd 

 by converting these, as already explained, into 

 wholesome niilriment for succeeding crops, is a 

 most usefiil coadjutor, in connection with a wull- 

 condncteil fallow, in restoring vigor nnd energy 



to the most exhausted snliject. Where former 

 injudicious applications of lime had been made 

 we (^aii recommend no eflicient restorative but a 

 copious supply of organic manure and rest in 

 grass. 



One instance of abuse of lime we may partic- 

 ularly notice here. Thirty years ago and up- 

 wards, lime, at the rale of two hundred bushels 

 of hot shells an acre, was spread on between one 

 and two hundred acres of very light siliceous, 

 open, dry, gravelly .soil, scarcely two hundred 

 feet above the level of the sia, and within a mile 

 of the coast, between latitude filiy-seven and fif- 

 ty-eight degrees, in north Britain, and being treat- 

 ed rather sparingly on some occasion.s, in after- 

 cropping as to manure, till within the last eight 

 years, though correctly farmed by the rotation of 

 turnip, barley and hay seeils, and hay followed 

 by pasture lor one year, and sometimes two years, 

 it has not and will not recover this over-dose for 

 a long lime to come. 



Alihougli the soil was poor, the lime, being 

 new to it, exhausted at first all its organic matter, 

 and (iroduced wonderful crops for some years ; 

 but at length it came to be, tiiat, in 183L), rather 

 an imfavoialile season, and frequently previously 

 in a field of upwards of 25 imperial acres, there 

 was not produced twenty quarters (one hundred 

 anil sixty bushels) of oats, and the qualily not so 

 good as the dressings of a very rich and produc- 

 tive crop. It will be a very expensive and unre- 

 niuneraiing process to recover this soil by rest 

 and manure. Some parts were, at the same rate 

 and at the same time, manured with lime con- 

 taiiiiiig a trace of magnesia, anil these portions 

 of the surface are still quite distinguishable from 

 the remainder by a vegetation of an aspect if 

 possible more miserable, sickly and attenuated 

 than that which covers the general surface. 



5. We now come to consider the efl'ects of lime 

 on a deleterious subsoil. On this subject we can 

 also venture to say a little, from some experience 

 and attentive observation in ihe improvement of 

 waste land, and from extensive druiiiing of ara- 

 ble and waste in the progress of improvement. 



Subsoils frequently hold in iheir compositions 

 deleterious substances, which consist principally 

 of the salts of iron or manganese, and some acid, 

 resembling the gallic and acetic, derived from the 

 decay of vegetable, substances. We have wit- 

 nessed the benefit in these instances of the ap- 

 plication of quicU-lime. In the first place, the 

 lime attracts and combines with the acii^, by 

 which means the salts of iron and manganese 

 are neutralized, and the acid adhering to the lime 

 is not merely rendered innocuous, but converted 

 into a positively fertilizing subslaiice. Where 

 any sourness, or vegetable acid in any foi ill, exists 

 in the soil or subsoil, which very iieqiiently hap 

 pens on examining the composition olwiiste lands 

 with a view to improvement, and which has been 

 caused by the long existence tind periodical de- 

 cay, while in its unreclaimed slate, of a worth- 

 less vegetation, if lime he applied, it immeiliately 

 combines with and neutralizes the efVeets of such 

 deleterious components, destroying the acid by 

 withdrawing its carbonaceous malteraiid oxygen, 

 and thus, becoming a carbonate of lime, maleri- 

 ally adds to il^ own value as a fertilizing ingre- 

 dient. This we have tested frequently, so .-is to 

 satisfy ourselves of the efficiency of an applica- 

 tion of lime in all such cases, and of the pcrlijct 

 propriety of recommending it to an ini|uover 

 whose chemical knowlijilge may not be sullicient 

 to conduct the simple process of aualysi.s, if he 

 should have any good gruunil fiir suspiciun fiom 

 the dark color of the subsoil, or any other liimil- 

 iar and often locally understood .symptom that 

 such laleiit causes as we have been describing 

 are operating aguinst his interest. 



The sails of the protoxide of iron amount to 

 thirty-eight, with nine double salts, making to- 

 gether forty-seven salts of the protoxide of iron ; 

 and these are generally soluble in water. The 

 known salts of the peroxide of iron amount to 

 forty-threi;, with twelve double sails, making fif- 

 ty-live salts of the peroxide of iron, and tiny are 

 all soluble in the same menstruum. Alost of the 

 sails of the maiiguncHe are soluble in water, and 

 in their precise degree of solubility depends their 

 destructive and injmious edccts. The sails of 

 iron, where water abounds in the soil, gradually 

 form, by combining with the earths as we have 

 often seen, a most impervious nnd injurious suli- 

 soil ; but, on being freed, by draining, of excess 





of moisture, and broken up, and, more effectual- 

 ly still, if irench-plonghed after draining, and 

 thus partially exposed to the fiuciilying and pul- 

 verizing action of the atmosphere, such a sub- 

 soil will be speedily rendered innocuous ; an^ 

 if lime be thereafter applied, the cure is complete , 

 — and, after resting a little, a soil thus prepaifd 

 may be converted to the purposes of profitable 

 culture. 



G. We have already, under head two, sho« i. 

 the effects of the application of lime in improv- 

 ing the texture, constitution, and general fertility' 

 of the soil. We may now add iierc, that when 

 calcareous matter is deficient in soil.s, it will be i 

 highly benefici.il to siqiply it even in the state of ' 

 native carbonate, and williout calcination, if a 

 supply can thus be more cheaply and convenient- i 

 ly obtained from the sweepings of the highways, 

 which often contain a considerable admixture of j 

 carbonate, or fiom any other native calcareous • 

 deposile, such as shell or clay marl, or calcareous ( 

 sand, &c. Clay marl is the best adafHed to sandy 1 

 or siliceous soils, and shell-marl and calcareous I 

 sand to clayey or aluminous soils or stiff-loams. ■ 

 However, when too easily obtained, such advan- 

 tages are sometimes abused; several iuslaiices 

 of this kind have come under our observation, 

 and we may here mention one as an exaitiple. 

 On an estate in North Britain, where a very val- 

 uable and extensive marl deposit exists, permis- 

 sion was given to the tenantry to apply this sub- 

 stance to their farms (ice of cliaige. Their hold- 

 ings chiefly consisted of light siliceous and very 

 shallow peaty soils, and the proportions were left 

 to their ovvn discretion. This deposit was very 

 rich in calcareous matter, it was used with some- 

 thing like suspicion and distrust at first in any 

 great quantity, but some fiivorable results sorais 

 ed llie expectations of the tcn.iiitry that they 

 liea|ied on their land an unlimited bulk, and the 

 consequence was, that a few years of fVuiifiduess 

 anil of injudicious and too ofieii incessant crop' 

 ping were succeeded by yearly increasing sleri 

 iiy and loud and fruitless lamentations. The soil,l 

 of course, will require the same treatment to re-' 

 cover it as if it had received an overdose of un- 

 mixed lime. 



7. The quantity of lime wliich might be a|' 

 plied to the soil in different cases is a most iirr 

 portant subject ; also, whether it seems mosi 

 beneficial to apply lime in large quantiiy and at 

 long intervals, or in smaller quantiiy and atslinn- 

 er intervals ; and we shall endeavor to be as ex- 

 plicit and intelligible on the subject as we pi>^si- 

 bly can. 



In a deep peaty soil there is little danger that 

 the proper quantiiy of (piick-linie « ill be exceed- 

 ed, nnd carbonate may be applied in almost any 

 probable quantity. We need only instance us 

 grass-grounds the fiimous Orcheslon meadows. 

 In a sandy soil there is scarcely more danger that 

 this will be the case with carbonate, neither uill 

 it be so with causlic lime, provided it be well 

 mixed belbrebalul wiibelay or common soil con- 

 taininga portion of organic maiter, such as old 

 turf dykes or pond scouring.s, or such like suli- 

 staiices. When a soil coiilains a liiurth part of 

 alumina, (a stiff wheat soil,) and lime is lobe 

 applied fur the first time, it should never be in 

 less quantity, at the very least, than one hundred 

 and fifty bushels of shells, heaped measure, to 

 the acre. A third part of this quantiiy should 

 be repeated on occasion of every third IJilloW 

 ihcrealier, to keep up a di-siiable activity in the 

 soil, a great proportion of the first applied quan- 

 tity ha\ in;; by this time disappeared and been 

 washed away by natural iigencies; and on each 

 occasion of n lidlow, when no lime is applied, 

 Iiom one cwt. to two cwi. of nilriite of soila or 

 potash to the acre should be carefully sown over 

 the young wheat or turnip crop, la it may hap- 

 pen, a moist morning being selected liu' the pur- 

 pose ; and this will not only nourish and sliiiui- 

 late the young plant.s, and effectually destroy ilie 

 numerous tribe of insects and their larva', so pe- 

 culiarly destructive to the turnip crop in ils first 

 stages, but what is not appropriated of it bv the 

 plants descends with the nioisluie into the soil, 

 and immediately acts upon the lime, now chiefly 

 liecome a carboimlc, by depriving it of its acid, 

 and restoring it to its original slate of purity, 

 when its caustic properties are restored, and it 

 again operates W'lh the same activity as w hetl 

 first applied to the soil. It is necessary to apply 

 the one hundred nnd fifiy bushelH in the first in- 



