78 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



Lime and Gypsum in Gardening 



How much air-slaked lime should be applied per 100 square feet? 

 Is gypsum as desirable as lime for rendering the soil friable? 



You can use 5 pounds of lime to the 100 square feet. Lime is more 

 energetic than gypsum in promoting friability. Gypsum is a safer plant 

 stimulant than caustic lime. 



Horse and Cow Manure. 



Is horse manure the equal of cow manure in gardening? 



Both horse and cow manure are good. The latter may be as 

 good as the former for plant food that depends upon how well 

 each kind of animal is fed. Cow manure is less likely to ferment 

 rapidly and produce too much heat, and for that reason horse 

 manure is specially good for use in hot-beds. 



Lime and Other Fertilizers. 



Is it wise to put lime on land that lias become sour, when the trees, 

 and vines are growing? It is light land. How much to the acre, etc.? 

 Would it require other fertilizer afterward to get best results? 



Five hundred pounds of lime per acre, during the growing season, 

 properly distributed and cultivated in would be safe, and other appli- 

 cations of the same amount may be made annually as conditions seem 

 to require. It is better to make application during the early part of 

 the rainy season. The use of other fertilizers would be desirable 

 later, either to stimulate wood growth or to promote fruit-bearing as 

 the trees seem to require. Lime is not a substitute for other fertilizers. 

 One of its chief purposes in California is in rendering the soil more 

 fit for active root action and thus promote assimilation of other plant 

 food by the plants or trees which may be put upon it. We suppose 

 you have demonstrated that the land has become sour. It is not 

 usual for light land, unless it has been too wet for a considerable 

 period. 



Liming Orchard Soil. 



Should lime be applied to improve the texture of adobe soil of a 

 prune orcliard? After plowing or before? In the spring or fall? How 

 much lime to the acre? Is ground lime rock better than lime for this 

 purpose? The orchard will be irrigated as soon as the prunes are all 

 picked. What other method of improving this kind of soil do you 

 recommend? 



If you do not mind wheeling or tramping over the plowed ground 

 you can spread after plowing and avoid burning your horses' feet and 

 your own shoe leather. It is easier to spread before plowing, and in 

 that case do it some time before, so the rain may slake and carry 

 much of it into the ground that is, do not lime and plow immediately. 

 Liming should be done early in the rainy season, or you can spread 



