No. 7. 



Lime. 



219 



AH we have to do then, seems simply to 

 continue by artificial application, wliat she 

 designed should never be absent ; and in 

 this way to renew that which has been re- 

 moved and exhausted by cultivation. Di- 

 rected by this simple fact, the farmer must 

 proceed next to determine as to the other 

 points that we have mentioned, as being- 

 matters of importance. Lime has both a 

 physical and a chemical action. By the 

 first of these it divides soils and opens them 

 to the influence of the air and moisture ; 

 this is one of the sources of its value as an 

 application to clay grounds. By its chemi- 

 cal action it decomposes or hastens tlie de- 

 composition of the humus, and renders it 

 capable of being absorbed by the most mi- 

 nute fibres of the roots of plants; and is also 

 supposed, by the carbonic acid it contains or 

 draws from the atmosphere, to act specifi- 

 cally on some plants, and supply them with 

 nourishment, or it may be that there are 

 I'lants which require carbonic acid for their 

 ictive growth and vegetation, and thence 

 display in a more marked manner the 

 effects of lime, when receiving from it an 

 additional amount of nourishment. John- 

 son, in his Agricultural Chemistry, says: — 

 "The results of all the chemical examina- 

 tions hitherto made in regard to the nature 

 of the inorganic matter contained in the sap 

 and substance of plants, indicate — if not the 

 absolute necessity of lime to the growth of 

 plants — at least, that in nature all culti- 

 vated plants do absorb it by their roots from 

 the soil, and make use of it in some way in 

 aid of their growth." Admitting the entire 

 truth of this statement, it proves that lime 

 is indispensable to a high degree of fertility 

 and luxuriant vegetation, and that without 

 it, land must become less and less produc- 

 tive, until it sink to absolute sterdity. This 

 remark is intended to apply to cultivated 

 grounds alone, where crops are every year 

 taken from the ground, and the lime it natu- 

 rally contains, in this way removed, while 

 no artificial addition is made. As to the 

 quantity of lime that should be thrown on 

 land, there seems no fixed rule. We have 

 never heard two farmers agree on this point, 

 each one, no doubt, being influenced in his 

 opinion by his own experience, and not by 

 any general principles or observations. From 

 forty to a hundred bushels to the acre, ap- 

 pear the quantity between which farmers 

 in general vibrate — some asserting very pos- 

 itively that the first amount is enough, while 

 others with equal strength, say that no ad- 

 vantage can be derived from less than a 

 hundred bushels. Both these opinions may 

 be correct, if the circumstances under which 

 the application is to be made are considered ; 



but we reach no conclusion and attain no 

 principle to guide us, as a general rule. It 

 is necessary, in the first place, to know the 

 character, condition, and circumstances of 

 the soil, to which the application is to be 

 nrjde. Newly cleared land, containing, as 

 it must, the vegetable deposits of years, per- 

 haps of ages, will hear a very large dressinaf 

 of lime, as there is an immense amount of 

 vegetable matter for it to act on ; the whole 

 of which it dissolves, and fits it, more rapidly 

 than would be done by the slower process of 

 natural decomposition, to become the richest 

 and most lasting of manures. Of course, 

 land the next best suited for the reception 

 of lime, will be that containing a large por- 

 tion of vegetable matter, though not e(|ual 

 to that of recently cleared ground. Soils 

 containing clay, will bear far larger dress- 

 ings with lime than tiie sandy; while newly 

 drained ground and marshes seem to require 

 the very largest and most frequently re- 

 peated applications; and next to these, those 

 that are by farmers known as sour soils, 

 which contain a quantity of some of the 

 acids that exist in all soils, and are ex- 

 tremely prejudicial to vegetation when too 

 abundant. We have little doubt that the 

 situation of our fields must be considered, 

 whether on low or high grounds, or whether 

 exposed to the north or south. In a climate 

 like ours, with a scorching summer sun, the 

 sides of hills lying to the south, will in sea- 

 sons of drouglit, suffer extremely; while 

 those to tlie north will hardly feel it. This 

 may have been observed in Chester county 

 during the last two summers. As a general 

 rule, those fields with a southern exposure, 

 and which have the whole force of the sun 

 through the hottest part of the day, should, 

 it appears probable, have less lime thrown 

 upon them than those to the north. These 

 last would be cooler and moister in such 

 seasons, and have a considerable advantage 

 over the others ; but taking a number of 

 years together, those to the south, from hav- 

 ing the full influence of sun and air, and 

 greater equality of temperature, would be 

 the most productive. But as it is impossible 

 to anticipate seasons of drought, the farmer, 

 as a general rule, cannot do otherwise than 

 manure all his fields alike, without regard 

 to their situation, or whether they lie to the 

 north or the south ; but if there is any truth 

 in the remark that we have hazarded above, 

 then he will know how to govern himself. 

 Still the question returns on us, as to the 

 quantity we ought to apply. We may evade, 

 by as many negative circumstances as we 

 please, the clear and straight forward reply 

 to this question, still we have to meet it, 

 and who is there that can answer it] It 



