362 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MAY 89, 1833. 



3. As indicated by natural growth of timber 

 and plants? " 



Answer, — My residence has always been in a 

 primitive region, and my observations very much 

 limited to agricultural processes in soils upon that 

 formation. The prevailing rock here is gneiss, — 

 with occasional beds, or veins, of hornblende, 

 green stone and sceiiiite. — About five miles to the 

 north of us is the great valley of transition lime- 

 stone, stretching from northeast to southwest; and 

 immediately on the southern side of this valley, 

 running parallel with it, is a broken ridge of hills, 

 formed of mica slate, with beds of serpentine rock 

 and hornblende on the side next to the gneiss rock 

 on the southeast. Over the gneiss rock, and 

 among the hornblende, the soil is generally a stiti' 

 loam ; and there I think, the best effects are per- 

 ceptible from a given quantity of lime. On the 

 soil overlaying the schistose rocks, the good effects 

 of lime are sufficiently obvious, under the manage- 

 ment of skilful fanners; but the benefits seem to 

 be less permanent. On the serpentine rock the 

 soil is extremely sterile, and neither lime nor l)arn- 

 yard manure can be used to much advantage. In 

 the limestone soil of the great valley, where one 

 would suppose it was already redundant, lime is 

 used with advantage; and much heavier dressings 

 are put on, than in the adjacent districts. I can- 

 not furnish the rationale of this practice; but I be- 

 lieve the fact is established, that more lime is re- 

 quired to produce the same beneficial eflects upon 

 soil resting on limestone rock, than upon those 

 overlaying gneiss, and perhaps some other primi- 

 tive rocks. 



I have had no opportunity to witness the effect 

 of lime upon secondary and strictly alluvial forma- 

 tions; but the above circumstance has led me to 

 suspect, thrft the same ijuaiititt/ of lime would not 

 J)e 9o signally beneficial iu secondary, as it is in 

 certain primitive formations. 



Lime, undoubtedly, has a good effect in soils 

 which are sandy, even where sand predominates; 

 but I believe its meliorating properties are most 

 conspicuous in a clay soil, or rather in a stiff loam. 

 A good propwrtion of decoinposed vegetable matter 

 adds greatly to the beneficial efl'ects of lime ; and 

 hence our farmers are desirous to mingle as much 

 barn yard manure as possible \r'aU their lime dress- 

 ings, and to get their fields into what i» called a 

 good sod, or turf, full of grass roots. Then a dress- 

 ing of lime has an admirable efioct.* The soils 

 indicated by a natural growth of black oak, (quer- 

 cus linctoria,) walnut {juglam nigra,) and poplar 

 [liriodendron,] and those in which such grasses as 

 the poas anii fesiucas best flourish, are generally 

 most signally benefitted by the use of lime. In 

 short, I may observe, that lime has been found 

 more or less beneficial in any description of soil, 

 in this district. It is most so on hilly or rolling 

 lands, where clay predominates, — loss permanent- 

 ly so among the mica slate, — and least of all, on 

 the inagnesian rocks. The soil on these last is 

 rarely worth cultivating. 



Qi«n/ II. — "What quantity of lime is applied 

 to tlie acre, upon different soils, at a single dres- 

 sin'^, and during a period of years r" 



• The yard manure is not usually mingled wih the lime 

 when the latter is Krst applied. The practice is to lime the In- 

 rfwn com ground priorlo planting Ihal grain, on the inverted 

 sod,— and ihe ensumg spnng, to manure the same field for a 

 /■arley crop ; or, to reserve Uie nianure until the succecdmg au- 

 turnn and apply II to the wheat crop. It is not well settled 

 which ol these is the better practice. Each has its advocates; 

 but )« IS most usual to reserve Ihe manure for the wheat. 



Arisiver, — The quantity of lime per acre, which 

 can be used advantageously, varies with the condi- 

 tion and original character of the soil. Highly im- 

 proved land will bear a heavier dressing than poor 

 land. On a soil of iricdium condition, the usual 

 dressing is 40 to 50 bushels per 'acre. A deep 

 rich soil, or limestone land in the great valley, will 

 receive 70 to SO (and I am told even a lundred) 

 bushels to the acre with advantage. On vtry poor 

 land, twenty to thirty bushels per acre is deemed 

 most advantageous to commence with. It is usu- 

 ally repeated every five or six years — i. b. every 

 time the field comes in turn to be broken ip with 

 the plough; and as the land improves, tlu quan- 

 tity of lime is increased. The prevailing practice 

 here is to plough down the sod, or lay, in the fall, 

 or early in the spring, — harrow it once, aid then 

 spread the lime (previously .';lackcd to a pnvdcr,) 

 preparatory to planting the field with Indiai corn. 

 Every field, in rotation, receives this kind tfdrcs- 

 sing ; and as our farms are mostly dividtd into 

 about half a dozen fields, the dressing of lourse 

 comes once in six years, more or less aecordng to 

 the number of the fields. Some enteiqirisingfarm- 

 ers, however, give their fields an intermediatei]res- 

 sing, on ihe sod, after they come into grass; vhicli 

 I consider an excellent practice, tending rapiily to 

 improve the condition ol the land. 



Qucrj/ III. — " Is it applied in a caustic or a\ ef- 

 fete state?" 



Answer. — It is usually obtained in a caustic sate 

 from the kiln, — deposited in heaps, in the fild 

 where it is to be spread, and water sutiicientto 

 slack it to a powder is then thrown upon it. is 

 soon as slacked it is loaded into carts, and men will 

 shovels distribute it as equally as possible over tk; 

 ground. It is generally considered best to put t 

 it on the ground vrhilst it is fresh, or tearm, as the 

 phrase is ; and it is certainly easier to sjiread ii 

 eciually while in a light i)ulverised state, than after 

 it gets much wet with rains. I am inclined to 

 think, too, it is better for the land, when ipplicd 

 fresh from the kiln. 



(^ucry IV. — " To what crops is it most advan- 

 tageously applied, and at what season.'" 



Answer. — It is usually applied, as already in- 

 timated, to the cro)) of Indian corn, in the spring 

 of the year — say the month of April. Occa- 

 sionally it is applied, preparatory to sowing wheat 

 ii> autumn. When used as a top dressing, on the 

 sod, it is generally applied in the fall — say No- 

 vember. The prevailing impression is that it is 

 most advantageously applied to the Indian corn, 

 and hence the general i)ractice. But the truth is, 

 it is highly advantageous at any and at all sea- 

 sons ; and our shrewd old farmers have a saying, — 

 " Get yotir lime on for your corn, if you can, — but 

 he sure you get it on the land some time in the year." 



(^uery V. — " How is it incorporated with the 

 soil — by the plough or the harrow ? and is it ap- 

 plied in any case as a top dressing to grass and to 

 grains, and with what effect ? 



Answer. — As already stated, after the sod is 

 ploughed down for Indian corn, it is usually har- 

 rowed once to render the sm-face more uniform. 



The lime is spread as equally as possible over 

 the field, and then the ground is well harrowed in 

 different directions, in order to incorporate the lime 

 withthe soil. Soon afterwards, the field is marked 

 out and planted with corn. The plough is rare- 

 ly, if ever used, for the purpose alluded to. I 

 have mentioned above, that lime is occasionally 

 used as a top dressing for grass. It appears to 



be particularly beneficial to that crop ; and answers 

 extremely well when applied in that manner. The 

 practice of applying it to Indian corn as above re- 

 lated is, however, chiefly followed : and the ajipli- 

 cation of a dressing to each field in rotation, cause.'* 

 as much labor and expense every year as our far- 

 mers generally are willing to incur. Lime has 

 rarely been used as a top dressing to grain crops, 

 within my knowledge. 



(^ucry VI. — " What is the ordinary cost per 

 acre of liming, and the relative profits, in in- 

 creased products of a period of years ? 



Answer. — Quick lime, at the kilns, usually costs 

 twelve and a half cents per bushel. The farmers 

 generally haul it with their own teams ; and the 

 additional expense depends of course, materially 

 upon the distance. It is frequently hauled by 

 them a distance of 8, 10, and even 12 miles. The 

 average, perhaps is about 5 or 6 miles. It is deliv- 

 ered to nie by the lime burners, (a distance of 

 nearly six miles,) at 18 cents per bushel. At the 

 rate of 40 bushels to the acre, the cost at 18 cents 

 wotild be $7,20 per acre. It is difficult to esti- 

 mate with precision the relative profits, in increas- 

 ed products : but I can safely say, from my own 

 exiierience, on a small farm of middling quality, 

 that two dressings of lime at the above rate, in the 

 course of 8 or 9 years, have more than trebled the 

 products of the land to which it was applied, both 

 in grain and grass. It is to be understood, however, 

 that the system of ploughing only so tnur.h ground 

 as coidd be well manured was adopted at the same 

 time. I may also observe generally, that the far- 

 mers of this district, (who are shrewd economists,) 

 are so well convinced of the beneficial efli;cts of" 

 liming, that costly as its application seems to be, 

 they are unanimous in sparing no efjbrt to pro- 

 cure it. Lime has been found to be peculiarly fa- 

 'vorable to the growth of pasture, when the farm is 

 otherwise well managed ; and as our farmers are 

 tnostlf in the practice of feeding cattle, they resort 

 to lining as an indispensable auxiliary to success- 

 ful grtging. 



iiu(fy VII. — " Is lime applied with yard man- 

 ures, (t earthy composts, and with what results. 



Ansver. — I have already intimated that vegeta- 

 ble maters, and especially yard manures, are high- 

 ly implrtant in conjunction with lime. Both are 

 valuabt, even when used separately: but when 

 combhid, the effect is most comiilete. If to this 

 be adttd that great secret of good farming, viz. to 

 plonglj only so much ground as can be well ma- 

 nured| — the state of agriculture may be consider- 

 ed ne^ly perfect. 



Liti; is, in some instances, added to earthy 

 compets, preparatory to distribution on the field ; 

 but itls doubtful whether the extra labor of this 

 methtjl is compensated by any peculiar advantages. 

 It is rbt generally practised. 



Qi;ri/ VIII. — " Is powdered limestone (carbon- 

 ate of lime) applied to soils ; and if so, does it in- 

 duce fg-tility otherwise than by mechanically ame- 

 lioratinf their texture? 



Ansicr. — No instance of powdered limestone 

 being fflplied to soils has come under my notice. 

 I can, iierefore, form but a very imperfect opin- 

 ion of IS utility. If it were even as beneficial as 

 quick line, (which I doubt,) I apprehend it could 

 not be procured and applied with less cost and 

 [labor. ] 



Que* IX. — " On what soils, if any, in your 

 neighbfrhood, is lime found to be inoperative, as a 

 Ifertilizfig application ; and the cause of its failure ?' 



