ISS 



Lime-Slaking and Spreading. 



Vol. VI. 



remark in a letLer litelv receivai &rm a 

 frieao. who dates trcm Lost inter^stinff sec- . 

 tion c:"ccu:::rT. sariiig' he has ased the shell- i; 

 cir: ji ccrz-rxicn with lime ; at the same time I' 

 express; r.r r.j; rjrprise to find that it is of 

 itself su£c:ent :":: every parpoee, •• for." adds 

 he, - where the lioie was carelessly spread, 

 and was not made to cover the whole 

 of the land, the crop was ec'jsl to that 

 which had the benent of the double dcse." 

 Now. there is seen an easy way to make 

 lime reach in spreading, that I am induced to 

 point it oat tcr adopvion. It consists merely 

 in the manaer in which it is placed on the 

 land when taken from the cart. It has al- 

 ways appeared to me an useless and tronhle- 

 some basiness to pat lime down for the par- 

 poge of slaking, and to take it op as^in in a 

 state the most unfit tcff handling, namely, 

 when it is in powder, and so liable to waste 

 by being facme cS fay the wind, all which in- 

 coQTenience and trouble could be done away 

 by adopting the mode in use in other coun- 

 tries, which is simply this: — The cart takes 

 the lime from the kiln or wharf, and proceeds 

 in a etraigfat line across the field, at the exact , 

 distance which might have been decided apoo, 

 to allow jast so many boshels per acre ; one j, 

 Bsa or boy filling a basket with the lime, nd j 

 aaotha taking it from the cart and plaeinff il 

 it in a roaud heap on the groand, jast on the 

 sx>c where it is required, while a third boy 

 covers it, by throwing on it some earth, if 

 the land is plooghed, or a torf, &c., if stob- ' 

 ble : and in a very ^wrt time the lime is . , 

 feond perfectly palverized, having been ope- \ 

 rated upon by the hot steam which rises frimi : 

 the earth at tiie bottom of the heap — acawd- 

 ing to tiie thecry contained in an article on 

 this subject p. 227 of the Cabinet. voL V. — 

 in the exact spct where it is desired, and in 

 quantity jast so mach as is required, withoot 

 any mistake. It is then spread in a state of 

 powder, by which its greatest efficacy is in- 

 sured, and withoat loss, fer no indurated 

 lamps remain on the sur&ce of the land to 

 be roiled aboat under foot, perhaps for years, 

 as is often foond to be the case, when lime 

 has been slaked and spread, after the usual 

 manner. 



When this basiness k left to the common 

 laboorers on the fenn, it is ctistomary to be 

 yet more particalar in setting ofi' the land for 

 liming, and this is done very conveniently, 

 by striking oat a slight mark with the pioogh, 

 crossing the field al right angles as for com. 

 by which each basket of lime is dropped in 

 the centre of a square, over which it can be 

 spread to an exactitude, and without the least 

 fear that it will net •* meet :*' bat this mode 

 is applicable only on ploughed land befijre 

 cropping. In the hands of a careful man, the 

 greatest nicety of delivery may be observed, . 



and the utmost precision in spreading, so as 

 to make it •• meet" ever the whole field, whe- 

 ther on grass or any other crop, simply by 

 adopting the mode of proceeding above-men- 

 tioned. 



But why does my friend lime at all ? Surely 

 he has a sufficient quantity of lime contain^ 

 in his marl, which, as lar as 1 know, is richer 

 in this respect than any other, yielding as 

 much as '2i per cent, of carbonate — a glorious 

 dressing, truly I and at cnce accounts for the 

 success in his operations of which he speaks. 

 But, would it not be advisable, for more rea- 

 sons tiian one, to excavate the marl during the 

 summer, and let it lie on the sides of the pit to 

 drain and sweeten ! and would not such a pro- 

 cess cause it to operate more quickly and bene- 

 ficially when u^ as a top-dressing to the 

 crcps ? a mode of application which I am 

 quite satisfied will one day become very ge- 

 neral : for we all know that when any bcidy 

 or substance is first raised from the earth, it 

 is efete, and calculated rather to injure than 

 to benefit vegetation ; and with this view I 

 am convinced that it would richly reward the 

 labour and defray the expense of turning and 

 puiveriidng while lying to dry. by which a 

 partial fermentation would be induced. Thus 

 the acidity contained in the marl would be 

 neotraliz«l, and be rendered fer more fertil- 

 izing, securing also a more perfect distribu- 

 tion by means of its state of pulverization, 

 and a more speedy action on vegetation : and 

 I am inclined to believe, if this sxceetemng 

 process were properly attended to, and due 

 regard paid by a careful turning over and 

 exposure to the atmosphere for some months 

 before using, that a more decided acUon 

 might be expected from its application the 

 first year, without the least diminution for 

 succeedio? years. Our Delaware friends are 

 indeed highly favoured in the possession of 

 such an inexhaustible supply of this remark- 

 ably fertilizing mineral, which is all in addi- 

 tion to their internal means of raising manure ; 

 a mine of wealth, from whence may be drawn 

 the means of enrichmg and completely re- 

 novating a tract of land which has for an 

 age been lying a reproach to the country. 

 Their facilities for improvement are bound- 

 less, and when that state of society which 

 renders manual labour disreputable shall have 

 passed away from amongst them — a time 

 which I pray God in his mercy to hasten- 

 there will not, perhaps be a more desirable 

 spot in the union for a permanent settlement 

 True, it has the character of being unhealthy, 

 and I should be glad to be told what part of 

 the country is not so, periodically ; but for 

 many years back it has been what the doc- 

 tors there denominate distressingly healthy, 

 and I am strongly inclined to believe that the 

 enormoas quantities of quick-lime which are 



