238 



Masnesian Lime. 



Vol. VI. 



lo serve, and no prejudices to support, but I 

 would just ask Mr. Kinser, at the risk of hav- 

 inof applied to me the old adage, " a fool can 

 ask more questions in an hour th^n a wise 

 man could answer in a month," 1st. How is 

 it that when the lime from Messrs. Potts and 

 Da^er's quarry, containing 96 per cent, of 

 carbonate, and not a particle of magnesia, is 

 exposed in a heap, and has become perfectly 

 slaked, that white-clover and the finest grass- 

 es will be found to penetrate through the 

 lime at the margin of the heap from the depth 

 of perhaps an inch or two, and spread over 

 its surface ; and on the removal of the heap, 

 that the herbage will grow on the bald spot and 

 become a rich turf in a short time'? 2d. How 

 is it, that the lime burnt from the stone quar- 

 ried from the south side of the valley at 

 Downingstown shows exactly the same re- 

 sults; while that produced from the stone 

 quarried from the north side of the same val- 

 ley, perhaps not a quarter of a mile distant, 

 is totally different in its effects, destroying all 

 vegetation, and leaving a galled spot for years 

 where it had been deposited for slaking ] for 

 this fact, and a true analysis of these two va- 

 rieties of limestone, I would appeal to Dr. 

 Sharpless and his brother, who reside on the 

 spot, as also to I\Ir. Linley in the immediate 

 neighbourhood, asking of the latter gentleman 

 if he has not known oats, sown on a limed 

 soil, to penetrate through a lump of lime se- 

 veral inches in thickness, and grow to the 

 height of about five feet with the greatest 

 luxuriance, that lime having been procured 

 from the south side of the valley. The dif- 

 ference between the two stones being pecu- 

 liar likewise, that from the north side being 

 heaviest, but producing the lightest lime — 

 the stone from the south side being lighter, 

 but producing the largest quantity of pure 

 lime; showing that more foreign matter had 

 been thrown off" and dissipated during the pro- 

 cess of calcination from the stone obtained 

 from the north side of the valley, and proving 

 conclusively, the greater purity of that from 

 the south bide. And 3d. I would ask, was it 

 ever known, that herbage would spring up 

 on the margin of a slaked heap of lime con- 

 taining 40 per cent, of magnesia, even pene- 

 trating through it from the depth of an inch 

 or two, and spreading over it, and for the 

 earth to show no sign of its pernicious effects 

 in the shape of a galled spot, after its remo- 

 vall 



The subject is of vast importance, and is 

 the cause of my troubling you with this com- 

 munication, my object being to " keep the 

 ball in motion," and to elicit the truth. And 

 to this end, I would take the liberty to ask 

 your subscribers, Mr. R. T. Potts, Mr. Dager 

 and their neighbour Mr. Henderson, who has, 

 I understand, erected a kiln for the purpose 



of calcining the cuttings of his pure white 

 marble, whether they have it not in their 

 power to throw some light upon the matter, 

 not doubting that the white marble of Mr. H. 

 contains at least as great a proportion of car- 

 bonate of lime as the beautifully mottled va- 

 riety of Potts and Dager, namely, 96 per cent. 



That magnesian lime has proved of very 

 great service when applied to the soil, no one 

 can deny, for the evidence is before our eyes; 

 but 1 hope that the subject may be investiga- 

 ted to its better understanding, without fear 

 for the result. And I know of no one who 

 has it in his power to do us more service than 

 your correspondent — will he, therefore, take 

 the above remarks into his consideration, and 

 favour us with his conclusions 1 I am, I must 

 confess, by no means inclined to blink the 

 question, lest it should " arrest the march of 

 improvement, and throw cold water on the 

 spirit for liming" which is abroad in the land, 

 but I do wish that your correspondent would 

 inform us the cause of the very great differ- 

 ence which is seen in the effects between 

 lime containing 96 per cent, of carbonate and 

 no magnesia, and that containing about 50 

 per cent, of carbonate and 40 per cent, of mag- 

 nesia. It may be that magnesia operates in 

 a different manner from lime — nay, it might 

 perhaps be found to be more valuable than it 

 for the purposes of agriculture — and to this I 

 have not the slightest objection ; that is of no 

 consequence, and need not frighten any one 

 whose sole object is to become acquainted 

 with the true mode of its operation. S. 



P. S. — Since writing the above, the No. 

 of the Cabinet for February has reached me, 

 and I find that your correspondent, Mr. Lewis 

 of Pottsville, has embraced the opinion that 

 the presence of magnesia in lime is not inju- 

 rious for agricultural purposes, nay, that it is 

 "diametrically opposed to it;" and to thia 

 decision he has been brought, not by a " two- 

 penny experiment made in a garden-pot, or 

 the corner of a field," but by its extended use 

 over hundreds of thousands of acres through 

 a long period of years, in opposition to the 

 " would be oracles of the day," or the theory 

 that has been " babbled" on the subject. 

 Now, by such men as your correspondents, 

 Messrs. Kinser and Lewis, 1 presume we 

 shall be sure that the subject will be properly 

 treated, and the truth elucidated, but I would 

 meekly ask, why do these gentlemen use 

 such strong language to express themselves, 

 if they are not in some way interested in the 

 matter 1 Surely it does not require such 

 terms of contempt and reproach to silence the 

 workers in a garden-pot or the corner of a 

 field, or those very small oracles or babblers 

 who presume to arise in their path ! 



S. 



Luzerne Co., Feb. a?, 1843. 



