No. 11. 



Report of the Committee on Agriculture. 



339 



mixture should lay several months before 

 using. Lime applied in this way, acts more 

 promptly upon the o-rovving- crop than when 

 applied alone, and the bulk of matter being 

 greater it may be more uniformly spread 

 over the ground. 



Almost every farn^.er can find materials 

 for such composts, in swamps or ditches. 

 As the decay of organic matter depends 

 upon the presence of the oxygen of the at- 

 mosphere, of course lime aids it most when 

 near the surface, and when buried deep in 

 the soil is almost, if not quite useless for this 

 purpose. 



Of the quantity to be applied. 



In the present state of knowledge, expe- 

 rience should guide us in regard to the pro- 

 per quantity to be applied to tlie acre, inas- 

 much as a great diversity of opinion exists 

 among those who use lime. And this diver- 

 sity of opinion, we are strongly inclined to 

 believe, will continue to exist until analysis 

 is resorted to as our guide — both as to the 

 properties of the soil and the quality of the 

 lime. In England, it is common to u^rc from 

 160 to 320 bushels per acre. The heat of 

 our summers in rapidly effecting the decom- 

 position of vegetable matters, does much 

 here, that in England requires the aid of 

 lime — and the alternate freezing and thaw- 

 ing of our soil in winter, render less lime 

 necessary to promote the disintegration of 

 the mineral substances. 



It was formerly more common to apply 

 lime in larger doses, and at longer intervals 

 than seems to be preferred now. The more 

 carefully the lime is applied, the less is 

 required, and from all the information we at 

 present have upon the subject, we incline to 

 the belief, that a quantity equal to about 40 

 to 50 bushels of good quick lime, should be 

 applied to an acre on most of our soils, and 

 repeated every eight or ten years; or what 

 would be better, perhaps, half that quantity 

 in compost, applied at shorter intervals. 

 The reason why lime must be repeatedly 

 added to soils, we hope we have rendered 

 sufficiently obvious to all in the facts al- 

 ready stated, — because we regard it as a 

 highly important matter,— that the quantity 

 is incessantly being reduced by what is car- 

 ried off in the rain water, water percolating 

 through the soil, absorbed by plants and 

 carried off in the crops, &c. We think 

 then that experience confirmed by theory, 

 points to the propriety of applying small 

 doses at short intervals. By adopting this 

 mode, the lime is kept nearer the surface 

 and more uniformly distributed to every part 

 of the soil, so that every fibre of the roots 

 of the growing plants can have its due sup- 



ply, and all the matters of the soil are more 

 likely to be continually acted on. 



The shell marls so bountifully dispensed 

 over a considerable portion of our State, be- 

 low tide water, have an important bearing 

 upon the agricultural prosperity of our tide 

 water districts. 



They consist of marine shells mixed with 

 sand or clay, and their value is in proportion 

 to the amount of shells they contain suscep- 

 tible of being readily disintegrated. When 

 they consist principally of hard shells, it 

 might be advisable to calcine them, if good 

 marl cannot be had. The marl should lay 

 on the surface one or two years, according 

 to the condition of the shells, before being 

 ploughed in, in order that the shells may be 

 crumbled to powder, or as nearly so as pos- 

 sible. The composition of our marls varies 

 so much, that no rule can be laid down as 

 to the quantity proper to be applied; all we 

 can do is to refer those interested, to the re- 

 ports of Professor Ducatel, the late State 

 Geologist, in which they will find much 

 valuable information. 



It has generally been supposed by those 

 cultivating limestone lands, that the calca- 

 reous principle was not wanting in them. 

 Believing that this opinion is founded in 

 error to a great extent, if not entirely, it 

 may not be deemed entirely out of place in 

 concluding this subject, to recommend the 

 use of lime upon them, unless chemical ana- 

 lysis should show a sufficiency of it in the 

 soil. 



Of the value of Lime compared with com- 

 mon manure. 



Chemical analysis shows that common 

 barn-yard manure contains all the ingredi- 

 ents that enter into the composition of 

 plants, and if the dung of all the domestic 

 animals on a farm be mixed together, the 

 mineral constituents will be found about in 

 the proportion required by our cultivated 

 crops. This is the reason why it is applica- 

 ble to all soils, and in every climate. 



The committee know of no means where- 

 by the comparative value of lii*»e and com- 

 mon manure could be ascertained. The 

 action of common manure lasting only some 

 two or three years, whilst that of lime is 

 prolonged to 20 or 30 or more years. 



Of Sulphate of Lime or Gypsum. 



Although not directed by the order of the 

 House, to make an inquiry into the uses or 

 effects of lime in this form, we take leave 

 to submit, that Professor Liebig says, that 

 the action of gypsum "depends only upon 

 its fixing in the soil the ammonia of the at- 

 mosphere, which would otherwise be vola- 



