No. 7. 



Lime. 



229 



vvimtiiig-, thr'.n in the application of lime, a^^ 

 thnr.; i.s notliinif wliicli (or the last twenty 

 years lias liatl so powerful an eirect to enricji 

 our farms, and increase tlioir produce. It 

 has in tact established a new era in Acfri- 

 ciilture, renovated worn-nut lands, prolont^ed 

 the fertility of others, meliorated aro-illaccous 

 soils, before comparatively worthless, im- 

 proved the texture of those too sandy or gra- 

 velly by increasing the absorhinir power, 

 neutralised acidity, and on all kinds of soil, at, 

 some time or other has had a fcrtilisinir effect ; ' 

 uid notwithstandinn^, nofiirmor who has tried 

 t Aciuld willingly do without it, yet not muchi 

 norc is now known, than when it was first 

 ntroduced, respectintr its most beneficial ac- 

 ion, the certain quantity that ought to be 

 ipplied to each acre, the state in which it 

 ;hould be applied, the season of the year, and 

 ts reference to particular crops. All that is 

 ;nown about it seems to bo, what has been 

 tated in the Cabinet, "that the main thing 

 i to get it on." This may .satisfy some wJio 

 a\ e been using it to advantage, but they or 

 .e do not know, that all the good it is capa- 

 le of doing, has been received. The most 

 ornmon quantity in this part of Chester coun- 

 ,', which in fertility is inferior to none in tiie 

 tatc, is about fitly bushels per acre, applied 

 ice in the course of five to ten years. In 

 le great limestone valley (o the north, one 

 undred bushels to the acre has been applied 

 ; shorter intervals with advantage, and in 

 iiirland as much as five hundred bushels has 

 3eu applied to the acre. The rule would 

 !eni to be, at least on primitive formations, 

 le richer .soil, the more lime. It is said by 

 mie experienced fiirmer.s, they have found ■ 

 le bushel of quick lime, act more efficiently 

 an two applied in the state of a carbonate, j 

 hich is the usual method, and it has been 

 ouirht by others that if the latter, in its natu- 1 



1 Htate, without burning, could be pulverised j 

 [ilaster, it would be preferable to either. — | 



iMi; limestones contain more sand thani 

 i^rs, and some, though more rarely, magrie-! 

 I, 'vhich isconsidered injurious; a knowledge 

 tlio constituents of the soil, alone, can deter- 1 

 me the comparative value of the limestone, j 

 great diversity of opinion also e.xists as to! 



2 duration of its action. liord Kames men- 

 •ns the fact of the continued benefit of an ap-l 

 cation of calcareous earth, which was known 

 be one hundred and twenty years old, — the 



'antity is not stated. We do not know, firstly, I 

 w much lime or how little ou^fht to be ap-' 

 ■f^d to a particular soil, to produce the quickest 

 id greatest effect, and secondly, how long this ' 

 lect will last before another application is 

 icessary. To put more lime on a given j 

 «antity of land than is necessary, is waste,' 

 iJ perhaps injury. To put on le.-s may de-j 

 1' its actioa or render it inerL I have been ' 



1 induced to make a few observation.'^ on this 

 sul)jcct from observing a communication in 

 I the present volume of the Cabinet, signed X, 

 where n new theory of the action of lime is 

 started which cannot be sustained. X says?, 

 jOur lands are suffering from an overplus of 

 ; vegetable f^)od, more than from too little. In 

 I his view the insoluble vegetable matter in 

 the soil, is being constantly converted into 

 j food for plants, by the heat of the soil and 

 I atmosphere, more rapidly than they can take 

 it up; that in fact our crops are gorged to 

 I death, and that lime is useful in diminishing 

 this too rapid decomposition. If this is a fact 

 it is a lamentable one. Arc we in such a 

 dilem;n:i that our best soils are constantly 

 throwing off their substance and virtue into 

 the atmosphere, without any use. If so, in 

 course of time, if left idle, without cropping, 

 they must e.\haust themselves and become 

 sterile, and if cropped, .so nnich the .sooner. — 

 The reverse of this is the fact. Land left 

 idle, even if stirred up frequently, it is be- 

 lieved, will imbibe nutriment and moisture 

 from the atmosphere, and become better. — 

 This may be observed in the cultivation of 

 our corn fields. The oftener the ground is 

 stirred up between the rows, the better will 

 be the crop. Besides, what encouiagement 

 has a farmer to haul out manure on his 

 fields, when so much of its virtue is thrown 

 uselessly away by evaporation. 



X's theory is at variance with what .science 

 has hitherto taught us of the nature of lime, 

 and its operation in the soil. Its great dis- 

 tinguishing characteristic is to pnjmote de- 

 composition. Experience and observation 

 establish the fact that all good soils contain a 

 large portion of mert insoluble vegetable mat- 

 ter, inaccessible to the roots of plants. This 

 is particularly the case in new or lately 

 cleared lands, where there has been an annual 

 deposit of leaves, and other substances; and 

 accordingly we find lime acting on such soils 

 with the greate.st efl'ect. In its caustic state 

 combined with water, it does what the latter 

 cannot do alone, — dissolves the ligneous and 

 fibrous matter in the .soil, converts it into suit- 

 able nourishment for plants, to be taken up 

 by them in the state of solution. It makes 

 .soluble nut of insoluble compound.s, and so far 

 from resisting putrefaction, in its usual appli- 

 cation, if X will combine it in certain quan- 

 tities with vegetable matter, dry or succulent, 

 and subject it to the action of air and water, 

 he will find the product manure suitable for 

 all the purposes of vegetation. B ^cause limo 

 applied with (he white-wash bru~h to our 

 fences or roofs, has a preservative antiseptic 

 tendency, it does not follow, that its exhibi- 

 tion in the soil, in different quantities, and 

 wiierc various chemical agents are at work, 

 modifying its action, should be attended with 



