1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



73 



and friability to clays and other strong soils, which 

 prove advantageous to the growth of most kinds 

 of corn, and it likewise assists the adhesiveness of 

 sands, but it can never be usefully applied to land 

 of the same nature as thatlroin which it is drawn: 

 its efficacy is therefore |)roportioned to the defici- 

 ency of calcareous matter in the natural soil. 



It is not however possible to get hard chalk thus 

 to break entirely into small pieces, and nuich of it 

 will remain, perhaps lor years, without being re- 

 duced by the weather: if, therefore it be intended 

 to produce the same immediate effect as lime, it 

 should be applied in perha|)s three, or even four 

 times the same quantity; but its decomposition 

 being more slow, it will also be more lasting. 

 When found of a soft and unctuous quality, it has 

 been laid with remarkable efi(?ct on gravel mixed 

 with a small portion of clay, in sufficient quantity 

 to aiford a covering of an inch, or an inch and a 

 half, in thickness. Previously to its application, 

 this land was so extremely precarious in its pro- 

 duce, that, although manured, folded abundantly, 

 and trodden bj' sheep to condense the soil, the ex- 

 pense and care bestowed upon it were rarely com- 

 pensated by a corresponding return. The wheat 

 grew freely at first, and continued to bear a very 

 Kivorable appearance until the spring, when the 

 ground assumed a spongy, hollow texture, the 

 plants acquired a dark brownish hue, died in con- 

 siderable quantities, and only produced from 12 to 

 16 bushels per acre of light corn, Avith the straw 

 invariably stunted and blighted; but the same 

 land now yields from 24 to 30 bushels, of excellent 

 quality. The barley, oats, tares, and clover suf- 

 fered in the same proportion, and have equally 

 derived benefit from the chalking; nor has there 

 been any recurrence of the former unhealthy con- 

 dition of the soil.* 



When employed for the purpose of chalking 

 the surrounding land, it is usually dug out of pits, 

 which are sunk to a considerable depth, by con- 

 tractors, who travel over the different parts of the 

 country where it is generally found. The com- 

 mon practice on such farms is to fix upon a spot 

 nearly centrical to about 6 acres of land, where a 

 pit, about 4 feet in diameter, is sunk to the chalk, 

 if found within 20 feet from the surface; if not, 

 the contractors fill it up, and sink in fresh places, 

 till their labor is attended with better success. 

 The pit, when sunk, is kept from falling by a sort 

 of basket-work, made of brush-wood, cut green 

 fo make it the closer; it is then chambered at the 

 bottom — that is, the pitman digs or cuts out the 

 chalk horizontally in three separate directions of 

 sufficient height and width to admit of their being 

 worked with safety. The laborers are generally 

 three in number — one of whom digs the pit and 

 fills the basket, which is raised by a pulley of very 

 rude construction, which is then wound to the top 

 by his companions, who alternately wheel its con- 

 tents upon the land. In some places IS barrow- 

 iuls, and in others 16 buckets, which each hold Ik 

 bushels, are deemed a load, 100 of which are con- 

 sidered as the full extent of chalking an acre, 

 though 40 to 60 is a more usual quantity. The 

 expense varies acccording to the depth of the 

 chalk, as it is found to be better the deeper it lies; 



*See Mr. Gawler's account of his farm in North 

 Hampshire: Library of Useful Knowledge, Farmer's 

 Ssries, No. 7. 



Vol. IV— 10 



and Avhen only 3 or 4 feet from the surface, it is 

 generally so indifferent as to be again thrown into 

 the pit when filled up. In the chalk districts, it is 

 very commonly applied at periods varying horn a 

 dozen to twenty years, and with equally various 

 accounts of its success, though its first applica- 

 tion is always admitted to be the most cfliictual. 

 When well mixed with the land, it is generally 

 acknowledged to make it work much better, and 

 wilh less strength of cattle on heavy ground; and 

 if assisted with dung, or with occasional spring- 

 dressings, to quicken vegetation, it is very univer- 

 sally allowed fo improve the crops: its value is 

 often estimated between outgoing and incoming 

 tenants, when lately laid on, as high as £6 per 

 acre.* 



The properties nf Ihiiestone are similar, though 

 it is very generally believed that lime made of 

 very hard limestone is more efficacious as manure 

 than that which is made from matertala of a softer 

 nature, and hence it is commonly asserted that 

 lime made from chalk is much weaker.f In some 

 places, however, chalk-lime is preferred. Thus 

 we are told by Mr. Boys that, although there is 

 excellent limestone in tjie centre of the Weald of 

 Kent, yet lime made of chalk is brought from the 

 distance of twenty miles. This might be attri- 

 buted to a knowledge of the superiont)- of its prac- 

 tical effect as ascertained by is greater purity and 

 consequent strength; but it would rather appear 

 that the preference arises fi-om caprice, frir he also 

 says thatchalk is even carried for a considerable dis- 

 tance to the parish of Bethersden, which is fa- 

 mous for a fine limestone. f The fact, however, 

 is, that whichever contains the greatest quantity 

 of calcareous malter will be (bund to be the strong- 

 est. If employed without being burned, its effects 

 upon the land are very slow: it acts upon the soil 

 during many years as a mild calcareous earth, but 

 its duration and effects are proportioned to iis pu- 

 rity, as the less alloy which it contains, the strong- 

 er will it be, and the operation of changing it into 

 lime is of no farther use than as a mode of ren- 

 dering it more promptly effective. It is also the 

 least expensive, wherever fuel can be obtained at a 

 moderate price; tor its weig-ht is thereby reduced 

 to nearly one-halt", and it cannot be brought into 

 use as manure without being reduced 1o powder, 

 the labor of which is very great, while the weight, 

 and consequent charge of carriage, of course re- 

 main undiminished. § 



Limestone, however, is found in great abun- 

 dance in many places in which there is a great 



* Herts. Report, p. 15G; Bucks, do., p. 2(59; Beds, 

 do., p. 495; Berks, do., p. 361; Essex do., p. 205; 

 Kent do., p. loS. 



t Anderson's Essays, 4th edit., vol i. Essay vi. part 



X Boys's Survey of Kent, 2nd edit. p. S9. 



§ Dr. Anderson says iwo-thhrh, ib. p. 407; but tlsig 

 is upon pure limestone, and immediately after it has 

 been calcined, consequently before it can have ac- 

 quired any moisture IVom the atmosphere; the more 

 common calculation is therefore about one-half, or per- 

 haps two-fiffhi. 



