1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



79 



for pure sand, clay, and chalk, though each in 

 themselves separately barren, yet, when mixed to- 

 gether, exert chemical influences upon each other, 

 which, by the attraction of the air, the dews, and 

 the rain, the ftrce of the sun, and the generative 

 powers of growing vegetables, etl'ect the produc- 

 tion ot" corn and Iruit. It is thorefore clear that 

 the land alone is capable of vegetation ; but every 

 day's experience proves that the amount of its pro- 

 ducts, its fertility, m short, depends in a great dc- 

 irree upon the decomposition of the substances 

 which have been previously converted into vegeta- 

 ble mould, or which are added to it by manure. 

 Any tliinir whatever may be called manure, which, 

 wheAi applied to the soil, either rectifies its me- 

 chanical detects, corrects any bad quality, and ei- 

 ther stimulates it to yield, or stores it with nutri- 

 ment. Thus, if lime be laid upon pure sand, al- 

 though the latter would be rendered more tena- 

 cious, and would thereby become more favorable 

 to the germination of vegetables, yet seeds could 

 find no nourishment from either the lime or the 

 sand; and putrescent manure would still be neces- 

 sary to produce a crop. But if the sod consist of 

 clay and sand, containing aninial or vegetable 

 matter in a torpid state of decay, then lime would 

 be preferable to dung. The state of the soil 

 should therefore be mmutely inquired into before 

 hme is employed; and it should be only used to give 

 efi'ect to the inert substances with which it may be 

 combined.* 



By the analysis of soils, we find that^all produc- 

 tive earth contains a certain portion of lime ; and 

 although we learn from experience that its stimu- 

 lative powers upon the roots of plants are very 

 great, yet we are but imperfectly acquainted with 

 the extent or the exact manner in which its influ- 

 ence is brought into action, and "we are in a great 

 measure ignorant of" the actual changes that are 

 produced jipon the earth after this manure has been 

 applied.'! It would however, seem that, where it 

 exhausts, it is orriy by hastening the putrefaction 

 of the animal and vegetable matter in the soil, and 

 by that means applying a larger portion of those 

 substances in a given time than could be otherwise 

 afforded to the growth of plants. It is thus known 

 to produce more luxuriant crops, and it will also 

 consequently enable the farmer to continue his land 

 in tillage, during a certain time, with more ef!t3ct 

 than if no calcareous manure had been laid on ; 

 but, althouo-h it may not tend to the deterioration 

 of the original staple of the soil, it can hardly be 

 doubled that it must be thus more promptly depri- 

 ved of its fertility than if the exhaustion of that 

 vegetable mould with which it had been supplied 

 by nutritive manure were occasioned by a more 

 gradual process of decomposition. 



That this is the only way in which effete lime 

 can exhaust land, seems probable from the larfxe 

 quantities of neutralized calcareous earth which 

 are often applied without any bad effect in the j 

 form of chalk, shells, limestone-gravel, and the I 

 whole tribe of marls. A larger quantity of these j 

 is oftener laid on in one year than would be used 

 of lime in half a century, were the land in tillage 



* Finlayson's Practical Essays on Agriculture, 2d 

 edit., p. Ill ; Bland on the Principles of Agriculture, 

 chap. iv. 



t Anderson's Essays on Agriculture, -Ith edit. vol. i. , 

 p. 520. i 



to be managed according to the custom of some 

 countries; yet it is not generally impoverished, 

 and, in many cases, it is permanently improved. 

 This, however, is probably occasioned by its 

 combination with other substances, which either 

 counteract its exhausting powers or supply the 

 waste of nutritive matter. It must, however, be 

 admitted, that this is not apparent in regard to 

 chalk, which is commoidy ap[)lied in large quan- 

 tities without any bad eflects, and there are many 

 instances of soils more naturally tiirtile than per- 

 haps any others that are known, and which seem 

 to consist almost wholly of calcareous earth;* but 

 were their properties critically analyzed, it is still 

 possible that they miffht be found essentially dif- 

 ferent fiom those which they are commonly sup- 

 posed to possess. 



A very eminent writer on agriculture, when 

 treating of stimulant manures, which are gene- 

 rally supposed to be only of use when applied to 

 rich soils, and when applied to poor land would 

 produce hardly any, or even hurtful eflects, says, 

 in contradiction to tliat theory — that 'he is firmly 

 convinced, from repeated observations, that lime 

 and other calcareous manures produce a much 

 ^iveater proportional improvement upon poor soils 

 than on such as are richer: and thai lime alone 

 upon a poor soil will, in many cases, produce a 

 much greater and more lasting degree of ft-rtility 

 than clung alone. 'f That, however, does not 

 throw any doubt on the assertion, that it acts with 

 as great proportionate power upon land that is 

 naturally poor, as upon that which is more fully 

 impregnated with those substances which tend to 

 promote a luxuriant vegetation; but we believe 

 that the experience of farmers will prove that its 

 application to poor land, and especially to that 

 which has been previously limed, if it does not 

 eventunlly tend to its complete exhaustion, will at 

 least never be found to repay the expense. 



The employment of lime seems to be of the 

 greatest service in the breaking tip of fresh and 

 coarse land, on which it acts more powerfully than 

 on soil which has been long in cultivation; and in- 

 deed the most striking improvements have been 

 effected by its means on moorlands and mountainj 

 but it should be given for the first time abundant- 

 ly. Such is the usual effect of lime upon arable: 

 upon grass-land it is laid in smaller quantities; and 

 in this top-dressing, perhaps the preferable mode 

 is to apply it in a compost with earth; except 

 when the soil consists of clay. When thus spread 

 upon the surface, its action upon the sward is pro- 

 ductive of the most palpable improvement, and 

 continues perceptif)Ie during a long period. No 

 other manure will create so rapid a change; for 

 it is such an excellent corrector of acidity, that it 

 tends to produce the sweetest herbage where only 

 the most unpalatable pasture was formerly to be 

 found. This, indeed, is so apparent, that if a 

 handful of lime be thrown upon a tuft of rank, 

 sour grass, which has in former years been inva- 

 riably refused by cattle, they will afterwards eat 

 it close down. Now, animal dung, when dropped 

 upon coarse benty sward, produces little or no im- 

 provement,until limed; it then, however, not only 



* Malcolm on the Agriculture of Surrey, Kent, and 

 Sussex, vol. ii. p. 5.5. Marshall's Midland Counties, 

 vol. ii. Minute 100. 



t Anderson's Essays on Agriculture, vol. i. p. 569. 



