1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



85 



same; the crop was equally abundant wherever 

 the lime had been applied, but strikingly inferior 

 upon the 20 acres on which it had been omitted. 



This would show that the application of" lime to 

 grass-land one or two years before it is broken up, 

 as inculcated by several writers upon husbandry, 

 is neither nece.ssary to ihe soil, nor reconcilable 

 with economy; as, in case of any declivity in the 

 ground, much of the lime is washed otf" the sur- 

 face bv the rains, and lost before the land can be 

 ploughed. It also nroves that, in the trials just 

 recorded, as well as in others upon the same firm, 

 though not here mentioned, there was no visible 

 difference between the application of quick-lime 

 and that which was effete: added to which, there 

 is this remarkable fact — 'that much difference of 

 opinion having prevailed relative to the quality of 

 the limestone-quarrieij in the neighborhood, a trial 

 was made of the lime from each of them upon 

 six adjoining ridges of one of the fields — num- 

 bered 7. Though a difference to the eye was vi- 

 sible in almost every one of those samples, yet the 

 effect upon the ground was in all of them precise- 

 ly similar, nor could the most accurate judge say 

 which was best. The quantity applied was in 

 each c^se the same; and the operations of laying 

 on the lime, spreading if, and ploughing the 

 groundj were all carried on in a uniform man- 

 ner.'* 



On the best consideration which we can apply 

 to this important subject, 'we should say — Let the 

 farmer, as a primary ground for determination, 

 well weigh the nature and the condition of his 

 land, as well as the amount of the costj previous 

 to the application of a dressing of lime. If it is 

 to be broken up from grass which has lain long in 

 pasture, and without having been previously li- 

 med, and that he can afford the expense, let him 

 lay on a round quantity at once; for if it be intend- 

 ed as a permanent alterative — a corrective and 

 amendment of the properties of the soil — it should 

 get a full dose, and anything short of that will be 

 found little better than money thrown away. But 

 if it is to be applied to ground that has been un- 

 der tillage, and upon which lime has been pre- 

 viously laid, it can then only be used with advan- 

 tage after a series of years have elapsed, and in 

 small quantities; upon land also which has been 

 kept under a proper rotation of husbandry, and 

 has been regularly manured with stable-dung, 

 bones, rape-dust, or other nutritious substances, 

 upon which it may exert itself, as it will merely 

 give increased effect to the riches which may have 

 been thus added to the soil by superior manage- 

 ment. In such cases, however, it may be usefully 

 employed after every second or third dunging; fir 

 whether it be owing to an imperfect fermentation, 

 or to whatever cause, it is certain that a portion of 

 all the dung which is laid upon ground remains 

 nearly in a dormant state until ftirced into activity 

 by the application of some alkaline or calcareous 

 matter. 



On all land it decomposes nutritive matter, 

 which may be supposed to lie otherwise in an in- 



ert or apparently insoluble state: it is advantageous 

 on sands, because, so long as it remains^well 

 mixed with the soil, it attracts moisture li-om the 

 air, which prevents them li-om burning; and if 

 applied to clays, or other deep soils on which no 

 calcareous manure has been previously laid, it 

 renders them less cohesive, and more easily pene- 

 trable by vegetable fibres.* On calcareous soils it 

 necessarily has but little effect, because it here al- 

 ready forms a part of the matter of which tfiey 

 are composed; but when laid on grass-land as a 

 top dressing, it has greatly improved every species 

 of soil, and has promoted the growth of the finer 

 grasses; thus adding to the luxuriance of the her- 

 bage, and augmenting the productive powers of 

 the soil when afterwards ploughed for grain. f As 

 lime however— notwithstanding the tiict which 

 has been just recorded regarding the similarity of 

 its effects— whether mild or quick— yet differs ma- 

 terially in its strength, inquiry should always be 

 inade on that point previous to its application. 

 The following general rules may be taken as a 

 summary of what has been already stated. 



1st. Before the application of lime, the land 

 should be thoroughly drained and laid dry. 



2ndly. It may be carried on whenever the teams 

 are the most at leisure; but summer is the best 

 season, and it never should be laid upon the land 

 unless in dry weather. 



3rdly. It should be laid on while in a powdery 

 state — the drier the better- and kept as near the 

 surface as possible, as then best adapted to mix 

 intimately with the soil. 



4thlv. It may be applied either quick or effete; 

 but if in the former state, it will have more effect 

 in the cleansing of the land, and a less quantity 

 will serve the immediate purpose. It should, 

 however, be carted upon the land as soon as possi- 

 ble, and spread directly before the plough, lettino- 

 that follow so quickly, as that the body of the lime 

 shall be slaked in the coil; audit must be cautious- 

 ly applied to light soils. 



5thly. As it has a tendency to sink into the 

 ground, and it is important to preserve it near the 

 surface, it should be ploughed with a shallow fur- 

 row. 



6thly. When found, after a few years, in 

 lumps, and much below the surface of the land, 



* Those who may wish for further details regarding 

 these expeiiments are referred to the third volume of 

 the Farmers' Magazine, pp. 77, 323. The numbers in 

 this account are not however placed in the same order 

 as that statement, but are classed according to the par- 

 ticular nature of the soils. 



* Thus, among numberless instances of its effects 

 upon land of the latter description, one is mentioned 

 in an account lately published of, a farm in Koss-shire', 

 which, under former management, produced such 

 scanty crops of oats, that they scarcely paid the ex- 

 pense of cutting; yet in the fohowing year, the same 

 ground— having had 200 bushels of hme applied for 

 the first time, together with 12 tons of farm-yard ma- 

 nure-yielded at the rate of 40 bushels of wheat per 

 acre. This might, indeed, have been ascribed to the 

 dung, as well as to improved culture; but another field, 

 ot the same kind of land, produced 36 bushels, solely 

 with the application of lime, without any dung. Li- 

 brary of Useful Knowledge, Farmer's Series, No 18 

 p. 91. ' 



t Calcareous soils have also been found to possess 

 the advantage of guarding the sheep which graze upon 

 them from the rot; and there can be no doubt that the 

 application of lime, if accompanied by proper drain- 

 age, will materially assist in producing properties of 

 corresponding efficacy. It is hkewise known to be a 

 great preventive, when lain upon pasture-land, of that 

 destructive disease the foot-rot, 



