THE GENESEE FABMER. 



383 



to pay for the extra espense, means will speedily 

 be devised for supplying John Bull with all he 

 may require, AYe believe, indeed, artificial drying" 

 has already been resorted to, but with what success 

 we have not learned. 



It has long been known that Indian corn is ex- 

 ceedingly rich, containing a large quantity of fat, 

 but we were not prepared to find, according to the 

 calculation of the Express^ that the 10 lbs. of fat in 

 each 100 lbs. of corn meal, estimated at thirty-six 

 cents per lb. — tlie price of butter in England — is 

 worth something more than the price of the meal. 

 We butter-devouring /.nigricans might take a lunt 

 from this in regard to domestic economy, and use 

 more Indian corn and less fine wheaten flour and 

 butter. If it is so desirable to introduce Indian 

 corn as an article of food into England, it cannot 

 but be equally desirable that we should use it our- 

 selves. Wheat flour is, at the present moment, 

 worth nearly as much in this city as in England, 

 while Indian corn can be had at a much lower fig- 

 Tire than our able English contemporary can ever 

 expect to get it in London. Our principal object, 

 however, in alluding to this article, is to call the 

 attention of farmers and others interested to the 

 importance of using means of sending to England 

 good, fully matured and well seasoned Indian corn, 

 for, in the language of the Bx23ress^ "Jonathan 

 can never succeed in learning John Bull to eat 

 either ' sour flour' or ' musty meal,' whei'eas, on the 

 contrary, he will soon find a ready customer for 

 'Johnny cakes,' 'crumpets' and 'slap-jacks,' if he 

 only attends to the quality." 



LIME APPLIED TO SOILS. 



Editors Genesee Farmer : — Much has been 

 written upon the use of lime for agricultural pur- 

 poses, and it is generally conceded that to a certain 

 extent, it is beneficial upon most soils, but of more 

 value upon some than upon others. Its applica- 

 tion has not been sufiiciently wel] understood to 

 enable farmers to adopt, with a certainty of suc- 

 cess, any given quantity, as the amount used dif- 

 fers widely in different localities. 



Lime may be applied in three different ways ; 

 directly to the land, or indirectly as a portion of 

 the compost heap, and in other forms with manure. 

 It may be applied as a carbonate of lime, by break- 

 ing or grinding the stone or strewing it plentifully 

 over the field. In this form its value is prolonged 

 for many years ; its action being that of a mild cal- 

 careous earth. It is by the debris of lime-stone 

 rocks, by the action of frost, and from other causes 

 that our best calcareous soils are formed. As a 

 gradual improver of the soil, tlie lime-stone is found 

 to be of more value than when used in the form of 

 quick-lime, (a) 

 „j.j,., The operation of burning expels the carbon by 

 ' "the agency of heat. In its natural state the stone 

 ■■"'•^possesses little active property, and can only enrich 

 ^''5^e soil as it crumbles to pieces through the action 



of the elements, (b) When it has been burned its 

 substance and character are changed, it becomes 

 caustic to the tongue, and possesses the power of 

 speedily decomposing most vegetable and animal 

 bodies. Applied in this form, instead of being a 

 fertilizer, affording nutriment to growing plants, it 

 would, if long continued, burn them up, or effectu- 

 ally destroy the germ of the seed or the plant, {c) 

 This caustic power is lost by exposure to the at- 

 mosphere or by the application of water, by wliich 

 it is reconverted into a substance nearly resembling 

 that from which it was obtained, only rendered 

 more soft, porous, and in most of its properties re- 

 sembling chalk. ((Z) For agricultural purposes it 

 has been found best, instead of slacking lime by 

 the appliaation of water, to make it into small 

 heaps of about a bushel each, which should be 

 covered with fresh soil made very fine, a few inches 

 in thickness, smoothed down by blows with the 

 back of the spade, excluding either air or rain, (e) 

 In a few days it will be slacked, ready to spread 

 upon the surface. After spreading it should be 

 plowed in immediately, rather shallow, and har- 

 rowed down. Its immediate application while in 

 a partially caustic state, renders a smaller quantity 

 necessary as it is spread more thoroughly, and bet- 

 ter incorporated with the soil, than when suffered 

 to become moist, causing it to clod up, preventing 

 its division and free incorporation with the soil 

 upon which it has been strewed. 



One of the first requisites should be the thorough 

 draining of the soil before lime is applied. Lime 

 is applied in three different ways. Put on the sur- 

 face and allowed to remain a few years ; put on 

 the surface and plowed in ; or mixed in compost 

 beds, and with that applied. The first method 

 would have the effect of incorporating it with the 

 land, particularly if it be a sandy soil. By the 

 second it is placed in the botton of the furrow, and 

 is less easily incorporated with the soil. The third 

 method gives it the best application, but is attended 

 with larger expense in hauling and applying. A 

 better method, and one strongly recommended, is 

 to plow the land, and leaving it uneven, apply 

 lime, harrow well, and cultivate it with some crop 

 that requires frequent hoeing, as corn or beans. — 

 For this application, lime as a carbonate, 9f air- 

 slacked lime, would be found the most profitable, if 

 the soil was loose and pliable. This method en- 

 ables the farmer to obtam not only the immediate 

 benefit of the lime, but a greater profit than by 

 any other mode in a given number of years, which 

 is the great end to be obtained. 



Remarks. — The improvement of soils by the ap- 

 plication of lime, is an important subject, and we 

 are much obliged to our correspondent for the 

 above article. We think, however, that on some 

 points his remarks need qualification. 



(a) Would not breaking or grinding lime-stone 

 be rather an expensive operation? Unless fuel was 

 unusually liigh it would be cheaper to burn it, and 

 certainly burnt lime would have a much greater effect 

 than that applied in the form of a carbonate. We 

 can not endorse tlie opinion of our correspondent 

 that, " as a gradual improver of the soil, the lime- 

 stone is found to be of more value than when 



