No. 11. Lime, — German Professors and Delaware Reviewers. 



353 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Lime,— German Professors and Delaware 

 Reviewers. 



Messrs. Editors, — I think it would be 

 advisable, before we proceed further with 

 this discussion, to inquire what the matter 

 in dispute is. Some of the anonymous wri- 

 ters on lime, seem to have entirely forgotten 

 it. I expressed the opinion, that much money 

 was wasted, by applying lime to land that 

 did not require it. I undertook to prove 

 this by sbowing, that some of the best land 

 in Chester county had never been limed. 

 And as the advocates for lime have asserted, 

 that "primitive soils, without organic re- 

 mains," were those which more particularly 

 required it — I selected such sods in every 

 instance; supposing if they required none, 

 the discussion was ended. I neither knew 

 nor cared, whether they contained naturally 

 large quantities of magnesian lime or not — 

 I took their word tor it that they did not. 

 How do they undertake to prove that large 

 quantities should be applied 1 A Delawarian 

 quotes whole pages from Professor Leibig, 

 to show that many soils contain naturally of 

 lime and magnesia, from 1147 to 1365 bush- 

 els per acre. Would he advise us to lime 

 such a soil? But not satisfied with the soil, 

 he goes to the subsoil, and informs us, that 

 it contained 5000 bushels per acre. I should 

 like to know how much of the "crust of the 

 globe" he calls subsoil. He also informs us, 

 that alluvial lands in Ohio, contain 275 bush- 

 els per acre : — would it not be worse than 

 "carrying coals to Mount Carbon," to lime 

 such lands'! 



He makes a calculation for us, showing 

 that two per cent, gives 350 bushels per acre, 

 which, he says, " is not so small as 50 bush- 

 els ;" but I think it is certainly smaller than 

 it would be, if any one was simple enough 

 to add the 50 bushels to it. I thought I was 

 in a fair way to save farmers some money, 

 when I pointed them to a farm that had not 

 been limed for one hundred years ; but the 

 Professor goes still further, and shows us 

 land that has never had a particle of lime 

 applied for 160 years! This might do, and 

 would be a very good argument on my side, 

 if lie had not added, that it had "never been 

 manured or allowed to lie fallow," and yet 

 had produced for the whole 160 years, the 

 most beautiful crops: with this addition 1 

 am ashamed to claim it, for fear no practical 

 man would believe even the part that was 

 probable. If Professor Leibig can form such 

 a soil, with as cheap materials as lime and 

 magnesia, I think some of my Valley friends 

 would give him more for the patent, than 

 his book would sell for. What a pity the 



Frenchmen did not send the Professor the 

 glass-plate and two inches depth of wheat 

 straw, on which they grew such fine wheat ; 

 some of the "common readers" of the Cabi- 

 net, would like to know if the straw (soil) 

 contained 1365 bushels, and the glass plate 

 (subsoil) 5000 bushels lime and magnesia 

 per acre. But I cannot understand why A 

 Delawarian advises "animal and vegetable 

 manures," in addition to lime; for it seems, 

 the " very fertile soils" in Germany, accord- 

 ing to Leibig, have never been manured with 

 any thing. 



It is really amusing to hear, with what 

 great confidence every new writer on Agri- 

 cultural Chemistry speaks — and how confi- 

 dent their followers are, that they know all 

 about the growth of plants — and with what 

 complacency they accuse us, with being 

 "far behind the times," if we do not adopt 

 all their views — "far behind the times," is 

 a very significant expression ; I once heard 

 it applied to Judge Buel, for saying he did 

 not think the mullicaulis would answer as 

 far north as New York. 



To the artizan, manufacturer, and miner, 

 such works as Leibig's may be valuable; but 

 to convince A Delawarian that the Profes- 

 sor does not know as much as some of his 

 readers suppose, he may take all the con- 

 tents of his laboratory, select soils and sub- 

 soils, from all parts of the world, mix them 

 as he pleases, then follow the isothermal 

 lines until he finds the most suitable climate; 

 and yet, with all this at his command, he 

 cannot in this country, grow grapes that 

 will make wine or raisins; or beets that will 

 make sugar: although he may bring the cut- 

 tings from his native land, and the beet-seed 

 from France : nor can he give a reason for 

 the failure. Yet we find the cane of this 

 country full of saccharine matter; and Mr. 

 Webb has shown, that 1000 pounds of sugar 

 may be made from one acre of corn-stalks. 



To be convinced that scientific men know 

 little about the action of lime, we have but 

 to compare them with each other — no less 

 than three of the present writers on lime, 

 speak of" soils unfriendly to mineral agency." 

 Now, where will A Delawarian find room to 

 embody this in his report! For additional 

 proofs, we have only to refer to your Cabi- 

 net, especially the third volume. 



Joseph Cloud, Esq., who appears to be a 

 gentleman of as much real knowledge as 

 any of them, thinks magnesia hurtful, and 

 also says, that lime combined with carbonic 

 acid, is rendered more soluble. Sir H. Davy 

 states, that when combined, they are insolu- 

 ble; some tell us lime decomposes vegetable 

 fibre. After farmers proved by experiment 

 that this was not the fact, chemists were 



