1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



25 



For the New England Farmer. 

 IjIME— GUANO—BONE DUST. 



Mr. Editor : — Does the application of lime to 

 the soil supply the phosphates, or bone-forming 

 material ? Guano, bone dust and wood ashes are 

 said to contain a great amount of lime in various 

 combinations, but it seems to me they are expen- 

 sive manures. Ashes f have tried with good effect, 

 but huve had no experience with lime. I can pro- 

 cure it for $1,50 per cask, and ashes for 12.^ cts. 

 per bushel. Common stable manure, applied at 

 the rate of 25 ox loads to the acre, and plowed in 

 eight or nine inches deep, proved to be unsuccess- 

 ful in causing a great yield of corn, but potatoes 

 grew nobly. Why this difference ? A long time 

 before the corn ripened, it commenced falling eve- 

 ry way, the stalks appearing weak. This, with 

 former years' experiments, has proved that some- 

 thing else is needed beside plentiful manuring and 

 deep plowing. My soil is a moderately light loam, 

 with a subsoil of yellowish loam and gravel, and 

 no traces of clay or sand, except in particular lo- 

 calities. My pastures and tillage land border on 

 pine land of similar formation. My cows, when 

 giving milk in summer, appear weak in their limbs, 

 and fairly disgusted with the Rhode Island Bent, 

 up to their eyes around them, and if they can get 

 into the mow lands after haying, they will feed it 

 down to the roots, even, rather than eat the pas- 

 ture grass. L. L. R. 



Seekonk, Mass. 



Remarks. — The application of lime alone sup- 

 plies but one of the materials of which bone is 

 formed. Phosphoric acid is wanted also. Guano 

 contains the phosphates" both of ammonia and lime, 

 as well as their carbonates. During the process 

 of vegetation, the phosphates are decomposed . — 

 The phosphoric acid is combined with the fixed al- 

 kalies, lime and potash, and in this state is appro- 

 priated by those plants that require them. The 

 ammonia, after being separated from the phospho- 

 ric acid, is decomposed into its elements, hydrogen 

 and nitrogen, and these elements are used as 

 wanted. It is by the decomposition of ammonia 

 that plants obtain nitrogen chiefly. 



L. L. R. has not presented his case with suffi- 

 cient fulness of detail to enable us to prescribe a 

 remedy, with confidence. We have not all the 

 symptoms. How much corn did he get to the 

 acre? Was the corn sound and the ears well 

 filled ? How deep below the surface is the subsoil 

 of "yellow loam and gravel!" How did he culti- 

 vate ? Did he hill up the corn in the old way, or 

 cultivate with a level surface ? When corn grows 

 very rapidly, and begins to spread, drawing the 

 surface soil around the plants with the hoe, and 

 forming a hill, for temporary support, may be re- 

 sorted to with advantage. We see no reason why 

 such a soil as he describes, in which potatoes 

 "grew nobly," should not yield good corn, unless 

 it be that silex and sulphur are wanting. Pota- 

 toes require as much lime, and more potash, than 

 corn. 



We will suppose manure is worth to L. L. R. 

 ,50 per load. 



His 25 load3 will cost ,.$37,50 



Let him plow in 16 loads, worth $24,00 



Then take 2 cwt. guiino, worth 5,00 



2 casks lime, air slacked 3,ii0 



5 cwt. plaster 2,00 



2 barrels Hne sand 25.. $34,25 



add two or three bai-rels good soil that has laid un- 

 der his hen roost through the winter; mix all thor- 

 oughly upon a floor, and put a half pint into each 

 hill. Immediately after the first hoeing let him 

 him take 16 bushels of wood ashes worth $2,00, 

 and apply upon the surface around the plants. 

 This will make $3G,25, leaving $1,25 to pay the 

 extra labor of applying the ashes. Ashes or quick 

 lime should not be mixed with guano. They de- 

 compose it too rapidly, and the ammonia being 

 very volatile, is mostly lost before it can be appro- 

 priated by the plants. Let L. L. R. try this pre- 

 scription, and report his success. Bone dust is 

 the best "bone-forming -material." Mix it with 

 salt, and keep it within reach of your cattle. If 

 this material be wanting, they will use it freely. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 LIME IN AGRICULTURE. 



Much has been written upon the use of lime in 

 agriculture, and yet the subject does not seem to 

 be fully understood; some persons need "line up- 

 on line" just as some soils need lime "poHiiiaie. 



Lime is an element in nil organic structures. 

 The earthy portion of the bones in the higher class- 

 es of animals consists mostly of lime combined 

 with phosphoric acid. The shells of the lower 

 classes consist of lime combined with carbonic 

 acid. All parts of the animal structure are derived 

 from vegetables. Vegetables then must contain 

 a considerable amount of lime, and as lime is not 

 a constituent of the atmosphere, it must be con- 

 tained in the soil. 



According to Johnson's table, 1 bushel of wheat 

 contains 6 and 2-5 ounces of lime-, a bushel of bar- 

 ley 6 1-9 ounces, oats 2 3-5, a ton of turnips a lit- 

 tle more than 6 lbs., a ton of potatoes 28 lbs., and 

 a ton of clover hay 03 lbs. These quantities vary 

 considerably. This is especially true of wheat. 

 When the soil is plentifully furnished with lime, 

 wheat contains a larger per centage. The skin of 

 the grain is said to be thinner, and the flour whiter 

 and finer and more glutinous. 



In soils that consist largely of clay, the benefit 

 of Hme is most obvious. It loosens the texture of 

 the soil, and renders it less adhesive. It combines 

 with acids and thus sets at liberty other alkalies 

 that may be contained in it. It is beneficial to 

 soils containing large quantities of vegetable mat- 

 ter, as it appears to render such matters more so- 

 luble, and more useful to the living vegetation. 

 Almost every crop that is cultivated is improved 

 by it. It is said to be injurious to flax and hemp, 

 rendering their fibre thinner and more brittle. 

 Compounds formed in the soil by lime are com- 

 paratively insoluble. Hence it is from 3 to 6 years 

 before lime applied to the soil is exhausted. The 

 hydrate of lime, or lime slaked with water, acts the 

 most rapidly. Carbonate of lime produces the 

 most permanent effect upon the soil. Light, dry, 



