476 MANUAL OF THE NtLAGIRI DISTRICT, 



CH. XXVII. bones_, guano, phospho-guano, &c._, the cost per ton up the ghdt to 

 A Ri''uLTURE Ootacamand being not less than 30 rupees. 



There is no denying that the Hills are prepared to absorb lime 



"" *™^" to any extent. Even in England on all but calcareous soils the 



amount of lime considered necessary is formidable ; 2 cwt. 

 an acre annually for twenty years is not considered too large 

 a dose on some soils. It is true that on the Hills, in the decom- 

 posing hornblende, we have some twelve per cent, of lime, but the 

 question is, not the amount of lime in the hornblende, but the equal 

 distribution of hornblende in the soil. The subsoils chiefly consist 

 of felspar abounding in potash, a most valuable ingredient, but no 

 lime ; at least Siberian felspar is credited with but three per 

 cent., and many other felspars with not one per cent. It should be 

 remembered that most of the soils on the Hills west of Ootacamand 

 have never been broken up, and to enable the plant to assimilate 

 the vegetable matters in the soil lime is nece.ssary. On the stiff 

 soils lime may be used with greater safety than on the light soils, 

 because lime has a tendency to make a stiff soil lighter ; hence the 

 light soils only require sufficient lime to render the vegetable 

 matter in them sweet, and therefore suitable for the food of plants. 

 In fact lime may be said to be the beginning, the middle, and the 

 end of agriculture ; without it we cannot tell what the soils of the 

 Hills are capable of. With a railway up the ghdt lime would be 

 delivered over the Hills at 20 rupees the ton ; even at this enor- 

 mous rate the application of lime would be a success. Lime applied 

 to fields in England rarely costs more than 6 rupees a ton. Lime 

 has the property of releasing ammonia from manure ; hence it is 

 not wise to combine the two. Lime should be slaked on the field, 

 applied broadcast, and then ploughed in. Afterwards apply 

 manure, 

 —potash. No doubt the subsoils contain much potash, as they chiefly 



consist of felspars, but it is a question if the felspar readily yields 

 up its potash, or, in other words, if it does not require considerable 

 exposure to the air to liberate or fit the potash in the felspar for 

 the consumption of it by plant-life. When the felspathic subsoil 

 is available, it would be advisable to spread some of it on the 

 surface and plough it in . After a certain time had elapsed, the 

 weathering it underwent would free the potash and render it 

 fitting plant-food. In parts of Ireland granite rocks are burnt 

 for potash ; the burning sets free the potash for plant-food. 

 Tobacco is well known to require an enormous amount of potash, 

 and the Badaga country is well suited for its growth. 

 Horticulture. Under these heads we have to review products as widely apart 

 as cinchona and strawberries, for arboriculture may be considered 

 a branch of agriculture, and horticulture another branch. Fu'st, 



