LIM 



LIM 



tiful ornamental slirub, readily prop- 

 agated in a rich, liglit soil. 



LILIACE.E. A family of endoge- 

 nous plants, remarkable for their brill- 

 iant tlowers, including tiie lilies, hy- 

 acinths, tuberoses, &c. They are 

 characterized by six petals, six sta- 

 mens, superior ovary, anthers burst- 

 ing inwardly. 



LILIACEOUS. Flowers resem- 

 bling the lily. 



LILY. Lilium. Several species 

 produce beautiful flowers. They are 

 propagated by bulbs. 



LILY, DAY. Hcmcrocallis fuha. 

 This has been recommended as a 

 herbage plant. It is perennial, stands 

 the summer well, and cattle are very 

 partial to the leaves. It yields abun- 

 dantly. 



LILY OF THE VALLEY. Con- 

 vallaria majalis. Sheep and cattle 

 browse on it. Propagated by part- 

 ing the perennial root. 



LILY, WATER. Nymjihca alba. 

 A beautiful ornament on ponds. 



LILY, THE AMERICAN WA- 

 TER. Nelumbium lutcutn. The sa- 

 cred bean. It bears the largest flow- 

 er in the Northern States. The beans 

 are edible. 



LILY, THE YELLOW WATER. 

 Nupar lutea. Common in ditches and 

 ponds, bearing a yellow flower. 



LI.MACID.E (Irom Umax, a slug). 

 The family of slugs and snails. 



LIMB, LI.MBUS. The flat or ex- 

 panded portion of the petal. 



LIME. The oxide of calcium ; the 

 latter is a brilliant white metal, known 

 only as a chemical curiosity. Lime, 

 from its great chemical activity, is 

 unknown in nature, but always exists 

 combined, chiefly with carbonic acid, 

 as limestone, chalk, marl, or calcare- 

 ous minerals. It is also combined 

 with sulphuric acid (gypsum), phos- 

 phoric acid (bone earth), and silicic 

 acid. 



The base (quicklime) is separated 

 from the carbonate by a white heat. 

 It is white, caustic, soluble in 500 

 parts water ; specific gravity, 3-3. 

 The solution is powerfully alkaline, 

 changing vegetable colours, and with 

 an acrid taste. It is much used as a 

 460 



test in the laboratory. The equiva- 

 lent of lime is 28-5, symbol Ca. 



When a small quantity of water is 

 added to the quicklime, it swells, 

 cracks, becomes hot, falls into pow- 

 der, and absorbs the fluid, combining 

 with it, and forming slacked or hydrate 

 of lime. This contains 24 per cent, 

 water, and is highly caustic. If quick- 

 lime be exposed to the air, so as to 

 become air slacked, it absorbs water 

 and carbonic acid to the extent of 38 

 per cent., about one half becoming 

 carbonate or mild lime, and the rest 

 hydrate. This mixture is slightly 

 caustic. Both the hydrate and air- 

 slacked lime continue to absorb car- 

 bonic acid, and finally become alto- 

 gether mild ; but this is slower in 

 the case of the hydrate. Lime, be- 

 ing an active base, combines readily 

 with nearly every acid, forming a host 

 of salts. Its presence in any solu- 

 tion is made known by the action of 

 dilute sulphuric acid, which precipi- 

 tates it" as an insoluble white powder 

 (gypsum). 



LIME IN AGRICULTURE. It is 

 the most important amendment used 

 in farming, and is employed in the 

 state of quicklime, water-slacked, and 

 air-slacked lime, and in quantities de- 

 pending upon the object in view. 



Its uses may be enumerated as fol- 

 low'S : 



1st. It assists in pulverizing the 

 soil, by acting chemically upon the 

 silicates therein, dissolving out a por- 

 tion of the silica, and liberating pot- 

 ash and soda. It is for this cause 

 that heavy doses of lime tell so well 

 on poor granitic soils. The quick- 

 lime is best for this purpose, plough- 

 ed in thoroughly to a depth of three 

 inches. From 100 to 600 bushels the 

 acre are used ; wet, stiff lands, and 

 those destitute of calcareous matter, 

 requiring most. It should be applied 

 upon a fallow of four to six months, 

 and stirred three times. This large 

 addition show^s its effects for many 

 years. It should be made to poor 

 lands to bring them into tilth, or to 

 destroy insects and weeds. Sandy 

 soils should receive much less lime 

 than stiff lands. 



