Food for PlaisTs. lOT 



Liming. 



It is known that timothy cannot tlirive and yield niaxi- 

 niiun crops in a sour soil, while red-top seems to delight 

 in such soil, and one of the surest indications that a soil 

 is sour is w^hen we fmd the timothy meadow run out after 

 two or three years and the ground occupied by red-top. 

 The presence of sorrel, five-finger mosses, daisies and 

 mulleins are also indications of a sour soil, and timothy 

 cannot be made to do its best on those soils until they 

 are made sw^eet. The quickest and most practical way 

 to accomplish this is by the liberal application of lime in 

 some form. This may be applied in the form of stone 

 lime, either ground or unground, or air-slaked; or in 

 connection with potash in wood ashes. The amount of 

 lime to apply should be generally about one-half ton per 

 acre. 



If we use lime in the form of ashes or ground stone 

 lime, it can be drilled into the soil at the right depth with 

 a fertilizer drill, but if w^e use air-slaked lime or lump 

 lime and slake it in the field, it should be spread either 

 before plowing or immediately after the first harrowing 

 and before the ground is rolled, so that the bulk of the 

 lime will get down into the soil at the right depth. 



Mineral Fertilizers. 



This question of the correct application of the mineral 

 elements of plant food is of great importance, and has 

 not received the consideration it deserves — especially 

 is this so in regard to fertilizing meadows or grass lands, 

 which usualh' remain seeded dow^l for several years, and 

 there is no time after the seed is sown that the phosphoric 

 acid and potash can be gotten down into the soil where 

 they belong, w^hich place is from three to six inches under 

 the surface. When phosphoric acid or potash are used 

 as a top-dressing for meadows, it is known that they 

 become fixed largely in the surface and consequently tend 

 to attract the feeding roots of the plants to the surface 



