BY MINERAL MANURES. 79 



more porous, and more permeable to the dews, to air, and 

 to heat. Upon all soils which do not contain it natural- 

 ly, mild lime may be applied with certain ulterior benefit. 



Lime, says Professor Low, may be applied to land in 

 different ways, and at different periods. 



"1. It may be laid on the surface of land which is in 

 grass, and remain there until the land is ploughed up for 

 tillage, even though this should be several years after- 

 wards. The lime, in this case, quickly sinks into the 

 soil, and, acting upon it, prepares it for crops when it is 

 again tilled. 



"2. It may be spread upon the ground, and buried 

 even by the plough, just after a crop of any kind has been 

 reaped. In this case it prepares the soil for succeeding 

 crops. 



"3. It may be spread upon the surface even where 

 plants are growing. This practice, however, though some- 

 times convenient, is very rarely to be imitated. 



"4. It maybe, and is most frequently, applied du- 

 ring the season in which the land is in fallow, or in prep- 

 aration for what are termed fallow crops. 



^'5. It may be mixed with earthy matter, particularly 

 with that containing vegetable remains, [the ligneous, 

 woody and peaty ;] in this case it forms a compost." — 

 Low'^s Elements, &c. 



Quicklime adds nothing to the elements of fertility ; it 

 merely digests these elements, or renders them soluble. 

 Hence its tendency is to exhaust these elements in the 

 soil, and to induce ultimate sterility, unless organic mat- 

 ters are returned to it. Lime will produce no benefit to 

 soils in which there are no organic matters. 



The quantity of lime to be applied to the acre, will 

 depend upon the quality of the soil ; the poorer the soil, 

 the less should be the application. In Britain, from 100 

 to 300 bushels are applied. In the United States, from 

 50 to 120 bushels ; and the dressings may be repeated, 

 according to circumstances, in every four to ten years. 

 In France, applications of from three to ten bushels are 

 made annually, with the best effect. Lime is inoperative 

 upon all soils containing an excess of water. It eradi- 



