4 ON THE USE OF LIME, MARL, AND SHELL-SAND. 



the soil thus materially affects the use of lime in agriculture. 

 Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that the form in which lime 

 is used influences the result which it is expected to produce. 

 And lastly, we would observe that the effects of lime on vegeta- 

 tion are greatly modified according to the use of good or bad 

 lime. The quality of lime, of course, is dependent upon that 

 of the limestone from which the former is made. 



Continued attention to the functions which lime exercises in 

 relation to our cultivated crops, and the examination of several 

 limestones, marls, samples of shell-sand, as well as a good many 

 soils occurring in the district over which the operations of the 

 Bath and West of England Society extends, have enabled me to 

 draw up the following Report, which I trust will be generally 

 useful as a guide to those who require information respecting the 

 use of lime in agriculture ; and to be of more particular interest 

 to many of the members of the Bath and West of England Agri- 

 cultural Society. 



I propose to speak, in the first place, of the forms in which 

 lime is used in agriculture, and under this head to refer es- 

 pecially to the composition of a good many limestones, marls, 

 and varieties of shell-sand that occur in the West, and are ex- 

 tensively used, chiefly for agricultural and to a minor extent 

 for other purposes. In the next place, it will be my duty briefly 

 to allude to the functions of lime upon the soil and vegetation, 

 for a proper appreciation of the first principles involved in this 

 subject is absolutely necessary in order that the farmer may derive 

 the full advantage which lime is capable of affording. Under the 

 third and last general head I shall have to offer some remarks on 

 the application of lime, marl, and shell-sand to the soils in the 

 West of England, and shall then more specially notice the com- 

 position of soils in different localities within the circle of the 

 Society's operations, and shall illustrate by some examples which 

 actually came under my notice some of the general principles 

 that ought to regulate the application of lime to the land. 



I. ON THE FORMS IN WHICH LlME IS USED IN AGRICULTURE. 



Lime is used in agriculture generally in one of the following 

 forms : 



1. Burnt and slaked lime. 



2. Chalk. 



3. Marl. 



4. Shell and coral sand. 



