ON THE USE OF LIME, MARL, AND SHELL-SAND. 43 



with advantage for keeping down the coarser grasses and inducing 

 the growth of a more delicate and nutritious herbage. 



In illustration of the uses of lime on pasture land I append the 

 analyses of three pasture soils : 



Composition of Soil from Shepton Mallet (No. I.) ; Claverton (No II.) ; 

 and from Kingston Seymour, Congressbury (No. III.). 



a. MECHANICAL ANALYSIS. 



No. I. No. II. No. III. 



Moisture , 3*54 .. 2*31 



Organic matter and water of combination 18*96 16*80 9*52 



Lime 2*18 *75 1*59 



Sand 23*53 32*66 35*51 



Clay 51*79 49*79 51*07 



100*00 100*00 100*00 



b. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 



Moisture 3*54 .. 2*31 



Organic matter and water of combination 18*96 16*80 9*52 



Oxides of iron and alumina .. 13*05 16*08 12*90 



Carbonate of lime 

 Insoluble silicious matter 

 Carbonate of magnesia 

 Magnesia and alkalies 



2*18 -75 1*59 



61*75 64*36 72*60 



1*56 



52 alkalies '45 1*08 



100*00 100*00 100*00 



The soil from Shepton Mallet, it will be observed, contains a 

 great deal of vegetable matter, present principally in the shape 

 of undecayed and partially decomposed roots. This is a stiff 

 dark-coloured clay soil, which dries up into hard lumps. 



In the soil from Claverton there is also a considerable quantity 

 of organic matter and clay, and comparatively speaking little 

 sand. Like the preceding soil, it is of a stiff nature, and con- 

 tains very little lime. 



The third analysis represents the composition of marshy land 

 from Kingston Seymour. It is a marshy, dark-coloured, almost 

 black soil, which is free from stones, and dries up to hard masses 

 like brickbats. The dark colour is due to the presence of im- 

 perfectly decomposed vegetable remains. All three soils, but 

 more especially the one from Claverton, would be greatly bene- 

 fited by heavy dressings of lime. 



In the marsh land the proportion of lime is smaller than in 

 the two other soils, and yet its colour is much darker. This 

 appears to me to indicate that the land is badly drained, and that 

 the effect of lime probably will not be so marked upon this soil 

 as on others of a similar composition. 



In badly drained soils organic matter rapidly increases ; the 



