92 AGRICULTURE 



from the air, when it becomes slaked and is 

 then spread upon the land. In the past, 

 practically all burned lime was allowed to 

 slake before being applied, but more recently 

 many lime works have erected a grinding 

 plant, through which the lumps of burned 

 lime are passed as they come from the kiln, 

 the fine powder so produced being distributed 

 on the land before much of it has passed into 

 the slaked condition. It is doubtful whether 

 the effect of unslaked lime is greater than that 

 of the slaked form, but grinding is a con- 

 venient way of securing equal distribution 

 throughout the soil, and it also facilitates 

 the application of smaller dressings. It is 

 now a common practice to apply 10 to 30 cwt. 

 of ground lime per acre, and under certain 

 circumstances it is probable that the results 

 justify the cost. But in many cases it is 

 doubtful whether the application of lime, 

 either slaked or unslaked, produces much 

 effect. This is one of the matters that must 

 be considered by each farmer individually, 

 and it is only possible to obtain reliable in- 

 dications that may be applied in practice by 

 instituting field trials. 



Large dressings of lime are chiefly used 

 for the purpose of eradicating or preventing 

 that troublesome disease of turnips called 



