300 On Liming Land, 



very strong mortar for building, but is not used for 

 plaistering, being granulated and not very white. I sup- 

 pose it to be similar to that described by Dr. Darwin, 

 which he supposes to have been primitive lime, broken 

 down by the action of water and petrified a second 

 time, which he thinks is the strongest lime. 



The following summer was very dry, which together 

 with the heat of the lime, I supposed to be the cause 

 why the corn became stunted and produced almost 

 nothing. In the spring of 1809, the land was ploughed 

 and sowed with oats and clover, the other part of the 

 field which was now in rye, was likewise sowed with 

 clover at the same time, and as soon as the clover be- 

 gan to appear above ground, the whole field was sowed 

 with plaister. 



At harvest the oats was a very good crop, the rye was 

 tall and well eared, but rather thin ; perhaps it was 

 owing to this circumstance, that the clover among the 

 rye looked better, and more plentiful than that among 

 the oats. I had not seen it, until Wednesday the 4th 

 instant, when I found that part of the field which had 

 been limed, closely covered with fine clover, whereas 

 on that part which was not limed, almost the whole of 

 it had perished last winter, and what plants remained 

 were weak and sickly, and abundance of wood-grass 

 beginning to appear, with which the field used to be 

 almost covered while it lay a common ; whereas not one 

 plant of it is to be seen on that part which was limed. 

 From this I concluded, that if the system of improving 

 with clover and plaister without lime, should succeed in 

 the end, it must be by a number of re])etitions of the 

 same process, which would require time and labour 



