Lime as an Adjunct in Farming 



Without doubt the judicious use of lime on the fields 

 will greatly increase the aggregate yield of crops. That 

 this liming must be done intelligently is evidenced by the 

 fact that there are some plants that grow better on soils 

 in which there is an abundance of acids than on soils in 

 which the acid has been neutralized by the application 

 of lime. 



These plants, however, are in the minority ; and, taking 

 the plant creation as a whole, far more is gained by 

 liming than not liming. When, however, the subject is 

 sufficiently studied, it will be found possible to leave 

 some areas unlimed on which to grow the plants that do 

 best in an acid soil. 



For the growing of all leguminous plants an acidy soil 

 is objectionable. This is because the minute forms of 

 vegetable life that we call bacteria are destroyed by the 

 acid in the soil, if that acid exists in considerable quanti- 

 ties. These forms of vegetable life are necessary to the 

 development on the roots of the legumes of the little knots 

 or protuberances that we call nodules. In these nodules 

 the bacteria live that take the gas nitrogen and reduce it 

 to a tangible form that can be dissolved in water and thus 

 become plant food. 



It is evident that if these vegetable forms of life can- 

 not live in the soils on account of the acid no work of 

 transforming the nitrogen can go on. In that case plants 

 that bear pods will grow well only so long as they are 

 supplied with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from 

 the soil or are given their nitrogen in the form of 



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