LIME AS AN ADJUNCT 89 



manures. But they do not render any service in securing 

 nitrogen from the great storehouse of the air. But that 

 is one of the main things for which we grow pod-bearing 

 plants. 



The man who sows clover on a well-manured field can- 

 not tell whether his clover crop is getting any nitrogen 

 from the air or not and many a farmer is deceived in this 

 way. He grows the clover for a year or two and then 

 turns under the clover sod, believing that he has thus 

 added to the nitrogen in his soil. But as the soil had in it 

 much acid, the bacteria did not exist and the farmer had 

 really been removing nitrogen from his field in the clover 

 and hay crops, leaving the soil with less nitrogen in it 

 than it had before he sowed his clover. 



If a man wishes to find whether his soil contains too 

 much acid for leguminous (or pod-bearing) crops, let him 

 sow his clover seed on soil that has not been manured at 

 all or that has not been manured for many years. Better 

 still, let him buy some seed of sweet clover and sow 

 that. If this plant grows well he does not need lime; 

 for it will not grow where there is a large amount of 

 acid in the soil. But many soils will be so acidy that 

 these plants will not grow at all or will make a sickly 

 growth. 



In that case lime should be applied. It is safe to apply 

 it at the rate of a ton to the acre, and if in the form of 

 carbonate of lime more can be used without any injury 

 to the crops or the soil. Lime can be applied either in 

 the form of quicklime or in the form of carbonate of lime. 



