io6 SOILS 



The lime-spreading machine now does very excellent 

 work, and has been so improved that it will very likely 

 supersede all other methods of applying lime to the soil. 

 It has this point in its favor: the work can be done 

 quickly ; it can be done while lime is still in a fresh state 

 and before it loses its active properties. And here is an- 

 other fact you should remember : incorporate lime into 

 the soil by means of a harrow as soon as applied. You 

 will make a mistake if you wait for a rain, for it may be 

 long in coming. Unless a very heavy rain falls, so as to 

 carry the lime applied into the soil, you will likely lose 

 much of its value, since it readily returns to its carbonate 

 nature its state before it was burned when locked in 

 store. 



How much lime to use? How frequently? Sand soils 

 are influenced most favorably by rather small applications 

 of lime; say, from 200 to 1,000 pounds per acre of slaked 

 lime and twice the quantity if either ground limestone or 

 ashes are used. It is believed that slaked lime long ex- 

 posed to the air is best for sand soils. Larger applications 

 of lime may be given clay soils from 400 to 2,000 pounds. 

 For such soils, burned limestone and water-slaked lime 

 are preferred, usually, before either ashes or ground lime- 

 stone. 



Lime may be applied every five or six years, using it 

 before the crop in the rotation that is most helped by the 

 application. 



Lime is helpful to bacteria. You will recall the fre- 

 quent allusions that have been made to the bacterial life 

 of the soil ; to the presence of immense quantities of those 

 microscopic plants that always are working for the im- 

 provement of soils ; that plant food may be rendered 

 available ; that air nitrogen may be gathered in and se- 

 cured for on-coming years; that the entire body of the 



