CHAPTER IX 

 STORING LIME IN THE SOIL 



Liberal Use of Limestone. Land never 

 does its best when skimped in any way. As 

 we raise the percentage of carbonate of lime 

 in land that naturally is deficient, we give 

 increasing ability to such land to take on 

 some of the desirable characteristics of a 

 limestone soil. It is poor business to be 

 making a hand-to-mouth fight against a 

 state of actual acidity unless the cost of 

 more liberal treatment is prohibitive. The 

 most satisfactory liming is done where the 

 expense is light enough to justify the free 

 use of material. When this is the case, ex- 

 treme fineness of all the stone is undesir- 

 able. There is the added cost due to such 

 fineness and no gain if the finer portion is 

 sufficient to correct the acidity, and the 

 coarser particles disintegrate as rapidlv as 

 needed in later years. 



Loss by Leaching. Another valid argu- 

 ment against extreme fineness of the stone 

 used in liberal applications is the danger of 

 loss by leaching. Soils are so variable in 



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