MAGNESIAN LIME 



was injured when magnesium was added, 

 and that the injury was checked when cal- 

 cium in equal amount was added to the 

 water. The theory was worked out that a 

 soil should not contain a greater total 

 amount of magnesium than of calcium, and 

 as the soil's supply of calcium tends to leach 

 out more readily than the supply of mag- 

 nesium, it was best to use a high-calcium 

 lime. If this discovery of the laboratory 

 had been carried into the field, its signifi- 

 cance would have dwindled to zero in the 

 case of normal soils, and a lot of exploita- 

 tion would have been rendered impossible. 

 As it was, the discussion went merrily along 

 until it occurred to some one to test the mat- 

 ter in the soils where plants grow, and one 

 would now hear little of it if commercial 

 interests were not at stake. 



2. Very much of our limestone supply is 

 high in magnesium, and some men who 

 have limestone very low in magnesium and 

 high in calcium have done a good stroke of 

 business for themselves by deepening the 

 public's impression, due to laboratory tests 

 with water cultures, that magnesium in 

 lime is injurious. 



3. Many people knew "lime," but had no 



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