CHAPTER XVII 

 AMOUNT OF LIME PER ACRE 



Soils Vary in Requirement. There is 

 always the insistent question respecting the 

 amount of lime that should be used on a 

 particular field. Usually no definite reply 

 can be safely made. The requirement of 

 the present, and probably of the next few 

 years, should be met by one application. 

 The existing degree of acidity is an un- 

 known quantity until a careful test has been 

 made. There are soils so sour that several 

 tons of fresh burned lime per acre would 

 only meet present requirement, and there 

 are soils so soundly alkaline that they need 

 none at all. This uncertainty regarding 

 amount required is responsible for much 

 failure to do anything, even when some 

 acidity is indicated by general appearance. 



A Working Basis. If land has once 

 been productive and in later years clover 

 has ceased to grow and grass sods are thin, 

 there is a strong probability that liming 

 will pay, and the experience of farmers on 

 normal soils, and the tests of experiment 



82 



