PKEPAKING GKOUND FOE TBANSPLANTS 53 



burnt, and the ash, with all other available wood ash, 

 added to the heap. 



The heap should be sprinkled with lime and turned 

 frequently to hasten decomposition. 



Lime also helps to destroy weed seeds, or forces them 

 to germinate before the compost is ready for appli- 

 cation. 



It should be sparingly used, especially if the compost 

 or leaf-soil is to be spread on the beds upon which Douglas 

 Fir, Weymouth Pine, Spanish Chestnut, or Sycamore, are 

 to be planted, as an excess of lime will check growth and 

 injure their vitality. 



Other trees, such as Beech, Ash, Larch, and Corsican 

 Pine, thrive well on limy soil. 



On soils deficient in lime very sandy soils, for instance 

 it may be applied direct if there is a good supply of 

 humus, as lime is not only a plant food in itself, but also 

 sets free from humus several other useful and necessary 

 plant foods, such as nitrogen and ammonia, and neutralizes 

 humic and other deleterious acids, thus sweetening the 

 soil. On clays its action sets free potash and other salts, 

 and also makes the soil friable and more easily worked. 



It should preferably be applied on the fallow ground 

 with the leaf-soil or other manures. 



The use of too much lime will in time impoverish the 

 soil, unless a good supply of vegetable matter is added. 



Basic slag, a by-product of steel manufacture, is often 

 used, and as it contains a good percentage of lime, besides 

 other compounds useful as manures, it is as good a form 

 as any in which to apply lime as manure. Gas-lime is of 



