The Story -Book of the Fields 



The lime must never be buried with the seed ; 

 for in contact with it the young shoots would 

 be burned. Nor must the lime be mixed 

 with the manure before use ; for in that 

 case there would be an abundant exhala- 

 tion of ammonia, which is one of the most 

 powerful agents in vegetation, and which 

 would thus be utterly wasted. Lime and 

 manure must always be used separately. 



Marshy, clayey or granite soils are those 

 in which lime produces the greatest effect. 

 The important results produced by the dis- 

 tribution of lime, have given rise in many 

 countries to its manufacture by rapid and 

 powerful methods, solely with reference to 

 its use in agriculture. In Mayenne, a dis- 

 trict of France where a great extent of barren 

 clay soil has been converted into rich mea- 

 dows and cornfields of exceptional fertility, 

 the lime is manufactured in huge kilns, 

 twelve yards high, renting against the cliff 

 that provides the chalk, and sometimes the 

 fuel also. 



All animal remains provide excellent man- 

 ure. Such are old woollen rags, fragments 

 of leather, scrapings of horn, the dried blood 

 from slaughter-houses, or flesh unfit for 

 human food. All these matters are rich in 



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