LIME AND OTHER SOIL AMENDMENTS 123 



or two weeks should intervene between time of application and planting 

 of the seed. The caustic effect may injure the young plants. In the soil 

 lime is converted to the carbonate form and the caustic properties soon 

 disappear. 



Lime should usually pave the way for clover. It is well to apply 

 lime a year or more before the seeding of clover. If this has not been done, 

 it may be put on the land when the seed-bed is being made for the wheat, 

 oats or other crop with which clover is to be seeded. The advantages of 

 applying a year or two in advance of clover lie in the very thorough 

 mixture of lime and soil resulting from the plowing and tilling of the soil. 



Frequency of Application. — The frequency with which lime should be 

 applied depends upon the character of the soil, the rate of application, 

 the length of the crop rotation and the character of the crops grown. 

 It may also be affected by climatic conditions and soil drainage. With 

 good drainage and heavy rainfall the losses of lime will be large, while 

 under reverse conditions they will be comparatively small. In crop 

 rotations five years or more in length, one application at an appropriate 

 place in each rotation should be sufficient. For shorter rotations one 

 application for each two rotations may meet the needs. On soils that are 

 extremely acid and where lime is scarce and high-priced, it may be desir- 

 able to make small applications at frequent intervals until the lime require- 

 ment of the soil is fully met. Sandy soils call for light applications at 

 rather short intervals. On clay soils larger amounts can be used and the 

 intervals lengthened. 



Method of Applying. — Lime should be applied after the ground is 

 plowed and thoroughly mixed with the soil by harrowing or disking. 

 The more thoroughly it is mixed with the soil the better and quicker the 

 results will be. It should never be plowed under, because its tendency 

 is to work downward rather than upward in the soil. Apply lime with 

 a spreader after the ground has been plowed. Do not drill lime in with 

 seeds, nor mix it with commercial fertilizer, nor use it in place of fertilizer. 

 Apply lime to meet the lime requirements of a soil, and when this has been 

 done use manure and commercial fertilizers in the ways that have been 

 found profitable for the crops which are to be grown, regardless of the 

 fact that lime has been applied. 



Relative Values of Different Forms of Lime. — The neutralizing effect 

 of the different forms of lime is given under the carriers of lime on a pre- 

 ceding page. The question of relative money values, however, is a matter 

 of arithmetic, and involves not only the first cost of unit weights of the 

 different forms of lime, but includes freight rates, cost of hauling and 

 the work of applying it to the land. In this connection the purity of the 

 product must always be taken into account. Impurities entail the 

 expense of freight and hauling of worthless materials, and increase the 

 cost of the active portion of the lime. The cost of lime in any locality 

 will depend largely on the presence or absence of limestone or some other 



