LIME. 99 



spoken of, it behoves the agriculturist to see 

 that a return of this matter is made to the soil, 

 and in no way can it be either more efficiently 

 or more economically restored, than by the use 

 of urine and animal excrements. 



The specific action of the phosphates of lime 

 and magnesia, the two combinations in which 

 it is most frequently met with will be described 

 under their respective heads, any notice of 

 them here, therefore, would be superfluous. 

 It is simply necessary to note that the phos- 

 phates contained in the urine of all carnivorous 

 animals are the excess over and above that re- 

 quired to supply the waste of the body, and 

 which is thus thrown oflf as refuse matter. 



ON LIME. 



Lime exists abundantly, combined with va^ 

 rious acids, in all parts of the globe, and there 

 are few districts in which this essential sub- 

 stance is not abundant. Indeed so universally 

 diffused is this salt, that every plant that has 

 yet been analyzed, with only one exception, 

 contains a portion of lime in some state or 

 other, which it must have derived from the 

 soil in which it grew. Wheat in flower, when 

 ripe, the straw, the bran, all yield lime when 

 analyzed ; so likewise do barley, oats, vetches, 

 the leaves of various trees, the bark, timber, 

 &c. ; indeed this substance is so universally 

 present in all parts of the vegetable structure, 

 that it may be fairly assumed to be an integral 



