LI Mi: AS A MAMliK. 217 



rolafmn a-lopl.-d w.s. Isl . l..vcr. -Jd wheat, M turnips, 4th barh-y, 

 socilcil with I lover. 



Now you put «.n. sav 150 bu.hcls ..f Ihnc for wheal. Afi-r the 

 when the land is manured and sown with turnips. The tiirn.i)8 

 »re eaten off <.n the land by sheep ; and it is reasonable to suppose 

 that on th.. half of th field dressed with lime there would be a 

 mueh heavier erop of turn.ps. These- turnips being eaten oH by 

 the sheep would furnish m-re manure f<.r this half than the other 

 naif Th.n a-ain, when the land was in grass or elover, the 

 lin»ed half w.uild alTord more and sweeter grass and elover than 

 the other half, and the sheip would ninain on it longer. 1 hey 

 would eat it elo.se into the ground, going ..nly on to the other half 

 when th.y eould not gc t «nough U» eat .m the lime.l half. M..re 

 of their droppings would be left on the limed half of the held. 

 The lime, too. would (ontinue to a. t for several years; but even 

 after all direet benefit from the lime had ceased, it is easy to un- 

 derstand why the crops might be better for a long period of time. 

 " Do you think lime would do any good," asked the Deacon, " on 

 our limestone land ? "-I certainly d<.. So far as I have seen, it 

 docs just as much goo»l here in Western New York, as it did on 

 my faMier'8 farm. I should use it very freely if we could get it 

 cheap enouirh-but we are charged from 2.-) to 30 cts. a bushel for 

 it, and I d.. not think at these nites it will piy to use it. Even gold 

 mav be bouir'it to dear. 



"You should burn vour own lime." said the Deacon. " you have 

 plenty of limestone on the farm, an<l could use up your down 

 wood."— 1 believe it woidd pav me to do so, but one man cannot 

 do everythinjT. I think if farmers wouM u.se more lime for manure 

 we should get it cheaper. The demand would increase with com- 

 petition, and we should soon get it at its re.il value. At 10 to 1.-5 

 cents a bushel. I feel sure that wc could use lime as a manure with 

 very great benefit. 



"I was much interested some years airo," said the Doctor, "m 

 the results of Prof. Way's investigations in regard to the absorp- 

 tive powers of soils." 



His experiments, since repeated and confirmed by other chem- 

 ists, formed a new epoch in a-rieullural chemistry. They afforded 

 some new suggestions in regard to how lime may benefit land. 



Prof. Wav found that ordinary soils possessed the power of sep- 



aratimr. from solution in water, the different earthy and alkaline 



substances presented to them in manure ; thus, when solutions of 



salts of ammonia, of potash, magnesia, etc., were made to filter 



10 



