126 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



SECTION 9. Common Salt as a Manure. 



A certain quantity of salt is very necessary in most soils for the 

 nourishment of all the crops we cultivate on a farm. Arable lands 

 along our coasts frequently get a sufficiency of this manure from the 

 strong winds blowing off the sea inland. Salt has a very beneficial 

 influence in improving grass-land when applied as a topdressing. I 

 have used it with great success along with a topdressing of lime. Cattle 

 eat the grasses more sweetly where they have been topdressed with salt. 

 I have already stated that salt has a remarkable property of strengthen- 

 ing the straw of cereals. Upon a large farm in Forfarshire I used to 

 apply upwards of twenty tons annually to it, although part of the lauds 

 was liable to be submerged by the tide. Salt destroys small weeds, 

 especially mosses, in a grass-field. It is essential in growing mangold- 

 wurzel, as that plant contains a large proportion of salt in the roots and 

 the leaves. 



SECTION 10. Lime. 



* 



All our stiff clay soils, old pasture-land, peat soils, and all soils con- 

 taining a quantity of vegetable matter, require a regular manuring of 

 lime, and are much benefited by it. It is also of great utility on soils 

 resting on the granitic formation. Some soils may not require lime ; 

 these can easily be known by a very simple test given to us by Dr 

 Voelcker, who states : " Put a small quantity of soil in a tumbler, and 

 pour upon it first a little water, and then a good deal of spirits of salts 

 or muriatic acid. If this addition produce a strong effervescence, there 

 is no need of applying lime to the land ; if no effervescence is produced, 

 in all probability liming or marling will be useful." 



The quantity of lime required per acre depends very much on the 

 kind of soil, and upon the kind of crops which is to follow it. Wet 

 soils take a larger quantity than those that are dry or have been drained. 

 In reclaiming waste lands, it is always beneficial to apply a heavy dose 

 at first, especially if there is much vegetable matter in the soil. Land 

 which is in regular cropping should receive stated quantities at regular 

 intervals, and it is necessary to do this at least once in a rotation. 



Lime should always be applied to the surface of the soil, as it has a 

 natural tendency to sink down. Eains wash it into the soil and gra- 

 dually carry it into the subsoil. If the land is wet in the subsoil, the 

 lime is then dissolved and carried away into the substrata ; hence the 



