No. 151.] 383 



It is deeply to be regretted that chemists have not made their in- 

 vestigations more accurate respecting lime, and its mode of action, 

 so that the agriculturists might be enabled to judge with certainty its 

 power and its action upon certain kinds of soils. Much money that has 

 been uselessly expended, besides infinite labor thrown away, might 

 all have been saved to the farmer, had chemists devoted more time 

 and attention to this all important subject, and the results would not 

 have been, as they generally are now most contradictory j without 

 scientific analysis, not only of the soil, but the lime, we may err 

 greatly in its use, and cannot proceed too cautiously. Bear in mind 

 that lime actually in itself, contributes only in a limited degree to the 

 growth of plants, as it constitutes but a small portion of their bulk, 

 and that its use is mainly to operate upon the soil and its constitu- 

 ents, decomposing animal and vegetable substances, and rendering 

 them sufficiently soluble by the aid of water to furnish food for 

 plants. 



I have used lime advantageously on a light sandy soil, in which 

 there was no vegetable substance for it to act upon; it appeared to ope- 

 rate mechanically, by combining all the fine particles of sand togeth- 

 er, giving them the consistence of soil, and attracting from the at- 

 mosphere moisture, all of which induced a fine growth of grass; thus 

 adding to it vegetable mould, rendering it tenacious, and sufficiently 

 fertile to favor the germination of a succeeding crop. It is a little sin- 

 gular, that if a small portion of a pasture field be limed, the cattle 

 kept in the field will invariably eat the grass growing upon it in 

 preference to other portions; the lime corrects the acidity, and there- 

 by produces rich palatable herbage, which is much enjoyed by stock. 



By the General Report of Scotland, it appears that there, " in 

 the best cultivated counties, lime is now most generally laid on fine- 

 ly pulverized land, while under a fallow, or immediately after being 

 sown with turnips. In the latter case, the lime is uniformly mild; 

 in the former, quick-lime is used, as it is considered beneficial in de- 

 stroying weeds, and as having a powerful effect upon the fly. On 

 some of their lands, the effect of lime is still conspicuous after the 

 lapse of fifty years. But in whatever manner this most powerful 

 stimulant is applied, the soil should never be afterwards exhausted 

 by a succession of grain-bearing crops, a justly exploded practice, 

 which has reduced some naturally fertile tracts to a state of almost 

 irremediable sterilty." 



