552 |AssErtfB2.7 



made and is very effective in an even and rapid spreading of the 

 lime. 



John Lodge^ of Jersey, had practiced lime spreading these 40 

 years in his gardening and farming. He carted on the land quick 

 lime directly from the kiln; laid it in small heaps at proper dis- 

 tances apart — put some soil over them, which had the effect of 

 slaking the lime, thus giving the land the Avhole benefit. The 

 heaps were afterwards scattered as evenly as possible over all the 

 field. 



The President called on the members to propose subjects for 

 the next meeting. 



"Agricultural implements ordered to be continued, and graft- 

 ing to be considered." 



President Pell remarked that scientific men in Germany now 

 say that the goodness of the soil depends upon its inorganic con- 

 stituents, so far at least, as they are soluble in water, or through 

 a continued action of carbonic acid. And in no case do the or- 

 ganic substances contained in the ground perform any direct part 

 of the nutrition of plants. 



The annual destruction of organic matter over the earth is esti- 

 mated at two and a quarter billions of cubic feetj and if all ve- 

 getation depends upon organic matter for nutrition, to satisfy this 

 consumption, there must have been five thousand years back, ten 

 feet deep of pure organic substance on its surface. 



In a plant ot any of our ordinary crops, more than two hudred 

 grains of water must pass through it for a single grain of solid 

 substance to accumulate within it. The evaporation from an 

 acre of wheat during the period of its growth, is 114,860 gallons 

 of water, about 73,510,000 gallons per square milej with clover 

 it is more, with peas less. 



One thousand pounds of dry calcareous sand will gain two 

 pounds weight of moisture in twelve hours. 



An acre of poor grass has been knov/n to exhale, in one hun- 

 dred and twenty days of active vegetation, six millions of pounds 



