FERTILIZERS AND MANURES. 55 



tenacious soils, rendering them of more open texture, 

 and making the organic matters therein available to 

 plants. It, on the other hand, makes light soils more 

 adhesive, acting as an amendment. It decomposes 

 organic matters, whether vegetable or animal, and forms 

 with them a partially soluble compound peculiarly fitted 

 for the food of plants. But as it has the property of setting 

 free ammonia, it should never be applied in connection with 

 fresh animal manures. Mixed with stable manure or guano, 

 it would speedily free them from nearly all their am- 

 monia, that indispensable and most costly constituent 

 of the food of plants. 



This will not happen to any great extent, and there will 

 be little loss, if the mixture takes place in, and both the 

 lime and manure are entirely covered with the soil, which 

 will at once absorb whatever ammonia the lime sets free. 



The great value of lime, aside from the small quantity 

 direct!}' available to plants, is in hastening, as above 

 stated, the decomposition of decaying matters in the soil, 

 and rendering them assimilable by plants. The old black 

 mould of kitchen gardens and other soils rich in humus, 

 it will suddenly render wonderfully productive, and they 

 will consequently speedily become exhausted, unless new 

 supplies of organic manures are added. Lime alone, 

 added to a soil, will speedily exhaust it if the crops are 

 removed and no return of manure is made. 



Dr. Hilyard, in the Tenth Census Reports on cotton 

 production, makes the following admirable deduction 

 concerning the use of lime in soils: 



1. "A more rapid transformation of the vegetable mat- 

 ter into active humus. 



2. "The retention of such humus against the oxidizing 

 influences of hot climates. 



3. "It renders adequate for more profitable culture 

 percentages of phosphoric acid and potash so small that 



