129 
If the stable manure used has straw for esate it usually 
n 
manure with at least two hundred pounds per acre of sulphate of 
potash, or four times that amount of kainit. 
here is no question more disputed than the need of lime on 
of potatoes, and reducing the yi f watermelons and okra, 
it is generally conceded that lime is beneficial to nearly all of the 
or y garden crop ets, beans, and ce are all 
ticularly affected in yield and quality by moderate application: 
of li ce heavy fertilization and thorough till lway: 
result in a heavy loss of lime by le le achin g away in wig ate ainage 
rand the deca f ave: 
at least half a ton per acre should be applied every second year. 
soil neutral in its reacti It is, moreover, certain tha e 
bacteria which le the leguminous plant: use the nitrogen 
of the air thrive best in the presence of lime. It is that 
plant growth, even when present in minute amounts, and that 
these products are not found in soils which contain a proper 
proportion of lime. 
With these primary factors of fertility in mind, it is 
hy 
an 
properties by controlling the escape of water by evaporation, 
admits air into the soil to supply the plant roots, acts directly 
