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By John R. Spencer ■ "» 



The survey on quality of agricultural 

 limestone available to farmers of the state 

 has recently been completed by the soil im- 

 provement (department of the lAA. This 

 work gives the quarry location, method of 

 operation, calcium carbonate equivalent test 

 (CCE), screen score, percentage of material 

 passing and 8 mesh screen, and price per 

 ton. AH possible care is used in making 

 the survey in order to give accurate, un- 

 biased facts on a quarry's production, be- 

 fore an official report is released. 



These are sent to all Farm Bureau offices in 

 the area served by the quarry and are avail- 

 able there to the farm public. 



The purpose of this work is to main- 

 tain a high standard of quality in limestone 

 used for neutralizing sour or acid soil. The 

 calcium carbonate content should run as 

 high as the rock material permits and the 

 grinding should be fine enough so that 80 

 per cent or more will pass an 8 mesh screen 

 (64 openings to the square inch). 



During the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 

 nearly 200 samplings including resamples 

 were made on 123 limestone quarries in and 

 adjacent to Illinois. The quality of lime- 

 stone available to farmers is revealed by 

 this work to be good in most sections of 

 the state, although, the department rec- 

 ommends that prospective purchasers in- 

 spect these reports since limestone quality 

 does vary between different quarries. 



The price of liming material ranges in 

 the state, from 75 cents to $2 per ton 

 F.O.B. quarry. 



The general labor shortage is affecting 

 both production and distribution of materials 

 and thus this department also recommends 

 that farmers cooperate fully and utilize 

 every available opportunity to get their 

 limestone hauled and spread. 



A survey made by the state AAA com- 

 mittee last spring of "farmers intentions to 

 lime" showed that a total of 6V2 million 

 tons of limestone would be used if obtain- 

 able. Quarries are doing a good iob of 

 production under the present shortage of 

 labor. In two quarries that for normal oper- 

 ation require 80 men each, one was operat- 

 ing with 55 and the other with 46 men. 



A limestone company in Logan county 

 reports that it produced and sold 16 thou- 

 sand tons of limestone in September and is 

 operating on a 10-hour work day. 



The Illinois crop of about 68 million 

 bushels of soybeans now being harvested 

 will remove from the soil more than 100 

 million pounds of phosphorus (P) and po- 

 tassium (K) and 16 million pounds of cal- 

 cium. Soil conscious farmers will take 

 steps to replace these fertilizer elements in 

 a plant food program. 



Ground com is satisfactory for dairy cattle 

 as long as grass is succulent. But as the 

 season advances, protein should be included 

 in the grain mixture. 



(not Inc.) presents the 

 annual, stupendous 

 phenomenon entitled 



WINTER 



starring the famous 

 villains, "Jack" Frost, "Windy" Blizzard, and "Icy" Radiators, and the 

 famous hero u;ho foils these villains, the popular 



^P.T." PERMA-TYPE 



Seriously, folks, it's time to get your car, truck, and tractor ready for cold 

 weather. Change to winter oil, of course. Make sure your radiator is 

 leak-proofed with Ajax cooling system compounds before putting onK- 

 freeze in the radiator. 



Blue Seal Perma-Type Anti-Freeze is non-rusting and will not boil away. 

 One fill lasts all winter. 



Due to military requirements, supplies of P.T. are limited. However, on 

 ample supply of Ethyl alcohol containing rust inhibitor is available. 



ILLINOIS FARM SUPPLY CO., Chicago 5 



DEPENDABLE 



During this strenuous war period, Blue Seal 

 Batteries have delivered the magic spark 

 that has kept the wheels of food production 

 moving on thousands of Illinois farms. 



You can depend on Blue Seal 

 magic power Batteries to supply 

 the extra energy needed for cold 

 weather starting. 



ILLINOIS FARM SUPPLY CO., Chicogo 5, IH. 



NOVEMBER, 1944 



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