BuEEAu OF Ageicxjltueb. 75 



GEOUND LIMESTONE DEMONSTEATIONS. 



Out of the funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1914, the Department of Agriculture saved sufficient to 

 purchase two lime pulvers. By the time they were secured 

 and started, the season was late and only a limited num- 

 ber of demonstrations were given. These were started 

 again in May, 1915, and ran until November. The bad 

 weather and short working days made it impracticable 

 to run this machine during the winter months. Each 

 machine has been able to make about fifty farmers dur-. 

 ing the season, and it has been the policy of this Depart- 

 ment to grind not exceeding fifty tons of limestone for 

 one farmer. The farmer furnishes the engine, the ma- 

 terial and the labor and- boards the man in charge of the 

 machine, while the Department has furnished the ma- 

 chine and the per diem of the man in charge. As a re- 

 sult of this work, the value of ground limestone in sweet- 

 ening the sour soils of the State is gradually being im- 

 pressed upon the land owners. Farmers adjoining rail- 

 roads can secure as a usual thing limestone at a reason- 

 able price from rock crushers operated by private 

 parties. It is the farmer, who lives several miles from 

 any station, who finds it impractical to buy ground lime- 

 stone and haul it to his farm. Experience shows that it 

 costs about 25c per ton per mile to move this material. 

 If the farmer has to haul this exceeding six miles it runs 

 the total cost in the neighborhood of $3.00 per ton. The 

 machines owned by this Department have demonstrated 

 to the farmers and to various communities through the 

 co-operative ownership of ouq of these machines' that 

 ground limestone can be had at a cost of from 50e to 

 $1.00 per ton on the farm. The value of this material 

 as a soil corrective has been demonstrated beyond the 

 shadow of a doubt. Leguminous crops, such as alfalfa, 

 clover, cowpeas and soy beans, that have been failures 

 heretofore, flourish on soil covered with four or five tons 

 per acre of this ground limestone. Some idea of the 

 popularity and value of this work may be gathered from 

 the fact that four years ago there were about seven 

 places in Kentucky where ground limestone could be se- 



