69 PLANT 



NEEDS 



lime, stable manure, green manure, clover and 

 cowpeas to doctor the soil with, when it is 

 suffering from chemical ills. This gives some 

 idea of the vast unexplored regions of agriculture 

 which afford you and every other worker in 

 the soil an opportunity to make some great 

 discovery for the benefit of the world. No other 

 calling offers such limitless opportunities. 



Lime is especially valuable for plant food 

 and also to make other kinds of plant food 

 available. Crops often fail in soil where there 

 is plenty of plant food, because it is not in the 

 form that the plants can use. Lime hastens the 

 decay of vegetable matter, sweetens sour soil, 

 and greatly improves the texture of clay soils. 

 Besides this it counteracts magnesium in the soil 

 and destroys its bad effects. But lime may not 

 be applied carelessly, because, although some 

 plants cannot live without it, some require a 

 very small quantity. (It is, therefore, wise to 

 send a sample of the soil, to write what we want 

 to grow, to the nearest Government experiment 

 station, who will probably suggest what could 

 be done with it, to make it productive.) 



The right degree of warmth is another plant 

 necessity. The best temperature for plants 

 generally is 86° of the ordinary thermometer 

 (30° Centigrade). This, however, depends upon 



