MINERAL MATTER FOR CORN LAND 147 



" Williamson " ^ method of corn culture advocates the 

 withholding of soluble nitrate fertilizer until the plants 

 are six to eight weeks old, thus tending to retard stalk 

 growth but to give the needed stimulus at the time when 

 ears are forming. 



West of the Missouri River, where the soil is loose and 

 nitrification begins early in the season, it often happens 

 that on very fertile soil a vigorous spring growth is stimu- 

 lated, and later, if the season proves unusually dry, the 

 growth cannot be sustaineid; and such fields suffer more 

 than do fields in a less fertile condition. On the other 

 hand, with abundant water supply those fields would have 

 been more productive. 



LIME 



105. Lime is an essential element required by plants. 

 It is not commonly applied as a fertilizer, as only about 

 12 pounds of lime are required by a 50-bushel corn crop, 

 and most soils are abundantly supplied in so far as having 

 sufficient lime for plant growth is concerned. 



The most important use of lime is as a soil amendment, 

 when it assists in several ways in making the soil more 

 favorable for plant growth : — 



1. Acid in the soil is neutralized. 



2. Potash and phosphate in the soil are made more 

 readily available. 



3. Organic matter decays more rapidly and the organic 

 nitrogen and minerals become available to plants in less 

 time. 



4. The soil is made a more favorable medium for bene- 

 ficial bacteria forms. 



1 The WilUamson Plan. S. C. Agr. Exp. Sta., Bui. 135. 1908. 



