CARBONATE OF LIME. 113 
writer, once remarked that ‘‘Never yet was found 
an abandoned farm in America that had in its soil 
anything like a sufficiency of carbonate of lime.’’ 
Evidence of Lime.—lt is easy to note the evidence 
of lime. Soils rich in it naturally cover with grass, 
which stops erosion, therefore the hills are smooth 
and rounded; roadsides are carpeted with grass as 
though seeded by some maker of lawns; animals 
stand tranquil and content in pastures filled with nu- 
tritious forage; horses grown on soils rich in lime 
have fine forms and much life and spirit; boys and 
girls have good teeth and strong bones; in fact 
nearly all agricultural joy centers around the abun- 
dance of carbonate of lime in the soil. 
Add Limestone.—If you have not enough lime in 
your soil get it. It is a thing fairly permanent in 
itself. The rain leaches it away, the soil acids 
dissolve it. We do not know yet just how fast 
these processes accomplish their object, yet it is not 
probably so very rapid. When you put a ton of 
limestone in your soil it lasts till it has been dis- 
solved by the rain or made inert by soil acids. If 
you put in enough lime your sons will have its bene- 
fits. With it you can set about soil building in good 
courage. With lime enough you can grow clovers, 
grow alfalfa, grow the best grasses. What fertility 
you add through stable manures will not leach away. 
A good German farmer in western Maryland re- 
marked one day as he spoke of the large amounts of 
lime they were burning to apply to their fields: 
‘“‘Yes, Mr. Wing, it may be true that lime is not 
