L I M 



L I M 



Lime Huflr.nJry, a term iifed to fignify that fort of ma- 

 Jiat-etnt-nt which relates to the application of lirae on land. 

 See Lime. 



LiME-A';/n, a fort of kiln, conftrufled for tl:? purpofe of 

 burning lime. Kilns of this nacure are formed in a varicly 

 of dificrent ways to fr;ve expence, and anfvver to the parti- 

 cui.ir nature of tiie fuel. See Kiln. 



LiME, Quid, a term applied to lime in its mofl pcHverful 

 or cauftic llate, before it has been rendered mild by the ;ib- 

 forption of carbonic acid gas, or iixed air, from either the 

 atinofphere or the foil. 



l^isi'S.-Jlone, in yigrkuhure, a kind of calcareous ftone, 

 which is capable of beinj converted into lime by means of 

 calcination. It would feem from the remarks that have 

 been already made, in fpenking of the nature of lime, that 

 this fort of ftone exills in different ftates of purity, and con- 

 I'lds of different forts of fubllanccs in difTerent fituations, 

 from wliich much diverfity in its effecls, when converted 

 into lime, is prod'jced ; fome forts being more proper for 

 the purpofes of agriculture, while others are better adapted 

 to thofe of building, &c. Se; Lime. 



It may be worthy of remark, that all fuch forts of iime- 

 ftone as contain impurities, fuch as clay, faiid, or ftony 

 matter in their compofitions, are more proper in general 

 for the purpofes of agriculture, than for thofe of build- 

 ing. Where lime-ftone is plentiful and fuel fcarce, it 

 might be employed for the purpofe of hufoandry with great 

 advantage in its uncalcined ftate, after being pounded or 

 ground into a fine powdery form, by means of mills or 

 other machines. And it is ftated in the Survey of the 

 County of Perth, that in Rannoch, a dillrict of that 

 county very remo;e from coal, a machine was erected by 

 the late commiflioners ot annexed eftates for this purpofe, 

 which was driven by a dream of water. Mr. Stewart, of 

 Crofmount, who faw the machine, the pounded lime-done, 

 and its effetl on the land, favoured the author with the fol- 

 lowing remarks ; " There were two pounders, and a third 

 was afterwards added, all from Carron, at a fmall expence. 

 The pounded lime-ftone was carried from the machine by a 

 fmall run of water to three different ponds, one above the 

 other. The upper pond contained the- groffeft particles, 

 and the lower pond the fmaileft or fincft parts of tlic lime- 

 ftone, which refenibled clay or marie from its fmoothnefs." 

 The middle pond contained that which, it would appear, 

 Mr. Ste%vart thought to be properly pounded ; becanfe he 

 adds, " the run of' water might have been ftroiiger, which 

 would have enabled the mill to double the quantity grinded, 

 which would ferve the purpofe of manure equally well, if 

 not better, than by being pounded fo very fmall. All that 

 was pounded before the machine was carried off by a flood, 

 or the moil of it, was uft-d by colonel Alexander Robertfon, 

 uncle to the prcfent colonel Robertfon of Struan, who had 

 ■a farm in the neighbourhood of the mill. The effects of it 

 were vifible upon the ground, which were Sicwn by the 

 colonel to different gentlcir.cn, and approved of.' It 

 feerhs, however, that before its virtues could be fully afcer- 

 tained by repeated and varied experiments, a torrent in the 

 brook that drove the mill carried all the machinery away, 

 or at lead deranged it fo that it was never reftored. There 

 is, it is fjppofed, little doubt of its beneficial cffcfts on 

 land ; or of its eftefts being more povi-erful, in one ftiape or 

 other, than thofe of the fame quantity of calcined lime- 

 ftone, becaufe the virtues mull !)e in proportion to the 

 quantity of calcareous earth in each. Any given quantity 

 of raw lime-ftone lofes one-third of its weight when burnt 

 Jnto {hells. Nothing is here diffipated except the water ; 

 all the calcareous earth remains. It is alfo found, that any 



Vol. XXI. 



given quantity of nic-IIs produces double that quantitv of 

 powdered or flaked lime. Therefore, a quantity of raw 

 lime-ftone, a bulhel for inftance, has double the quantity of 

 calcareous earth which is in a buftiel of (iaked lime ; coii- 

 fequently its influence as a manure mull be double. Whr,t 

 is commonly fuppofed, and the writer thinks wi'h proba- 

 bility by thofe who ufed both kind?, without makin<»- any 

 accurate experiments, is that the effefts of the raw lime- 

 ftone are .ow, buf more lafting ; of the calcined lime,' more 

 immediate, but lefs durable. 



And it has been ftated in a periodical work, that " tl.tf 

 difierence between lime-ftone, fiefli from the rock, and that 

 which has been cclcined, confifts in the former poffeffing, 

 as one of its principal component parts, a very confidcrabie 

 p.'-oportion of fixed air or carbonic acid, a principle of which 

 it is entirely deprived in the burning, if the operation is 

 properly conducted ; a circumftance well worth the atten- 

 tion of proprietors, as, in that ftate, its beneficial effefts 

 conlift chiefly in the power it poffeffes of ncutralifmg acids, 

 or decompounding metallic oxyds ; but upon the anim.al or 

 vegetable fubftances it meets with in the foil, it can produce 

 no alteration." For " many years ago, an attempt was 

 made by lord Karnes to ufe unburnt lime-ftone as a manure; 

 the fuccefs of which, it is believed, has not been recorded ; 

 indeed, the trial would probably, it is fuppofed, prove 

 abortive, if made upon mofs, or moorifti lands, which, 

 owing to the great quantity of vegetable matter they con- 

 tain, cannot poilibly be benefited by any fubftance poffeffing 

 lefs aftivity than quick or cauftic lime." 



A maciiine for this ufe, that admits of being wrought by 

 fteam, wind, water, or the power of horfes, is reprefented 

 in Plate Anriculture, in which a reprefents a beam, fup- 

 ported by tour ftrong pofts joined together by tranfvert'c; 

 pieces of wood, as fecn in the figure, and at the top fufti- 

 ciently feparated to allow the wheel to work : /', a wheel 

 with a ijroove on the circumference, fufticiently deep to 

 receive tlie beam a, with a large iron fpindle or axis, move- 

 able in a bufli made of bell m.etal : c, a weight of a conical 

 ftiape, of caft iron ; the bafe ftudded with knobs or pro- 

 tuberances, about two inches long, of a diamond fliapc, 

 terminating in a blunt point, and about five inches in cir- 

 cuxference at the bottom : e, the face of the weight or 

 pounder, which is hidden from view in the cut: f, a circular 

 building funk below the furface of the ground ; the bottom 

 prepared by a ftratum of clay, well tempered, and mixed 

 with a proportion of burnt lime-ifcne, powdered without 

 being flacked, and forge aflies beat very fmall. When 

 this is properly dried, abed of fand, about 18 inclies in 

 thickncfs, is laid about it, and paved with common paving 

 ftones, of the kind ufed for ilreets ; which, after being well 

 beaten down, is covered with anotlicr bed of fand of the 

 fame thicknefs, which fhould be paved in the fame manner, 

 and afterwards well beaten down. The foundation of the 

 building fliould be, at leaft, fix feet below the common fur- 

 face ; which allocs iS inches for the clay, 36 inches for the 

 two beds of land, and 18 inches for the two courfes of pave- 

 ment. And the " circumference lliould conlift entirely of 

 hewn ftone, at leaft the uppermoll three feet of it ; the 

 ftones of which ftiould be ftrongly batted together with iron, 

 and fecured on the outlide with numerous wooden poft» 

 drove into the earth, and different courfes of pavcn ent, 

 extending at leaft fix feet all round, carefully laid and well 

 beaten down. A floor prepared in this manner, if it is not 

 ufed too foon, will refift any force that can be let fall upim- 

 it. The lime-ftone laid into it fliould not be too fmall, and ' 

 fliould have a light bedding ot fand, in foil, to give it ftabi- 

 lily. The building may be of any ftzc, according to ^X\i 



I powers 



