^more or less accurate lime- require- ^^^^ 

 F ment tests and can give you an approxi- 

 mate idea of the amount of lime that you ^ 

 should apply to the acre. 



"The experiment station will report the 

 amount of lime that should be applied, as lime- 

 stone or calcium carbonate. However, many 

 forms of lime may be used with equally beneficial 

 results. Wood ashes may even be used, though 

 their cost is usually prohibitive. 



"Liming soil has other beneficial results than 

 merely the furnishing of bases for the soil. In 

 very poor soils it acts as a fertilizer or plant food. 

 One of the greatest benefits to be derived from 

 liming is the bettering of the soil tilth. When 

 applied to clay soils, the very fine soil grains are 

 cemented together and consequently the soil is 

 made more porous. On sandy soils the carbon- 

 ate of calcium tends to bind the particles together, 

 making the structure somewhat firmer and in- 

 creasing its moisture-holding power. The prac- 

 tical effect is that liming a sandy soil makes it less 

 leachy, while liming a stiff clay makes it more 

 crumbly; the condition of both is improved. 



"It is also supposed that lime makes the plant 

 food in the soil, especially the potash, more solu- 



ft:} 



29 



