158 Liming in Herefordshire. [may. 



These results are of great value in showing that land of this 

 kind can benefit considerably by a dressing of Hme in addition 

 to artificial manure. There is no doubt that much land in 

 the country is not yielding up to its fullest capacity owing 

 to deficiency in lime, and needs treatment on similar lines. 



Transport and Labour DSffioulties. — Before the need for in- 

 creased supplies of lime can be met two difficulties in regard 

 to transport and labour have to be overcome, viz. — • 



(a) Ground lime has to be brought from 60 to 100 miles, 

 i.e., from Derbyshire or Somersetshire, by rail, with heavy 

 railway expenses ; alternatively 



(b) The clot or lump lime, which is available in adjacent 

 counties (e.g., Radnorshire and Monmouthshire) can be 

 transported to Herefordshire by rail at a smaller cost per 

 ton, but as it has usually to be distributed by shovel it 

 needs to be supphed at a much greater rate per acre than 

 ground lime ; hence there is no saving of expense. 



In the face of the expense involved, farmers are naturally 

 reluctant to purchase lime for their land. 



Local Limestone.— Having regard to this fact, the Agri- 

 cultural Education Sub-Committee considered the possibility 

 of utilising the local supplies of limestone for agricultural 

 purposes. These supplies consist of Silurian Limestone in the 

 eastern and northern parts of the county, and Carboniferous 

 Limestone in the south, while Cornstones occur in small quan- 

 tities distributed throughout the Old Red Sandstone formation 

 of the central and western parts of the county. With a little 

 arrangement it should be possible largely to overcome the 

 difficulties experienced in securing lime from a distance, by 

 developing local supplies, if only limestone of a satisfactory 

 quality could be ensured and the amount available were 

 sufficient to encourage enterprising firms to take up the 

 matter. 



Estimated Amount required for Ai^ricultural Purposes. — It 



would seem that ^lere is justification for anticipating a suffi- 

 cient demand. There are approximately 150,000 acres of 

 arable land in the county at present, which ought to receive 

 a minimum dressing of, say, 2 tons of lump lime per acre (or 

 10 cwt. of ground lime at least once in eight years). On this 

 basis, 37,500 tons of burnt lump lime (or, say, 10,000 tons of 

 ground lime) would be required each year for liming arable 

 land in the county. 



