i6o 



Liming in Herefordshire. 



[may, 



j^Tq, of Carbonate 

 Sample. Name of Quarry. Silica. Magnesia, of Lime. 



Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 



i8. 



Ross (Howie Hill) 



9-00 



? 



89-10 



1 6. 



St. Margarets (Whitehouse, 











*' Lime Kiln ") 



9-20 



? 



88-00 



c 

 O. 



Mocktree (Grey Limestone) ... 



8 -So 



? 



85-50 



7. 



Mocktree (Blue Limestone) . . 



12-70 



? 



85-10 





Grendon Bishop (Newbury) 



II -lO 



1-08 



84-44 





Mordiford (Little Hope) " . . 



15-70 



? 



81 -40 



14. 



Fownhope (Rugend) 



16-90 



9 



80-20 



8. 



Aymestrey (Pyon Wood) 



17-65 



? 



79-20 



3- 



Ledbury (Bluestone) 



19-30 



? 



75-90 



12. 



Drybrook 



1-50 



19-69 



55-80 



II. 



Great Doward Hill (Black- 











stone) 



2-40 



20-23 



54-30 



The agricultural value of limestone depends upon its purity 

 and richness in lime. The above results, therefore, indicate 

 the respective value of the several samples No. 10 is excep- 

 tionally rich, and Nos. i, 4, 2, 5, 15, and 9 may be regarded as 

 good agricultural limestones. Nos. 7, 17, 13, 14, 8 and 3 contain 

 too much insoluble silicious matter to be useful for agricultural 

 purposes, either in the form of ground limestone or caustic 

 burnt lime. Nos. 12 and 11 are magnesian limestones frequently 

 regarded as of inferior value, but, nevertheless, distinctly 

 valuable for treating sour soils. 



If ground into a fine powder the lime in samples 10 and 3 

 — respectively the richest and poorest in lime — is completely 

 dissolved in a very weak solution of citric acid {i.e., i part citric 

 acid in 1,000 parts water) ; if, therefore, the limestone could 

 be reduced to a fine powder it would be admirably adapted 

 to the Red Sandstone soils of Herefordshire. 



Distribution of good Agricultural Limestone. — The above 

 Report of the County Analyst is exceedingly valuable, and 

 shows how fortunate the county is so far as the situation of 

 good agricultural limestone is concerned. 



The soil east from Hereford is a stiff clay soil, which requires 

 liberal dressings of burnt or caustic lime in order to bring the 

 soil down into a nice friable condition. In this area excellent 

 limestone quarries exist at Cradley and Ledbury, both well 

 supplied with lime-kilns. Limestone burning was being carried 

 on at Cradley at the time of sampling the stone, and Ledbury 

 has since commenced the work. 



South of Hereford the soil is a sandy loam, on which it is 

 better to use lime in the mild or unburnt form. The large 

 supply of a pure limestone on the top of Doward Hill is very 

 valuable ; all that is required for local use on the land is to 



