60 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



to afford the sustenance required by vegetables, 

 and so becomes a manure." 



"And how long," said I, "do you suppose 

 lime would take, after being spread on land, to 

 attract a sufficient quantity to afford food to 

 plants ?" 



He replied, " that as the process is compara- 

 tively slow, we do not perceive that much be- 

 nefit is derived from its application by the first 

 two or three crops ; and it is not until the field 

 gets into clover that its utility becomes fully ap- 

 parent." 



" How," said I, " would you recommend lime 

 to be used, so as to be speedily advantageous to 

 the farmer ?" 



"I will," said he, "advise that it bespread 

 on land after it is broken up in the fall, and suf- 

 fered to lay on the surface till the spring ; then 

 harrowed in just before the corn is planted. — 

 The corn may not be benefited, yet the wheat 

 will be, to some extent ; but the clover which 

 follows the wheat will be superior to any thing 

 seen before." 



"Has lime," I inquired, "no power of at- 

 tracting carbonic acid from other sources than 

 the atmosphere ?" 



" Yes," he replied, " the most expeditious way 

 to derive advantage from lime is to put it on 

 clover, or other vegetables, and plough in all to- 

 gether ; by this means there will be immediately 

 an abundant supply for the succeeding crop." 



" Have you ever," said I, " seen any sterile 

 land — I mean such as is very poor — benefited 

 by it, without manure at all?" 



"I have. A soil having too much sulphate 

 of iron, (which is deleterious to vegetation,) al- 

 though the other ingredients are of a character to 

 produce fertility, which will, by the application 

 .of quick-lime produce abundantly." 



" How," said I, " do you account for it V 



" In this way," said he. " By the application 

 of lime the sulphate of iron becomes decom- 

 posed, the acid uniting with the l.ime and form- 

 ing gypsum, which is a manure, and the iron 

 being forced from the acid is no longer hurtful." 



■" Can you," I said, " account for the prejudice 

 that has arisen in the minds of some against the 

 rise of lime ?" 



" It. may," he replied, " have arisen from the 

 use of a peculiar kind of limestone to be found 

 in many parts of our country, and, with diffi- 

 culty distinguished from the common sort, except 

 by chemical tests, which contains a considerable 

 proportion of magnesia — an earth similar to lime 

 in some of its properties, but at the same time, 

 a totally distinct substance, and one that in its 

 caustic state is absolutely poisonous to all kinds 

 of vegetables, if applied in sufficient quantities." 



I shall now trouble you no more with my 

 notes, but as many of your readers are turning 

 their attention to the use of lime, and are ven- 

 turing at first only on a small scale, to see 



whether there be any virtue in it or not, it would 

 be of great importance that they go about it in 

 the right way. And now how shall we account 

 for those persons in the counties I have named, 

 failing 1 They all got their lime from Richmond. 

 Can it be that any lime sold in Richmond has 

 a considerable proportion of magnesia in it ? I 

 should suppose that it would be very easy to 

 test. it. I do not suppose that lime, at its present 

 price, will be extensively used, yet every farmer 

 has a few acres of land near his dwelling that 

 he would be glad to see permanently benefited, 

 almost at any price, and on such lots he is wil- 

 ling to try lime, if it is of no value in producing 

 this effect, it throws a damper over him, and 

 discourages others who hear of his failure from 

 trying. 



James Fife. 



Charlottesville, Jan. 20, 1846. 



AN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 

 In the January number of the Genesee Farmer 

 we find an announcement from Dr. Lee, of his 

 intention to open an agricultural school in con- 

 junction with General Harmon, at the residence 

 of the latter, in the Western part of the State 

 of New York. We wish for this scheme and 

 its distinguished projector all the success which 

 the nature of the one, and the character of the 

 other, are entitled to command. We have some- 

 times jeered the Doctor a little about his san- 

 guine expectations from the science of agricul- 

 ture, but in truth, we esteem him a very learned 

 and able man, and a most devoted friend to the 

 cause. Gen. Harmon is probably acquainted 

 with the mechanical business of agriculture, and 

 between the two we should suppose there was 

 no institution in America better fitted to give a 

 farmer's son that sort of practical, sensible edu- 

 cation that would enable him to keep and im- 

 prove his paternal acres. We believe the day 

 has come when such an institution in Virginia 

 would pay well, and we regret exceedingly that 

 Dr. Lee did not carry out an intention which 

 we believe he once entertained, of trying the 

 experiment in Virginia. What a happy day 

 would it be for the agriculture of the State when 

 such an institution, founded upon proper princi- 

 ples, should be established amongst us. That 

 it would be patronised we entertain not a shadow 

 of a doubt ; but to secure its success, it must be 

 cheap and it must be practical. Suppose an 

 institution to be located in Buckingham, for in- 

 stance ; (we mention this place particularly be- 



