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Scien tific A r/riculh i re. 



to one and a half tons of lime per acre applied every live to six years is sufficient. 

 There may exist extreme soils requiring either more or less than these amounts. 

 If soils which are quite acid and have not previously been limed are to be seeded, 

 with the intention of allowing them to remain in grass for several years, as much 

 as two or three tons of lime per acre may sometimes be advisable. Only very 

 extreme cases would call for larger applications. If in a rotation covering a con- 

 siderable number of years two crops especially benefited by lime are introduced 

 at about equidistant intervals of time, it may be advisable to lime twice in the 

 course of the rotation, each time just prior to their introduction. In renovating 

 acid pastures and meadows it is usually preferable to apply a fair amount of lime 

 upon the furrows when they are first plowed, so that this may be thoroughly mixed 

 with the soil by subsequent plowing and harrowing; and just prior to seeding to 

 grass make another generous application. By such treatment, provided the other 

 essential fertilizing ingredients are employed, a good stand of clover, Kentucky 

 blue-grass, timothy, and other grasses may be obtained where in many instances 

 they were formerly partial or total failures and where only redtop. Rhode Island 

 bent, and grasses having similar soil adaptability could be grown. Where land 

 is kept in grass for a number of consecutive years, top-dressing with lime or, prefer- 

 ably, wood ashes may possibly be advisable in some instances, particularly if 

 ordinary commercial fertilizers are employed in lieu of stable manure. If home- 

 mixed dressings containing basic slag meal or liberal amounts of bone are used 

 with nitrate of soda or nitrate of potash, the need of liming is much less than 

 under many other circumstances. 



WHEN TO APPLY LIME. 



Lime in the form of carbonate of lime, as in marl, wood ashes, etc., can 

 usually be applied with safety in the spring or at any other season of the year, but 

 autumn is always the safest time to apply caustic or slaked lime. The latter form 

 upon further exposure to the air changes gradually into the mild carbonate of 

 lime, but usually a considerable quantity has not reached that stage when applied, 

 and it may in consequence act too energetically. This is particularly true if the 

 soil is light and sandy, and if plants, which are but little helped by lime, are 

 employed. On very acid soils, particularly such as contain much humus, there is 

 little or no danger from applying reasonable quantities of lime in the spring. If 

 caustic or slaked lime is applied in excessive amounts it may not only injure plants 

 directly, but also indirectly by rendering the texture of the soil unfavourable ; it 

 may also make the soil temporarily so alkaline as to interfere with the activity of 

 the organisms which transform ammonia into readily assimilable nitrates. Injury 

 thus arising cannot ordinarily be of long duration, for the reason that the carbonic 

 acid of the soil changes the caustic lime rapidly into carbonate of lime, and thus the 

 alkalinity of the soil is soon reduced. 



HOW TO APPLY LIME, 



Some writers recommend that upon old mossy meadows and pastures lime 

 should be applied to the surface before plowing, in order that it may help to quickly 

 decompose the organic matter. The chief objection to this procedure is that the 

 lime does not become well incorporated with the soil, and since some of it is turned to 

 the bottom of the furrow and its tendency at all times is to work downward, it 

 may be quickly carried not only away from the surface soil, but also from the reach 

 of plants. The practise of liming such soils immediately after plowing and then 

 thoroughly harrowing has been attended by excellent results. This is particularly 

 the case provided a second application is made in a similar manner just previous 

 to re-seeding. Under such a plan some lime becomes intimately mixed with the 

 entire mass of soil by the operations of tillage, and finally a considerable amount is 

 left near the surface, thus accomplishing two important objects. 



