Mance: Quarry Industry of Southern Indiana 135 



Amount of Limestone to Use. The amount of crushed 

 hmestone necessary to correct the acidity of a soil depends on a 

 number of things, among which are the location of the field, 

 whether hillside or flat land, the degree of acidity, and the fineness 

 of the limestone used. Hillsides lose their lime faster than flat 

 land, but the accumulation of acid is also slower than on flat land. 

 If a rather coarse limestone is used the hillside will need most 

 limestone. The degree of acidity determines the amount of 

 limestone that will be used up soon after its application, and so 

 determines the amount that will be left in the soil to correct 

 any acidity that may occur later. The finer the limestone is 

 ground, the quicker will be its action and the sooner will it be 

 used up and dissolved. Accordingly a ground limestone that 

 contains both coarse and finely ground stone is the best. The 

 larger lumps present may remain several years before being 

 entirely dissolved and used by the soil. The best average quantity 

 to use is about 2 tons per acre every 4 years, unless the soil shows 

 an acid test in the meantime. If it does, increase the number 

 of applications rather than the amount used at one application. 

 This amount should keep almost any soil ''sweet". A large 

 percentage of the acidity of the soil comes from the capilarity 

 of the soil, which causes the waters of the soil to rise bringing 

 with them the acids of the subsoil. If the subsoil is very acid 

 the amount of limestone should be increased. The time of year 

 for spreading crushed limestone makes little difference, but the 

 spring, before the the spring rains, is probably the best. 



Cost of Crushing Limestone. Cost data on the cost of 

 crushing stone are very difficult to obtain with any great degree of 

 accuracy on account of the number of factors to be reckoned 

 with. Dat.a are, however, available for certain plants already 

 in operation on a given kind of stone. One such plant operating 

 in the Oolitic stone belt is located at Oolitic, Ind., and the operat- 

 ing company is the Stone Products Company of Bedford, Ind. 

 The superintendent, Mr. E. W. King, has furnished the follow- 

 ing data: 



The plant has been in operation a little over one year and in 

 that time the business has made a steady increase. The 

 demand for the crushed product is growing till the operators 

 are thinking seriously of the feasibility of enlarging the plant 

 so as to increase its output. The present plant represents an 

 investment of approximately $7,000 and the following figures 



