374 
weeks a pulverulent mould very value ble ae a fertiliser. 
The action of lime on mineral matter is equally 
important ; it facilitates the decomposition and trans- 
formation of the soil's insoluble elements; iu clayey 
and volcanic soil it hastens the disasiociation of the 
insoluble silicates and sets free the silica and alkalies 
of which they are composed. (" Alkalies " is here 
used in its chemical sense and not as the colloquial 
term for those mischievous aggregations of alkaline 
salts which are so prevalent in the great interior 
valleys of "Western America, tnd in Iudia, where it 
is called "reh."— Tram.) 
The action of caustic lye in a soil is very energe-ic, 
particularly during (he fiist year, but before long it 
is changed into carbonate of lime, the cfteelh of 
which are felt for many years. 
In most cases lime does not act as a manure, it 
simply aids in the as imilation of the organic and 
mineral princip'es of the toil. When used without 
fertilisers it must then exhaust the soil, Bince 
it favors the absorption of the insouble and inert 
matters therein contained; furthermore, since it 
great'y increases the yield, it results that the VIOrt 
one limit the more must one fertilise. 
This exhaustion of the Boil by copious and repeated 
liming in the absence of any important feruli-iug 
is no reason against ite use. It is plain that the 
lime draws out the insoluble reserves of the soil ; 
but this reserve is wholly useless if it is not asti- 
milable, and one has every interest to devel pe it 
and to make it contribute to the production ol . 
The abuse of lime may be dangerous, because from 
its mode if action it is plain that In avy liming may 
momentarily decompose a very large amount of 
fertile elements which are liable to be carried away 
by rains, unless the vegetation is eble to utilise tbem 
as fast as they are tet free. 
Nearly all the estates of Guadeloupe can be im- 
proved by the rational use of lime; as well the lower 
lands, which are clayey and rich in organic matter 
as the high volcanic soils. The amount to use varies 
according to the soil ; in Guadeloupe it must be 
considerably less for those light soils on the higher 
levels than for the clayey ones of the lower lauds. 
In liming every five or six years, at each rep anting 
one may use with light soils 25 to 40 hectolitres pet 
hectare (I hectolitre equals 2"8 bushels, and 4 hectare 
equals 2'4 acres), aud with heavy soils 10 to 60. 
Au excessive liming has a'ways less inconveniences in 
strong clayey soils than in either light or sandy soils. 
Liming has always given good results in Gua- 
deloupe when done piopeily, and it would be advan- 
tageous to practise it on a larger scale than has 
usually been done. As it would be difficult to lime 
while cane occupies the land, it is best to do so 
before planting aud after the fir.-t work has been 
done towards bieaking up au old field or prepaiing 
a new one. In order that the lime be evenly 
distribnted it must be reduced to a fine powder. 
A partial slacking with water will do this, but it is 
preferable to scatter the lime in little heaps at regular 
intervals over the field, and then to cover them with 
eaith. After a fortnight the lime and its earth y 
cover are mixed and spread over the soil. Liming 
during heavy rains must be avoided, as the water 
renders the iime pasty and consequently difficult to 
S ^WWle these methods are noteworthy because of 
their simplicity we would, however, specially recom- 
mend the following:— During hoeing large quantities 
of weeds often accumulate about the edges of a held 
and in order to transfoim them into valuable compost 
it is advisable to make use of the decomposing 
action of lime. For that purpose a ternate lay is 
of weeds and lime are piled up and the whole 
covered with the earth. Afcer thoiongh decomposi- 
tion of the vegetable matter the pi e is a 1 stirred up 
and spread over the fields. In this way we have 
converted all the cumbersome weeds into a lime 
compost, the good effects of which are beyond the 
least douht. ' 
After spreading the hue lime evenly over the he d. 
and before making the ridges for planting, it is well 
to give the soil a good harrowing. The Jime should 
not be put in the furrow, but always spread uni- 
formly on the surface. It is necessary when liming 
to avoid fertilising at that time because the line 
iu reacting on the unstable punciples of the ferti- 
liser may set free and cause a more or less consider- 
able loss of valuable fertile elements. Th s action 
wi 1 be lees to fear if the reaction is produced in 
the heart of the soil, because li eu the vo.ati'e 
elements may be absorbed and fired ; but it is better 
not to run this chance of loss aud to lime before 
fertilising. 
[The author, in the above article, has said nothing 
about the wonderfully favourable aciiou of Jime in 
promoting a better tilth — mechanical rendition — of 
clayey toils. Even a small percentage of lime will 
render a waxy adobe most brittle and pulverulent, and 
tiansform it from an obstinate |utty-like moss to 
a granuUr friable soil which works well. 'I he lime 
causes the smooth clay to flocculate, to aggregate 
into little lumps which thus lender Uie whole mass 
brittle. Everyone hub noticed on clayey soils that 
puddles eif water are slow to deposit their suspended 
mud and that they remain turbid even till completely 
dried up when suspended clay is seen lining tue 
bottom of the puddle with a hard, deuce layer. Such 
soils have a poor tilth and can be most astoi.ithiugly 
improved by liberal use of lime. Furthermore, nine 
is a strong irouioter of the formation of sugar.— 
T,a„i.] 
THE BLACKWOOD OB MVDGEIABAH. 
[Atatia melano^ylmi, K. Br.) 
By J. H. Maiden, Consulting Botanist to the New 
South Wales Government. 
It is called " blackwoc d " on accouut of the very 
dark colour of the mature wood. • • • 
Botanical name. — Acacia, from «r , a point (Celtic), 
or «/.</ .«, I thai i eu, (Gr-ck/, as many of the tpeaee 
are furnished with spines. Spines are, however, the 
i xception iu Australian species. MeUuueglom; this is 
fr m two Greek wcrks signifying "black wood," und 
Robert Bown, the botai ist, who ad pted this desig- 
nation, simply translated the commonly accepted 
colonial name- 
Exudation. — Many of our Acaciat yield gums, but 
I have never seen gum on a blackwood, although I 
have carefully looked f r it in different parts of New 
South Wales and Yictcria, and upon trees growing 
under widely different cucunistances. 
Bark. — The bark of this valuable timber-tree has 
usually gone to waste after the woxl has been ob- 
tained from the logs. Baron Mueller says: "The 
bail' is, however, rich iu tannic ucid, aud ought not to 
be left unutilized, though no trees of this species 
should be sacrificed for their bark alone." This may 
be true as regards Victorian trees, but I have not 
seen any new South Wales blackwcod larks of much 
value. One from an oldish tree from Mouga, near 
Br idwood, y. elded 1112 per cent, of tannic acid, 
and 20:63 per cent, of extract. 'J his is the only 
specimen 1 have subjected to chemical analysis, but 
I have loughly tested other barks of the same si ecies, 
aud am inclined to think that blackwood bark is 
very inferior for the purposes of the tanner. 
Timber. — I his is considered by some people to be 
be the most valuable of Australian limbers. Perhaps 
this is a bold claim to n ake bearing in mind the 
high merits of such limbers as ironbaik and red 
cedar, but it is undoubtedly a timber of the highest 
class, happily combining an ornamental chaiacter 
with great strength. It is hard and close graiued, 
and is much valued for furniture, hi 1 Hard-tables, 
cabinet-woik, picture frames, gun-stocks, walking- 
sticks, crutches, tool-handles, railway and ether car- 
riages, boat-building (stem and stern-posts, ribs, 
i udder), naves of wheels,, parts of cr. ans, j iano- 
fortes (sound-boards and actions i, and many other 
purposes too numerous to individualise. Biackwood 
i-, strikingly like Am lican waluut in most r, sjects, 
in fact the former is probably ofien substituted for 
the latter without the purchaser being any the wiser, 
the incentive being that w Jnut biings abe ut a 
shilling a foot, and blackwood about a fourth of 
that price in the Sydney market. If blackwood.be 
