Liming Land, 
AMKIUCAN AaillCULTTJRTSi^r 
Thus pmct.cc, which is so common in British 
agnculiurc ,s but little known in our country 
outside 01 .New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In I 
recent visit to the grain growing districts of 
States, wo found lime as highly esteemed 
as> manure, and u regular jiart of their rotation 
^ elsewhere. Where lime 
can be ha,1 at ten cents a bushel and under, as 
> c.an in all the limestone regions of Pennsyl¬ 
vania, 11,e practice is almost universal. It is 
used a goo.l deal on farms, far distant from the 
lune-kiliis, where it costs at the depot or canal 
twenty cents a busliel and upwards. The con¬ 
viction ..fits utility in these States may be said 
to be universal, and if it is not used, it is either 
O'' ing to the high price of the article, or to the 
tact that agriculture receives little attention. 
It is applied by some to tlie sod immediately 
aaer inowing, ami this sod is turned under 
* u ler in the fall or in the spring for corn. It 
IS . laimcd that the lime stimulates the growth 
of grass, and affects favorably every crop in the 
rotation. It would be impossible, without lim¬ 
ing, to keep up the grain farms to their present 
degree of productiveness. It is also claimed 
f.r the summer application and the spring plow¬ 
ing, that it distributes the lime more equally, 
and keeps it near the surface. The lime which 
has l>een carried down by the fall and winter 
rains, is brought to the surface again when the 
sod is inverte,!. By this method also, the lime 
has more time to act ui>on the inert material in 
the 8.>il, and to prepare plant food for the sub¬ 
sequent crop. Other farmers are quite as cer¬ 
tain that the best lime to apply lime is upon the 
inverted .sod in the sprimr, while the ground is 
iweparing for corn. Tiiey want to keep the 
lime as near the surface as possible, ami have 
no fears of its late action upon the crop. The 
quantity applie.l to the acre is from thirty to a 
hundred bushels, depending somewhat upon the 
character of the soil, the price of the lime, and 
the theoretical views of the planter. The better 
the soil, that is, the more clay ami vegetable mat¬ 
ter it contains, the more lime it will bear. Some 
think a hundred bushels quite too much, and 
that so much has a tendency to turn the stalks 
yellow, and to diminish the yield. Smaller 
quantities, s.ay f,om 30 to 50 bushels, are more 
comnK.nly applie.l. The lime is usually brought 
from the lime kiln or depot in its caiustic state, 
and is dropped upon the Laml in heaps where 
it is to be used. It is there slaked b\' the ap¬ 
plication of water, and is about doubled in quan¬ 
tity by this process. It is then spread as evenly 
as possible over the laml. This makes a cheap 
dressing for the land even at twenty' cents a 
bushel. The effect is very clearly marked where- 
ever it is used. It keeps up the fertility of the 
soil, and makes remunerative crops even with¬ 
out manure. Of course, with manure the crops 
are larger ami i)ay better. The question very 
naturally -arises, if liming land will pay in other 
districts where it is not now usedi* Without 
answ'ering this question at once in the allirma- 
tive, we think the results in these States are such 
as to encourage every farmer who can get lime 
at a reasonable price to make tiie e.xpcriment. 
We have abundance of lime rock in regions 
'vhere it is not burned at all. The conviction 
is .{uite common that it will not p.ay to use lime 
upon limestone soils, but in Pennsylvania the 
effects of the application are quite as marked 
upon these soils as upon any other. Then it is 
supposed that it is a difficult and expensive pro¬ 
cess to bum lime. Yery much of this article is 
"■<! shall show h. an 
■ rlhM 1 shJ "■ill. the 
1 ou^hest and cheapest kinds of fuel. Wherever 
there ,s hme rock and cheap fuel, we have no 
doubt the hme can be furnished at less than 
twenty cents a bushel. lu the vicinity of cities 
and large towns, oyster shells accumulate in 
qu.antities, and can be put to better use than road 
making and grading. They are easily reduced 
"•ith brush or peat, and afford cheap lime and 
generally of better quality than the rock yields. 
We desire to have the experiment made in other 
States on a scale large enough to settle the 
question. We believe many of our farmers will 
doubtless find it to their interest to use lime 
When to Turn in Clover. 
In the regions where green crops are turned 
under for manure, there is a diversity of practice. 
Some plow when the crop is in its most suc¬ 
culent state. The rule for clover is when the 
heads are about half turned brown. The reason 
offered for this practice is, that the bulk of the 
crop is then the greatest, and it undergoes most 
rapid decomposition in the soil. Others do not 
plow in clover until late in fall, and after it has 
been well pastured. The reasons they give for 
this practice are: 1st, that turning in the clover 
green, makes the soil sour, ami has a tendency 
to bring in sorrel. 2. It has a bad influence 
upon subse.iuent crops. 3. In waiting until 
fall, you have the advantage of pasturing, and 
if the cattle are kept upon the pasture, as they 
should be, everything the field produces is re 
turne.l to it 4. More carbonaceous matter is 
returned to the soil. What you lose in tops, 
you gain in the roots of the clover, which have 
four or five months longer to grow. 5. Better 
crops follow. Some of the best farmers in Penn¬ 
sylvania follow this method altogether. Others 
still wait until the following spring, and turn in 
the clover just as it begins to grow. 
deep is drilled in the stone, the bar inserted, and 
the remaining space filled up with melted sul¬ 
phur or lead. The stones 
used are of such a size 
that by the aid of the 
posts, which would af- 
foid a powerful lever¬ 
age, several-might bo 
easily loaded upon a 
stone-boat, and distrib¬ 
uted along the line of 
the fence. Mr. Millar 
attaches the panels to 
one on each side, and 
„ pinning them together. (Fio- 21 
hook anS 
‘1 ,. nd those of a permanent fence might be 
TJ.oT„ , '7 ii Jwire. 
lie posts need not be more than 2’L to 3 feet 
ong to support the panels of a 4 or 4 M 2 -foot 
no r m ? claimed are that the 
posts wdl last long, that they will stand on the 
top of the ground, that they may be easily moved 
and reset, or straightened up, and that they may 
be made in winter. Two furrows or mo- 
the posts by puttini 
bolting or 
Buckwheat as a Green Crop. 
Mpiere this grain is sowed the 1st of August, 
it A\ill be in condition to plow in for a r 3 ’e crop 
the last of September. We have seen rye taken 
fiom a field four years in succession, with 
no other manure than buckwheat turned in at 
the time of sowing the lye. There was a con¬ 
stant increase in the yield of the grain, showing 
the benefit of the green crop. If the land is 
not strong enough to give a good growth of 
buckwheat, some manure will be necessary. A 
continued succession of grain crops does not 
show good husbandly, but it may answer for 
remote fields, where stable manure can not be 
apjilied economically. The green crops and 
the grain should come in a regular rotation, and 
if the soil is thin, several green crops may be 
turned in, in succession, with profit. 
Plan for a Fixed or Movable Fence. 
We need not apologize for again introducing 
the subject of fences, for it is one which concerns 
every farmer, and the cost of keeping, up good 
fences is (or would be) a drain uponmaiy' farms, 
which cancels nearly all the profits. Mr. W. T. 
Millar, of .Tefferson Co., Wis., advocates the use 
of iron posts 2'|j feet long, made of inch rod, in¬ 
serted in large stones. (Fig. 1.) A hole 3 inches 
Fig. 3. —IRON POST PENCE. 
turned together along the line, would be a good 
substitute for the bottom rail. Tlie strips of 
which tlnyence is made should be narrow, to 
present little surface to the wind. 
The plan of using iron posts is not novel, for 
posts of several forms liave long been used, driv¬ 
en into the ground and braced. The ends in 
the ground rust rapidly; the part above also rusts, 
unless painted with coal tar. When stones can 
not be obtained, it is very easy to improvise 
them with gravel and hj^draulic cement. Simply 
dig a pit, say two feet long, a foot deep, and a 
foot wide. Fill this with the concrete, and insert 
the post in the 
middle, as in fig. 
3. This would, we 
think, be cheaper 
and better than 
drilling holes in 
very hard stones. 
Wooden posts 
may be set in the 
same way —that 
is, by digging holes, setting in the posts, and fill¬ 
ing up with concrete. Use a peck of linie and a 
quart of cement to 2'la to 3 bushels of gravel, 
mi.xed coarse and fine, some of the stones being 
as large as one’s fist. Thus set, gate or fence 
posts will last a life time. 
Fig. 3. 
Work the IMuck Mines.— The spring has 
been so wet that it would not be strange if we 
had a dry summer or autumn, making ponds 
and swamps accessible. Drawing out muck to 
some spot easily reached, always paj’s the farmer 
well. He should keep on hand a large bank of 
muck, and the larger and older the better. The 
sunshine, rains, and frosts, are always improving 
it, as the rank growth of weeds on such heaps 
abundantly proves. It is always available then 
for the yards, stables, or privies, or wherever 
deodorizers are wanted. Composts can be made 
on short notice, and top-dressings administered 
just at the right time for grass field or garden. 
