250 
ECONOMY IN BUILDING MATERIALS, ETC. 
the stable. The door is about one foot from the 
ground ; to it leads the inclined path as seen in 
fig. 71, and this path holds just as many sheep as 
there are spaces between the door posts. Should a 
sheep force its way to the door, it will displace an¬ 
other on the side, which has to jump off, and take 
Fig. 71. 
mechanical ; for, while in a caustic state (quick¬ 
lime), it acts more promptly in producing those 
chemical changes which follow from mixing it 
with the soil. Even in the half-caustic state of 
spontaneously-slaked lime, its effects are more rapid 
and more quickly seen, than when it is entirely in 
a carbonate, or unburnt state. But the prin¬ 
cipal benefits arise from the minute state of di¬ 
vision into which the lime is brought by burn¬ 
ing and slaking. When the burned limestone 
is slaked, if it is tolerably pure, the lime falls, 
or crumbles, to a powder—finer, probably, than 
any which could be produced by mere mechan¬ 
ical means—finer, certainly, than any to which 
the farmer could bring it, by any crushing ma¬ 
chine he could afford to employ. 
The chief advantages to be derived from this 
fine state of division of lime, are, first, it may 
be diffused more equally and more universally 
through the soil, and thus go much farther 
in improving it; secondly, it more readily com¬ 
bines with acid substances in the soil, and 
therefore sweetens it more readily and more 
quickly ; and thirdly, it comes into closer con¬ 
tact with the organic substances in the soil, 
such as roots of grass, straw, leaves, &c., and 
thus promotes more fully those chemical chan¬ 
ges which are constantly going on in every 
fertile soil, to produce which, is one of the use¬ 
ful purposes for which lime ife added to the 
land. 
The above remarks are not intended to ap¬ 
ply to such beds of impure limestone as may be 
employed for the manufacture of cements and 
hydraulic mortars ; for these, when burnt and 
ground to a powder, cannot be applied for the 
improvement of land in the usual way, with¬ 
out combining with the water, or moisture, in 
the soil and shortly become as hard as stone. 
its turn with the rest; whereby no injury is done 
to ewes in a high; state of pregnancy .—Condensed 
from Patent-Office Report. 
THE USE OF UNBURNT LIMESTONE AS A 
MANURE. 
Will you, or any of your correspondents, 
through the medium of the Agriculturist, give reli¬ 
able information concerning the value of marble, 
such as is found in Arlington, Vt., as a manure ? It 
has been recommended by some to be equally as 
beneficial as plaster, and it is believed that it can 
be obtained in this section of the country at much 
less expense. S. R. Gray. 
Shuban , N. Y., May 3l|j, 1848. 
In a district where fuel is scarce, and limestone, 
or marble, plentiful, it might be cheaply crushed 
into a powder, by means of water power, and thus 
be economically prepared for improving most kinds 
of soil which are deficient in lime. But no lands, 
in which calcareous matter naturally abounds, nor 
those containing a large proportion of imperfectly 
decomposed vegetable remains, such as bog roots, 
moss, &c., can possibly receive any immediate bene¬ 
fit by the use of unburnt lime, unless it be to ren¬ 
der them mechanically lighter. 
The benefits derived from burning lime for agri¬ 
cultural purposes are partly chemical and partly 
ECONOMY IN BUILDING MATERIALS. 
Farmers and others of this country too frequent¬ 
ly build for temporary use. It would be much bet¬ 
ter for themselves, and surely for their posterity, 
were they to employ, in the construction of their 
dwellings and out-buildings, the most durable mate¬ 
rials to be had. The habit of building in the man¬ 
ner which has long been practised, had its origin 
from necessity—to supply the immediate wants of 
the early settlers. Since that time, the necessity, in 
most of the states, has been removed. From the 
cheapness of labor, and the abundance of materials, 
buildings may now be erected, which, with slight 
repairs, will last a century. 
All kinds of lumber, hitherto employed in the 
construction of houses, every year, are becoming 
more and more scarce, and the sooner their use is 
discontinued, the better it will be for the present 
and future generations—and give place for their in¬ 
exhaustible and better substitutes, iron, bricks, and 
stone. 
The outer walls of buildings might be construct¬ 
ed of bricks or stone ; the beams and rafters may 
be formed of wrought or cast iron; the roof may 
be covered with copper, slate, iron, or tin : and the 
covering of roofs, partitions, floors, &c., can be 
made of copper, iron, or tin. 
The time is fast approaching when buildings can 
