1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
355 
LIME AND LAND PLASTER . 
What a Chemist Says. 
On page 286 you say land plaster will not take the 
place of lime. I am satisfied you are right, and satisfied 
also that it is an accident, because you do not under¬ 
stand the action of plaster nor of lime. If it will not 
take the place of lime, why will it not? If land plaster 
split and the sulphuric acid left the lime you would in 
time have carbonate of lime, don’t you think? If you 
had soluble carbonate of lime you would have exactly 
what you want if you needed lime, would you not? If 
the correction of the soil’s acidity was the great desid¬ 
eratum, lime would be most effective when first applied, 
would it not? The reverse is true, and lime is most 
effective remote from the time of application. Have 
you cured the soil by rendering it alkaline? I think 
not. You have chemical stagnation to overcome, and 
enough of carbonate of lime dominates the situation. 
When you kill a soil by a heavy application of lime 
the first crop to show it is a legume. I believe it is 
the first time that statement was ever made. It can lie 
contradicted, but not corrected, because it is' a rock- 
bottom fact. Land plaster compensates for much of the 
mischief carbonate of lime does, because it is a source 
of sulphur and a substitute for potash with clover. It is 
either potash or sulphur, one or both, that carbonate 
of lime in the end affects so disastrously. I want to 
interrogate The R. N.-Y. You say: “In an acid soil 
the Timothy will largely disappear, while 
the Red-top will thrive.” At the end of the 
lime route, which will be on top, the Tim¬ 
othy or Red-top, provided no manure was 
used in the interim ? Please pass it on down 
to the foot of the class, and if the class can’t 
answer it get another class, and if you can 
get any information on this point let me 
have it. J do not need the information, but 
I want to challenge the class, informant. 
Comment by Prof. H. J. Wheeler. 
Referring to the statements made and the 
questions raised by your correspondent, I am 
obliged to confirm the opinion that The R. 
N.-Y. is right, and that in the case of acid 
soils gypsum cannot perform all of the func¬ 
tions of lime. In a case of ill effect from 
the use of sulphate of ammonia, upon an acid 
soil at this station, lime corrected the condi¬ 
tion entirely, but gypsum or land plaster 
failed utterly. In field trials made several 
years ago it likewise failed to give results 
anywhere near approaching those obtained 
with lime, both in the case of table beets 
and sugar beets. Probably no one will ques¬ 
tion that possibly land plaster may be a 
greater liberator of potash than ordinary 
lime, though perhaps it has not been satis¬ 
factorily proven in all particulars. The rea¬ 
son why it will not take the place of lime is 
that the lime in the land plaster is already 
combined with a strong mineral acid, hence 
it cannot unite with and neutralize the acids 
of the soil. It is possible, in land that is very 
moist and filled with organic matter, that 
sulphate of lime may be reduced, and that 
the sulphur may pass off into the air com¬ 
bined with hydrogen as a gas, in which case 
the lime would be changed into carbonate 
of lime. This does not, however, take place 
to more than a slight extent in ordinary no- 
land soils, even when they contain a con¬ 
siderable amount of organic matter, as has been abund¬ 
antly demonstrated at the Rhode Island Station. 
Your correspondent is right in assuming that if car¬ 
bonate of lime were derived from the land plaster it 
would be exactly what is wanted if lime is required, 
but the facts of the case are that this does not happen 
to any practical extent, as has just been stated. 
Your correspondent would make it appear that lime 
is not immediately effective when added to soils, and 
therefore it cannot have corrected acidity. Perhaps he 
tried to correct the acidity by sowing the lime broad¬ 
cast over the surface. If so, it is no wonder that lie 
did not accomplish the object desired. If the lime is 
sown on the furrows, and is most thoroughly mixed 
with the soil by harrowing, it does correct the acidity 
immediately to such an extent that plants like beets, 
lettuce and spinach, which are tremendously sensitive 
to soil acidity, thrive splendidly. Many experiments at 
this station have demonstrated conclusively that your 
correspondent is not right when he states that lime will 
not correct acidity immediately. By applying lime to 
such soils they are usually improved chemically, and the 
fermentations and changes taking place within them 
render them far more favorable to plant growth. 
Your correspondent says that when you kill a soil by 
heavy applications of lime, the first crop to show it is 
a legume. Even this is by no means necessarily 3 o, 
since certain plants, of which the cranberry and water¬ 
melon may serve as examples, are likely to be very much 
more injured by extensive applications of lime than even 
some of the legumes themselves. Perhaps your corre¬ 
spondent does not recognize the fact that some legumes 
are almost invariably injured by liming, while others, 
among which are most of the clovers and Alfalfa, are 
greatly benefited. At all events, a farmer would be very 
foolish to apply such large quantities of lime as to be 
disastrous to-most plants; in fact, at present practically 
all authorities on the subject recommend using moderate 
applications at reasonable intervals, rather than to em¬ 
ploy such large amounts as were frequently applied in 
earlier times. It is, of course, possible that a soil may 
lack sulphur in an assimilable form to such an extent 
that the sulphur contained in land plaster may be use¬ 
ful, yet such conditions are probably extremely rare. 
His statement that land plaster is a substitute for 
potash with clover is subject to the greatest criticism, 
for clover cannot be grown without potash. There can 
be no question, however, that in certain soils the appli¬ 
cation of land plaster liberates and makes available for 
the plant some potash which it would otherwise have 
difficulty in obtaining. Your correspondent states very 
emphatically that it is either the sulphur or the potash 
that carbonate of lime affects disastrously in the end. 
This is, to say the least, a remarkable statement, and it 
should be substantiated by some experimental evidence. 
He will probably look for a long time to find a case 
where soils have been seriously injured by proper appli¬ 
cations of lime, in either way which he suggests. 
It becomes my duty to uphold the editor of The R. 
N.-Y. in his statement that in an acid soil Timothy will 
largely disappear while Red-top will thrive, for it is a 
fact that has been shown repeatedly in experiments at 
this station. A case in point is that of two plots which 
had been treated exactly alike as concerns all of the 
manuring excepting that one had been limed and the 
other had not. Both received like amounts of Timothy, 
Red-top and clover seed. In the unlimed plot it was 
practically impossible, after two or three years, to find 
a single stalk of clover or Timothy, and both were very 
nearly absent even in the first season. The land was, 
however, almost fully occupied by Red-top. Your cor¬ 
respondent want sto know if this would have been the 
situation had no manures been used in the interim. 
Now, really, it makes very little difference whether such 
would be the case or not, for no man whose land really 
needs manuring would think, of proceeding in such a 
ridiculous manner as to omit the manure entirely, and 
if the land were producing satisfactory crops, certainly 
liming would not be called for. H. j. wheeler. 
Rhode Island Exp. Station. 
R. N.-Y.—Prof. Wheeler’s lucid explanation will be 
of interest to many inquirers. We have received a sur¬ 
prising number of questions on the points discussed. 
SHALL WE RESEED ALFALFA ? 
I have a field sown to Alfalfa last Spring. It seems 
thin, about six or eight inches apart. Plants are small, but 
look thrifty. I can find no nodules. Would you advise lim¬ 
ing, top-dressing with manure or fertilizer, or using inocu¬ 
lated soil? Seed was inoculated with bacteria. Would you 
disk or drag up ground and sow more seed? There is quite 
a mulch on the ground from clippings last year. I am 
anxious for stand regardless of cost. f. j. n. 
I can only offer some suggestions that may be helpful. 
If the plants are thrifty at the present time and like'y 
to grow vigorously, they are still thick enough to make 
a good stand, and it may be well worth while to attempt 
to bring this seeding through. I have known of one or 
two pieces that seemed to have no nodules the first year 
and were treated with soil from an old Alfalfa field 
the next season, with the result that abundant inocula¬ 
tion took place. I should like to sec this experiment 
repeated. Our experience is that liming, manuring and 
fertilizing does good in the vast majority of cases. On 
our heavier soils liming seems to be almost essential 
to success. We find that stable manure introduces weed 
seeds, which in some cases interfere with the Alfalfa 
to as great an extent as the manure itself benefits the 
crop. We are inclined to thin : that for the purpose of 
keeping clear of weeds it is well to recommend com¬ 
mercial fertilizers with inoculation rather than stable 
manure. Soil inoculation has been much more uni¬ 
formly successful with us than seed inoculation by 
means of cultures. However, we hope to continue the 
work with the bacteria culture, and, be¬ 
cause of the facility and economy with which 
it can be used, hope to find out how to make 
it uniformly successful. j. l. stone. 
Cornell University. 
It is our experience that when Alfalfa is 
not thick enough the first Spring after seed¬ 
ing, it is much more satisfactory to plow and 
reseed than to try reseeding on the sur¬ 
face, top-dressing with manure, fertilizer, 
etc. It would seem that if the plants are not 
closer than six or eight inches, in the long 
run it would be better to reseed. Our seed- 
ings of last Summer are looking splendid this 
Spring; the Winter was apparently a very 
favorable one. e. b. voorhees. 
New Jersey Exp. Station. 
If the plants are six or eight inches apart, 
and are thrifty, and the soil is rich and sub¬ 
soil congenial, a crop will be forthcoming 
with the present stand. If the land is weedy 
and the Alfalfa slow in starting, there may 
be trouble. I would get some inoculated 
soil and sow broadcast if the present roots 
are left. I would not want to top-dress 
with stable manure at this season; there is 
danger of injury to a plant to cover ic 
when growing. If the soil needs fertility 
put on a high-grade commercial manure. I 
would hardly expect much effect from the 
lime if applied now. You want something 
to act quick. In a word, I would, if my soil, 
put on fertilizer, 500 pounds to the acre, sow 
10 pounds of seed per acre, brushing in 
gently, and await developments. 
Lewis Co., N. Y. h. e. cook. 
If your correspondent has Alfalfa plants 
which stand as close as six or eight inches, 
and these plants develop as they should do, 
he has a sufficient number for a good stand. 
The Alfalfa plant stools, so that if there 
is one plant to every square foot a good crop 
of hay may be secured. I would not disk or 
drag the ground, but would recommend a top-dressing 
of acid phosphate and muriate of potash; about 200 
pounds of the former and 100 of the latter, to the acre. 
Connecticut. _ l. a. clinton. 
GOOD OUTLOOK FOR HORSE BREEDING. 
As to comparative profits in stock raising, my obser¬ 
vation teaches me that the average man will succeed 
in the following order: Cows, sheep, pigs, horses. If 
the man has the ability and fancy, sheep by far outclass 
all other stock for a sure thing. At the present time 
horses are very high and in great demand; in fact, in 
the 25 years that I have been in the business there has 
been no time, with exception of 1893 and 1894, but what 
the demand for a strictly first-class business and family 
driving horse has been greater than I could supply. 
The business of horse breeding is the most alluring of 
all, as well as the most risky and hazardous. There is 
no regular market for colts; there is no income from 
horses until the finished product is put on the market, 
unless it be in the Thoroughbred branch, with which 
I am not familiar, but understand that they are sold 
principally at auction as yearlings. I believe that every 
farm should keep at least one brood mare, and the 
general-purpose driving horse will prove the most profit¬ 
able to raise. By that I mean the large, heavy type of 
the American trotter, with a Strong Morgan cross :o 
insure beauty and action. C. a. chapman. 
Vermont. 
THE BLEEDING HEART, DIELYTRA SPECTABILIS. Fig. 149 . 
See Ruralisms, Page 358. 
