^rRYHO^ai 
p Horo'WesOTSi 
Vol. LXVII. No. 3052 
NEW YORK, JULY 25, 1908 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR 
HOW LIME IS PREPARED 
Heavy Use on Clay Soils. 
Fig. 264 will show the 
quarry of James E. Reichart, 
Montour Co., Fa. Here we 
have a typical quarrying 
scene. This quarry is 
equipped with a steam drill 
(the boiler house and steam 
pipes showing in Fig. 264) ; 
horse railway and up-to-date 
dump cars. Two sets of 
tracks lead from the quarry 
to the kiln sheds, one a sur¬ 
face track, the other an un¬ 
derground tunnel, enabling 
the quarrying to be carried 
to a great depth. This tun¬ 
nel connects with the P. & R. 
R. R. about 500 yards from 
the quarry. The tunnel and 
quarry were originally 
opened to supply limestone to 
the iron furnaces, but the 
furnaces being moved else¬ 
where the lime kilns were 
built near the tunnel’s 
mouth, and now the stone 
can be brought to the kilns 
by either way. Fig. 262 
shows the tunnel exit, kiln 
shed and lime shed, also a 
car being loaded. After the 
stone is quarried it is taken 
to the kiln, broken into suit¬ 
able sizes and placed in the 
kiln with alternate layers of 
coal. As fast as the burned 
stone or lime is drawn out at 
the bottom of the kiln more 
stone is filled in above, Fig. 
263. The capacity of the 
plant is about ‘500 to 800 
bushels per day when in full 
operation. Our method of 
using the lime on our farms 
may be quite different from 
many. Living within a few 
hundred yards of the kilns, 
it does not take us long to 
lime a field. The lime is 
wheeled on the wagons from 
the kilns, and we are loaded 
in a few minutes. 
In unloading two methods 
are used. If we are liming a 
field in the Fall for our Win¬ 
ter crops, after the field has 
been plowed and usually har¬ 
rowed once or rolled, we 
drive through the field, shov¬ 
eling the lime off on small 
heaps. Here it is left until 
slaked. I his usually takes a 
few days unless rain wets it, 
when it will be ready to 
spread in a few hours. If we 
are liming in the Winter or 
Spring on sod for corn it is 
usually spread broadcast 
from the wagon, but here 
care must be taken to have 
the large chunks well broken 
np. Some to have it evenly 
spread drag a heavy pole 
THE TUNNEL FROM QUARRY AND THE KILNS. Fig. 2G 
DRAWING OFF THE LIME FROM TLIE KILNS. Fig. 26 
over the ground. If liming 
in the Autumn on wheat 
stubble we usually use lime 
previously slaked. Others 
who live far away from the 
kilns haul at any convenient 
time and place in large piles 
in the fields where it is to 
be used. Here it may be left 
for months lying to slake un¬ 
til it is wanted for use, when 
it is hauled around and 
spread. As to the quantity 
used, that depends on the 
ground to be limed, and how 
much one can afford to ex¬ 
pend. 
In our vicinity no one 
thinks of using less than 50 
bushels to the acre, unless it 
is very dry upland, but on 
our heavy clay bottom soils, 
naturally wet, we use any¬ 
where from 50 to 200 bushels 
to the acre, but usually about 
65 to 100. The men who are 
our heaviest lime users are 
raising the best crops. But 
as I said before, the money 
side must be looked after. 
We get our lime for eight 
cents per bushel at the kilns, 
where to the man who must 
have it shipped or hauled a 
great distance the expense is 
considerably more. On this 
account many are using more 
of the commercial fertilizers. 
We do not wish to be under¬ 
stood to oppose commercial 
fertilizers, but we do want to 
use lime and all the barn¬ 
yard manure we can get in 
addition. Our farmers who 
have not spared the lime and 
who have kept their land 
well drained, using what sta¬ 
ble manure they could make, 
are the ones who are grow¬ 
ing the best crops to-day. 
Another point is to buy good 
lime. Lime that has been 
burned from good blue bot¬ 
tom rock is white and floury, 
whereas if top stone, slate or 
rotten stone are used the 
lime will be quite yellow, 
sandy and almost worthless. 
A piece of good lime on slak¬ 
ing should be very white, and 
will almost double itself in 
bulk. It is like everything 
else; one must know what to 
get, from whom to get it and 
how to use what he has got. 
If these are observed no 
mistakes will be made. 
GUY A. MOWREY. 
Montour Co., Pa. 
R. N.-Y.—We have fre¬ 
quently referred to the litmus 
test as a means of learning 
whether the soil needs lime, 
which acts on the soil both 
chemically and physically, lib¬ 
erating food elements, aiding 
nitrification and improving 
capillarily. 
