Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1343 
Ground Limestone For Soil Improvement 
P ERSISTENT FERTILITY. — Limestone soils 
everywhere have become famous for their per¬ 
sistent fertility under exhaustive conditions of crop¬ 
ping. The famous black soils of India and Russia 
are derived from limestone. The irrigated regions 
of the Far West are famous for their productive 
capacity when irrigation water is applied, and they 
are invariably well supplied with limestone. These 
facts have become so well impressed upon the human 
mind that it is now well recognized that a limestone 
country is a rich country. Unfortunately limestone, 
so essential to the productivity of the soils, is soluble 
in carbonated water, and may be readily lost from 
the soil, especially in humid areas. Definite data 
from the Rothamsted Experiment Station show that 
some of these soils contain from two to five per cent 
limestone, and that the annual loss of limestone from 
the soil is on an average SOD pounds per acre per 
year. There is an abundance of data showing that 
soils derived entirely from limestone now contain 
no limestone at all. but only clay derived from the 
impurities contained in the limestone. 
The carbonates have been completely 
leached out and lost in the drainage 
water. Since limestone is so essentia! 
to soil fertility and since many of mu' 
soils are deficient in. if not actually 
devoid of. limestone, it is essential for 
the progressive farmer to consider 
ways and means of returning limestone 
to the soil in an economic manner. 
MIXING LIME IX SOIL.—In the 
early use of limestone materials special 
attention was paid to the use of chalk 
and marl, simply because they already 
were in a condition so that they could 
be readily mixed with the treated soil. 
As the importance of the use of such 
material was better realized it was 
suggested that a more extensive use 
could be made by using limestone it 
self, and a convenient way of getting 
it into condition for mixing with the 
soil was by burning it. The caustic or 
hydrated lime thus obtained could, like 
chalk, easily be gotten into condition 
for mixing it with the soil. With the 
great improvement in high power 
machinery for grinding rock it is pos¬ 
sible to secure the finely ground lime- 
stone in such a condition so that it can 
be easily mixed with the soil. 
GROUND LIMESTONE.—The finely 
ground limestone is now the most con¬ 
venient, economical and desirable form 
to use for the purpose of correcting soil 
acidity. It represents the natural materia! already 
found in most fertile soils. There is no possibility 
of any injurious effects, such a' undesirable destruc¬ 
tion of soil organic matter or the partial sterilization 
of the soil. Based entirely upon economic grounds 
with respect to the actual cost of material for pro¬ 
duction of crops, it may easily be shown that the 
finely ground limestone is the most desirable form 
to use. Limestone 'ground sufficiently fine for soil 
improvement may be purchased for $2 or $3 per ton 
delivered at the farmer's home station in Illinois. 
Burnt lime costs from $8 to $12 per ton under simi¬ 
lar conditions. There is an abundance of data to 
show that an application of two tons of limestone 
per acre every four years is a desirable and profit¬ 
able amount to use, as it will be shown later. The 
treatment of an SO-acre farm would require 100 tons 
of limestone, costing $.'120 for the complete treatment 
of the farm. When limestone is burnt it loses 
approximately two-fifths of its weight, and the effi¬ 
ciency of the material for soil improvement is not 
changed at all. The 1.200 pounds of caustic lime still 
has the same power to neutralize soil acidity as the 
cue ton of finely ground limestone. True, there is 
less material to handle, but the cost is much greater. 
The ton of limestone costs $2, -while the 1.200 pounds 
of caustic lime produced therefrom now costs $4.SO. 
For the treatment of the 80-acre farm only 96 tons 
of caustic lime is now required, hut the total cost is 
S7GS. The handling of the extra 64 tons of material 
iu the fiuely ground limestone is made with a saving 
of $44S in cash, or $7 per ton, which is surely suffi¬ 
cient compensation, at least, for the extra work. 
PENNSYLVANIA EXPERIMENTS. — The best 
data the world affords regarding the comparative 
value of finely ground limestone and caustic lime 
upon the production of crops is the experiment work 
nf thi“ Pennsylvania Experiment Station, the 35-year 
average results which have recently been published. 
The rotation practiced was corn. oats, wheat and 
hay. The 35-year average yield of crops on the 
untreated soil is: Corn. 37.2 bushels; oats. 81.6 
bushels; wheat. 18.4 bushels, and hay. 2.460 pounds. 
Where burnt lime lias been used the yields are: 
Corn, 85.5 bushels: oats. 29.7 bushels: wheat, 14.9 
bushels, and hay, 2.492 pounds. Where ground lime¬ 
stone has been used the yields of crops are: Corn. 
42 bushels: oats. 34.2 bushels: wheat. 15.6 bushels, and 
hay. 2.760 pounds. The ground limestone plot lias 
produced a larger yield, as an average of 35. than lias 
the plot receiving no treatment, while the burnt lime 
plot lias actually produced a smaller yield of corn 
and oats and about the same yield of wheat and hay. 
In this direct comparison of burnt lime and ground 
limestone the latter has produced annually, as an 
average of 85 years, 6.5 bushels of corn. 4.5 bushels 
of oats. 0.7 bushels of wheat and 278 pounds more 
hay than ha - the burnt Him* plot. These are ostah- 
imental fields, Enfield and Ewing, demonstrating the 
great value of finely ground limestone for soil im¬ 
provement. 
These results are extremely significant, and since 
they are based upon eight years' work, and are con¬ 
firmed by an abundance of data from other fields 
throughout the State, they may be regarded as very 
trustworthy results regarding the effect of applied 
limestone ou the production of such staple crops as 
corn, oats and wheat on very acid soils. These 
results are based upon two complete rotations and, 
therefore, upon the use of six tons of limestone per 
acre, or tliree-fourtlis of a tou per year. That is, 
three-fourths of a tou of limestone per acre per year 
has actually produced a crop increase equivalent to 
either 18.5 bushels of corn. 5.8 bushels of oats or S.l 
bushels of .wheat. Another way of looking at the 
problem is that three-fourths of a ton of limestone 
costing $1.50, with limestone at $2 per ton. has pro¬ 
duced $18.50 worth of corn, with corn at $1 per 
bushel. Surely this may be considered a remark¬ 
ably good investment. 
ROBERT STEWART. 
University of Illinois. 
Strawberry picking tru# otter a Spring job. Xmr the “ everbearers ” carry it on 
through the season to October. Fig. .'ill 
lislied facts, and are very suggestive regarding the 
comparative value of the two forms of limestone 
MAINTAINING FERTILITY.—Of course, neither 
form ot limestone material alone can maintain the 
productivity of the soil where no provision lias been 
made for addition of phosphorus or the maintenance 
of the nitrogen supply of the soil. The Pennsylvania 
soil responds readily to nitrogen and phosphorus, 
and must therefore he deficient in these elements: 
where farm manure is added in addition to burnt 
lime the yield of crops i> increased by about 75 per 
cent. Unfortunately ground limestone was not also 
used in these experiments in connection with farm 
manure, so that a further comparison of the value 
of the two forms of limestone materials is not pos¬ 
sible. It must always be emphasized that limestone 
material alone cannot maintain the crop production 
power of the soil, unless the soil is already well 
supplied with the other necessary plant foods. 
ILLINOIS DATA.—There is now an abundance of 
data available from the experimental fields of 
the University of Illinois showing the great value 
of ground limestone for the production of crops. For 
various reasons the standard grade of limestone 
adopted for use in Illinois is the %-inch material, 
i. e.. all material passing through a %-inch mesh 
screen, which contains both fine material for imme¬ 
diate neutralization of the soil and coarse material 
for durability. The table at foot of page shows 
results from two of the University of Illinois exper- 
Trentuieut 
Manure alone. . . 
Corn Oats Wheat 
Enfield i:\viusr Enfield Ewing Enfield Ewing 
4.0 
i o *> 
Manure alone.... 29.7 20.8 17.4 17.7 i.i -i.o 
Manure, limestone 48.0 40.0 22.8 25.0 14.7 18.3 
None . 21.9 14.7 15.2 9.3 9.9 2.4 
Iner. for ihu'stoue 13.8 13.7 4.4 7.3 7.0 9.3 
Av'ge for increase 13. o 5.S 3.1 
Encouraging Future in Farming 
T HERE is no doubt about it. our 
dairy farmers wisli they had more 
help, better help, and at a lower price. 
That can hardly lie. however, for some 
time to come as we look at it now. On 
rho other baud, we believe that for the 
man who is physically strong or has 
family help, or both, there is more 
money in the dairy than in the eighties 
or nineties, when help was abundant 
and of pretty good quality. Then milk 
was a cheap article if there ever was 
oue. and feeds were cheap, too. Not 
many feeds were sold then, and most 
of the stuff was home-raised. Farmers 
averaged younger, for the youngsters 
did not have so many calls to town as 
now. Some of the people went West, 
but there was an abundance of help 
available for any undertaking that 
looked like having even a narrow mar¬ 
gin of profit. These times are not what 
we should have, but financially, for the 
farmer who can work, they are better 
than 30 years ago. 
We have much to encourage us these 
days. Organization of farmers is being 
accomplished better than could have 
been imagined eveu 10 years ago. It 
seems to be coining in a sane and honest way. and 
farmers are taking to it as could not have been 
thought of even five years ago. If the management 
of these can be kept in honest hands, fairly com¬ 
petent. there is no doubt that they will accomplish 
very much. Quite a good deal lias been accomplished 
already, as we know. The rural community lias uot 
yet received the right kind of attention, but that may 
come in time. Real rural churches and actual rural 
schools, not those "as good as city schools,” but a 
good deal better for the country folks, are now in 
order. The rural school is iu a precarious position 
just now. between its friends and others. 
While I do not look for large profits iu farming 
here in the dairy country it does seem to me that the 
present time is not had for a young man or an older 
one to engage in farming, provided of course that he 
was brought up on a farm and knows farming. I 
met a man recently who lias just gone to town from 
the farm. lie said that lie could not afford to stay 
on the farm longer, but could get so much more 
working in town. Then he said there is so much risk 
and so much t«• worry about on the farm. These 
nights and days when the lightning is almost con¬ 
tinuous for minutes or almost hours the thought of 
dead cows in the pasture, a barn in flames, or other 
accident by elements or disease drove him almost to 
despair. In town lie lias a paying job. and lets the 
other fellow do the worrying. 
It will he necessary to admit that this man and 
many others are getting more in town than they 
could expect ou the farm. .Tust the same, for the 
man who is rightly situated, wants a farm home, 
can do a good lot of work aud likes it. the present 
Is a good time to he getting started. One or two 
eases come to mind right now where younger men 
have made a real start ou the farm. Land is still 
