THE CULTIVATOR. 
85 
mense argilo-silicious table lands (plateaux argillo-silicieux,) which separate 
the basins of great rivers; those where rushes, (petit ajonc,) the heath, tes 
petits carex blancs, the whitish moss spring spontaneously—almost all the soils 
infested with avoiite a chapelets, with dog’s-tooth, with bent grass, (agrostis,) 
red sorrel, and the little fever-few—that soil where, unless so clayey as to offer 
great difficulty to cultivation, only rye, potatoes, and buckwheat, can be made 
to grow, and where sainfoin and the greater part of the crops of commerce 
cannot succeed—where, however, trees of all descriptions, and especially of 
the resinous kinds, the wood-pine, the sea-pine, the larch, the northern pine 
and the chestnut, thrive better than in the best land—all these soils are with¬ 
out the calcareous principle, and all the improving manures in which it is 
found, would give to these the qualities of, and nourish the growths peculiar 
to, calcareous soils. 
But there, more than elsewhere, it is especially necessary to avoid too much 
haste. Liming upon a large scale ought not to be done, until after having suc¬ 
ceeded in small experiments on many different parts of the ground designed to 
be improved. 
EXTENT OF SURFACE TO WHICH LIME IS SUITABLE. 
7. A great proportion of the soil of France does not contain the calcareous 
principle. The country of primitive formation—the mountains of which the 
rock is not calcareous—many soils even, of which the subsoils enclose calca¬ 
reous formations—the great and last alluvion which has covered the surface, 
and which still composes it wherever the return waters have not carried it oil' 
with them—also extensive surfaces, in the composition of which the calcare¬ 
ous principle had not entered, except in small proportions, and which small 
amount has been worn out by the successions of vegetation—all these kinds 
of soil, which comprise at least three-fourths of the surface of France, to be 
fertilized, demand calcareous manures. If it is admitted that one-third of all 
this space has already received aid from lime, marl, ashes of wood or of peat, 
of bones, burnt or pounded, there will still remain the half of France to be 
improved by such means; an immense task, doubtless—but of which the re¬ 
sults will be still more prodigious, since it will cause the products of all this 
great space to be increased one-half, or more. 
OF THE VARIOUS MODES OF APPLYING LIME TO THE SOIL. 
8. Three principal modes of proceeding are in use lor applying lime. The 
first is the most simple, and is the most general wherever lime is obtained 
cheaply, and where culture is but little advanced in perfection, and manual 
labor is dear. This consists in putting the lime [the burned limestone] imme¬ 
diately on the ground, in little heaps at 20 feet average distance, and each heap 
containing, according to the rate of liming, from a cubic foot of the stone, to 
half that quantity. When the lime has been slacked by exposure to the air, 
and has fallen into powder, it is spread on the surface so as to be equally di¬ 
vided. 
9. The second mode differs from the first in this respect: the heaps of stone 
are covered with a coat of earth, about six inches thick, according to the size 
of the heap, and which is equal to five or six times the bulk of the lime.- 
When the lime begins to swell, by slaking, the cracks and openings in the 
heap, are filled with earth: and when the lime is reduced to powder, each 
heap is worked over, so as to mix thoroughly the lime and the earth. If no¬ 
thing hurries the labor, this last operation is repeated at the end of fifteen 
days—and then, after waiting two weeks more, the mixture is spread over the 
soil. 
10. The third process, which is adopted where culture is more perfect, where 
lime is dear, and which combines all the advantages of liming, without offer¬ 
ing any of their inconveniences, consists in making compost heaps of lime and 
earth or mould. For this, there is first made a bed of earth, mould or turf, of a 
foot or thereabouts, in thickness. The clods are chopped down, and there is 
spread over a layer of unslaked lime, of a hectolitre’' for the 20 cubic feet, or a 
ton to the 45 cubic feet of earth. Upon this lime, there is placed another layer 
of earth, equal in thickness to the first; then a second layer of lime; and then 
the heap is finished by a third layer of earth. If the earth is moist, and the 
lime recently burned, eight or ten days will suffice to slake it completely. 
Then the heap is cut down and well mixed—and this operation is repeated af¬ 
terwards before using the manure, which is delayed as long as possible, be¬ 
cause the power of the effect on the soil is increased with the age of the com¬ 
post; and especially if it has been made with the earth conlaining much ve¬ 
getable mould. This method is the one most used in Belgium and Flanders: 
it is becoming almost the exclusive practice in Normandy: it is the only prac¬ 
tice, and followed with the greatest success in La Sarthe. Lime in compostis 
never injurious to the soil. It carries with it the surplus of alimentary manure 
which the surplus of product demands for its sustenance. Light soils, sandy 
or gravelly, are not tired by repetitions of this compost. No country, nor au¬ 
thor, charges lime, used in this state, with having been injurious to the soil. 
In short, this means seems to us the most sure, the most useful, and the least 
expensive mode of applying lime as manure. 
11. The reduction of burnt lime to powder by means of a momentary im¬ 
mersion in water, in handle baskets, serves much to hasten the slaking, whe¬ 
ther the lime is to be applied immediately to the soil, or in compost heaps— 
some hours in this manner sufficing, in place of waiting two weeks; however, 
the effect of lime in this state, may well be different, as we have then the hy¬ 
drate of lime, and less of the carbonate of caustic lime.f If great rains follow, 
this process is not without its inconveniences, because then the lime, which is 
already saturated with water, is more easily brought to the state of mortar, 
which ought to be avoided more than every oilier injury to the manure. 
* The hectolitre contains 6102.8 English cubic inches, or is equal to 2.82, 
(or about 2.6-7) Winchester bushels. Therefore, the hectolitre is rather more 
in proportion to the hectare, than our bushel is to the acre. The decalitre is 
the tenth of a hectolitre, and of course the “ double decalitre” is the fifth.— 
Translator. 
t An incorrect expression, certainly, but literally translated.— Tr. 
The reduction of burnt limestone to powder, whether it be spontaneous or 
by immersion, produces in the compost, a bulk greater by one-half or more, 
than that of the stone—10 cubic feet, producing 15—or a ton, 10 cubic feet. 
This increase is not uniform with all kinds of lime; it is greater with the rich 
(grasses,) and less with the poor varieties. 
LIMING, AS PRACTISED IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.-IN THE DEPART¬ 
MENT OF AIN. 
12. The application of lime in Ain dates fifty years back. At the present 
time, the soil which has been limed, is still more productive than the neigh¬ 
boring, not limed. Nevertheless, liming is but beginning to extend, while 
marling, which was begun fifteen years later, has already covered many thou¬ 
sands of hectares. This is because marling is an operation within the means 
of poor cultivators, being accomplished by labor alone; while liming requires 
considerable advances, especially in this country, where lime is dear, and the 
dose given is heavy. 
The dressings vary in quantity, from 60 to 100 hectolitres the hectare, ac¬ 
cording to the nature of the ground, and often according to the caprice of the 
cultivators. Although these hmings have not been made with all the care and 
economy that was desirable, they have been very efficacious w hen the soil has 
been sufficiently drained. 'The following tables, extracted from the registers 
of three contiguous domains, belonging to M. Armand, three years before, and 
nine years during the progress of liming, give us the means of appreciating the 
results. The quantities of seed and of crops, are calculated in double decali¬ 
tres, or in measures or fifths of hectolitres. 
Table of the product of 
the domain of La Croi- 
sette. 
Table of the product of 
the domain of Miseriat. 
YEARS. 
RYE. 
WHEAT. 
YEARS. 
RYE. 
WHEAT. 
YEARS. 
RYE. 
TJ 
O 
yj 
Product. 
i 
Seed. 
Product. 
Seed. 
Product. 
Seed. 
Product. 
Seed. 
Product. 
1822 
no 
600 
24 
146 
1822 
120 
487 
16 
100 
1822 
no 
505 
1823 
no 
764 
24 
136 
1823 
120 
708 
16 
103 
1823 
no 
643 
1824 
no 
744 
24 
156 
1824 
120 
644 
18 
84 
1824 
no 
662 
1825 
107 
406 
27 
251 
1825 
112 
504 
23 
228 
1825 
102 
391 
1826 
106 
576 
28 
210 
1826 
120 
677 
20 
115 
1826 
110 
612 
1827 
loo 
504 
30 
249 
1827 
115 
594 
20 
162 
1827 
107 
540 
1828 
90 
634 
36 
391 
1828 
118 
726 
40 
328 
1828 
98 
69 (i 
1829 
82 
538 
48 
.309 
1829 
104 
566 
41 
277 
1829 
84 
608 
1830 
60 
307 
60 
459 
1830 
79 
298 
71 
477 
1830 
91 
389 
1831 
78 
350 
40 
417 
1031 
91 
416 
43 
326 
1831 
92 
411 
1832 
55 
478 
68 
816 
1832 
79 
411 
75 
786 
1832 
70 
51v 
1833 
61 
529 
52 
545 
1833 
76 
6161 
48 
351 
1833 
75 
511 
Table of the product of 
the domaine of La Ba- 
ro-ttne. 
■J1 
The application of 3,000 hectolitres, [3,490 bushels,] of lime, of the value 
of 6,000 francs, [$1,116,] upon 32 hectares, [80 acres,] of ground, made suc¬ 
cessively during nine years, has then more than doubled the crops of winter 
grain, the seed being deducted. The other crops of the farms have received 
a proportional increase; and the revenue of the proprietor, in doubling, has an¬ 
nually increased two-thirds more than the amount of the sum expended in the 
purchase of lime. Still, there is not yet half the arable land limed, since of 
66 hectares, only 32 have received this improvement. 
The products of 1834 are still greater than those of 1833. But these are 
sufficient to prove the importance and utility of applying lime to suitable soils. 
Many other examples sustain these results; and from them all it appears, 
that the wheat seedings are increased from double to triple—that the rye lands’ 
from bringing four to five [to one in seed,] in rye, are able to bring six to eight 
in wheat—and that other products are increased in proportion. The meliora¬ 
tion then is, relatively, much greater upon bad ground than upon good, since 
it i3 two-thirds and more on the wheat land, and on the rye lands the crop is 
increased in value three-fold. 
(From Chaptal’s Chemistry applied to Agriculture.) 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF WOAD. 
It appears that the Isatis tinctoria may be made to flourish everywhere ex¬ 
cepting in moist lands; corn-fields and ground which is prepared for cultiva¬ 
tion are adapted to its growth; a good crop may be procured upon alluvial soils, 
but strong soils are preferable, provided they are not too clayey. 
The ground in which the seed of the isatis is to be sown must be ploughed 
three times, not only that the ground may be thoroughly softened and divided, 
but that all the weeds which would injure the growth of the plant, and increase 
the expense of weeding, may be destroyed. The different ploughings should be 
performed at intervals ol a month or three weeks from each other. In strong 
lands and those which are disposed to retain too much water, deeper furrows 
may be traced at certain spaces, so a3 to form small drains by which the water 
that would injure the plant is drawn off. The nature of the manure which is 
employed in the culture of woad, exerts a powerful influence, not only upon 
the vegetation of the plant, but upon the quantity and quality of its coloring 
principle. 
The manures which consist of well decomposed animal or vegetable sub¬ 
stances are the best, and for this reason night soil, the dung of sheep and doves, 
the decayed fragments of wool and silk, and the chrysalises of the silk worm, 
are preferred to any other manures. 
Those substances that act as stimulants to vegetation, such as lime, plaster, 
marine salt, poudretle; mortar-rubbish, ashes, &c. favor the growth of the 
plant without affecting the coloring principle. 
