New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 43 
ferent in this State and give the following data: “ Seventeen 
reports [of co-operative experiments] state that lime was ap- 
plied to part of the area sown to alfalfa, and part left without 
lime for comparison. Of this number ten state that the limed 
area was decidedly better than the unlimed. Six state that 
there was no benefit and one reports apparent damage. The 
marked effect of lime in the experiments conducted on some 
heavy soil of the college farm, * * * taken in conjunction 
with these results secured throughout the State, indicate that 
liming takes an important place in connection with alfalfa 
erowing in New York.” 
METHODS OF APPLYING THE LIME. 
Practically all forins of lime are used in connection with 
alfalfa and they seem to be valuable in proportion to the amount 
of available calcium which they contain. In practically all of 
these experiments stone lime was used because it could always 
be obtained and was of fairly constant composition. Likewise 
1500 Ibs. per acre was the amount arbitrarily selected for ap- 
plication as this was midway between the extreme amounts 
which are being used in practice. 
Lime is sparingly soluble and in order to get prompt returns 
from its application it seems necessary to apply it in a finely 
divided condition and to mix it intimately with the soil. The 
difficulty in application comes largely from its irritating action 
on the skin and eyes. On this account, the early morning of 
a quiet day is preferable for the work. 
Where only a small area is to be treated, as in our experi- 
ments, it is usually preferable to place the stone lime in small 
piles, throw on a little moist earth or add a little water to 
hasten slaking and, when the lime is reduced to powder, spread 
with a shovel. 
Where large lots are to be applied the lime can be readily 
slaked by sprinkling with water as it is shoveled over and can 
be applied with any machine for applying fertilizers or with a 
shovel from a wagon. ‘The difficulty with the former is that the 
