¥4 
has given rise to the old.saying that “lime 
enriches the father, but impoverishes the 
son.’ The application of large doses of 
lime to light sandy. soil, or to soil that has 
bevome exhausted through continuous 
cropping ‘without backing it up with fer- 
tilisérs, is a great mistake. It is something 
like applying a whip to. a done-up horse— 
trying to take out what is -really not there. 
Amold couplet says ‘that ‘Lime and lime 
without: manure will make both farm and 
farmer poor.’ & iti 
In applying lime to the soil care must be 
exercised as to the nature of the-soil on 
which the application is to be made. E 
have known of some cases where as much 
as 10 tons per acre was applied without any 
bad result, and others where half that 
amount practically ruined the soil for cer- 
tain crops, such as oats and barleys. The 
only rational cure for land that has been 
what is termed burned: with lime is to 
supply large quantities of farmyard or 
bitrogenous manure. 
’ If lime is to be applied to the soil in ex- 
cess of what is actually required as a plant 
food- care must be taken that.it has got 
something to work upon, either a strong 
clay~or soil over-loaded with humus. It 
can be safely used to advantage on newly- 
drained swampy land, and also on. newly- 
cleared forest. land of the “ black soil flat’’- 
type. Its efféct on the above-named class 
of soils is torender them more porous and 
open, removing in a large degree the 
adhesive sticky nature when wet, and 
making them more friable when dry. ‘This 
condition being brought about, thorough 
cultivation can then be practised, ultimately 
resulting in the land being brought from a 
low to a high state of fertility. 
Its correction for sour lands is well 
known. Being strongly alkaline, it neu- 
tra ises acidity, thus ridding soils of dele- 
terlous matter harmful to plant life. 
Lime is also a great assistance to drainage 
—in fact, |! have seen cases where lime in 
itself proved a means of drainage, This 
was on 4 field of stiff clay, on the surface of 
which water used to lie for some consider- 
able time after heavy rains. Plots in 
various parts of this field were limed, and 
on those ‘the effect was most marked, for 
after rains no water was seen to lie on their 
surface, but on the unlimed parts the water 
remained as before. Another highly impor- 
tant function of lime is the favoring of the 
development of nitrification in the soil. 
Nitrification is an action of micro-organisms 
in the soil which act upon nitrogenous 
matters, converting them into nitric acid—a 
very valuable plant food. A certain amount 
of alkalinety is required for their develop- 
ment, and the presence of carbonate of lime 
in the soil furnishes this necessity. 
Lime and phosphate powders containing 
caustic lime may be safely mixed with all 
potash manures, nitrate of soda, nitrate of 
potash, bones in any form (except dissolved 
bones), mineral phosphatic manures (except 
superphosphate). Neither caustic, slaked 
lime, nor phosphatic slags, which contain 
caustic lime, should be mixad with sulphate 
of ammonia, guano, or any animal or vege- 
table matters yielding ammonia, because 
the lime would take up the sulphuric acid 
of sulphate of ammonia and the carbonic 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
acid of the decaying animal and vegetable 
matter, setting free the ammonia which 
these things contain. 
As to slaking and mode of application, 
the common practice is to spread the lime 
in small heaps and cover up with soil. 
Providing there is a like moisture in the 
soil, the lime will in afew days be suffi- 
ciently slaked to! allow of its being spread 
with a shovel. There is, however, a little 
risk -attached to this. method, for, should 
heavy rains ensue before spreading, the 
lime will be converted into a paste, difficult 
to distribute, and, moreover, less powerful 
in its effects. Another and perhaps safer 
way is to tip in a long heap adjacent to 
water and slake, then distribute by means 
of a dray, one hand leading the horse at a 
slow pace, another standing on the dray 
spreading with shovel. By working in this 
fashion—against .the breeze-—very little 
discomfort is felt. To keep the fine dust 
from lodging on the horse’s skin, a cover of 
some sort should be put on—say a couple 
of bags under the harness. . 
Numbers of experiments are being car- 
ried out at the Biggenden State Farm, with 
a view to testing its effects on the soil, 
which varies from dark basaltic to sticky 
cement. Its beneficial effect on a row of 
rosellas is easily to be seen.. In a row of 
twenty plants only half were limed, the 
application being at a rate of two tons per 
acre. In the no-lime lot, four out of the 
ten have died, and other two look sick. 
Amongst those limed, only one shows signs 
of dying, all the others looking remarkably 
healthy. At the time of writing only the 
first picking of fruit has been taken; the 
returns being respectively—unlimed, 8 lb.; 
limed, 22 lb. 
- The land on which the rosellas are being 
grown is of a very stiff nature. On 
removing the loose cultivated svil from 
around the dead bushes, cracks were found, 
which, no doubt, severed the roots, thus 
causing death to the plant. ‘he action of 
lime on this soil has undoubtedly been to 
keep it more loose and friable, preventing 
cracking, and thus better able to conserve 
the moisture.—‘‘ Queensland Agricultural 
Journal.” 
Dusrroyine Stoues.—Freenig a garden 
from slugs and snails when they have been 
long left to breed abundantly is always a 
difficult matter, and it is more so when the 
garden is surrounded by hedges or similar 
harbor. Dressings of soot or fresh slacked 
lime ars very efficacious in killing the pests 
if applied at the right time, and that is of 
an evening, when damp falls and the pests 
come out to feed. Then dustings of these 
powders are very destructive. Again, when 
cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, or similar 
plants are put out, and it is found that 
slugs eat them, if looked for at night with 
a candle hundreds may be caught and 
destroyed ; that, too, is the time to use the 
soot and lime. If the pests harbor at the 
foot of walls or fences, strew salt freely and 
often there. 
Once upon a time Sparaxises were quite 
popular, and there are signs of a returning 
favor. 
December 1, 1904 
CULTIVATION. _ ; 
Sc iRane 
By Jas. Lane. 
A great variety.of work requires attend— 
‘ing to during this month, and ploughing, 
harrowing, and -scarifying will occupy 2 
good deal of time in order .to get the land 
into good condition and free from weeds. 
This work should not be delayed, as the 
ground soon sets hard, and makes it almost 
impossible todo agood.job. . This is all the 
more necessary where young orchards have 
been planted, as keeping the ground con— 
stantly stirred and free from weeds contri 
butes more than any other operation to the 
successful growth of the young trees. Look 
carefully over the. young trees and remove 
-all unnecessary shoots, leaving. only those 
required to form the tree. 
SPRAYING. 
Spraying for the black spot on the apple 
and pear with Bordeaux mixture requires. 
early attention, the strength 6—4—40 is 
recommended. —. 
In the moist districts to the east of Mel- 
bourne extra vigilance will have to be givem 
to the matter, the past summer being un— 
usually moist developed the disease’to an 
abnormal extent. The first spraying should 
be given when the bloom buds are just 
bursting and another when the young fruit 
-has grown about the size of small walnuts ; 
should the season prove moist further 
spraying will be required at intervals of 
about a fortnight or three weeks.* — In- 
*—In Bulletin 17 just issued the Vege- 
table Pathologist recommends only two 
sprayings at the most, the first as the buds 
are bursting and the second just .as the 
fruit has set.—Ed. “Journal.” 
‘structions as to the best method of mixing 
‘the Bordeaux have been given in previous 
numbers of this “Journal. Some orchard- 
ists who have a_ difficulty in procuring 
fresh lime will be glad to know that lime. 
in air-tight tins will keep fresh for several 
months. The plan adopted by the writer 
last year was to fill kerosine tins with the 
fresh lumps of lime and closed down by past- 
ing brown paper over the aperture, and 
when a tin was opened later on the lime 
was as fresh as when put in the tin. Apri- 
cots also will require spraying with Bor- 
deaux for shothole and scab; a good time 
to spray is when the trees have just gone 
off the bloom, and another spraying about 
three weeks later. 
Spraying for the codlin moth will alsa 
have to be attended to, the first spraying 
should be given when the petals have drop- 
ped from the blossoms, and before the calyx 
closes up. Another spraying should be 
given in about four weeks time, and after- 
wards at fortnightly intervals right 
through the summer. The moth generally 
makes its appearance about the early part 
of October, and it takes about three months 
before the first brood are all hatched out. 
Trees should also be bandaged, and looked 
over at intervals of ten or fourteen days — 
throughout the summer ; this helps to keep. 
down the numbers of the second brood very 
considerably, 
