Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1853-02-17
AGRICULT l. r A l..
From the American Farmer.
LINING AND MARLING.

s. LINING AND MARLlNG.
The question is often asked us,-what is
the best time to apply lime or mari TO the
land? Our reply invariably has been,-
ana time the great objects, in our opinion,
beng 10 get The lime or mari, which ever
may be used, on the ground, and TO dis'II-
butte i, equally.
We hold this to be an agricultural truth,
that any land which may have been long in
culture, without having received dressing
Of lime or mari, needs one. and for these
ressons,-frst, because. lime and natl, by
their own specific gravity, sinks into the
earth, beneath the plough line, and, as
consequence, gets, after series OF years,
beyond the reach Of the lateral roots OF The
plants which are their chief feeders, and
secondly, because the crops themselves, an
nuaIIy, consume a material portion, which
are carried off the land and thus is the
earth deprived Of its cslcareous matter, and
the plants grown thereon left without sup
ply of ibis element, which is so essential TO
their hesllhful growth, and 10 the malura-
lion Of their seeds. .l
MODES OF ApPLrcArlozA There ere
several modes Of application. Some apply
lime at The time of preparing their con
ground, by sowing il broadcast over the
field end narrowing il in, previous 10 -check-
ing off The ground for planting corn. This
is good practice, perhaps as good as any
other, because, by the working OF the corn
the lime becomes thoroughly mixed with
and dlffusfd ,hroughl the soil. In stiff clays
however, We think ,hs..isx would be bes, tU1
,sl-..4uniuuIu.1 = ::te14- and then Aprtass.
:: --,ngh The 1and in The fst become more IN
,ima.ely mingled with the soil, Than Of its
application were DELAYED till spring, and as
necessary consequence, It's action would
be more prompt. Some distribute II broad
cast at The time of seeding wheat, while
Others delay it's application until The wEea'
plant is up, selecting period OF the winter
when the ground is frozen and will NOT
poach under The hoofs Of horses and tread
of The hands. The custom with many SEN
sble, we'll judging farmers, is, I" apply it to
grass swards a year or two before they IN
tend 10 plough them up. This is an excel
lent practice, but we think that the good ef-
fec, would be increased, if, after The lime is
broadcas,ed, harrow was passed over The
field, TO be followed with the roller. These
operations would open the soil, so lha. The
lime would find its way speedily into the
earth, and thus promote its earlier action,
and, as consequence, the grass would much
sooner be increased in quantity as we'll as
improved in quality.
Application of lime or mari to thin sandy
lands we think are best done when formed
into composts with clay, and left in piles,
to be shoveled over two or three times, al
intervals Of few weeks, before being used
This commng lement of the clay and lime
together, would preven, the latter from sink
ing for considerable time, thereby giving
it the better opportunity TO perform its Of
fees upon The vegetable remains and mine
raj resources of such soils besides which,
itwould impart to them consistency, AS well
as the physical power TO maintain moisture.
resist the evsporsting influence of The suns
rays, and hence prevent the too rapid de-
composition of the manure applied.
Mari, we think, is bes, pu. on the ground
intended for corn, the previous fall and
winter, to be broken down by the frosts and
thaws of that period. |. should be put on
in small piles of bushel, or half busbel,
SO apporioned and distributed as 10 render
spreading easy. Marl, however, like lime,
may be put on a. any lime upon lands de-
fcient in the calcareous principle, and will
never fail ultimately to do good. Lime
forms a constituent element of almost all
cultivated plants, is essential to their health
ful growth, and where the land may have
been exhausted Of il, it must be resupp!ied;
and, we have said before, it is not very ma
,erial how you ge. it there, go that you
economic labor in It's application. A pre-
judice very improperly, some years gone
by, existed against oyster-sheH lime-we
comba.led ,ha. prejudice as far back as 1885
and we are happy to see that change has
come over the spirit Of the dreams of farm
ers in this regard; Cor we hold il, that fol
agricultural purposes, oyster shell lime, OF
mari, is better than stone lime, as each ol
the former contains bone-earlh, most es.
sen,ial eIemen. in the constitution Of nearly
every plant, and an element too, that is no
10 be found in the latter, except in very rare
instances, if the analyses Of chemists are tc