The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1869-03-24
The salt and Lime 1Gixture.

The mixture is made by dissolv.
ing one bushel OF salt in.the lcast
water possible, and then slaking
with this three bushels Of lime hot
from the kiln. This is all the salt
that can be used by this method
to slake the lime. The most valu.
able lime for agricultural purposes
is shell lime, or that made from
burning oyster or clam shells.--
Another method recommended by
O. w. johnson is, to mix one
bushel Of salt with two OF lime,
dry, under cover. and allow it
gradually to decompose and unite
the chlorine of the salt with the
lime. 1t maybe turned OCCASION
ally for two lorOrhree months, by
which time it will be well united
together. And whatever way is
taken to form the mixture, it
should not be used Immediately,
but should remain incorporated at
least six weeks, that the chemical
union may be we'll formed. The
chemical changes that take place
are the chlorine of the chloride of
Flime; the soda Of the salt is most
ly set free, and probably slowly
attracts carbonie acid from the air,
and forms carbonate. of soda
This mixture has q remarkable de
composing power, and if you mix
three or four bushels of it with a
cord of swamp muck, or any 9th:
er vegetable matter, it will soon
De reduced to, q powder. It is
most excellent to mix with coarse
manure for the purpose of decom.
posing it and rendering it fine.-
After the sour muck from wet
places is decomposed by the salt
and lime it is then in ripe condi-
tion to be composted with barn.
yard manure, and compost be-
comes as valuable as the barn
yard manure alone. Almost ev-
cry farm has a supply of muck,
which might be turned into valua-
BILE manure. Hog manure has
been greatly benefited by mixing
with the salt and lime correcting
its rank character and firing it for
garden use but it is probably
better that the salt and lime
should first be composted with
muck and then applied to the hog
manure. We stated in our first
article on manures that salt and
lime composted with barn yard
manure wonld preserve the am
monia. This has been considered
by most who have used it as prac.
tically correct; but, theoretically,
that small portion of this mixture
which becomes carbonate of soda
would be supposed to d'ssipate the
ammonia unless the chlorine was
sufficient to absorb it all, which is
no doubt, generally the case.
This salt and lime mixture alone
makes an excellent top-dressing fol
most crops, at. the rate Of twenty
to Thirty bushels per acre. The
character of the lime is so muci
changed by the nnion of tho sal
that there is no danger Of injury
from an excessive quantity, ant
where land has been overlirned ,
top dressing of salt will correct j
: at once. The decomposing effec
of this mixture upon vegetable
matter in the soil is very great
Fifty bushels applied to a turnil
field has produced as large a crol
as twenty loads of the barn.yart
manure; which could only be &C
counted for on tile supposition o
its decomposing vegetable matte
in the soil, and rendering it fit 70
plant food. 1t is also very dc
. structive of insects, grubs, &C., i
r the soil Like salt, this mixtur
3 has the power of attracting moi'
ture from air, and has often bee
a obsers ell to prevent the effects {
! death.--Rural Neao Yorker.