Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1871-09-01
From tho IGuad zoe Louc.
LAME AS a lH9lzeTILHZEss.
BY PROF.. BLAKE, OF DAVIDSON COLLEGE

sPec'ho uses Ill tho economy 0i tho farm, l.
pro ra to sum up the best established nrac
ttcfo~ :. suits derived from science, and con.
firmed by the experience of the most judicious
authorities on the subject
Lime is substance familiarly known to
all our farming communities, and is every.
where valued for its varied and important ap.
plications-so valued that some have regard.
cd it "thc basis Of all good husbandry :" and
even SO excellent Judge as Prof. Johnston
declares it to be "the most valuable and most
extensively used of all the mineral substances
that have ever been made available in praoti
cal agriculture" n fertilizer that can claim
such n high cncomlum from suoh source,
deserves to have it's merits better understood
its nature, it's modes of action, its practi.
cal results more thoroughly comprehcndcd
we propose to confnc our remarks to such
points only as are applicable to carbonate of
ltmc, and its derivatives, such as quick limc,
slakcd lime, &c.
In the form in which it is usually offered
in the market, and in which, therefore, il is
most generally available for the farmer lime
is caustic alkali, (burnt lime and this cuus
tic quality is the main cause of its activity
and efficiency in the service of the skillfuI
agriculturist. Tho food we cat is not in
condition to noursh our bodies as it comes in
its crude state from the harvest field it
must be cooked, masticatcd, and even when
swallowed it cannot be taken up by the blood,
aud distributed through tho system for the
nourishncnt Of our bodies, till it has been
acted on by the gastric and other iuiccs-it
must he 'digcstcd." So with the plant its
food, too, must, in some sense, be cooked
mastcated and digcstcd, before it can he ta
ken up aud assimiatcd by the living organ
ism.
Caustic limc is the cook that prepares the
food, and the gastric juice that digests the
nourshmcnt for the plant. But while this
digestion operation is, perhaps in the great
majority of cnses where lime is artificialy
applied, its most important function, il must
not be fprnotton ,thnt this is n.t it's oily nllnn,
lime is not only the cook that prepares other
TODD for the growing crop, but is itself essen.
tlal to the nourishment of the plant, entering
INTO us composition, constituting an impor
tant part of its inorganic elements, besides
performing other valuable offices to be dis
cussed as we proceed.
These genera! statements are sufficient to
suggest the nature and character Of the work
which lime accomplishcs for the practical far
mcr. and to show. in II general way, he fuun
dation OF It's great rcptation us II mineral fer
tllScr. But let us descend 10 particulars
There arc five modes OF action by which
mineral m'nures may profit the growin ng
plant when applied to the soil.
lst They may themselves become food for
the growing crop.
2nd. They may digest aud prepare ths.food
already in the soil wHA
3rd They may absorb gaseous |;es
from the atmosphere, and rctrin tlienff FOR the
future use of the plant
4th. They destroy or ncutralize substances
in the soil which are poisonous or injurious
to the crop.
9th. They my improve the mechanical
condition Of the soil.
Some mineral manurcs perform one Of the
Offices, and some another, but lime accom-.
| plshcs them all.
In regard to the first mode of action, chem.
ical analysis settles the question it sho ws
that line is present in the ashes of all our
| field crops, aud that in some of them, MS clio.
yer, peas, turnips, &c., it is principal iugrc
dent. Hence lime, if it be naturally def
eicnt, may be useiully added to the soil sim.
ply as food tor the crop, and, if wholly want
ing, its addition becomes an absolute necessi.
| ty, as no crop could be maturcd without it.
In regard to the second point, lime may
be considered as a specific tho most impor
tant service which it gonerolly renders to The
plant, when applied in largo quantities, is the
digestion md preparation of other nauures,
which, though found in the soil are not ip n
condition to be absorbed by tho roots, and
thus made available, for immcdrtc use.
| by its caustio and alkaline properties, lime
facilitates tho decomposition Of all vegetable
and animal matter, liberating their nutritve
clements, and converting insolublc, into solu.
bic compounds, thus rendering them capable
of being absorbed and appropriated
Even tho inert mineral masses of tue soil
do not escape the digestive action of lime :
feIspar and other minerals containing the sill
icates OF potash and soda, moro readily sur.
render, in the presence of lime, their treas
ures of potash and soda; aud these alkalies
in their turn help to convert the insolubloiu
to soluble cilicatcs, and thus supply to our ce
reals the element that support their stems
euableing them to bear up aguinst storm. and
wind; it is the absence Of this soluble silica
which limo assists in digcsting, which often
causes our grain crops to fall to tho ground
before they arc fully maturcd.
As to the third point, tho absorption Of
fertilzing elements from the air, limo, botl.
directly and indirectly, by its own action, and
by its pulverizing ofcct upon compact soils,
oxerts a highly beneficial influence. True,
it does not, like plaster Of Paris, absorb am.
monia directly from the atmophere, but what
is quite as much to tho farmers interest, il
/ k1,oo ,1,s IL L =.