The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-09-13
Lime as a Manure.

The use of lime as manure is little
understood by those even who use 1t
On their farms 1t is not, In
fact, looked upon as q manure as far I
mers understand that term, and come !
agricultural writers do not admit it ~ |
properly classed among manures. But
II by the term ma0ure we mean any |
thug applied to the land to restore the |
waste of growing crops, or to add fer |
tility thereto, then lime is certainly q |
manure In the truest sense
It enters largely into the substance
of plants grown as crops. The ashes OF
clover, potato, turnip and carrot stalks,
the stalks and leaves OF peas, flax,
hemp, tobacco, and the leaves, wood
and bark of most trees, consist of from
one.third to One-half of lime, while
the ashes of the straw and seed Of all
our valuable grain crops contain from
2 to 10 per cent. Of it. Lime, then, is
largely carried off from our fields by
the continual removal OF our ordinary
crops year after year, and finally the
soil becomes exhausted. Not that II
would be correct to say that no lime is
left in tho soil, hut what is left IS not
in such a condition rs to become avail
able rs foods for plants. 1t is seen con.
stantly in practice that soil filled
with fragments OF limestone becomes
in need of dressing of lime to restore
its fertility, aud the reason becomes
plain when We remember that lime
Stone is not lime, il not soluble in wa
ter except to very limited extent,
| while lime il more soluble. When this
inert limestone j. burnt into lime, and
spread upon the land, it becomes direct
~ available, and shows marked and
immediate effect. Therefore we see in
prsctice that soil becomes rapidly de-
prived of lime by the actions of crops
in the same way that it is deprived of
carbon, nitrogen, potash, or phosPhO.
ric acid, and if all these substances are
msnures lim- il also a manure. To
test this theory by practice it is only
necessary to observe the effects of a
dressing of lime Oh the soil and the
growing crops. 1t has long been known
that le2umluOps plants, As clover, peas,
beans, lucern, etc, will often die out
and refuse to grow, although the soil
has been heavily MANFRED with organic
matter, as vegetable or animal remains.
Under such circumstances lime has
been found to enable them to grow.
On soils naturally producing coarse,
why grasses, unfit for pasture, lime is
known to bring i'm a sweet, nutritious
heI bage, relished By stock; and when
we remember that one-fourth part of
the weight of the skeleton of an animal
is lime, it will readily he understood
why the natural wants and instincts Of
an animal induce it to choose that food
In which lime is contained in greater
abundance, and why such pasture is
better fitted for it.
Indirectly, too, rs well as in this di-
rect manner, lime has valuable office
to perform for the farmer. When
lands are rich in vegetable matter it is
often the case that crops of oats, wheat
and other grains, by reason of want
of stiffness i'm the straw, are unable to
retain their upright position, the. crop
"lodges, f" and the harvest is lost to a
great extent. Lime has long been
found remedy for this weakness, of
the straw, which is really occasiOned
not so much by want of lime as by
want of silica; the plant cannot appro-
pirate enough of tile substance to sup
ply its needs. The silica is soluble.
Lime acts on the insOluble silica, and
renders it able to enter the circulation
of the plant and perform its office.
Again, soils containing large portion
of vegetable matter, as swamp muck,
decaying leaves or straw, which as yet
are not ready for use by the plants, are
brought up" instantly by lime. The
uudecOmpOsed matter is acted upon
rapidly by the lime, becomes more So
luble, enters into circulation with the
juices of the plant. and furnishes neces-
sary substance. Lime is a powerfully
destructive agent to animal and vege
table substance, and rapidly reduces it
to decomposition. On this account it
should never be mixed with other
manures, unless at the moment of ap-
plying them to the soil or immediate-
| ~ after. Thus, i'm practice, it is COM
monty spread on a field in which barn
yard manure or p green crop has been
plowed under, narrowed in, either with
the seeds or Immediately before sowing
it. AS these operations are generally
performed in the latter part of the sum.
mer, it is at this season that lime is
mostly used.-N. y. World.