Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-07-17
Letter From FriendsVille.
FRIENDsvILhE, TE

FRIENDsvILLE, Tenn,
July 9, 1872.
EDITORS CHRoNICLE: Thinking It would
not be uninteresting to your readers, / en-
close you a short letter from the Commits
sioner of Agriculture on the subject of
Lime, for publication.
We have an interesting Farmers Club
here, with membership of about one
hundred, which is working well for the
neighborhoOd. We are endeavoring to
cultivate less land and do it great deal
better. We organized near three years
ago, have n constitution and bylaws
and meet to transact business once month
Since our organization we have at differ
ent times received from the Department of
Agriculture, garden and field seeds of vari-
GUS kinds, some of which we haze been
growing successfully. The white Shannon
Oats we have tried two years and can say
they are success. Our present officers
are: Prof VIM. Russell, President /;
Ephraim Lee, +. b. Ellis, Isaac Jones, j.
V. Griflitts, Nice-Presidents Il. r.. Lee,
Rec. Secretary; J. +. Beals, Cor. Secreta-
ry; E. A. Jones, Treasurer; J. z. Pearson,
Librarian.
Very truly thy friend,
JAMES +. BEALs
The following is the letter alluded to,
from the Commissioner of Agriculture:
DEPARTMENT or AGRICULTURE
FRIEND JAMES +. BEAI.s: 1t gives me
pleasure to reply to your letter of the 2Sth
ult. There is no one application to land
which works so great benefit as lime; and
IT is because it brings into requisiton all
the powerssof the earth which conduce to
t he growth of plants by stimulating them
to active use or food. Hence it is that lime
is always most efficient, and / might al
most add, only efficient, when brought to
the AID or manuring properties already in
the soil. Lime and fermented manure
should never be mixed together, for the
reason that it is the tendency of lime to
drive off ammonia, which is a large con-
stituent property of fermented manure.
The lime should be first brought in con-
tact with the earth when it loses that re-
pellent power. Put your barn-yard ma
nure upon the grass sod, (Which is always
the best place to put it, pillow it down
and then put the lime upon the surface
of the plowed ground, and by the time it
reaches the manure it is prepared to do its
work ettectually. Lime can not be put
upon land at the aUrong time, for such is
its character and durability that its effect
will be seen upon the first crop of grass
which follows it, and clover will grow any
where and in any climate if lime be used
plen tifully. Lime is one of the large con-
stituent properties of grass, and where
grass grows well anything else will grow
well which is congenial to the soil. 1t
is an erroneous idea that lime should not
be used upon slate or sandy land because
1t will burn it up. If lime will not save
crop from burning up with the sun, it
will be because it can not be saved. All
its tendencies are to attract moisture. On
rich limestone land, there is no reasonable
limit to the amount of lime that may be
put on. -Four hundred bushels to the acre
would do no harm, but that quantity put
upon their slate or sandy land would make
it unproductive for q long time On such
land from twenty to sixty bushels is plenty,
but if but twenty be put on, it should be re-
peated the next year or two.
believe have replied substantially to
all the queries put to me and [ think that
your club for whom you write may be
benefited.
L send you the last monthly for May and
June, in which you will find some articles
that may be useful to your friends
am very respectfully
Your ob't serv't,
FREDERICK WATTS.