The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1875-10-15
gome, farm and @arden
sppiying Lime 20 Land.

its discussion is especially appropriate
in this country where, except in few
localities, lime has been 5i,'le used as
manure. Tie best English farmers have
long known lis value Probably more
has been ased in Chester County, Pa,
than anywhere else in this country, and
we hope our subscribers in that locality
will give Is information respecting the
best methods of application.
Lime is valuable as supplying an in
portant mineral element in most crops,
as also in aiding the decomposition Of
vegetable matter In orr correspond
ent's locality it wou d p owe valuable 10
both ways, and absolutely csseDtiat If
ne would grow a crop Of wheat, which
needs considerable portion of lime.
or tie effects Of Try NJ To grow wheat
oa land destitute Of lime the Hondoo)
Mark Lane Erpress says:
To SOW wheat On a soil hich con-
tains no lime OF marl-either naturally
or artifcially-is sure TO bring a poor
return. 4 remarkable instance Of this
took place in Ireland after the famine.
1t Is fact well known by the more in
telligent farmers in that country that
the extensive central plain which cccu-
pies the surface land at the foot Of the
mountains contains no lime or mari,
and that dressings with these materials
were at stated times applied when the
culture of wheat was intended. The
product from an average year was
twenty barrels per acre Qrish) or about
sixty barrels to the English acre. After
the famine the poverty and want Of
heart TO do their best by the land, COM
PEELED those who remained on their
farms, unsubdued By the famine and
pestilenee to omit the usual application
of lime to the soil +; and tie consequence
was that, instead of twenty barrels per
Irish acre, ths yield was from five to
seven acres, being areduction from two
thirds to thlee-fourths.
1t is not alone nor chiefly on land
wholly deficient of lime that it is valu-
able as a fertilizer. On many soils
which will not naturally produce clover,
that great renOvator is made to flourish
by frequent applications Of lime. A
great part of he..clovcr-ash is lime, and
it is possibly the lime il contains which
makes gypsum so valuable a fertilizer
for clover. Gypsum, however, is usu-
ally applied in very small quantities,
only one or two bushels per acre. A
principal object of this heavy applica-
ton is to cause vegetable matter to de-
compose. Hence it has been found best
to use lime after plowing under a crop
of clover, or after heavy applications of
coarse manures, which it speedily rem
ders available. There is a prejudice
against the use Of ime fr2n the fact
that large applications witEout manure
or vegetable matter p'owed "a tends to
exhaust the soil But it doc his only
as all successful cropping dGes, and if
farmers will only 70 low their lining
with clover, and make use &c all the
stable manure possible, lie result will
be not only better crops but continued
increase of fertility. This is the meth
cd adopted by the best Pennsylvania
farmers, some of whose fields af5ar a
hundred years cultivation produce far
larger crops Of all kinds than ever
before
The effect of a thorough lining of
the soil is felt as long as ten years,
though it is customary to repeat the
lining every five or six years. Newly
turned under sOds, either clover or TIM
Othy, are most be- Gifted Al it is
usually best to Apply the lime in Sum
mer or early Fal so as TO produce as
much effect as possible before winter
SHOWS and rain carry the lime down to
the subsoil. The line is ways ap-
piled 10 the surface, os the tendency 10
filtration will carry it down fast enough.
1t is, however, no use to spread lime on
land comp etely "run down and desti-
tute of vegetable matter There is no
magic about it to create fertility where
none existed, as its chief use, and very
impori ant one, is to make available the
fertilizing Clements already preseat in
the soil. Rural Nelc Yorker.