The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-12-28

7s.4a***1HtttluC HiSlHOu, lS ceTtdinly an OD-
70 be .pitied of angels and of men.
maryel is that in his darkness
has sadness man should turn
I |Iim for light turn to man for
8 who deniSs not only God, but
ekistent of a human soul! Alas!
there should be fools more emf.
tsin their foolisness than he!"
f ------------
Use of Lime as an Amendment.
NLfHse is an ilapoFtant constituent
sof pants, and its presence in their
food is essential not merely for the
production of remunerative crop
but Of any crop at all /; il is to he
found also in every arabic soil, al
though in proportions that vary be-
tween quite wide limits; while even
i'll some fertile soils we may find only
traces, in other cases almost a fifth
of the soil may consist of this sub
stance. Except in rare instances the
quantity of lime in assimilable forms
in the soil and accessible to the plant
Is much greater than is needed to
meet the heaviest demands made by
the crops ; and, moreover, most If
what is taken from the soil is restOr-
ed to it again in the manure made
from that PARTON of the crop that is
not usuelIy sold off the farm-the
hay, straw, roots, etc. In the grain,
milk ana cattle sold only Il very
small proportion Of lime leaves the
farm in the grain Of the wheat crop
Of an acre we have only about two
pounds, while some of the soils Door
est in asslmiIable lime contain nearly
two hundred pounds to the acre.
Lime, in the form Of quicklime, is
extensively used in all quarters where
agriculture is carried on in an in;elli-
gent manner, as an application to the
soil, and the beneficial results of its
use are UuqueslionabI ;thesp results
are mamie ted in larger crops Of
grain and grain OF better quality, in
better and sWeeter herbage in the
pastures, and often in more rapid
natur,ug of the crops. The object
gained hy this use Of lime cannot be,
as 4 general thing, to supply the
plant with the lime that it needs for
its own sustcnance. The quantity
used ranges all the way from /, 800 to
1900 pounds to the acre, whist the
Whole wheat crops requires only ten
pounds, and clover crop, which
makes about the heaviest demand
needs but l2O pounds. 1t is not to be
denied that soil will sometimes be
found 50 poor in lime as to need
some further addition to its stock
than is given in the usual manuring,
in order that the crops may find all
that they need but such is not often
the case and it is generally conceded
by those who have given the subject
the most careful study that lime, as
it is ordinarily used in agriculture,
produces its beneficial effects mostly
by its action on other constituents
Of the food of plants already in the
soil, 50 altering their chemical rela-
tionS as to make them assimilahle in
larger proportion.
Hence the first and one of the
most important rules to be observed
in the use of lime is tina; it should be
applied in these large doses only to
soils con paratiYely rich in humus,
or strong clay soils rich in finely di-
vided siIicates. 1t has been proved
by experiment that lime will con-
vert plant food from insoluble to
soluble forms in either case. We
find the prOverb current in France
and Germany, as well as in our own
language, that Lime without ma
nure makes the father rich but the
hIldren poor (which means. plainly
enough, that not only should we
start with good soil in using lime,
but should maintain It's good condi-
ton by the liberal use of manure ;
and we find that wherever, in this
country or elsewhere, lime is used
lnteIligentlY, manure is used freely.
NlA. = -,