The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-03-05


Several correspondents ask for in
formation concerning ibe use Of sine
on land. aud all Of them ceHtsln ev-
;dence Of s~everai c~ommoasy accepted
I'm, false theories. First, lime Is aot
pIapt food or rather it is SO common
10 moist SOILS, abd inciSeaialiy CEN
ui-es 70 large 8 portion OF meay Ter
inzers, that It's application as plant
food i unnecessary we have seen
a soil aBalysis from which this con-
~etituent was missing, a1d there Is
~nearly always considerable OF II pres
eat ia available form all superptos-
lnbates ase composed Of o~ue-fourth
mar, or more 81 line, ana it is prom
iseu,ia Peruvian and fish gnano, ID
/ nearly or quite all manufactured ter
tilizers rs vel as 10 barn yetd ma
auTe.
Lime. however, has an important
efec, aside fron It's sction as plant
food Fresh burned lime (koo~n a.
"esustie limep aud quick hme')
has a stroug e%finily tor caIbODic scic,
so that when il aud organic matter
(which always contains a large pro-
Dortiou Of carbonic acid) are mixed
together, the lime aud eaIbonlc acid
unre, promoting the decomposition.
of organic matter Newly "ssacssd
Eme"-wbieh is lime united With
water-has an effect similar TO quick
lime. though slower, and hence Is
better for farm use. Fresh undecom-
posed organic substances, especially
dung, contain tie most valuable III
sFedient Of plant food, nitrogen, 10
It's simple form, but it is very soon
changed ioto ammonia, which IL turn
unites at once With carbOnic aeld.
Then when lime is brought In con-
tact with lbe mass, it al once com
siaes With The csrbonic acid, and tee
valuable ammonia escapes AID Is
lost. When, howegtr, The lime is
applied before the ammonia IS form
ed, the nitrogen Is oxyda sd to nitric
acid. which unites wfh the lime TO
produce nitrate Of lime. and the III
trogeo is saved. Therefore, llme
may be used ia stables aud house
privies. or 10 composing c~arcasses d
dead animals 10 advantage; but u
mixed With manure a day or two old,
tbe result is . loss Of valuable mate
,lrial. The above elso shovs Why,
|, when line is pot into a compost, II
has such beneficial aelion ia basten-
!, ing decomposition, Gnd ghy lis nee
!, esssry t use pleaty OF fresh earto to
absorb the escaping ammonia.
Free acids, end those 10 EASILY &c
composible SUBSTANCES, are also reed.
lily taken up by lime, aud macy 'uja.
rious compounds. as Of ron 10 vel
llaode, are rendered harmless. IL
some soils insoluble s~ilieates Of pot
ash, etc accumulate; but The aetion
Of line will break up these com6ina-
tioos and set the p9.ash free for use
as plsnt-food.
TIE above statements show that
the main actisn OF lime 10 the soil i
10 making available plsnt-f,od whsl
was before unaFsilabie. Therefore.
While II may increase the cFopy Weld
OF poor land, ii viii tend To bring
about It's early exhaustion, uniess
plant-food is added. In heavy clay
soils, the above mentioned chemical
reac ions OF lime destroys their te.
nacity aud makes them iriable aud
porous. Soils containing . large pro-
portion Of organic matter are benefit
ed by It's application. Wet laods are
less benefited by lime than The same
; when drained, on account OF the wa,
ter. Light soils are improved Wy il
when accompanied by a liberal appli
cation OF muck OF other organic mat
Ter {; clsys should also have the same
treatment. As the best effects OF
lime are not best apparent until the
second year, il is better to apply Il
early 10 the fall then if the laad is
not rich enough, manure or other Ter.
tilizer put on the following prins
I ~" sSP ~ pr0auUp Evvu UvP
other conditions being equal. tbs
amount used is from 10 10 80 bush.
eis per acre, according TO circumstan
ces, the condition of The soil, etc
American AgrtcauuraliSt.