The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-08-09
THE i-lMlfsG I: SOILS.
Its Chemical and Pbys al l1Hects-A Rem.
ovator of AIi.ali Land.

Its Chemical and Pbysi al EHects-A Rem
ovator of Aii.:.li Land.
Great interest has again arisen in the
use of lime for the improvement of soil.
and the experiment stations have been
working on the problems involved in it's
proper application. Perhaps no clearer
and more practical exposition Of the
subject has appeared than that of DR..
H. j. Wheeler of the Rhode Island sta
ton, presented in farmers bulletin No.
", on the lining of the soil, from
which the following eStra%s are made:
Lime is said to take the place of pot
ash in certain chemical compounds
which exist i'll soils, thus liberating the
potash and placing it at the disposal of
plants. In this particular, gypsum
Gland plaster or calcium sulphate) is be-
lieved to act moro energetically than
carbonate of lime, air Stacked or water
Stacked lime.
When soluble phosphates are applied
to soils deficient in lime and magnesia,
the phosphoric acid combines with the
iron and alumina of the soil to form
compounds which are not readily utiliz-
ed by plants. If, however, the soil is
fairly we'll supplied with lime and
magnesia, this transformation is retard-
ed SO that the plant is afforded an op-
portunity to utilize much of the phos-
phoric acid before it becomes unassim-
liable. If a soil containing certain in
ert phosphate of iron is heavily lined,
it is believed that this phosphate will
be changed into a form which the plant
can utilize. Lime may therefore not
only help to maintain fresh applications
of phosphoric acid for long time in as
similable condition, but it may, if ap-
piled in sufficient quantity, help to un-
lock stores of phosphoric acid which
plants would otherwise be unable to use.
Hilgard has abundantly demonstrated
the great value of gypsum Gland plaster)
in renovating "alkali'' oils in the arid
portions of the United States. Wherever
too much sodium carbonate (black aka
li) is the cause Of the unproductive con-
dition of the soil the gypsum reacts with
it, producing sodium sulphate and car
Donate Of lime, whereby the alkalinity
may be sufficiently reduced to render
possible the profitable production Of
crops. In case protosulphate of iron and
certain other poisonous compounds are
present in soils, lining SO changes them
as to render them harmless to plants.
When the remains of plants undergo
decay upon soils deficient in carbonates
of lime and magnesia acid or sour hu.
mus is liable to be produced, which is
particularly noxious to most agricul-
tural plants, though perhaps Helpful to
the growth of lupines and q few others.
Such conditions are liable to occur even
in upland and naturally we'll drained
soils. Lining is in all such cases an
efectual and probably the most eoonom-
ical remedy.
Many clay lands when wet by rains
are not porous enough to allow the
water to pass through them with suffi-
Gent rapidity, in consequence of which
they become waterlogged, and the air
which is necessary for the healthful de-
velopment of plant roots within the soil
is excluded. In times of drought also
such soils cake readily, thus becoming
more difficult to till and less adapted
physically to the growth of plants.
Lining is all effective preventive or
remedy for all Of these unfavorable con.
dltlons. Upon certain loamy soils, con-
tanning considerable clay, lining often
renders the surface more friable and
less liable to form q crust upon drying.
The improvement of drainage brought
about by lining is one of the most eff
fective means of preventing surface
washing. When heavy rains occur on
lined soils, the water sinks into the
soil. instead of rushing over the sur
face, carrying the fine soil particles and
thus producing gullies and washes
Soils composed of 'siliceous sand are
frequently benefited by being rendered
more compact by lining. On such soils
carbonate OF lime is preferable,to air or
water Stacked lime, owing to the caustic
nature of the latter, and the best ma.
terial to employ, where it is obtainable,
is a clay mari containing fair amount
of carbonate Of lime. The clay, as we'll
as the lime, tends to materially improve
the physical condition of the soil 1t
should also be the aim to increase the
amount of organic matter in such soils,
by the use of muck and stable manures
or by the occasional blowing under of
Il green crop or q sward.
What to DO With the Strawberry Bed.
Our usual method of treating a straw
berry bed after the first picking season
is to invert it and sow either cowpeas
or clover, says correspondent of Rural
New Yorker. The only profitable crop
we have ever gathered immediatelysuc-
i.
is medium clover. Any strawberry bed
which needs a pillow to assist. in oean-
ing it up should never be run a second
season. We would remove the mulch
and cultivate and hoe as we did tie
previous season if we wished TO carry
over the bed and begin at once after
the first hoeing to spray with bordeaux
and continue spraying at intervals until
growth ceases, repeating twice tia fol
lowing spring.