The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-12-28

minority, and, taking the plant crea-
ton as a whole far more is gained by
lining than not Inning. When. now,
ever. h sui, ect is sufficiently studied
1t will be found possible to leave some
areas unlimed on which to grow the
plants that 90 best in an acid sou.
AS vet the dividing n tive the
two classes of plants is too vague 70
admit of positive advice beng gwen
it may be said roughly that the plants
that avoid acidy conditions are ten
times as important as those That 90
best on such a soil.
For the growing OF all leguInlnOue
plants an acid soil is Objectionable.
This is because the minute forms OF
vegetable lite called bacteria are de-
stroyed by the acid in the soil, i that
acid exists in consid quantities.
These forms of vegetable life are nee
essary to the development OF n roots
OF the legumes Of the little knots or
protuber3nceS that we call nOduieS. In
.hese nodule the bacteria live that
AXE the gas nitrogen and reduce 1t TO
a tangible form that can be dissolved
N water and thus become plant food.
It is widen that if these vegetable
.orms of ll1e cannot live IN the soils on
account of the acid. no work Of trans
ormlng the nitrogen can go on. In
hat case plants that Dear pods Will
3rOW well only SO long as they are
,upplied with nitrogen, phosphorus
ana potassium from the soil or are
given their nitrogen in the form OF ma
nures. But they do not render any ser
vice in securing nitrogen from the
great storehouse of the air. That is
one Of the main things for which we
grow p~Od-bearing plants.
The man who sOWS clover on a we'll
MANFRED field cannot tell whether his
clover crop is getting any nitrogen
from the air or not, and many q farm
err is deceived in this way. He grows
the clover for a year or two and then
turns under the clover sod. believing
that he has thus added to the nitrogen
in his soil. But as the soil had IN It
much acid. the bacteria did not exist,
and the farmer had really been re-
moving nitrogen from his tield in the
clover hay crops, leaving the soil with
less nitrogen in it than it had before
he sowed his clover.
If q man wishes to find whether his
soil contains too much acid for legu-
minous Cor pod-bearing) crops, let
him SOW his clover seed on soil that
has not been MANFRED at all or that
has not been for many years.
Better still, let him buy some seed OF
sweet clover (rnelilotus alba) and let
him SOW that. If this plant grows
we'll he does not need lime, Tor it will
not grow where there is a large
amount Of acid in the soil. But many
soils will be SO acidy that these plants
will not grow at al or will make q
sickiy growth.
In that case lime should be applied.
It is safe to apply it al the rate OF q
on to the acre, and il in the form Of
carbonate Of lime, more can be used
without any injury to the crops or to
the soil. Lime can be applied either
in the form of quicklirne or in the
form OF carbonate of lime. In their
effects these two differ greatly. The
q~uickli11e is newly made lime reduced
to a powder by shaking with water
sufficiently to enable it to be sown on
the fields. In that form it lacks the
carbon which it will gradually get out
of the soil n air. 1t should be sown
in the soil at least two months before
seeds are sOwn. as it will otherwise
attack the seeds in it's effort to get
carbon.
The carbonate is ground lime rock
Or air-sluked line that has already
secured it's carbonate from the air
and has lost its caustic properties. This
form Of lime can be applied al any
time.