Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1911-03-08

IF used judiciously, lining the soils
has wide field of usefulness. Lime
is not direct fertilizer but an indi-
rect soil improver. Lining should be
practiced only in connection with ro-
tation of crops and system of farm
ing that returns humus to the SOIL"
''This system Of farming prevails in
most complete manner in our New
England dairying sections by raising
forage crops to be fed to stock and
manure returned to the soil, and
stubble and roots and perhaps some
aftermath plowed under and thereby
adding plant food and humus to the
soil. This same bulletin also says,
ut is more of soil stimulant than a
plant food. 1t is reinforcement of
it. If used as an indirect fertilizer
simply and not in connection with a
general plan Of soil Improvement it
will 'woik. positive injury to the
land" That Is equivalent to saying
that If merely used to unlock plant
nearly as large crops Tor a least fair
crops) as you would with real plant
food contained IN fertilizers and ma
nures and crops sold, it would rob the
land.
U. S. Department of Agriculture,
Farmers Bulletin, No. 124, page IL,
says Lime with fertilizer was more
profitable than depending upon fer
tilizer alone. Lime has peculiar
property of making stiff clay or heavy,
soggy land more light, porous and
erumbly, which would mould up into
finer and mellower condition under
the harrow and cultivation. Clay
land would not dry out as quickly
during drouth. for, not being as com
pact it would not conduct water to the
surface as readily. Water would
soak into such land more readily,
instead of running off and consequent
ly carrying away some plant food, or
standing on the surface longer where
it woull not run off, for it would be
absorbed sooner. Roots would per-
meate clay soil better after such a
changed condition.
1t will render light sandy soil more
compact, thereby holding more mois-
ture and holding it longer, especially
if the surface is cultivated up into a
fine condition. You can readily see
that heavy rain would rush down
through light sand out of reach of
plants in short time. Sandy soil
made more compact by a good dress
ing Of lime would not wash nearly as
much during heavy showers. Lime
and the loosest of all sand when mixed
as in building mortar is qnrte plastic
and adhesive.
The Rhode Island Experiment sta
tlcn has been studying this probl EN-,
Inning the soil. for number of years
under the direction of Prof. Wheeler,
director, and he had found lime bene-
fits all soils in that state. There is
an average gain OF three tons hay in
a period Of four years, per acre.
The writer has used soft wood ash
es. partly leached, by having been
rained on. upon piece Of clover on
old pasture land which had not been
plowed for over forty years and was
covered with almost nothing but moss
before being plowed. After first
blowing this piece, had been cropped
three years previous to the seeding to
ton of commercial fertilizers alone.
Clover where the ashes were spread
was about eighteen inches high and
the rest of the piece about three or
four inches and never headed out orr
budded and seemed 80 be dying the
latter part of the summer. Did not
grow at all the last four months be-
fore snow fall. These ashes cou Id
not have been much better than the
same amount of lime for they were
not half lime themselves and could
not have contained much more than
two per cent potash. The above goes
to show that this land needed in kind,
but not just the proportions of each.
It gives hints for further and more
installing experiments. Then you
might say, if we are satisfied that
our land needs lime, go ahead and get
as much lime as you are able as soon
as you can and apply it to the land,
Well, no should not, unless. IS in the
above described clover piece. you are
satisfied that the land needs IT,.
Be progressive, although haste
makes waste, make haste slowIy.
P E. G.