The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-06-02
THE LINING OF SOILS HERE
County Agent Finds Lime is Needed
in Many Parts of County.

county agent FlndS Lime is needed
in Many Parts Of County.
One very important matter almost
entirely overlooked by Bennington
County farmers is the lining of farm
lands. Too often in travelling
through the county one sees land in
tested with sorrel and other weeds
which clearly indicate that 1t requir-
90 lime before profitable crops may
be raised. Fertilizers may be applied
to such land IN excess, but little Il
any. increase Of crop may result
from their Use If lime is absent
Plants need lime. some more than
others, and 1t ayails little to add
commercial fertilizer to a soil with
the expectation of getting results
when lime is the plant food element
| deficient Yet many farmers are do
ing this very thing year after year.
How can one tell when his soil
needs lime This Is a very simple
matter. AS has been suggested, a
luxuriant growth of sorrel is very
good indication that lime is needed
If red clover refuses to catch, fails to
give good yields, or runs out in less
| than two years one can safely infer
that an application of lime is desir
able. Glover is a lime loving plant
and will not thrive in soil that is
at all acid. Two other methods for
| determining whether or not a soil is
/ acid are commonly used. One is the
litmus paper method, which consists
1 nf ~,
| close contact with moist portion of
| the soil to be tested If the litmus
turns pink to a noticeable degree it
signifies that the soil is acid or sour
and needs lime. In making this test
| if the soil is too dry to give any re-
suit it may be moistened with cis-
tern water. 1t is we'll not to use
| ordinary spring water as it might
| fail to give the desired results. The
second method referred to is the
ammonia test In this case a hand
full of soil is put into a glass tumbler
| and mixed with cistern water equal
| in volume to one and one half times
that of the soil A teaspoonful or
two of ordinary household ammonia
is added, and the soil water and am
monia are thoroughly stirred. Then
the mixture is allowed to settle over
night, or at least several hours, and
| if in the morning the liquid above
the settled soil is dark brown or
| black in color. it indicates lime is
needed on the soil tested. Should
the liquid be almost clear or only
slightly cloudy, probably an applca-
ton of lime is not necessary.
1t is important that every farmer
test his soil to see whether or not
lime will be beneficial. The chances
are. even in a limestone region, that
he will find his land sadly deficient
in this plant food element. Out of
something like seventy{ive tests
made in this county by the County
Agent over seventy have shown that
lime is lacking, and must be applied
before profitable crops are grown
In some cases where these tests were
made an application of lime would
fully double the crop Is not this
subject worthy of more considera-
l ton on the part of the farmer than
has been given to it heretofore?
Having ascertained that his land
needs lining, the next question that
confronts the farmer is how, when.
| and in what form is lime applied to
the soil. This question is a broad
one, and requires much more space
for complete discussion than is
available here. Nevertheless, a few
points can be encompassed here, and
| in fact, enough to make the subject
reasonably clear.
There are four general forms in
which lime is applied to the SOIL
| namely, quick lime, slaked lime, air
| slaked lime, and ground limestone
Sometimes mari is used, and a recent
experiment made at the Rhode Island
| Experiment Station apparently indi-
Gates that marble-dust from the
| quarry at Dorset may be used for
lime applications. Where the ground
| limestone can be obtained for a rea-
| sonable cost it is the best form to
use, as there is no danger of an ex-
| cessive application as there is in the
case of the quick or the slaked lime
| But where the cost of the quick lime
| is $3.50 per ton the ground lime
| stone should not cost more than S4.56
per ton. The composition of the lat.
ter is distinctly different from that
of the former. The ground limestone
should also be ground finely enough
to pass through an eighty or one
hundred mesh screen.
The best time for applying lime is
in the fall, particularly il the ground
| limestone. mari. or airslaked lime is
used. Where spring applications are
made and the quick or slaked lime is
used. care should be taken to have
the application made some ten to
twenty days before planting any
seed. The amount of lime used TO
an application varies according to
the soil to which it is added, and the
form in which it is applied. On light
soils from 500 to 1900 of the Quick
lime is used, or if the other forms
are used the quantity is nearly doub-
led. On heavy loans from 1000 to
1000 of the quick lime is used and
the other forms are used in proper.
ton.
Further information as to the ap-
plication of lime and the making of
soil tests may be obtained by ad-
dressing the County Agent, Manches.
ter, Vermont.