Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1914-11-18
Agricultural Use of Lime.


T. The use of lime as a fertilizer dates
from the inception of modern scientific
farlng. Agricultural chemists have
shown that there are five or six differ
ent FUNGI tons which lime may perform
| to benefit soil, which may be sum-
married. briefly as follows:
| i. SIS an essential element of
plant food.
| 2. 1t aids in the conversion of decay
| ing organic matter into humus.
| 3. 1t forms compounds with the
humic acids which tend to prevent
their being leached out of the soil and
lost
4. By producing proper sanitary
conditions the growth of injurious
bacteria IS largely prevented. while the
couraged. These nitriyfing bacteria
convert the nitrogen of the humus into
such form that it is available as
plant food.
5. Lime aids in the liberation of
potash and phosphorus from inert
compounds.
6. 1t tends to focculate clay soils.
rendering them granular and more
porous.
Obviously, permanent results can
not be expected unless care is taken to
insure the presence of some organic
fertilizer at all times. Lime used
alone may be temporarily beneficial
but will eventually be harmful; when
used with cowpea vines it becomes
more efficient for general purposes
than almost any other fertilizer. Of
course lime is not beneficial to all
crops to the same extent, and not all
soils need lime. Thus, some of the
common plants which are stated by the
department of agriculture to be bene-
fitted by lime, are spinach, lettuce,
beet, celery, onion, cucumber, canta-
lonpe. asparagus, cabbage, peanut,
rhubarb, pea, pumpkin, bean. tobacco,
alfalfa. clover, barley. wheat, oats,
timothy. gooseberry, currant, orange,
ounce and cherry Indian corn is
only slightly benefited Plants which
are said to be slightly injured by lime
are cotton, tomato, cowpea, Concord
grape, peach. apple. and pear, and
those really injured are radish, fax,
blackberry, black raspberry and Gran
berry.
Whether soil will respond to lining
or not depends on the amount Of avail
able calcium oxide which it already
contains Probably the best indication
of the need of lime is the failure tic
obtain a good crop Of clover. The
question whether lime should be
applied to the soil as quicklime,
hydrated lime. airslaked lime, OF
| ground limestone is still the subject Of
, great deal of controversy. The ad
, vocates of ground limestone claim thai
. the caustic properties of quick OF
hydrated lime will burn up and destroy
, the organic matter in the soil, whereas
, limestone can be applied in large guam
| tites at long intervals and will there
fore produce more or less permanent
fertility. The advocates of lime claim
that one of the main functions which
lime has to perform is the destruction
, of the organic matter and the liberia
ton of the nitrogen in such form
? that the plant can use it; that the
, frequent and judicious use of lime,
together with some organic fertilizer
, will bring immediate results. Oh
, course the local conditions of each par
, tlcular case must be considered before
a final conclusion can be reached
! Thus. it is rational to use quicklime OF
5 soils which are exceedingly rich il
organic matter, such as peaty O.
, swampy soils. Limestone is safe
t than quicklime when applied jus
: before planting crop, which is littl
helped by lining, or when applied to 6
light sandy soil in hot dry weather.
(The Source, Manufacture, aud Use O.
] Lime, U. S. Geological Survey.)