Norwich bulletin., 1914-06-13

without anything Tn the way or real plant food accompanying it, tended to so stimulate the soil and so overdrain it of it's natural fertility that it event ualiy had nothing left in it to feed plants with.
 have no doubt that this would be the exact effect of continuous free use of lime. without any manure or fertilizer to make up for the fertility which the lime drew out of the soil It would be a decidedly darnphool sort of farming to do that. anyway.
 But there's nothing inherently wrong in the idea of using lime to render more readily available the other ele- ments of fertility which judicious farming will make sure the soil is sup piled with.
 The only question Is whether your sort of sweeten1ng. That's something every fellow must find out for himself.
 Eve used Iime-when I could get it. for twenty years on my five-acre gar dens. Not on all parts of them, and tions and combinations. Pm thankful that the new lime fad has stimulated the production of the stuff SC can now get 1t cheaper and easier than I used to.
 But, when I use it, I know exactly what crop I am going to plant, what previous experience has shown the soul to have natural capacity for, and what repeated tests have indicated as to it's need for either nitrogen or phosphorus or potash, in addition, If nitrogen is called for I use stable manure when l can get 1t. clover sod plewed under when have time, nitrate of soda when I can't do better. If phosphorus is in-
 dicated, I find that ground phesphate rock, usually called 'acid phosphate" |"
 is about the best thing I can get. If the soil diagnosis reports shortage of potash, use unleached ashes 80 far
 as can get them. potash salts as a last resort,
 But. In that little five aeres of
 rieties of soil. and I make at least a
 dozen different combinations. each
 season, to fit their needs. The longer l garden, the more sorts I'm mixing up. Instead of the years simplifying
 the problem. experience seems to comphcate it.
 For instance. my tomato garden lies
 low. One side borders on little brook and the soil near it is not only wet. it is sour and black. On that side I use no stable manure just a stone and acid phosphate. AS the land rises from the brook it becomes drier and tends to be gravelly. On that side blow in stable manure and harrow in a light dressing of lime,
 with a little phosphate and potash more phosphate all over the patch. If put a lot of nitrogenous stable | manure on the moist side. I'd get a lot of vines and no fruit. If I put just lime and phosphate on the dry side, I'd get mighty small vines. and mighty small fnrr1a f0aS and feyr of them.
 For another instance, that sweet corn patch on which I've grown corn
 for twelve or fifteen consecutive years
 Ordinarily, I've covered it with strawy This year I hadn't much of that sort and couldn't buy, beg or steal any. So put on what had.-about half . | normal dressing. and then. after
 blowing. narrowed in two tons of ground lime to the acre. You see. the stable manure put on 1t. year after
 year. Every farmer understands that
 this tends to sour" the soil. I am hoping that the heavy dressing of
 correct that. Furthermore, I am hop ing that 1t will tend to release for the use of the corn rootlets some of the
 humus- stored fertility left over from past years manuring. so that this years corn can use it.
 When man Is sick with typhoid fever, he doesn't need the same sort of medicines as he would if he had l rheumatism. No doctor would think of curing every form of ailment with I one medicine. He makes the drug fiji | the disease.
 There is no one form of fertilization which is the best for all soils, every where, or all crops, any season. The good doctor diets and doses his patients according to what his diagosis indicates that their trouble calls for The wise farmer will feed and dose l his dirt in just the same way,-accord- l ing to what it lacks and needs. Because a top dressing of nitrate oi soda and bone meal will make grass