The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1917-12-13
Demonstrations Prove Land in
Many Parts of Michigan
Lime Hungry"
AIDS CLOVER AND ALFALFA
Applications of Calcium Carbonate In
Van Buren, and lngham Counties,
Make These Crops Thrive
Essential In Alfalfa
and Vetch.
BY DR.. M. M. M'cooL,
Department of Soils Michigan Agricul-
tural College.

tural College.
East Lansing, Mich.-If you have
''farmed it" in Michigan for any con-
siderable period you have heard of
lime. 1t has been variously urged up
on the public for practically every i'll
and ailment of the soil in the agricul-
tural catalogue, until many men have
begun to find difficulty in distinguish
ing in this muddle Of advice the gen.
uine from the sham.
where, when and why should we
use lime?" these individuals have been
asking.
Not as much dependable information
upon this subject as is needed has been
obtainable in the state, but an attempt
to at least partially meet this require
ment has been made by the soils de-
partment of the college. These efforts
have been along several lines, such as
the conducting of demonstration and
test plots in several parts of the state,
and the analyzing of soil samples to
learn whether or not their lime content
is adequate for the best plant growth.
This work has been supplemented ad-
ditionally by interviews with farmers
themselves.
What has been the result?
Most outstanding has been discov-
cry of the fact that startling condi-
tons prevail in many sections because
of the inability of farmers TO obtain
catches and profitable yields OF clover
nd oil of loci I,If
leguminous crops. The total acreage
of these crops is as result very low
in many of the older settled counties
as well as in new agricultural dis
tricts on light soils. BY proper use of
lime in these localities ii has been
proved that these conditions can be
greatly improved.
The lime requirement of large num-
bers of samples taken from represent
tative Michigan soils show that the de-
ficiency OF lime in them is common.
Such deficiencies may be mainly the
result of any one of three things. The
amounts Of lime actually present in
the material from which the soils were
derived may have been insufficient in
the first place, or the lime may have
been removed by drainage water or
the crops grown on the land. In order
TO obtain satisfactory information con-
corning these soils, field tests have
been conducted by the soils depart
ment of the college in cooperation
with several county agents and lead
ing farmers, and still other tests are
under way.
Remarkable increases in yields Of
oats were obtained this past season on
the Van Buren, county farm" from
the use of lime on n sandy loan soil,
In the first instance carbonate Of lime
increased the yield 40 per cent. The
lime was applied one year previously
and further addition Of course, will not
be necessary until the close of the
four-year rotation or later.
| The soils department in co-opera-
! tive experiments with $. A. Foster, in
Ingham county, appreciably increased
| the yield of oats and obtained perfect
stand and luxuriant growth of Glow
! er by the use of mari and phosphate
! where clover had repeatedly failed on
! light sandy soil.
Other cooperative field experiments
| in western Michigan have shown that
| lining the soil for the production of
suitable yields of alfalfa and vetch is
essential. Another important consd-
Grafton in the use of lime is that where
needed. it Increases the efficiency of
fertilizers, phosphates and stable ma
nure.
Lime may be applied to the soil ut
any time, but IL is desirable and ad-
visable that 1t be well mixed with The
upper layers of soil before the plant
ing or seeding of crops. Where land
has been plowed and is not too rolling
to result in the removal of limestone
or mari by washing, either of these
may be applied in the winter and mix.
ed with the soil when the seedbed Is
being prepared in the spring.
The proper amount of lime to apply
varies greatly with different soil for
nations as well as with the manage
ment the soil has received. Moreover
the form In which the lime is utilized
is important. The application of finely
ground limestone varies from one tC
two tons per acre, the amount OF
coarser material used runs from one
and a half to three tons, mari Is used
at the rate Of two or more cubic yards
to the acre and agricultural hydrat'
ranges In amounts from about 1000 e
1000 pounds. AS a general rule those
who are using lime find 1t advisable t
repeat the application at the end Of
four or fve-year periods.
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