Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-08-11
Lime as a Soil Amendment

A great deal of interest is now be,
ing evidenced in lime as soil
amendment. lis not remarkable
that This should be the case, for this
material has been applied to the
land more or less during all the cen
turtles which have elapsed since man
first became an agriculturist. There
mas always >been mora or less con-
flict of opinion as to how lime should
be applied, and the results that
: would flow from its application to
the soil. The consensus of opinion,
however, is to the effect that it
should be used rather literally
wherever a permanent type of agri-
culture is established.
Lime has been used to some eX-
tent in Georgia from the time OF
its first settlement and during re-
cent years its application has been
largely increased. Much more lime
is being applied at the present time
than ever before in the history of
our agriculture. This would appear
to be a desirable practice. The
analysis of many Georgia soils as
made by the chemical division of
the Georgia State College of Agri-
culture shows them to be notably
deficient in lime. In some instances,
the amount Of lime needed to correct
acidity and apparently supply the
deficiency of calcium which evident
ly exists in the soil is only S66
pounds; in otker cases, it Will require
nearly eleven tons.
This matter has been deemed OF
such Importance to the success and
prosperity of our agriculture that a
very careful investigation into what
lime does in our soils and the kinds
of lime which we should use and
when and how to apply it has been
made. This work has been in charge
of Prof. l.. Y. Davis and represents
observations made extending over a
period of years. The facts adduced
should therefore constitute the most
reliable data on this important sub
ject available TO our Georgia farm
ers at this time.
The high freight rate on lining
material prevents many farmers
from practicing Inning who would
otherwise do so. At the present
time, the carlot freight rate on
ground limestone to many points in
Georgia equals the cost of the ma
terial. Less than carlot freight
rates are several times the cost of
the material and ore rrohibitive.
The fact that the BENEFITS of
lining are not secured in single
season also prevents the practice
being more generally followed, In
few instances will the increased
Yield of d single crop pay for the
cost of applying lime. Lining is a
method of soil improvement similar
to the growing of legumes and deep
blowing. but requires a considerably
larger outlay of cash. Farmers
hesitate to make an investment re
curing a cash expenditure from
which returns will not be received
within year. Especially is this
true with many whose inadequate
capital is. scarcely sufficient for the
most essential farm operations.
To some, the use of lime may
seem to be practical only for spe-
cialty farming. It has been demon
strated that this is not true and
that profitable returns may be OBJ
tanned by the use of limo in the
operations of a general farm. Else
where in this bulletin are given
results of experiments by the Geor-
gia State College of Agriculture
from lining common farm crops.
The manner in which lining bene-
fits the soil and increases crop
productivity is a complicated proc
ess. Without attempting to explain
~ Cfatp6 that
the benefits of lining have been
thoroughly pro, en-, and the practice
is recognized as one of the inn
portant means of soil Improvement
Many ways have been devised for
determining whether soil needs
lime. but the Htmus test is the most
practical for farm use. For this
purpose, several 1andfuls of soil are
collected from different parts of
field and mixed. From this nil
ture. a small portion is taken
thoroughly moistened with distille,.
or rain water and made into a ball.
The ball is then broken in two
parts, a strip of litn-us paper in
serted. and the parts pushed back
together After five minutes. the
ball is again broken apart and the
color OF the paper WlIhln the Dali
noted. If the color has changed to
red, it shows a sour or acid cOndi-
ton and the need of lime. The
water used should be pure and
should not by itself cause any
change of color. Blue litmus paper
may be obtained from almost any
drug store.
\ Agricultural lime" is a term ap-
piled to three different forms of ma
terial. These are % lime oxide,
commonly known as burned or lump
lime, which is generally sold in bar
rels; (2) lime hydrate, usually called
water slaked lime, which in most
cases is sold IN paper bags; and 81
lime carbOnite. which may be ground
= lime stone. ground marble, or old air
> slaked lime, and which is usually
sol in bulk.
All three Of these materials are
made from some calcareous ma
terial, such as limestone, marble,
oyster shell. or mari to the desired
firmness. Old air-slaked lime, which