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Show HOME COURSE IN SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE BECOND ARTICLE THE LIMING OF SOILS. By H. J. WHEELER. Ph. D.. Director aid Ckemlst of the Rhode Island Af ricui- taral Experlmeat Station. TUB recognition of the ngricul. tural valuo of certain forum of time Is not new, and It appears from the writings of Pliny that liming was practiced by the Do-mans Do-mans moro than 2.000 years ngo. In England, Germany, Franco and other European countries the application of lime in various forms has been and la sUll practiced extensively, but, as nob erta states, probably DO per cent of the arablo soli of the United States has never been limed, and indeed many largo areas are not In need of It AuthorlUes seem to ngreo that lime Is noceasary to tho plant, and if it be wholly lacking in soils, ovon though un Photograph by United States department of asrloulture. SISBASZD CimtAQK PLANT MUCH X.SSS APT TO OOGTUt IN FIELDS TREATED WITS XJKB. abundance ot nil the other essential elements Is present, the plant cannot develop normally. The plant cannot grow If any one of the essential elements ele-ments of plant food Is lacking. Fortunately, Fortu-nately, however, many soils are well provided with lime by nature, and it is seldom or never necessary for those who cultivate them to resort to liming. lim-ing. The method usually resorted to for ascertaining the amount of llmo in soils is to treat them with somo strong mineral add (usually hydrochloric) and determlno the amount of limo which is thus dissolved. Somo writers state that if only one-half of 1 per cent Is thus shown to bo present Immediate ro-sort ro-sort to liming is desirable; others set the amount higher, und some seem to prefer to havo present as much as 1 per cent The fact that beets of all kinds make a ready response to liming on soils which are deficient in carbonate of llmo may be utilized as the basis for a practical and reliable method of testing test-ing the llmo requirements of the soil For this purpose luy out two plats of land, each about 12 by SO feet, manure each of tho plats with like amounts of a fertilizer containing potUBU, phosphoric phos-phoric ncld and nitrogen and apply lime to one of the plats at the rate of from one to two and a half tons per acre (forty pounds per plat would be approximately two nnd a half tons per acre). A comparison of the growth and yields on the two plats will furnish fur-nish a safe means of Judging whether the soil will respond profitably to applications ap-plications of lime. Liming Sometimes Injurious. Excessive amounts of lime, especially especial-ly on light soils, may havo an injurious action. This is particularly true of freshly slaked limo and of ground limestone upon light sandy soils, which aro inclined to be dry and which contain con-tain only small amounts of organic matter. It hastens unduly tho decomposition decom-position of organic matter and thus renders the soil more qpen qnd Ipsa ' tensive of fertilizers nnd moisture than beforf. If .either ground burned limp or slaked lme must be used upon such soils it should be applied In small amounts at not too frequont intervals, Tho arguments In favor of the use of llmo nre summarized thus: Tho use of lime as a soil improver is very ancient, nnd .its value for this purpose Is generally recognized. Its action as n fertilizer Is both direct nnd Indirect. Th6ro nre many soils In which lime is deficient notably bucIi ns are derived deriv-ed from grnulU', mien schist and certain cer-tain sandstones, alntcs nnd shales, On such boIIr llmo In often of direct value In supplying n noccRsary element of plant food. Indirect Value of Lime. Tho Indirect vnlue of lime Is perhaps moro important than Its direct action. becnUBo probably the majority of cultivated culti-vated soils contain suUlcleut lime' to meet the- direct dpmuuds of plautR (or food. Llmo Is of Indirect value In un ocarng- tB4' Huavanaoio porasa, pM(-iborio pM(-iborio add and nitrogep in the soil. Lime exerts a decided Influence Jbe mechanical condition of soils, tea-lering tea-lering heavy compact soils looser la texture and tending to bind particles it loose, leachy soils. Lime is also beneficial In furnishing conditions in the soil favorable to the Activity of the micro-organisms wklck convert the nitrogen of organic matter Into nitrates which are readily asata Hated by plants which decompose or-kanlc or-kanlc matter and which assist certals leguminous plants to assimilate " the tree nitrogen of the air. One form of lime (gypsum) has been shown to be a most effective corrective correc-tive of black alkali The continued use of time unaccompanied unaccom-panied by other fertilisers may prove Injurious, especially on poor soils, since it converts the Insoluble nitrogen, nitro-gen, potash and phosphoric add compounds com-pounds of the soil Into such as can be rapidly taken up by plants or washed ont in the drainage, thus hastening the exhaustion of tho supply of these substances sub-stances in tho soli. As the German Adage states, "The use of lime without manure makes both farm and farmer poor." ehsvlor Toward Lime. It has been shown that oven upon many upland and naturally well drained drain-ed soils, apparently in good condition otherwise, tho sourness (acidity) is so great that most varieties of plants will not thrive. Lime Is the most economical econom-ical and effective substnnco thus far used for correcting this condition. According Ac-cording to experiments made by the Rhode Island agricultural experiment station on acid soils In that state, tho plants tested may bo classified with regard to their behavior toward lime as follows: Plants benefited by liming, lim-ing, spinach, lettuce (all kinds), beets (all kinds), okra (gumbo), salsify (vegetable (veg-etable oyster), celery, onion, parsnip, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant cantaloupe, can-taloupe, asparagus, kohlrabi, cabbnge, dandelion, Swedish turnip, pepper, peanut English or flat turnip, upland cress (peppcrgrnss), mnrtynla, rhubarb, rhu-barb, common pea, pumpkin, summer squash (scalloped), golden wax. bean, red Valentino bean, horticultural pole bean, bush limn bean, lentil, Uubbard squash, saltbush, hemp, tobacco, sorghum, sor-ghum, alfalfa, clovdr (red, white, crimson crim-son and alslko), barley, ommer, wheat, oats, timothy, Kentucky blue grass, Canada pen, OutUbert raspberry, gooseberry, goose-berry, currant (Whlto Dutch), orange, quince, cherry and Burbank Japan plum; plants but little benefited by liming, Indian corn, spurry (it has been reported In England tbnt spurry is Injured by liming, but such results have not been obtained in Rhode Island), Is-land), ryo, carrot, chicory, Rhode Island Is-land bent nnd redtop; plants sllghtlr injured by liming, cotton, tomato, com pea (drummondl), Concord grap. peach, apple nnd pear; plants die tlnctly Injured J)y llnnglupJne.jjL mon' sorrel (Rulncx'acetosciry ), 'f adlsM velvet bean, castor bean, flux, blac berry, black cap raspberry and cran berry. Frequenoy of Liming. Tho frequency with which liminflv should be practiced depends, among other things, upon tho character of the soil and the rate of application, the number of years Involved in the rotation rota-tion practiced, tho plants grown and tholr order of succession. As a general gen-eral rule, It may bo stated that from one-half to ono and one-half tons of llmo per acre overy flvo or six years is sufficient Applications of two or three tons may, however, bo advisable In cases of very acid soils which aro io bo seeded down and aro to remain in grass for soveral years. The practice prac-tice of applying small amounts of llmo at somewhat frequent Intervals Is being be-ing genorally accopted a.s preferablp to tho use of largo ampunts, rtt rare Intervals. Lime combine as carbonate, as in nyirl, wood ashoa. etc., can usually be applied with safety In the spring or at any other season of tho yoar, but autumn au-tumn is always tho safest time to apply ap-ply caustic or slaked lime. It is gen- tBBflBsVsSsBlSHBBBBBTHHS JBBBBLBsflSlreeasflLKiMH'i ' J L ' ' Photograph by United Statee department of agriculture WABTBFOt, METHOD OF BTOIIINtt MANURE. ernily considered best to apply the lime to tho soil immediately after plowing and hnrrow it in thoroughly. thorough-ly. Llmo which is already slaked may be sprond upon the soil directly direct-ly from wagons or carts or dumped Into heaps and then spread with a shovel, although the most satisfactory plan iu sucli cases is to use a llmo spreader or ordinary grain drill with a fertilizer attachment Where a lime spreader or similar Implement Is not available the burnt llmo may be placed plac-ed on the noil In piles of from forty to fifty pounds each, covored with moist earth nnd allowed to slake before be-fore being spread with a shovel. In conclusion, it may be said, ascertain ascer-tain first whether lime Is needed. If it is, apply it Judiciously, and never depend upon llmo alone to maintain the fertility of the soil, for all of the ingredients which plants need must bo prenent In tho soil to Insme thn profitable production of crops, "v . .. |