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Show Beneficial and Injurious Effects of Lime By N. A. Clapp Wt '. ... rIO ' i . . r ; . ,-. 4; j e ... .v . j .w-, ' Paying Crop of Sugar Beets Tlic growing of sugar hects Is not generally consulcrrd a very profitable crop In the corn-belt states. However, the above shows what was done in Lake county, Illinois, located in the northern part of the state. Three acres in this patch. OF THE different essential plant food3 Jlme. Is as Important as any, for plants cannot thrive without it, and yet lis real character and bewfl.ts (and Injuries under un-der some conditions) are not well understood. Thi? commercial fertill. r agents have lauded nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid and have said but lltll, If anything, about llmo, which Is equally essential On one hand the enthusiasts that are satisfied sat-isfied with riding hobbies take up one thing and praise It with extravagant epithet, forgetting for-getting that it Is only one of the many elements ele-ments needed In making plants grow to perfection. per-fection. Some have taken up lime and sung Its praises to such an extent that people who "nave a just conception of its importance Iook on with disgust. Others, after having exporl-: exporl-: merited with lime on a small scale, have been disappointed, as they did not. know how and where to use it. hac condemned it unreservedly unre-servedly as worthless as a food or soli corrector. cor-rector. Lime contains calcium, one of tho primal elements that are essential in plant and animal ani-mal growth. It is found In lava rock that has been belched forth from tho interior of the earlh where external influences havo acted upon It. Lime Is found in feldspar, tho most universal of the silicates. Of the structure struc-ture rocks found on the surface of the enrth In America there arc three layers, showing that the surface has been submerged beneath be-neath the ocean three tlmea and that tho limestone forctd at the bed of the ocean has each time made up a strata. If we look down in the abyss of natural life wo will see that water is a common carrier of plant anil animal foods; that plant and animal forms have drank water charged with lime and lived their cycle of time and perished and become disintegrated and been taken up by subsequent life forms. Tho anlmalculae that has made the chalk beds are an example. Tho accumulation of II fo forms the crustaceans that cany the combination com-bination of lime and oxygen In their shells, tho vertebrates that have bones which nri? mnde of lime and ogygen make up the mass that form the phosphate rock that are the graveyards of prehistoric ages. This phosphate phos-phate rock Is the source from which phosphoric phos-phoric ucld can be made; that contains phosphorus, phos-phorus, one of the essential plant foods that aids tho plant at several stages of Its growth and in maturing seeds. If we dry plants and burn them we have in the ashes what Is called the metallic elements ele-ments that are essential to plant formation forma-tion and among those elements wo find lime In the lead. In many cases there are several times as much lime as potash. One authority author-ity (H. II. Dow) says he has found ten times as much limo as potash In the ash of plants. This must have been an unusual case. If wo put in thirteen small pots (as there are thirteen elements called plant food) sand that contains moisture in which there Is no trace of plant food and put in crcIi pft all the essential elements but one. leaving out one from each pot In regular order, and then plant some seeds and watch results, we would see which are essential and which are not. We would tind that the plants would thrive without soda, chlorine and silica, hut would not thrive without nitrogen, hydrogen. On light, sandy lands ihere Is generally a lack of lime. Aflfr applying lime to llsht soils It becomes more comract, holding moisture mois-ture longer than before the application was made. Lime applied to heavy clay benefits It by making It looser and more porous. In my own experience I have had remarkable results by tho application of lime to hard clay in composted muck and manure. All sour rolls are benefited by the application appli-cation of lime. Cold soils are made warmer and acid soli.-? arc made sweeter. Soggy soils, after being underuraincd. can be made friable fria-ble and sweet by applying lime. Clover Is one of the best Indicators of an acid soli we have. If the soli is fertile and clover makes a sickly growth, it is a sure Indication that the- ."oil Ik too arid. After lime has been applied to sour soils clover rc-frponds rc-frponds to Its bf neficial influence very quickly If one has n sour patrh of land lot them plow under .some bainard manure, bow some linn: on the surface and work it Into the soli, sow some clover seed and cover It lightly and watch to see It grow. One experiment ex-periment will convince one of the needs of the crop. One point Is often overlooked: lime warms the soil, hastens the disintegration of the vegetable matler and makes the plant food already in tho soli available. If one wishes to get the benefit of a coat of barnjard manure ma-nure plowed under llmo will help very readily. read-ily. Many who have not been successful In their efforts to get a catch of alfalfa have found that by plowing under a coat of manure, ma-nure, working tho land down well, applying limo and working it In well before the seed was sown, have attained very excellent results. re-sults. From what I have said ns to the effects obtained by Ihe use of lime It can he seen that possible injuries may result from the improper use of It. As some may riot eo what arise under certain condition?!, I will offer some hints of caution Lime hastens disintegration or decay arid will release nitrogen. Therefore do not apply ap-ply It to manure above the ground. Do not use it in stables, as an absorbent, for It will lele.-isc the ammonia and cause a waste of valuable plant food. Do not use It as a deodorizer, where it will come In contact with manure, If you wish to retain Ihe nitrogen, the costliest of plant foods. Limo applied to land repeatedly without adding i-omething to keep up the supply of humus In the soil will hasten the decay of what humus there Is and cause soil exhaustion exhaus-tion quicker than if the lime had not been used A forceful Illustration of this fuel Is shown In the condition of the soil In some of the southern states where tobacco whs grown continuously for many years. The planters applied lime, which made a rank growth of the crops while the humus lasted, hut after it was exhausted the sojj became absolutely barren. Now soli building is the problem before those who desire to raipo crop:; on those exhausted fields. Lime properly u.'-ed Is an essential and friendly agent, both as a plant food and a corrector of bad conditions As farmers it will be well to study It and understand when we can be benefited by its u.Ke. oxygen, carbon, calcium, potash, phosphorus magnesium. Iron , and sulphur, the ten essential es-sential elements thai constitute the food fur plants Limo has a direct influrnce on plants. Together To-gether with potash, it helps to stl:T-n the stalk and make it rigid enough to stand while growing. It has a neutralizing Influence, making harmless oxalic acid that is formed in. plants. Some tell us that there Is lime enough in the soil and there is no need of adding more Hum nature placed there. Smh people are mistaken. Nature's processes aro Irregular In some places It is abundant and In others there Is a pronounced lack of it |