Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, January 31, 1843, Image 1
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VOLUME VI If CHER AW. SOUTH-CAROLINA, TUESDAY. JANUARY 31. 1813. NUMBER IS.
? ? . . . ..
By M. MACLEAN.
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??BWET X. ill'?f II I ggvgf mmO??* 1
APPROPRIATE FOOD, PURR AIR, AND EX- j
ERCtSE, NECESSARY TO THE HEALTHY
CONDITION OF DAIRY CATTLE.
That the natural temperature of food f
for ruminant animals is I ho most appro- j
priate, is perhaps too plain n proposition j
to lie dispu'ed ; hut in the gener.-I man- J
ngement of cows i;r the vicinity of po- ;
pulous places, this important fact is entirely
disregarded.
Man, it is true, is omnivorous. His
stomach is nearly equally well adapted
lo the digestion of animal and vegetable
food, of solids or fl lids. He is also a
cooking animal, ami can receive his foori j
at varying temperature*, lint it is differ- :
ent with ruminant animals. They are:
essentially herbivorous, and should re- J
eeivc 111 is kind of aliment, at a natural j
temperature, before it has undergone ;
certain chemical changes, and not as is j
the case in the form of slop, reeking hot j
from the distillery. Their immense complex
concocting organs must have some- !
thing else to employ them besides reeeiv
ing sorne thirty or forty gallons of slush {
|ht day, winch contains hut h small quan- j
lily of vegetable matter in the form of:
bran disseminated through it. To fulfil J
the obvious design of nature, they must j
have t<>Od wtncii requires m iHiirnuwn.
Without the power of rumination, or in
familiar phrase, without a cud, th??y will
languish and die. Hence a little grass
or hay cannot he dispensed with. But a
little is not enough. Tncv must have i
~ ^ \ I
Solid food in sufficient quantity to fill ;
their stomachs. The cow that is fed on ! j
distillery-slap, so far as we know, usesj (
but one of her four stomachs; all the rest |
are idle; of course, there must follow ,
great functional derangement. And when
this kind of diet is received into the sys- j
tern, it is rapidly sucked up by tue thous- !
and absorbent vessels, and thrown into j
the blood ; and before it becomes annual, j
I
ized, probably in the course of ten min. i
utes it begins to be strained through the 1
organs of the udder, in the form of a blue,
' watery, insipid secretion, called, m Ik.
How very different is the process of j
forming milk out of solid food ! Bv the 1
complicated apparatus already described,
the food undergoes various modifications
anil changes. First, it is partially chewed
and mixed with the saliva; it then
descends into the rumen, where it gradually
traverses its various compartments,
and is probably retained several hours,
until it is thoroughly macerated ; next it
passes into the reticulum in small portions,
and there being softened and covered i
with mucus, by a kind of antiperistaltic
action it is thrown into the mouth.?
Here, * by a compound motion of the 1
lower jaw, half Internal and half vertical," j
leisurely repeated from thirty to forty j
times, on each end or pellet, the second
" ' li .-.1 1 !
process oi inasucauon is compieieu , huu
being reduced to a proper consistence, it
is again swallowed, and glides directly i
into the omasum, where it sustains some
changes not well understood. It next
passes into the abomasum, or last stoin- i
ach, where it is mixed with certain fluids
equivalent to the gastric juice in the
human stomach, and thus is converted
into a soft pulpy mass called chyme, from
which the small vessels of a portion of j
the digestive tube, still lower down, call- :
ed lacteals, hy a peculiar power which i
may be .denominated vital chemistry,!
manufacture that bland fluid,chyle, which
contains in itscffall the ultimate elements
of animal bodies. This, then, is an ela
borulcd annualized product, containing
an abundance of oxygen and carbon, with
some nitrogen, and tilted for conversion
into albumen, gelatin, fibrin, or any of the
proximate elements of animal bodies.
The blood formed from it is consequently !
rich in all the elements which are reqtnr. :
cd to supply the waste, and build up the i
various tissues of the system. Of course, i
the milk secreted from it is highly ani.
malized, and essentially a vital product; 1
and its separation from the blood is not
, a mere mechanical straining off, from
vessels distended with an unnatural quantity
of watery fluid, as when the animal
is gorged with distillery slop.
In cows thus fed, it is highly probable |
there is *er\ little if anv clulc formed ; ,
* * I
in fact, there is very Utile if any appro- j
priatc matter to make it otit of. It is i
known that the food of animals must
necessarily consist of one of the three j
great staminal principles?a saccharine, j
an oi/y, or an aluminous principle. Thus j
gramineous and herbaceous matters, on
which ruminants feed, contain two of;
these, viz : the saccharine and the glut in- J
n mr?/lifion ?f the alhu. I
1/CtOy ITIItVU u na^/vi ..... ..
mmous, while every part of an animal :
contains albumen and oil. But how |
much saccharine matter can it be sup- j
posed is left in the slop of the distillery '
or in brewers' grain?, after, by the pro.
cess of fermentation, all the alcohol that
can be obtained is extracted from it ??
Spirit, or alcohol, is the direct product of
the saccharine portion of the grains ;
and as it is r pidly developed by fermentation,
it is hardly probable that any remains
behind undeconiposed. As gluten
is insoluble in water, and does not so
readily ferment as the saccharine principle,
it is probable that brewers' grains!
contain a considerable quantity of it. j
Indeed it may bo said to contain the only i
nutritious principle that can he obtained '
from them. It is fully established by the
expi runents of Majendie and other physiologists,
that a diet, to be complete, must
contain more or less of these three staminai
principles. Such at least must be the
diet of man. Although animals may j
form a chyle, and even live a while on !
one of these chines of aliments, yet it is [
I
impossible that they cai? do so tor a great :
length of time. No proper chyle can he j
obtained from the digestion of such food ; j
consequently no healthy hlood can he |
formed, and none of the secretions he j
healthy. This, then, is another import- j
ant reason why the health of cows can- j
not he maintained on distillery.slop and j
similar kinds of food.
Healthy chyle is so similar in its pro.
perties to hlood, that it has heen called liquid
blood ; and Vauquelin, a celebrated
chemist, even regards it as fibrin in an
imperfect state. Hut when the food, a*
is the case with distillery-slop, is of such 1
a nature that proper chyle cannot lie
formed from it, we would naturally expect,
when used and taken up by the ah.
sorbents, that the entire system would he
filled with the watery and innutritions fluid,
and such, as will subsequently appear,
is the actual condition of animals so fed. 1
Such food contains no cajrbon, which constitutes
the greater proportion of fibrin, i
or muscular fibre ; of course in fibre or !
flesh can be formed, for the very good i
reason that there is nothing present to i
furnish the materials essential to its for- :
mat ion. In view of these facts, though
uriiinstructed by experience, as to the ac...-I
--v.nl>. n?>'hl f ?\ti fi , In ri I 11-- :iiitis?i_
uiui rrsim^f wu im^Hv ? un?*vi- j
pate the deleterious effects which are j
known to take place, and must ever he i
consequent upon tho use of unwholesome !
and insufficient food.
But there are other conditions which i
are essential to the health of these ani- |
rnals, which may he concisely noticed.
First, Pure air is indispensably neces- j
sary. Any other conclusion than this,
would he as contrary to the known laws i
of life and health, as to the common sense
of mankind. The effects of living in foul !
air, are manifested by the debility which |
ensues?impaired digestion, depression of J
the vital functions, and oftentimes the i
generation ot diseases of the most inalig.
nant and fatal character. Now as air is j
rendered impure by every thing which in?- i
pedes its circulation, hut especially by !
the breath and perspiration of animals |
crowded together in small and close np- j
partinents ; the presence of cxciemcnts j
and steneh, and putrifving animal and
vegetable matter, which, even with the
stiictest regard to cleanliness, unavoidably
accumulates by immuring tlieiri in
confined stables, such a condition, in the
absence of all other prejudicial causes,
cannot fail to prove destructive to health
and life.
Second, Exercise, It is as evidently
the design of nature that cattle should
enjoy that bodily activity which is pro
duced by the natural action ol their own
limbs, in moving from place to place for
the means of subsistence, as it is that vegetables
should he left undisturbed in the
soil from which they imbibe the:r nourishment.
Cattle were necessarily endued
with powers of locomotion in order to
seek their own subsistence ; and it is
self-evident that they cannot he condemned
to a torpid vegetable condition with
impunity.
Nature, ever unerring in her instincts,
prompts the hounding frolics of young
animals, as well as the more clumsy gambols
of the old. "There must," remarks
Addison, "he frequent motions, agitatioas,
to mix, digest, and separate the j
juices contained in the body, as well as !
to clear and cleanse that infinitude of I
pipes and strainers of which it is compos- !
ed, as to give their solid parts a more (
firm and lasting tone. Exercise ferments !
the humors, casts them into their proper
channels, throws off redundances, and
helps nature in those secret distributions
I
without which the body cannot subsist in
vigor." And in order to this healthy-action
of the vital function, it is not sufficient
that exercise he taken occasionally
and at long intervals, hut,when the season
permits, it should he taken daily. Common
sense and observation, independent
of nhvsioloiricnl knowledge, might lend
I f* " " O O ' w
iis to the conclusion, that nnv other management
of cattle than that here suggesto
n ^
ed, must lead to the derangement of
health, and fatal diseases.?Hartleys
Essay on Milk.
CULTUltK OF COTTON.
There are many around us who think
the surface-culture of cotton,fcr of crops, a
new-fangled notion, and scout at the idea.
All encroachments on es'ablishcd usages
and customs are received in this very
way. There are others who think it has
done and will do for the north, but will
not in the south. I will state one circumstanco,
and close by citing one fact.
In 1833, I think, I planted in the same
field, about twenty acres of cotton, as usual
barred otT and scraped. The subsequent
culture was entirely with the hoe
and sweep, the latter merely shaved the
surface, probably to the depth of onehalf
to one inch; also three acres, and
cultivated as was customary ; plowing
three times and hoeing. There was but
a path of eighteen to twenty-four incites
dividing. Land as near similar as could
be, only tbe first piece had been cleared
five years, and the second piece only two
- - . - ill
years ; therefore, the latter snouiu nave
resisted fhe drought best. Mr. W.lliam
Montgomery, my neighbor, a practical
farmer of some thirty years' standing,
ridiculed my notion, as I had been but
recently from school. I took him into
the field to look at it. lie admitted that
the unploiighed land was the best crop,
and had sustained itself the best through
(he season, but could not account for it. |
Now every gardener knows the fact, that
bis garden returns liirn a greater income
than any other spot he can cultivate.
The plough never enters, nor is the earth
disturbed two inches from March till July,
fie cultivates the surface entire, hiving
previously spaded deep and manured
we!!. Then, if this be so in relation to
raising vegetables 0f the tap root and ho.
rizorital root families in the garden, may
it not be well to.try it elsewbeie, especially
as more land can be cultivated and
kept cleaner ??Western Farmer.
From Sinclair's JIus'jandri/.
1I3IK.
There is perhaps no country in Europe,
where calcined lime is used to so great an
extent, and in such quantities, as in the
more improved and improving districts of
Scotland. This may ho partly owing to
the total absence of chalk, which
abounds in so many parts of England,
and which renders calcined lime less necessary
there; but it is principally to bn
attributed to the groat benefit that has
been deiived from its use. In bringing
? r
in new or maiden soils, the use of liine is
found to be so essential, that little good
could be done without it. its first application,
in particular, gives a degree of
permanent fertility to the soil, which can
lie imparted by no other manure. Its ef.
feds, indeed, are hardly to be credited, j
but their correctness cannot be disputed.
Maiden soils, in Lammcrmuir, of a tolerable
quality, will, with the force of shccps'
dung, or other animal manures, produce a
middling crop of oats, or rye ; but the
richest animal dung docs not enable them
?
to biing any other grain to maturity.?
Pens, barley, or wheat, will set out with
every appearance of success; but when
the peas are in bloom, and the other grains
are putting forth thcenr, they proceed no
farther, and dwindle away in fruitless
abortion.* The same soils, after getting
a .sufficient quantity of lime, will produce
every species of grain, and in good seasons
bring them to maturity, in all future
Iinit s, always supposing the ground to be
under proper culture, and tfie climate
adapted to the crop. Tins fact proves,
that oats and rye require less calcareous
matter than what is necessary for other
grains ; that lime acts as an alterative, as
well as an active medicine, and that the
defects in the constitution of the soil are
cured, even after the stimulant nnd fertilizing
effects of the lime have long ceased
to operate. Lime is also peculiarly bonoficial
in improving muirish soils, by making
them produce good herbage, where
nothing but heath and other unpalatable
grasses grew formerly. The expense of
this article in Aberdeenshire is stated to
be enormous, very little of it being produced
in that country; yet lime is there
considered to be absolutely necessary,
and, indeed, the foundation of all substantial
improvements."j* It is supposed, how
* Marl, although containing calcareous matter,
is not so effective. It will prooucc oats, barley,
and early peas in abundance, and in some situa- |
lions will also produce wheat, when the season is j
favorable ; but wheat crops cannot be depended j
upon from marl alone. I
t Communication from Mr. Barclay. Mill of
Ivnocklcith. It is observed, that lime has some. I
times been withheld both from low lands after
fallow, and from hilly lands after turnips; but in j
all these cases, with an evident loss to the oecu- ;
pant, by a decrease ?>f produce throiflioiit tie
wli-lv coum-. '
over, not to bo so useful on the sen-shore, j
os in the more inland distrcts, from the;
soil being perhaps mixed with sea-shells.
The importanreof lime as n manure is ;
i strikingly exemplified bv the following inJ
formation, from Mr. Walker of Mcllen-!
j dean; He entered into the possession of
! that farm twenty-five years ago, and then
! gave the whole farm, (with the exception
i of a fosv acres of the richest soil in differ'
ent fields, which had for ages hecn manured
as infield,) a good dose of lime ?
From tho newly-limed land, his returns
were fully equal to his expectations, and ;
greatly superior to those from the richest
spoils that had received no lime. Being i
very desirous to ascertain how long the '
limed land would maintain its superiority, j
ho kept both the limed and unlimed under
the same management in every respect,
during his first lease of twenty-one years;
nod he can affirm, that at the end of that (
period, his crops upon the limed land wero
equally good, and ns much superior to
r*C #1,,. imlnnnH lr?nrl nO tllPV Wpr<>
i IIMMb Ul 1IIU UIMIIIIVU n/ini| MW ?mvJ .. w ,
at the commencement thereof. Having
I *
got a new lease of that farm, he proposes
laying liinc upon every spot of ground that
was not lirned formerly, being convinced
that he has bocn a considerable loser by
his experiment. How long therefore the
effects of lirnc may last, he will not take
upon himself to foresee ; but he can safely i
say, that there is land upon his brother's
property at Wooden, that was limed bv !
his father upwards of thirty years ago, !
where the effects of the lime, upon every
crop, are still as apparent as when it was
first laid on the land.
It is proposed, in dismissing this subject,
very shortly to explain the following particulars:
1. The soils to which lime'is
applicable; 2. The distance from which
it has been carried; U. The quantity!
used; 4. The best mode of slacking;
5. The common modes of application ;
G. The plan of top dressing the surface;
7. Tnc price; 8. The use of pounded i
limestone; and, 9. The causes which
may occasion its failure.
1. This manure is certainly well calculated
for clay lands. Some recommend
laying on a certain quantity of it, to the \
amount of 20 holls of shells, or 120 hushels
to the Scotch, or 90 to the English
acre, and as hot as possible, every time
the land is fallowed. This plan, however,
is objected.to from respectable authority ;
and it is contended, that so small a qtian
t;ty of lime shells is quite unfit for stimulating
nny kind of soil, except where it is
of n dry nourish nature, and not formerly
limed. To lime land every tune it is in
fallow, seems unnecessary, more especially
if a sufficient quantity were applied
in the first instance \ From 60 to 70 j
barley bolis per Scotch acre, or trom aw
to 4*20 bushels per Scotch, that h, from
298 to 350 bushels per English acre, nrc
quantities frequently given in East Lothian.
In regard to loams, if they uro in
good condition, and in good heart, per- |
haps liming once in the course of two ro- J
tations will be sufficient.? It is a rule,
however, in regard to ihe application of j
lime, ami other calcareous manures, that
they should only be applied to land in u
dry slate, and well drained.
2. It is astonishing the distance from
which lime is carried in some parts of
Scotland. Mr. Blackie, of Holydenn, in
Roxburghshi'c, drives it twenty, t wo miles, '
and the carriage, when hired, is 7$. Gal. J
per boll of shells. In the purisli of Moffat, ;
where of late considerable improvements '
have been carried on, and corn, turnips,
and clover, raised in great perfection, 1000
feet above the level of tile sen, the lime is
carried from Douglas, at twenty-seven
and tJiiity miles distance. It is sometimes
carried on tho borders, but in no great '
quantity, about thirty, or even thirty-two
miles ;j| and in Aberdeenshire, it is driven
that distance inland, after being imported
from Sunderland.
3. The quantity used rarir.s much. It
is evident that strong deep soils require n
greater quantity than those which are
light und shallow. Baron Hepburn is of!
opinion, that it should be applied Irequcntly,
nud in small quantities at a time, cs- !
peeially on gravcily bottomed loams,
which are apt to become too open and j
pliable by nn over dose ol lime ; by follow. I
ing ibis practice, be finds bis crops won- I
derfwlly improved, both in regard to quan. I
tilv and quality. Mr. Robertson of La- i
dy kirk states, that be bus never seen lime !
used in too great a quantity, if the land
is juoiciousty cropped ; if otherwise, it ]
will ultimately hurt the soil, lie has laid 1
on no less a quantity than 100 bolls of
shells, 4 VVmchester bushels each, per ;
Rnglish ucre, and frequently with much
success. On dry fresh land a lessquanti- j
ty will do. Mr. Rlackie of Holy dean j
considers sixteen bolls of shells, on such
land, a sufficient dressing. Dr. Coventry
is of opinion, that in general, about G tons
ofunslackcd or newly.burnt lime, of ninety
or ninety-five per cent, of purity, may i
be sufficient fur tlio statute acres of land
that bus never been limed ; but if the
lime be impure, a greater proportion will
J .Mr. John ShirrefF remarks, that to specify a !
quantity for all lands is impossible, so much depends
upon the depth a? A. quality of the soil; also
on the. quantity of culcar* auc matter, either pre.
viously applied or originally in the soil.
? Communication from George Petersen, Esq.
of Castle-IIuutly.
j} Communication from Mr. W.-lk^r of
dcan.
bo frquisife. Several intelligent farmers
are of oj)inion, that not less than 60 or 70
hails of lime shells jjer acre, should be laid
on a strong clay soil, and that this quantity,
with judicious cropping, will be sufficient
for a lease of nineteen or twentyone
years.
The information trnnsmiffed to me by
Mr. Walker of Mellendcan upon this subject,
is of peculiar importance, as he has
limed perhaps more land than any individual
in the whole island, and in the
couise of thirty years has tried various experiments
in regard to the quantity that
should ho applied per ncro. On newly
broken.up land from old turf, he has laid
on from 20 and 25 to 40 and 45 bolls of
shells, of 4 Winchester bushds each, per
English acre. On light and thin (outfield)
soils, the crop on that part of the
field that was limed at the rate of 20 and '
25 bolls per acre, was as rough, and ?p. i
pearcd equally good, with the crop on trie !
land that had received 40 bolls per acre; j
but when if enme to he thrashed out, the ;
grain was found very inferior in quanti- i
ty, and still more so in quality. Upon
clay swils, the effects of the lime, where
a small quantity was laid, were hardly
discernible ; while that part of the field
that received 40 and 45 bolls produced an
n!itirw!:?nt rrnn. Finding the nrod'ice of
I" ~ o I
the land that was limed with n small qunn
tity so very inferior, ho laid on, (when
the land enmu to he rc.lallowed). *20 or 25
bolls more, the effects of which were nevcr
perceptible. He is therefore decidedly
of opinion, that every kind of soil should
have n good dose nt once, in which case
he considers no repetition to he necessary
for a long time after; hut if repeated at
all, the second liming should he considerably
grenter than the first, which seems
to be the generd opinion of the Scotch
farmers. As to repented liming in small
quantities Mr. Walker is convinced, that
whatever is laid out in that way, after the
first dose, is so much money thrown
away. He can give no stronger proof*
of his conviction in that respect, than his
prcctice upon the furm of Rutherford.?
fie entered to that farm in June, 1603,
and since that time has gone over eight
hundred and fifty acres; and though a
great part of it consists of a light dry soil,
and the lime has to be carried twenty-four
or twenty-five miles, consequently at n
great expense, yet on no part of the farm
has ho laid less than 40 bolls of shells, or
240 Winchester bushels per English acre,
and on many places fully 50 bolls. Nothing,
in bis opinion, nssimilate9 the produce
of outfield, to that.of infield land so
much, as a good dose of lime laid on at
once. The consequence of this liming
has been, the most productive crops, oi
every description, to be seen in all that
neighborhood.
Mr. Aitchison, of Clement's Wells, also
has found that lime answers every purpose
he could wish, in promoting the improvement
ot his estate in Peebles shire,
where the climate is cold and moist, fie
began to improve that property in 1806,
and in OcUber, 1811, he had laid on it,
10,386 bolls, or 62,316 Winchester hushels.
ilis ridges arc 18 feet broad ; and
according to the quantity ho wishes to
put on per acre, his overseer has the following
tuble to conduct the operation.
If it is proposed to lay on 25 bolls per
acre, betwixt each heap, of one firlot
each, there ought to be a distance
of 30? feet.
If 30 bolls
35 do 22
40 do 19
45 .do 17
And in the saino proportion as high as
50 bolls. He never puts on less than 25 J
bolls, or 150 bushels of shells, per Scotch,
(130 bushels per English acre,) and on j
heavy land he has gone the length of 70
bolls. Tho day the lime comes to the j
Held, a man follows the carts, and covers :
it up immediately with earth, by which, j
generally in a few days, it is reduced to i
powder. When in that Mate, it is spread )
on tho land. After trying, several other 1
methods, this was found to ho the best.?
The improvement etfeclcd by lime on j
that property has been very great.
A Tkn islar-Lr innr of l:mn COITinlctolv is .
| O.,,-. ....-g - j
a most important operation. The common
mode is, to lay it in heaps from tiie kiln
upon the ground intended to ho iimcd ; ,
but this, although the most expeditious, is !
by no means the most advantageous me- j
thod. In the first place, if the lime is not j
all of the same quality, (which is seldom j
the case.) the best liinecommonlv dissolves
first, and the inferior quality continues j
unslackcd; so that it must either be spread I
in that state, or the good lime must be
allowed to receive too much moisture, or
again to re-absorb its fixed air, both of
which should he prevented. The best
mode of slacking, is to lay down thesheli*
in a heap near to water, and by once turning
and watering the whole mass, it is
reduced to a complete powder; in which
state it should be applied to the soil, and i
ploughed in immediately with a shallow ;
furrow, when there is nodouht but it will '
mix more intimately with the soil, than
by the former method.? This plan, how !
ever, is attended with an additional c.\-!
pense of considerable magnitude.
The necessity of slacking calcined lime,
as soon after it is burnt as possible, is oh- '
vious. If any sudden raU) shoulJ fall, it
T Coininunicitiin from Mr. H' unit of Kini.Ic tV
iiK'nt. i
| would bo converted into mortnr; no nrt
can then separate it, and mix it equally
with the soi!; nor would double the qtnn
tity have the oame good effect. Kven
after it has been reduced to powder, it'
any rain should happen to fall, or if by
any means it receive too much moistffro,
while it lies thin spreadon the surfuca of
the Held, it will partly be formed into hard
insoluble cakes, and may remain if? that
state for years, without mixing with, or
heiug of the least benefit-to, the sod. In
the course of repeated ploughing^, Mr/
Patterson, of Castle Huntly, hnnnbimtd
pieces of hard lime come up, na insoluble
as if ihoy had been pieces of an old building.
: " , './i! c''?
Considering theso circumstances, I was
much plenxed to tind, that a mode had
been discovered by Mr. Neil Rallingaf, in
File, which obviates those difficulties.??
His plan is, to lay the calcined lime down
on any thick head-ridge of good earth,
within the field where it is to lie applied*
and (he instant it is so, two men uru rendv
to rnalte up n compost of the lunc-shclli
and earth ; three cnrt-loads of owrth to
one cart of shells, raised to a ridge long
and narrow, five feet high, that rain mav
not enter it. The moisture in the earth
slacks or reduces the lime to a powder; it
swells to a considerable bulk, and then all
cracks and openings arc closed wub u
spado, and a little more earth put over the
whole. In this way, he has had it tre*
quently mixed up for six mouth*, and in
one particular instance fifteen months,
before it was carted nway , and yet when
carried on to the land ani^ spread, the
whole mass put on the appearance of ? hito
lime, flying with tho wind, as if newlv
from the kiln. This mode ho rncitna always
to follow, being certain of its advan.
J O
tngo. It can be mixed as intimately with
the soil as if new from (he kiln, and.he has
had crops from it, in this way, superior to
an equal quantity of hot limo* both tried
without dung. The application common,
iy is to the summer-fallow: ho has nUo
applied it to pasture, quite hot, nnd in
compost as above described, aa?i found
both to answer well: but tho time of npplication
was July, and ho soon found,
that it ought to lie at le*st one year or
more before the field was ploughed.
Mr. Ballingal having used lrom ouu 10
100 bulls. per annum, for several years, ins
experience may be confidently relied on.
He remarks, that lime, if exposed to rain,
or even to frost, and shirked like mortar,
loses half its effect ; no clfrl^cau then
mix it intimately with the soil. Tdj^and
is wet, and often when the lime is dnvvtL^Sei
unfit for carting upon the field, nor aro
the ridges prepared for spreading the lime;
without having fallen upon such a plan,
therefore, he could never have used linto
to equal advantage. He adds, (hat an
intelligent neighbor of bis, brings his litno
from the kiln, lays it in small heaps, about
a fir'ot of shells in each heap, or four
heaps per boll, on the fallow ; covers
these instiiAlly with earth, which slacks
the lime, rod when it is completely so, ho
spreads it in powder, quite hot, on the fallows,
and ploughs it in with a light furrow.
This saves labor and oxpenso. Ho
never uses water in slacking lime, and tho
effects of his practice are very good ; thu
earth, or rather the moisture in it, slacks
the lirnc most completely, and no water is
necessary."f This is an excellent prac.
lice, and very common in many counties:
and many intelligent fanners prefer it to
tho other plan, which they think would bo
attended with too much expense to bo
generally imitated. At tho same time,
an intimate mixture with (lie soil is of the
utmost importance in the application of
lime; any plan that contributes to that
object merits uttcnlicn.
4. Mr. Dudgeon, of Primrose. liiif, con?
"'""J ' '!'<> mnel nrtviinfifrnmi*
aiUUIS 11 IV VW lliw rnwo? l%U
mode, of applying lime, to lay it on in a
powdery state, upon ground when under
summer fallow, before the fallow receives
tho last furrow, and then to mix it intimnteiy
with the soil, by harrowing beforo
it is ploughed in. In regard to liming fallows,
Mr. Rcnnic of Phan lassie observes,
(hat it is the most profitable modn of opplication,
if it is laid on at a proper season.
He has been in the practice, for these ten
years past, of laying lirnc on his follows,
from the 1st of April to the 1st of October,
and always found, that the rttst laid .
on produced the best crops, which lie ns.
cribos to its being more minutely mixed
with tho soil, by the more numerous
ploughing* and harrowings, and of course
the fermentation more complete, than
what is laid on late in the season: Juno
and June and July, therefore, arc to bo
preferred, so that tho lime may be completely
mixed with the soil before the crop
* This is an important fact, it being generally
supposed that wher* inserted in the form of hot
lime, in a state of perfect powder, its effects arc
gunt r and more immediate than In any other
way. By Mr. Ballingnl's plan, the lime can be
carried to the field in autumn, or even in winter,
which, though an old practice, could not be domi
with equal safety, as under the prop'***! system.
t A correspondent contends that li?nc is btst
laid on the land in small heaps, nnd immediately
covered with earth, whirl: in a damp or inoist season
slacks or falls it ; but ho frequently puts on
water from a water cart, which sLc'.s it directly.
aim U 13 uii.ii^iii^w-1* t.m in in m i|nn^ riaii,
harrowed, and ploughed in. wh. n if mixes m**t
intimately with the soil. Lime should be in p<v,r.
drr, and the I md iu a jv> vder-tike U jle. tebrti it is
1 i;d oil.