LIME AND ITS USES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 2 May 1922, Page 5

LIME AND ITS USES.

ADVICE TO FARMERS

In the course of his lecture on lime and its uses, Mr F. W. Greenwood, Instructor in Agriculture, in an address at the Weraroa Farmers' Camp, dealt with the various forms of lime, our lime deposits, sampling, crushing plants, etc. In speaking of the uses of lime for agricultural purposes, he pointed out that the action of burned lime was much quicker than that of the carbonate, but the effects of the latter were more lasting. Although the former was theoretically about ten times as soluble as the carbonate, as, it in time reverted to carbonate by th* action of the air and moisture, it did not really' work out so in practice. If it was desired that the lime should act quickly then burned lime should be employed, but there was always a tendency with that form to make various plant foods in the soil more soluble and readily available. Such soils as stiff clays and swamp lands lent themselves specially to treatment by quick lime, but it would generally be inadvisable to treat sandy soils or soils with poor humus with quick lime. One factor which the farmer had to consider in choosing between burned or carbonated lime was the comparative cost involved in getting either on to his land. Generally speaking, carbonated lime was the most popular with I New Zealand farmers. He then dealt

at length with the uses of lime for j agricultural purposes, and also with soil analysis. Although the method of applying lime differed according to , the crops intended to be sown, generally sneaking land should be ploughed, disced, harrowed, and cultivated before the lime was applied. After this the land benefited considerably by a few strokes of tbe brush, chain, or tripod harrows. However, whatever cultivation took place after liming, ploughing should be avoided. He concluded with a lengthy dissertation on the effect of lime on various crops.