Checking Soil Acidity

Northern Advocate, 30 July 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

Checking Soil Acidity

j It cannot be too strongly emphaj sised that lime applied to wet land is lime wasted. Certain soil conditions are essential before lime is applied, otherwise its application will be a waste of both time and money. Draining is imperative when the ground is ) not naturally dry. Fertility in the j soil is dependent, on the activity of j certain soil organisms, or very minute I forms of life, which cannot work propI crly in the absence of certain essenj tials. The first is drainage, followed by good management and manuring. Lime may then bo applied with every confidence. In the case of pasture draining it is just as imperative before liming as it is in the case of j arable land. One English authority j has emphasised the fact that the makI ing of deep incisions in the soil was j letting in the air, and that mechani- ! cat treatment of grassland greatly increased the benefit tc be got from lime. He instanced the ease of a farmer • who complained that though T he had limed for two years he had received no benefit from it. The field was then cultivated with a penetrating harrow. The lime started to get in and did some good. The opinion that when lime is applied to the same land | continuously ft loses its effect is only true when the fertility of the soil is not being kept up by applications of manure. And it is important to remember that lime is an important means of making full use of the manures applied.