"lime enriches the father but impoverishes the son." The fact
would have been, that lime, whenever employed, would have not
only enriched the father, but the son also. Let the conditions be-
come known on which its profitable employment depends, its use
would be then only in similar conditions, and profits would always
be the result. How many men now in our own state, wise men,
acute men, practical men, who have employed lime without one
cent of benefit, might have been at least saved their expense, had
they consulted some other rule than that given by its successful
employment by another on a different soil. Many persons employ
lime merely because somebody else has clone so with benefit,
whilst if a survey had been made of all the facts, reasons sufficient
for a contrary practice would have been obtained. The many and
various recommendations when, where and how to use this manure,
are so many concessions of the ignorance of one general catholic
truth. Had a true theory of vegetable physiology, and a true
knowledge of analytical chemistry been employed, then the prin-
ciples of the application of lime and all other manures, would have
dictated their use only where properly required. There not being
this knowledge, speculation wild and vague, because it had no
bounds of control, took the place of true philosophy, and the
reasons given for the use of lime were as many as the places in
which it was used.

Error, however always yields in form at least to truth, and the
necessity for a knowledge of the nature and character of the soil,
was conceded by speaking of the adaptation of lime to stiff clays
and light clays, to loamy clays and clayey loams, sandy loams and
loamy sands, to stiff and light clays. These terms are all so many
definitions—short descriptions of the composition of the soil; and
if any description of a soil is of value to indicate the propriety of
the employment of a manure, that is best which is the most
thorough and comprehensive.

In the classification which has been given of manures, it will be
seen that lime not only acts by affording itself as material for vari-
ous parts of the plant, but that it also causes substances which may
be present in a soil in an insoluble condition to assume a soluble
form; it also decomposes the vegetable matter in a soil. Lime,
therefore, has a wide range of efficacy, and the indications for, its
use are equally extensive.

1.   Whenever a soil is so deficient in lime as not to have a suffi-
ciency to give a skeleton to the plant.

2.   Whenever a soil contains minerals insoluble to ordinary agen-
cies, which contain any of the inorganic matter necessary for the
food of plants.

Whenever it contains a large quantity of undecomposed organic
(vegetable) matter, then lime should be used. These are the only
occasions on which it should ever be employed.

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