Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women - Wise Acres Yearbook (Ambler, PA)

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piles of about 300 to 400 pounds, each in slight excavations and covered a few inches deep with moist soil. If the land should be dry the lime should be moistened and the soil used to cover it should be made wet after it is piled on. Lime so treated will be slaked within ten days or two weeks and will be reduced to a finer powder than if it had been treated with a larger amount of water and exposed to the air. If now the piles be spread rather thinly and exposed to the air, they will become air slaked in a few weeks or months. There is very little lime lost by this treatment and no harm will result from the small amount of soil that will become mixed with the lime in this way. The few lumps that may be found may be removed by putting the lime through a sand screen. In doing this the workman should take advantage of the wind to keep out of the lime dust. Air-slaked lime is much less disagreeable to handle and apply to the land than quick-or water-slaked lime. Lime should not be plowed under, for it works downwards, never upwards. When it is applied to a cultivated crop, the land should first be plowed and disked or harrowed. The lime may then be put on with a fertilizer drill and will be well worked into the surface soil by subsequent preparation of the land. If it be applied to a pasture or meadow, autumn is a good time, as this allows the lime to work its way into the soil during the winter and early spring. The quantity of lime needed per acre depends upon the acidity of the soil and the frequency of applications. On newly drained swamp lands as much as three to five tons of quicklime or its equivalent may be needed, in some cases, to correct the soil acidity. On ordinary land that has been under cultivation for some time, from one to two tons of ground limestone, or its equivalent, every four years, wilj usually be ample. Test the soil occasionally with the litmus and give most of the field the treatment that you consider best; but set aside a small part of it for test plots and try various amounts and forms of lime on them, then follow on the entire field the practice that has given the best results on the plots. John L. Doan. 6

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There is a saying that “Lime makes the father rich and the son poor.” The cause of this impression is that frequently an abundance of potash is present in the soil in unavailable forms that lime can change to compounds that the crops can use. In time such supplies of potash would become deficient and result in diminished yields. The remedy in such a case is simply to supply the needed potash by fertilizing. Calcium cannot take the place of potassium or any other element as plant food. Clay and other heavy soils are composed of very small particles that hold water tenaciously and do not permit the movement of soil air. These conditions and the low temperature that results are unfavorable to bacterial action, the liberation of plant food, and root activity. The application of lime to such soils causes these particles to arrange themselves in groups or granules that act as if they were single larger particles. This lets in the warmth and air, favors chemical activity, and promotes bacterial action and plant growth. It also makes the soil more mellow and workable. Very sandy soils are too loose to hold moisture and fertility as well as would be desirable. On such land, lime acts as a weak binding material and makes the soils more compact and retentive. The forms of lime that will correct soil acidity and give the other beneficial results already mentioned arc quicklime, water-slaked lime, and carbonate of lime. The last may be in the form of air-slaked lime, ground limestone, or ground oyster shells. Marl is an impure carbonate of lime that may also be used. The effectiveness of any form of lime is in proportion to the amount of calcium it contains. Fifty-six pounds of quicklime are equivalent to seventy-four pounds of water-slaked lime or one hundred pounds of air-slaked lime, ground limestone or crushed oyster shells. Ground quicklime is the most active of these and the carbonated are mildest in their action. If the soil should have a superabundance of undecomposed organic matter or a large degree of acidity, the vigorous action of quick- or water-slaked lime may be desirable. These forms also have greater power to liberate food elements already in the soil. But if used in large quantities in the soils in the usual condition, they are destructive to humus. The carbonates are always safe forms to use, and if finely divided are fairly quick in their action. It is not considered advisable to use any other forms on sandy soils. Experiments conducted on heavy land over long periods of time also showed somewhat better results for the carbonate, which, in this case, was ground limestone. Where lime must be shipped a long distance, quicklime is the most economical in freight, the shipping cost being only a little more than half as much as for ground limestone, in proportion to its efficiency. If quicklime should be much cheaper than any other form, when all factors of cost in money and labor have been estimated, it may be purchased in the lump form a few months before needed, put into 5

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jHni Lkbs March comes, bringing many plans for the garden. You are eager to have an early start; but you think that without a greenhouse you may not hope for the earliest matured crop. Greenhouses, however, are not the only kinds of gardens under glass. Very good results are obtained by the use of hot beds, which are sometimes started as early as January. In this district, the usual time for making the beds is March. For the location of the hot bed,choose a place that slopes to the south. There should be a few feet to the north of the place where the hot beds are to be. This may be in the form of buildings, evergreens, a wall, or a board fence. If a board fence be used it will serve also to support the sashes when they are off the frames. It is very important that the site to be used should be well drained, otherwise water will stand in the bed, which, obviously, will ruin the crops planted there. If the drainage be poor, overcome this difficulty by excavating about three feet down and putting in a layer of crushed stone and other porous material, covering this with leaves or finer stones. After having decided where to put your hot bed, the next step to be considered is the construction of the frames. They may be portable or permanent. The portable frames are 6 by 9 or 12 feet and are made of planks or boards. This will accommodate 3 or 4 sashes. The frames are usually 12 to 14 inches above ground on the north side and 8 inches on the south side, to permit the sash to slope toward the sun. The end pieces are 6 feet in length, tapering to fit the side pieces at both ends. The planks are held together by stakes or by bolts or iron rods. The entire construction must be done with accuracy. The hole is then filled with the heating material and well tramped; the frame is put on and manure is banked up around it. Rough boards or planks are used in making permanent frames. Where the north end is to be, drive in strong stakes about four feet apart; 6 feet from this line of stakes drive other stakes the same distance apart for the south side of the frame. The stakes should project above the surface of the ground just as high as the top of the frame is to be. These are boarded up and cross pieces fitted on. The dimensions for the permanent frames are the same as those for the portable ones. Concrete frames are sometimes used. They have the advantage of being more durable, though the initial expense is somewhat greater. The regulation sashes are 3 feet by 6 feet. Recently double glass sashes with a -inch air space have come into use. They have proven highly satisfactory. The air space acts as an insulator of cold and heat, thus preventing injury from cold and burning by the sun. The work of changing the ventilation is eliminated; and mats need not be put on at night. Plants grown under these double sashes are especially vigorous and are of good size and of good quality. 7