Where Clover Is Not Wanted

Categories: THE NEED OF LIME

The ability to grow heavy red clover is a

practical assurance that the soil's content of lime is sufficiently

high. When clover fails on account of a lime deficiency, the work of

applying lime may not be escaped by a shift in the farm scheme that

permits the elimination of clover. The clover failure is an index of a

condition that limits the yields of all staple crops. The lack of lime

checks the activity of bacteria w ose office it is to prepare

plant-food for use. The stable manure or sods decompose less readily

and give smaller results. Soil poisons accumulate. Mineral plant-food

in the soils becomes available more slowly. Physical condition grows

worse.



The limitations of the value of manure and commercial fertilizers

applied to land that has a lime deficiency have illustration in an

experiment reported by the Cornell station:



The soil was once a fertile loam that had become very poor. A part was

given an application of lime, and similar land at its side was left

unlimed. The land without lime and fertilizer of any kind made a yield

of 1824 pounds of clover hay per acre. A complete fertilizer on the

unlimed land made the yield 2235 pounds, and 15 tons of manure on the

unlimed land made the yield 2091 pounds.



Where lime had been applied, the unfertilized land yielded 3852 pounds

per acre, the fertilized, 4085 pounds, and the manured, 4976 pounds.

The manure and fertilizer were nearly inactive in the acid soil. The

lime enabled the plants to obtain benefit from the plant-food.