NJDEP - NJGS - First Annual Report of the Geological Survey of the ...

' , In the use of lime as a' fertilizer, it may be established as ageneral rule, that it is only to such lahds that it should be appliedin its caustic state.* ., _hel[ma_l_ either alone or eomposted with peat and muck,may be advantageously used in' large qaantities on clayey,sandy, and loamy soils. The principal object in compostingit with peat and muck is, at the same time, to" add organicmatter to the soil. If the soil contains already a sufficientquantity of organic matter in an active or proper state, it maybc applied alone. Its mechanical action on many soiIs, particularlyon hardpan, or clayey soilsl rerldbring them mornpulverulent and open, is of great importance. It.may beadvantageouslyemployed upon polsonous soils. Copperas orsulphate of zrou renders laud sterile. Whenever a soil is derivedfrom the debris of a rock wherein is found iron pyrites,(sulphuret of iron,) it will contain sulphate of iron, _tnd veryoften in sufficient quantities to destroy vegetation. An in.stance'of this was observed in Frankford Township, near the ZCounty Poor House. In its vicinity was a ridge of slate containinga large amount of pyrites, which, being very sof_ iscdnstantly undergoing decomposition, and forming sulphate ofiron, and this is carried over the soil and mingled with it bythe wash of'the ridge. ,To a calcareous soil, or one which has been formed from thedebris of limestone rock, it may 'be applied in small quantitiesalone I or eomp0sted with large quantities of vegetable matter.On the northwestern slope of' the Blue, or Kittatinny Mountaifi,the course of the Little FJatkill is near the dividing lineb/_.tweea the limestone of the Heldcrberg Series, and the redsandstone and shales of the Medina' Sandstone. The soil onth e limestone hills between the Little 1_'latkitl and the Delaware• By caustic llme, is understood the hydrate of llme, or'that form producedby slaking freshly burned or'quick lime With water. Its caustic property iJgreatest directly after being slaked: Figaro that time the carbonic aeld of the at*mosphere, uniting with it_ drives off the water, and taking its place diminishesitseaustloproperty.TMs actioncontinuesunt!lallt_e waterisdrivenofl_anditbecomescarbonateofllme,or mildlime.NEW JERSEY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY