Dear Allan, Hugh, etal, Please Forward,
Recently, Lime and Humus has been a topic of discussion that provides a basis for further observation. First; What is lime? I think that this is an extremely tough question for people of the baby boom era(1950+) and later to answer. We have been led to believe, for the most part, that lime comes out of a bag. When I first read that Steiner believed oak bark provided a good source of calcium, it rolled completely over me like a cement truck. Well, in the same token, I watched the fields. Knowing that a prime requirement of legumes is calcium for proper nodule formulation seemed like a good place to start. So anyhow, when store bought limes are cast onto the soil prior to pea or bean plant, the growth of these seemed much healthier(greener, more fruit, etc..) when in the root zone of an oak tree and not dependent on bagged lime distribution. Experiment: Materials; Clay, lime, sand, water, crushed stone. Take 2 parts clay, 3 parts sand, 1 part lime, and 1 part stone. Mix dry carfully, then add water while continuing to mix until a firm consistancy is achieved. If kaolin clay is used then think about adding a small amount of bentonite as a binder. If the mix has become too-- watery then add additional lime.-- Once this has set up and ---hardened, it needs to be ----- --buffed. While buffing, add water until a glaze like surface is achieved. In experiments I have witnessed where formulas attempted to approximate that of Roman cement hot lime is almost always used. The heat generated from the chemical reaction of hot lime with water during the fusion process is all that is needed to form the bond. So then, the question at hand is; what is the difference between these 2 forms of lime? The chemical formula CaCO3 is almost always given for natural calcium carbonate found in rocks and soil. In the case of bagged limes, the rock is subjected to the kiln where it is heated and crushed; driving the additional oxygen off. In the question of the calcium pro- vided by the oaks, it appears that the young form of calcium there is much more easily assim- ulated by the plant world. Looking at these 2 forms of lime allow us an add-itional window to see into another process and formulate other questions as to what may be occurring in the modern world. For example, what happens when old foundations are ripped up, or blown apart and dust particles are scat- tered into the atmosphere? Perhaps this depends the point of origin of the lime dust part- icule and its' ability to enter the jet stream that circles the globe. However, the very minute that particle enters atmosphere it begins to accumulate water. So, at the point of origin a dryness in the local atmosphere occurs. Now if we could imagine that a construction project in Ti-mbucktoo had kicked up a good bit of this old lime dust and that this project was located near the airport, where these part- icules could ride with the jets stream to enter into the upper atmosphere. This is the point where we can imagine that these particles continue until they become super saturated with water and fall in the neighboring country of Angola creating a devastating flood. Then, if we could wonder a bit more why Timbucktoo, normally a wet region is now in a severe drought. Michael. - __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com
