The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1891. CURRENT TOPICS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume X, Issue 2412, 20 June 1891, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1891. CURRENT TOPICS.

The proceedings m the "Baccarat Case "have been watched with interest even m this remote part of the world, where the mysteries of the ga'ne are almost unknown. As m England, so here is the verdict criticised. Royalists uphold it; Republicans impugn it. We, being loyal, and yet maintaining Democratic principles, can take a quite independent view of the case. An honorable soldier is charged with cheating at curds at a quiet game among the guests at a country house. Among those participating m the game are the Prince of Wales and General Owen Willuins. The Prince is no fool: his strong faculty of perception of men and matters was long ago established; while General Williams may almost be looked upon as an authority On such questions as that which has just arisen. Neither of these saw any cheating—it was only young and inexperienced onlookers who saw, or imagined they saw that. Then we have the extremely one eyed proceeding of hushing the matter up which the Prince distinctly says was adopted out of consideration for the host and hostess. After the verdict, comes the popular sympathy for Sir William Cumming, his welcome by his people as of a hero from a victory ; and the consummation of her troth by his atfianced wifo, On the other side condemnation of the Prince's conduct, and plain declarations that justice has been sacrificed to expediency. Verily it is a case where we must read between the lines, and while regretting that thw parcel of dirty linen was washed m public, we must say that outverdict m the case would have been for the plaintiff".

Mr E, V, Wright is doing his best to make tlie question of " Lime as a Fertiliser " a current topio, and )jp is quite right m doing so, even leaving out Qi account his commercial interest m the subject, The known results of the use of lj.ms m this district are marvellous to those w\)Q Uh>ys not been aware of its wonderful and vaii^ble properties. The action of lime is well deecriiied l)y Professor Stewart, the eminent Aiaei'iean authority on agricultural ijuestions, who w#esf — Even productive lands are found to need | lime fit times to keep them from exhaustion, for there may be an abundance of lime-sto^e ifi the .soil and yet no available lime. Plants g»,nnot live i upon crude food. Their food iaus»4, Jv§ *o}.uble ;ind digestible, and it may easily , l#ethat the Yum W^y be m anunavaiV i ablu condition. It m a prominent cljaiucteristic, too, of lime, iiiat vhjle ib m a dtVect plant foodj yet it exerts a rcniaikabie ehmfl'ujal ett'ect upon th.c soil m dissQlving wiuyFai matter

land setting free its compounds, and also m decomposing organic matter and rendering.it lit for plant food. It is also known to be favorable to the growth m the soil of those invisible germs whose office appears to be to develop nitrogen, and thus, m some as yet occult manner, to supply vegetation with a large supply of this indispensable element of plant food. Hence lime is one of the roost important fertilisers, and de'erves a place next to phosphoric acid m the category ; of artificial manures, for it not only supplies the soil with its own substance, but frees phosphoric acid, potash, magnesia, soda, and even nitrogen from inert and useless compounds, and aids the fanner m the making of composts, and thus increases the value of his yard manure. All plants contain more or less lime. Of the majority of agricultural plants the chief component of the ash is lime. Thus, the ash of clover contains 34 to 40 per cent of lime; that of lucerne (alfalfa), 48 per cent; of turnips, .13 per cent ;- of potatoes, 30 per cent, and the steins and leaves, 40| per cent; hemp, 43^' per cent ; tobacco, 37 per cent; wheat, 12 per cent; rye, 11 per cent ; and others from o to 10 per cent. That this should be true is a reasonable deduction from the fact that as all animals have bones, and bones contain 63 per cent of mineral matter, of which more than one-half is lime, this lime with the other matters must be derived from the vegetables which form their food.