AUCTION SALES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 292, 29 August 1918, Page 8

AUCTION SALES

FORTHCOMING FIXTUBEB. TO-DAY. Town Hall, Manakau, 1 p.m.-Sale of farm properties (Abraham and Williams). Civil Sorvico Club, Ilnjlance Street, Wellington, 1 p.m.—Solo of piuno, furnituro, etc- (E. Johnston and Co.). 151 Lambton Quay, Wellington, 1.30 p.mSalo of household furnituro (A, L. Wilson and Co.). SATURDAY. Horso Emporium, Grey Street, Palmcrston North, 2 p.m.—Salo of farm properties (Abraham and Williams). NEW ZEALAND LIMESTONES Mil. ASTON'S INVESTIGATIONS. For some time the Department of Agriculture has been having analyses ot New Zealand limestones made. Portion of the information obtained was published about three years ago, and now Air'. li. 0. Aston, the Department's chomist, has made a funnelstatement 011 tne subject. "As to the value of analyses made on samples sent ui by the general public ana others unskilled in. metnods of sampling," Mr. Aston says, "it may be stated that although such samples may be misleading in cases, yet with the knowledge that too much reliance cannot be placed s on the accuracy of the sampling aud that the samples in extreme cases may not represent' anything but themselves, the -results of analyses still have a positive value. Should, for instance, a group of farmers decide on utilising a stone contain-, iug, say, 80 per cent, of carbonate of lime, and 011 referring to these tables it is found that a sample from the district has' been analysed containing 90 per cent., this may lie news wliicli would lead to a search for higher-grade stone and possibly alter for the better the site of the limeworks.'*

"It must be borne in mind," he adds,' "that now the cost of phosphatic fertilisers is so high, and some unobtainable. at any price, the farmer has his'alternative in liming more heavily, and thus making what phosphate there is in the soil more available 1 ." At the present time any original information which bears- 011 limestone is therefore worthy of publication."

Mr. Aston again w.ishes to call attention to the desirability ol utilising the numbers of deposits of soft ljmestone, limestone ooze, or even cheap screenings from limestone works, as top-dressings for land requiring carbonate of lime. Such forms of carbonate of lime can often bo applied to the lancKwithout previous grinding or even bagging.