diff --git a/refine b/refine
index 5b549125e..27f1e602e 100755
--- a/refine
+++ b/refine
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ where [options] include:
 
   -m <memory> max memory heap size to use
      default: 1024M
+     Values less than 256M not allowed
 
   -k <google api key> a server API key for calling Google APIs
 
@@ -783,7 +784,16 @@ while [ $# -ne 0 ] ; do
     -i) shift; REFINE_HOST="$1"; shift; continue;;
     -w) shift; REFINE_WEBAPP="$1"; shift; continue;;
     -d) shift; REFINE_DATA_DIR="$1"; shift; continue;;
-    -m) shift; REFINE_MEMORY="$1"; shift; continue;;
+    -m) 
+      shift;
+      if [ $1 -le 256 ]
+      then
+        fail "Value of -m less than 256 not allowed";
+      else
+        REFINE_MEMORY="$1";
+        shift;
+        continue;
+      fi;;
     -k) shift; REFINE_GOOGLE_API_KEY="$1"; shift; continue;;
     -v) shift; REFINE_VERBOSITY="$1"; shift; continue;;
     -x) shift; REFINE_EXTRA_OPTS="$1"; shift; continue;;