46a 



•¥BE ItROPlCAt AGRiCVLTVmST. [January x, 1886. 



physical peculiarities of our vast agricultural areas. 

 The great ilrawback to the industry is the fact that 

 a dozen years must pass lieforo a monetary return 

 can be had for the labour bestowed. Australian 

 farmrcs aro advocates for quicker returns, but, neverthe- 

 less, they might in that leisure time which occurs 

 on most farms devote a few hours to the planting of 

 olive plants, the cost of which Mv. Brown estimates 

 to be about 2d. .each. 



Many farmers of Australia are fully coguizant of 

 the ])rofits derivable from wattle trees, although few 

 have done mucli in the shape of planting. The Forest 

 Department of this colony is at present making an 

 experiment with wattles on the vacant ground along 

 railwoy lines; and ]\Ir. Moses, a tanner of Armidale, 

 has a wattle farm. Mr. Brown shows on paper that 

 wattle cultivation, although years have to elapse before 

 a return can be expected, is a branch of agriculture 

 which will pay handsomely. He says : — " At the 

 distances apart which I recommend the trees to be 

 grown — namely, 4 feet to 6 feet — there will be an 

 average of 1,200 trees to be the acre. In order, however, 

 to make due allowance for barks, I shall base my 

 calculations upon there being 1,000 only to each acre. 

 At the present time bark is selling at £7 10s. and £8 

 per ton, and there is every chance of a still higher 

 pric; being obtained for it during the next few years. 

 Still, to be on the safe side, I will put its value 

 down at £5 per ton only. I give five tons as the 

 probable yield pes acre. That this is a low estimate 

 will be admitted, when it is considered that this 

 only allows for 101b. of bark to be takei^ from each 

 tree. I shall now give a statement of the probable 

 revenue and expemliture during a period of seven 

 years, in connection with a wattle plantation, formet' 



upon 100 acres of land sp' 



purchased for the 



purpose, and upon which wattles hail not previously 

 grown." The expenditure, allowing £3 per acre as the 

 price of the land, would be .£1,792; the returns would 

 be the value of .500 tons of bark, £2,.500 : value of 

 property, say £400 : total, £2,1)00. The profit, therefore, 

 would be £1,108. The report upon the subject is one 

 which will repay perusal. Copies of it may be easily 

 obtained by those persons who feel disposed to learn 

 more about wattle culture. — Si/djiri/ J/nil. 



KAINIT AND ITS VALUE. 

 Among the fertilizers that are less known to the 

 general farmer than it should be, and hence not jiro- 

 perly appreciated, is the < lermau Kainit. Its use in 

 Germany has become ijuite general, .and in this couu- 

 try its use is rapidly increasing as its value is be- 

 coming better known. Kainit is a mineral salt found 

 in Germany at a depth of frnm 30o to 1,200 feet 

 below the surface and in such ahtuidance as to be 

 practically inexhaustible, being found and mined near 

 Strassfurt; it is also called Slrassfuit Salt. 



Its great fertilizing power is largely due to the Urge 

 amount of sulphate of potash it contains as well as 

 other chemical salts. It is imported into this country 

 finely pulverized, and put in sacks of 200 pounds 

 each, and is of very easy application. 



I copy from Bul!etin No. XXVII of the New 

 Jcr.tey Agricultural Kxporimont Station, its report of 

 the amount (A potash that kainit coutain.s, " Station 

 analysis No, 411; Kuinit, Alexander Kerr & Bros., 

 I'hilfid'Jlphiai Potash per 100 pounds of Kainit 12 80 

 {jounila ; cost of potash per pound 03'!) e ; co.«t Kainit 

 ilO-tiO pet toti." 



I give tUe ftnalysia of that of Alexander Kerr & 

 tiros, because it Is flrst on the list and also being 

 snpciior. A full analysis gives the following compos- 

 ition (lerton of 2,(J(l0 pounds. 



Sulphate of Potash 4S3 pounds. 



(, ,i Magnesia ;. 28(3 „ 



Chloride „ , 252 ,j 



„ ., Sodium J 640 „ 



Comnion Salt J 



iMoisture ... 2SS „ 



Insiduble <•• 3S „ 



Total, 



.2,000 



/; 



It will be seen by the analysis that the quantity 

 of the Sulphate of I'otaeh Is very large, and that of 

 the Sulphate and (Chloride of IMaghesia also large. ' 

 The salt, G40 pounds, is also in most cases valuable, 

 leaving only the moisture and insoluble matter a trifle 

 over 300 ]3ounds that is valueless. The mauurial value 

 of the potash in Kainit can be easily undcrstoo«l by 

 comparing it %vith ashes. Unleached ashes, as usually 

 sold in moist condition, contain, on an average, of not 

 over 5 per cent of potash, or 100 pounds per ton. 



Kainit, by the Station analysis, contains 12'80 pounds 

 of potash per 100 pounds or 25(3 pounds per ton. Leached 

 ashes often contain less than 30 pounds per ton of 

 potash. Kainit at SIO'OO per ton, good wood ashes 

 should, to be equal, be worth S4-00 per ton. The 

 value of Sulphate and Oliloride of Magnesia, supply- 

 ing as they do Chlorine Sul2)huric acid and Magnesia, 

 in soils that are deficient in them is sometimes worth 

 the cost of the whole. Kainit is also valuable to mix 

 with compost or for stable use, to absorb bad smells 

 or prevent the escape of free ammonia. 



For the above uses it is superior to land plaster, 

 being more soluble, and also from the disposition of 

 the Sulph.ate of INIagnesia with Ammonia to form a 

 double salt of JI.igne.sia and Ammonia, fixing all es- 

 caping smells and free Ammonia. 



Kainit, similar to ashes, is caustic, and must not 

 be put in contact with the roots of plants, for when 

 applied in so concentrated a form it will burn the 

 plants as quickly as ashes. The best plan to apply 

 Kainit is to sow it broadcast over the land as evenly 

 as possible at the rate of 200 or 300 pounds per acre, 

 as long before the crop is planted as possible, but if 

 that cannot bo dono it can be sown after the crop 

 is planted, and will mix with the soil while cultivat- 

 ing the crop. I have used sLx tons of Kainit on corn, 

 beans, potatoes and buckwheat with the best of re- 

 sults at the rate of 500 pounds per acre. A smaller 

 quantity oftener applied will be better in most cases. 



On fruit trees its value cannot be over-estimated, 

 especially on peach trees. I have a small orchard of 

 300 one-year-old peach trees, that before I used the 

 Kainit were yellow and sickly-looking. The leaves 

 were all curled, and were so hopeless-looking that 

 I was advised to dig them up and burn them. I 

 applied .^00 pounds of Kainit broadcast per acre, and 

 as much more in a circle of four feet around the 

 tree, carefully spread, and on the balance I used a 

 peck of fresh wood ashes to each tree. 



The change made by the Kainit was complete. No 

 finer growth of wood and leaves can now be found. 

 The trees where I used the ashes were, after a fair 

 trial, so far behind the others in vigor and health, 

 to save them I used Kainit also, but as yet are be- 

 hind them in growth. — By Eli Minch, Shiloh, N. J. 

 — iSot'ihcrn rhinttr, 



[(^uery, whether not useful as a manure for tea 'f 

 witU same soluble guano phoshato of lime and castor 

 or cococake added. Is there any chemical objection, 

 such as compounds being formed, to such a mixture y 

 Mr, Hughes always contended that phosphate of lime 

 gave all needful potash. — Ed,] 



-* 



THE ACTION OF ,S.VP, 



In a paper read by Professor liobsou, of Kaiisn.'ir 

 before th« Missisippi llorticultural Society iu January 

 1884, he brought to notice many facts regarding .s.ip, 

 which he had personally witnessed, which went far 

 to overthrow many of the theories e:-tant regarding 

 its circulation. The old theory was that the snp 

 ascended was elaborated in the lea^'' s. tlipn <lpscended, 

 forming wood in its course and became finally lost 

 in the tree. Now the Professor maintains th:it the 

 .sap does not descend, but "is iluhoratcd, rctdu^'d, 

 spread, riiiened and compressed over the entire inner 

 surface of the tree during its upward flow." Now 

 this theory is entirely opposed to the old ideas on 

 tlie subject of the elaboration of the sap; for in- 

 stance, Liudley a great authority, writes :— It is to 

 the action of the leaves, to the decomposition of 

 their carbonic acid, «n(J of their wat«r; to the 



