152 EXPERIMEISITAL FARMS 



4-5 EDWARD Vll., A. 1905 



value in tlie asli of the soft woods— Douglas fir, cedar, ifcc. — grown in that province, 

 and we have ventured the opinion from the examination of manj- soils, both on Van- 

 couver Island and on the mainland, that the application of such ashes would be found 

 to give a good return, more particularly on the sandy and peaty loams. It is of interest, 

 therefore, to insert the following analysis of a sample of such ashes recently made in 

 the Farm laboratory. 



The correspondent forwarding the ashes say? : ' The sample of ash is from the saw- 

 mill at Port Moody. There are many tons lying out in the yard and thought to be 

 useless. "We in this vicinity, as fruit-growers and gardeners, wish to know what fertil- 

 izing value it may have. It is principally the ash from slabs of fir, with some cedar 

 taken from booms out of the salt water. You will confer a great favour on us here 

 by your earliest reply.' 



Analysis of Ashes. 



Moisture *82 



Potash 1'91 



Phosphoric acid 1*^6 



Carbonate of lime 36*55 



Though not equal, as regards potash, to hard wood ashes, I should certainly con- 

 sider the^e ashes as a valuable fertilizer, especially in conjunction with farm manures 

 or clover turned under. In addition to the potash and phosphoric acid they contain, 

 there is a notable amount of carbonate of lime present — and this fact alone would make 

 the ashes valuable for the soils already referred to. The probability is, from what our 

 correspondent says regarding the storage of these ashes, that they are partially leached 

 and have thus lost a considerable proportion of their most important element — potash. 

 We are inclined to think that with a little care and protection, such ashes should con- 

 tain at least between 3 per cent and 4 per cent of potash. The use of wood ashes 

 may be specially recommended for all classes of fruits, for vegetables and other leafy 

 crops, and for the encouragement of vigorous growth in clover. 



LEACHED WOOD ASHES. 



Occasionally we are in receipt of inquiries regarding the value of leached wood 

 ashes. This value, we have pointed out, will be dependant upon the extent to which 

 leaching has occurred. In the following data we present the results obtained from a 

 Bample of such ashes, and they go to show the disastrous effect of exposure as regards 

 the potash content. 



Analysis. 



Moisture 2'18 



Charcoal (loss on ignition) . 26'59 



Mineral matter (soluble in acid) 54'92 



" " (insoluble in acid) 16'31 



100*00 



Potash, soluble in water '24 



It is evident that these ashes have been very thoroughly leached, and are of very 

 little value as far as potash is concerned. There will, of course, be a certain amount of 

 rh^sphoric acid present, probably between 1 per cent and 2 per cent. The greater part 

 of the mineral matter 'soluble in acid' is lime, or, rather, carbonate of lime. For 

 land needing lime, such ashes would be useful, and the price that the farmer or fruit 

 grower should give for them should be estimated entirely from that point of view. 



This sample was forwarded from ' an old ashery near St. Catharines, Out., that has 

 not been disturbed for many years.' We think tliis is an extreme case of leaching, 



