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The Sale of Wood Ashes 



Considerable inquiry is being made these days regarding a market 

 for wood ashes. Heretofore there has been no regular market in 

 this country, and the price has been too low to justify the collection 

 or shipment of this article. Its principal value has been as a fertil- 

 izing agent, and it has not been able to compete successfully with 

 potash obtained from mines, with commercial fertilizers manufac- 

 tured from slaughter house waste, or with importations from the 

 natural deposits of Chile. 



The threatened scarcity of fertilizers on account of the disorgan- 

 ization of commerce due to the war, has changed values to such an 

 extent that there is now a prospect that wood ashes may be sold at 

 a profit. It should be clearly understood, however, that it is as yet 

 only a prospect and not a certainty. There is no big fortune in sight 

 in wood ashes, but the matter is worth looking into. Reliable in- 

 formation on the subject has been hard to get, because little was 

 to be had. Nobody has been saving and selling ashes on a large 

 scale in this country, though all practical farmers know that ashes 

 are valuable to enrich soils of certain kinds. 



Having understood that the burning and collection of ashes is some- 

 thing of an industry in Scotland, Hardwood Eecord recently made 

 inquiries of the Board of Agriculture for Scotland at Edinburgh, 

 concerning the manner of burning and collecting ashes in that country, 

 and the prices obtained for the product. In reply t!ie board of 

 agriculture sent a bulletin recently printed, entitled "The Production 

 of Potash Salts from Woodlands and Waste Lands." 

 Moderate Eetubns 



At this time there is threatened scarcity of potash in Scotland, the 

 same as in America, and the board of agriculture has sent out printed 

 instructions explaining how to burn ashes in the best way, what 

 materials are best, and how to prepare the commodity for market. 

 Exact prices are not quoted, which naturally could not be done, since 

 value depends on analysis; but a probable value is named of $15 to 

 $17 a ton for well-mixed ashes. 



Persons in this country who are thinking of preparing ashes for 

 sale can use those figures as a basis for calculating the returns, but 

 of course they should be used in a very general way only. It would 

 not be safe to depend strictly upon that as a price, and besides, the 

 markets in Scotland and in America would doubtless differ, and there 

 would likewise be differences in prices in different regions in this 

 country. 



It appears that a rather large part of the ashes bought and sold in 

 Scotland is burned not from wood but from fern which in that coun- 

 try is commonly called bracken. It is a nuisance on many tracts, 

 and pasturage is improved by clearing the bracken. Converting it 

 into ashes is a convenient method of disposal. Ten acres of bracken 

 land produce one ton of ashes. That would appear to be a small 

 return for labor. 



Grades of Ashes Obtained 



Ash burned from fern is much richer in potash than the ash 

 burned from wood. There is notable difference in the richness, and 

 consequently in the value, of ashes produced from different parts of 

 the tree. The portions richest in potash are the leaves, twigs, buds, 

 and bark. Next is the branch wood, and finally the trunk wood, 

 which is poorest of all. This fact should be considered by large 

 sawmills which burn their sawdust. The ash produced from that 

 part of the waste will be less valuable, ton for ton, than that burned 

 from slabwood, which is largely bark. 



The richness of ashes in potash is one thing, and tlie actual quantity 

 of ashes that will result from burning different kinds of wood is 

 another. Some woods, ton for ton, will yield five, ten, or even fifty 

 times as much ash as another. Though ash from a certain wood may 

 show poor in analysis, yet if this wood yields ten times as much ash 

 as another which is richer in analysis, the former may be much more 

 profitable. 



In Scotland it is found profitable, under certain circumstances, to 

 rake together leaves and twigs and burn them for their ashes. It is 



—18— 



doubtful if that could be profitably done in any part of the United 

 States. In Scotland ashes are saved from small portable mills which 

 produce as low as twenty-five pounds a day. That would scarcely be 

 attempted in this country. Large mills would produce several hun- 

 dreds or even thousands of pounds daily from their furnaces. 



It is a fact that large furnaces, with strong drafts, may draw 

 three-fourths of the ash up the stack, and winds will scatter it over 

 the surrounding country. If found practicable to save ashes for sale, 

 the owners of large furnaces would do well to see whether the most 

 of the ash remains in the box or goes out with the smoke. 



Ashes should be sheltered from rain and other dampness. Salts 

 are easily leeched out. Nothing will be made by selling ashes wet. 

 They weigh more, but the purchaser fixes his price after analysis, 

 and the chemist will see to it that no water is paid for. 



In Scotland no ash is bought which has not passed through a 

 three- sixteenth inch sieve. That screens out bits of charcoal, stones, 

 and other impurities. The ash is stored and transported in bairs. 

 barrels, or bins in Scotland. It is assumed that in handling it in tlif 

 United States arrangements could be made for transporting it in 

 bulk, by the car or barge. 



Logging Conditions Around Memphis 



The wcatlier throughout this territory has been much more favor- 

 able during the past fortnight. There has been comparatively little 

 niiufall, and sunshine has predominated. The country roads are a 

 great deal better than heretofore and the woods are also in much 

 better condition for logging operations, which are beginning in a 

 moderate way and there is a possibility of reasonable progress if 

 favorable weather continues. There is really nothing new in the 

 timber situation in this section. The supply immediately available 

 for tlie mills, with the e.vception of a few of the larger manufac- 

 turing firms, is rather small and it will require some time before there 

 will be anything like a normal amount ready for conversion into 

 lumber, even if the weather remains good. This is due to the fact 

 that so little was accomplished in getting out timber last fall and 

 thus far this winter. Spring is practically at hand and, with in- 

 creased demand for southern hardwoods and with manufacturing 

 operations on an ascending scale, it is anticipated that timber will 

 be brought out more freely and that as rapidly as possible the some- 

 what strained relations as between supply and demand will be grad- 

 ually adjusted. However, manufacturers of southern hardwoods are 

 laying emphasis upon the fact that the small amount of timber avail- 

 able makes it diflBcult to forecast large manufacturing operations and 

 there are not a few members of the trade who believe that the situa- 

 tion will gradually increase in strength and that higher prices for 

 lumber will result from the fact that production is below normal. 



The crest of the rise in the Mississippi river has already passed 

 Memphis and all danger of interference from high water has passed 

 so far as the present rise is concerned. The highest stage reached 

 here was thirty-six feet, which is only one foot above the danger 

 line. There is practically no interference with lumber or wood- 

 working enterprises in this city or section with a stage of less than 

 thirty-seven to thirty-eight feet. Some alarm was felt among lumber 

 interests a few days ago when unofficial forecasts were made of a 

 stage as high as thirty-seven to thirty-eight feet. While lumber 

 interests are congratulating themselves upon the fact that the present 

 high water has occasioned no inconvenience, they are mindful of the 

 fact that it is quite a while before the period of possible high water 

 will have passed. As a matter of fact the most serious floods in the 

 history of this territory have usually occurred from the early part 

 of March to the first of May, and developments in connection with the 

 Mississippi and its tributaries will be closely watched with a view 

 to gauging the first sign of any possible danger from that source. 

 It is possible that the present high water will result in increased log 

 receipts by water to some extent, but no large movement of this 

 character is anticipated. 



