n March, 1918.] Bracken a Source of Potash. 1!^1 



Drying and Harvesting. 

 Dry sunny weather is very necessary at the time of cutting, since over 

 90 per cent, of the total potash is soluble in water. "While the bracken is 

 still alive rain Avill not dissolve out the potash from the fronds, but if 

 it is withered and dead, rain soaks into the tissues, and in course of time 

 will dissolve out practically all the soluble salts. Turning the fronds 

 hastens the drying. As soon as dry the fronds should be raked and col- 

 lected into small heaps either for stacking or burning. In any case, the 

 dry bracken must not be left exposed in rainy weather. Kough handling 

 of the fronds will break off much of the small leaf, as when dry they 

 become brittle, and will thus reduce the yield. 



Stacking and Burning. 

 The dry bracken may be stacked and either used as litter, &c., or 

 burnt for the ash. For carting and stacking fairly level ground is desir- 

 able. If the situation is a very inaccessible one, and in bad country, 

 the dry bracken is best collected and burnt in a suitable place on the 

 spot. The dry bracken burns easily. The burning should be conducted 

 in as sheltered a place as possible to prevent the ashes from being blown 

 away. The base of the fire should first be hollowed out. The fire should 

 be stirred occasionally with a pole to assist the burning of the charred 

 material, and as it burns down to an ash the fire should be replenished 

 with more dry bracken until a good heap of greyish ash is eventually 

 obtained. If the temperature gets too high the ash is liable to melt into 

 solid lumps, a condition to be avoided. 



Bagging of the Ash. 

 On no account must the ashes be left exposed to rain, which would 

 dissolve out the soluble salts. "When cold the ashes should be bagged and 

 the bags covered with a tarpaulin. If this is not practicable, the ashes 

 must be covered with corrugated sheet iron or a tarpaulin to protect 

 them from the rain until they can be bagged. The bags must be stored 

 in a dry place until the ashes are required. 



Properties of the Ash. 

 "When properly burnt the ash is bulky and generally greyish in colour, 

 of a light friable and powdery nature, distinctly alkaline and a little 

 caustic. The alkalinity is due mainly to alkaline carbonates and to a 

 small extent to some free lime and magnesia. The potash is in com- 

 bination mostly as the sulphate and the chlorides, and to a less extent 

 as the carbonate. 



Yield and Utilization as Manure. 

 The ashes should contain between thirty and forty per cent, of potash 

 soluble in water. "With the market value of potash at 12s. 6d. per unit, 

 the price of the ash would be between £18 and £25 per ton. The yield of 

 ash per acre will depend upon the density of growth and height of the 

 fronds and upon the care bestowed on the harvesting and burning of 

 the bracken and on the collection of the ash. "When the growth is thick 

 and vigorous it requires from 4 to 5 acres of fully-stocked bracken land 

 to yield 1 ton of ash, compared with from 7 to 10 acres when the growth 

 is sparse. The ash, because of its light dry character, is most suitable 

 for mixing and applying along with other manures, except those contain- 

 ing ammonium salts, which would be decomposed, liberating free 

 ammonia. — The Queenslancler, 15th December, 1917. 



