go HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



Wood ashes is a very valuable manure, and much of it can be 

 saved at home. They are nearly as valuable after being leached 

 as before, if they are used immediately. The longer they stand 

 after being leached the less valuable they become. They are 

 most valuable for sowing on grass lands, and for cereal grains. 

 They give stiffness and strength to the straw; one hundred 

 pounds of ashes being suflacient for the production of three 

 thousand pounds of good straw. When sown they should be a 

 little wet, or else sown on a misty, damp day, or they will blow 

 away. When used on potatoes they should be thrown evenly 

 all around the hill, where they will reach all the roots. When 

 sown on any root-crops, care should be taken to put as little as 

 possible in contact with the leaves or stems. There is no 

 danger of using too much ashes; but their use should always be 

 accompanied by manure, muck, or the turning under of clover. 

 Ashes mixed in the compost heap assist in the decomposition 

 of elements, which would otherwise be useless, without destroy- 

 ing their efficacy. We, therefore, advise this method of appli- 

 cation, except when sown on grasses and cereal grains. Ashes 

 give compactness to light, sandy soils, and render heavy clay 

 soils light and friable. About the best use to which ashes 

 can be put on the farm, is in dissolving bones. Put a layer 

 of ashes in the bottom of a barrel, then a layer of bones, 

 then another of ashes, and so on until the barrel is full, then 

 keep the ashes wet with soap-suds, but not wet enough to 

 leach. 



Never deposit ashes in any bin, box, or barrel, until more 

 than a week after they have been taken from the fire. Many a 

 barn and farm-house has been destroyed by neglecting this 

 precaution. The bottom of a dry cellar is a good place to keep 

 wood ashes, but a bin of brick or stone is better. If put out 

 doors they should be at a distance from any building or fence. 



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