THE VALUE OF SALT. 221 



The potash in it, at the price of $14 per ton, cost, without 

 allowance for ihe sulphuric acid, a little more than 4 cents 

 per pound. 



SALT, is the only form of soda which is used as manure ; 

 and thib because of its cheapness. As it can be purchased 

 at about $6 per ton and contains but few impurities, it is a 

 cheap manure for the return given. Some farmers have 

 found no benefit from its use, but others have a high opin- 

 ion of it. Crops such as mangels and beets, whose ash con- 

 tains much soda, would naturally seem to be much benefited 

 by it, upon general principles, and this expectation is con- 

 firmed by the results. 600 Ibs. per acre of salt has greatly 

 benefited this crop as grown by the author, and a dressing 

 of 500 Ibs. per acre has been found useful to wheat, grass, 

 and clover. A mixture of 100 Ibs. of salt and 100 Ibs. of 

 gypsum per acre on one half of a timothy and clover field, 

 had a most favorable effect; the whole field of 13 acres 

 yielded 27 2 tons of hay at the first cutting; the dressed half 

 gave 17 tons and the other half 10 i. The difference was 

 very apparent and was equally so at the second cutting, 

 when the dressed half gave 9 tons and the other half was 

 not thought worth cutting. A flock of sheep pastured on 

 the aftermath gave their whole attention to the part which 

 had been dressed, and spent but little time on the other 

 part. The following year the field was in corn and was 

 dressed Avith the same mixture of salt and gypsum with 

 manifest benefit. 



Salt has been used as a manure from the earliest histori- 

 cal periods, and this fact alone would give great weight to 

 the prevalent belief in its value, although no doubt many 

 extravagant claims have been made for it. It has been 

 used for all crops, but more especially for wheat, barley, po- 

 tatoes, grass, turnips, and mangels. Its effect on the grain 

 crops is to stiffen the straw and produce a thin clear husk; 

 the latter is especially valuable with barley, and increases 

 its market value for malting and brewing. Wheat is also 

 much improved in the same respects. 



It has been used for top dressing grass lands by English 



