31 



Potash can be obtained in fair quantities? from ashes and the 

 leaves of trees. Bat where the timbers supply a good ash, the 

 soil, generally, contains a sufficient supply of potash. 



The barn-yard is also a good source of supplying the same. 



Ammonia is abundantly supplied by cotton seed, stable, and 

 barn-yard manure. Nature also supplies an indetermin-ete quan- 

 tity of this valuable gas from the atmosphere, which supply is 

 brought by rain and dews, and is also absorbed by the. humus, 

 or organic portions of soils. 



This amount of ammonia, which is variable in fact, varies 

 from day to day, so that it is easy to see how useless would be 

 the analyses of a soil to determine its fertility. 



While ammonia is necessary for all crops, and in compara- 

 tively large quantities for the cereals, any farmer who grows 

 cotton, and economizes his home supply, need never purchase a 

 single pound. 



Lime is easily gotten in many places from marl, or from burnt 

 lime. The remarkable action often seen from an application 

 of this substance, can in no wise be explained by the idea of its 

 simple deficiency in the soil. It is caused mainly by its chemi- 

 cal action, by decomposing the organic and mineral constitu- 

 ents of the soil, thus setting free plant-food which had been 

 previously insoluble. 



These different substances have very different chemical ac- 

 tions when mixed, and if done ignorantly may result injuriously. 

 Thus, lime or ashes, mixed with ammoniacal compounds, sets 

 the ammonia free, and it flies off into the air, so that in a com- 

 post of an easily decomposable substance, such aa stable or 

 farm-yard manure, or cotton seed, lime and ashes , should be 

 excluded, and some retaining substance, such as dissolved bone 

 or land plaster applied. 



The former preferable on account of the phosphoric acid con- 

 tained, which unites at once with the ammonia, while the latter 

 depends on a double decomposition. In the Etiwan Dissolved 

 Bone both are present in large quantity, and have a powerful 

 effect. 



The farmer thus should have two piles. In one of which he 

 puts his easily decomposable subslances, such as cotton seed, 

 stable, and barn yard manure, with Dissolved Bone, which can 

 be used in from three to four weeks, or less time j and another, 

 in which are put all the straw, corn stalks, cotton stalks, leaves, 

 fence corner scrapings, muck, or swamp mud, etc., with lime 

 and ashes. This should be kept wet with water and with all 

 the drainings of the laundry and kitchen, and should be turned 

 or repiled in from four to six months, at which time Dissolved 

 Bone should be added in liberal quantities. 



This is more fully explained in a subsequent chapter on com- 

 posting. 



To show the value of the different substances which can be 



