POTASH 75 



both the potash and the phosphates should be applied broadcast, and some time 

 in advance of the planting of the crops, so that they may become fixed and as- 

 similated in the soil and their caustic effects prevented. Growers of frame 

 lettuce in Eastern North Carolina know that in their sandy soil the crop needs 

 a liberal supply of potash, and they usually give it liberally. A lettuce 

 grower some time since sent me in the early fall some of his plants, which had 

 the edges of the leaves turning red and evidently dying. He wanted to know 

 the reason. Examination showed no insect or fungus attack, but the roots 

 were evidently injured. The plants were set in a frame here and at once grew 

 off and made fine heads. I found that the grower had applied a heavy dress- 

 ing of muriate of potash in the fertilizer used on the frames, and this was 

 doubtless the cause ; for on taking up all the plants and re-setting the frames, 

 after several good rains, he had no further trouble. Wheat growers commonly 

 drill their seed with the fertilizer, and this may do where a very small per- 

 centage of potash is used, and the quantity is far less than that used by the 

 truck growers. 



POTASH IN WASTE PRODUCTS. 



Farmers in the tobacco manufacturing sections, and tobacco growers, 

 should understand the value of tobacco waste. The stems from which the 

 tobacco leaves are stripped on the plantations are a valuable source, not only 

 of potash, but of phosphoric acid and nitrogen as well. The stems from the 

 stemming houses are still more valuable, and the dust from the factories 

 where smoking tobacco is made is in a form that is very much more readily 

 taken by plants than the stems. The field stalks of tobacco contain 3.71 per 

 cent, nitrogen, 5.02 per cent, of potash and 0.65 per cent, of phosphoric acid. 

 The stems from the stemmeries contain 2.35 per cent, of nitrogen, 8.20 per 

 cent, of potash and 0.70 per cent, of phosphoric acid. So that with the ex- 

 ception of phosphoric acid they form a complete fertilizer of high grade. 



But of course they cannot be compared with a soluble fertilizer of similar 

 analysis, since before the nitrogen and other things can become available to 

 plants the material must be completely decayed in the soil. Hence the finely 

 divided dust from the smoking tobacco factories will probably be the more 

 quickly available. Where these materials can be bought cheaply, the farmer 

 may be able to get potash in a cheaper form than any other. We have at 

 hand no analysis of the tobacco dust, and it doubtless varies a great deal owing 

 to the amount of sand and other impurities in it. The percentage of potash 

 may run as high as ten per cent., and the nitrogen as high as in most of the 

 fertilizer mixtures. Part of the nitrogen in tobacco exists as a nitrate and is 



