POTASSIC MANUEES. 315- 



sunflower are generally burnt by the farmers themselves. But 

 certain manufacturers also burn the plant and buy the stems of 

 10,000 to 15,000 deciatines, for which they pay 3 to 4 roubles per 

 deciatine. A deciatine of sunflower yields in good ground 200 

 to 300 poods of stems and in bad ground 100 poods only, from 

 which 3 to 5 per cent of ashes may be extracted, and 3 to 4 poods 

 of ashes give one pound of potash. The percentage of carbonate of 

 potash is 20 to 35 per cent. The appearance of the ash is improved 

 by a few turns of the wrist, by throwing the salt in the fire for 

 instance, which causes the ash to fuse and gives it a vitreous- 

 appearance. 



When the sunflower harvest is finished the stems are burnt. 

 The purchase of ashes is finished in September, whilst the manu- 

 facture of potash lasts five to six months. The price of the ashes 

 up to now has been 35 copecks, but owing to competition it has- 

 risen to 40 and 60 copecks j)er pood. The manufacture of potash 

 is conducted in a very primitive fashioQ : it consists in lixivating 

 the ashes, methodically concentrating the lyes, and in calcining the- 

 product. The product is packed in casks of 30 to 40 poods. The 

 analysis of a potash from Kuban gave (per cent) water, 1'74 ; car- 

 bonate of potash, 89 ; carbonate of soda, 5-0 ; sulphate of potash, 

 2-01 ; potassium chloride, 6-51 ; insoluble, etc., by difference, 0-74 ;. 

 the usual potassium carbonate content is 90 to 91. It is dealt with 

 on a basis of 90 per cent with 2 per cent margin at least. 

 Three-fourths of the potash is exported to Hamburg, London and 

 New York. 



