EXTRACTS FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. 131 



white ash, whose weight was rather under 1 per cent or, , 9247. Of 

 tills ash, about 44 per cent was found to be soluble in water. It con- 

 tained 12 . 88 per cent of silicious sand, which must have been acquir- 

 ed adventitiously in the process of harvesting the fibre. Deducting 

 the sand from the ash, the constitution of the latter is as ibllows : — 



Carbonate of potassa (with possible traces of soda,) .... 44 . 19 



Phosphate of lime with traces of magnesia, 25 .44 



Carbonate of lime, 8 . 87 



Carbonate of magnesia, 6 .85 



Silica, 4 . 12 



Alumina (probably accidental,) 1 .40 



Sulphate of potassa, 2 .70 



Chloride of potassium, ) 



Chloride of magitesiuin, | 



Sulphate of lime, |> and loss, 6 .43 



Phosphate potassa, I 



Oxide iron in minute traces, . j 



100.00 



Eut since it is obvious that the carbonic acid in the above men- 

 tioned salts must have been derived during the incineration of the 

 cotton, the following view will more certainly express the impor- 

 tant mineral ingredients abstracted by the cotton from the soil for 

 every 100 parts of its ash. 



Potassa (w^ith possible traces of aoda,) 31 .09 



Lime, 17.05 



Magnesia, 3 . 26 



Phosphoric acid, N. 12.30 



Sulphuric acid, 1 .22 



64.92 



For every 10,000 lbs. of cotton wool, then, about 60 lbs. of the 

 above mentioned ingredients are subtracted from, the soil in the 

 proportion indicated by the numbers appended, i. e. omitting frac- 

 tions. 



Potassa, 31 nounds. 



Lime, 17' " 



Magnesia, 3 " 



Phosphoric acid, 12 " 



Sulphuric acid, 1 " 



Several queries were submitted to me along with the sample to 

 be analyzed, relative to the effect of soils on cotton. I regret to 

 state that the almost total ignorance in which we are still left re- 

 specting the composition of the varieties of this fibre, and the soils 



