POTASH IN AGEICULTUEE. 129 



takes some time for it to become mixed whh the soil. Bone alone 

 is of little value the first year, even when ground fine. Ashes 

 alone do not act as soon as he used to think the}' did. He does not 

 think they benefit cabbages the first year. In an experiment with 

 ashes applied late in s[)ring, on a square rod of grass, the product 

 weighed half a pound less than on the adjoining square rod ; but 

 after the fall rains the effect of the ashes was seen. He doubts 

 whether ashes alTect young corn so promptly as is supposed, though 

 they might if used in connection with hen manure. His soil is a 

 sandy loam, not very light. 



Major Emery said that in Dover ashes are much used on grass on 

 cla}' soils, and the effect is seen the first 3'ear, and will last about 

 four years. 



Mr. Hills said that his father-in-law uses all the nnleached ashes 

 he can get, and has the handsomest growth of timotli}' he ever saw. 



President Moore feared that Mr. Hills's statement in regard to 

 the difficulty of dissolving bones in acid might be misleading. He 

 had dissolved many tons of bones in acid and there is no trouble 

 about it when you know how. He used an old feed-trough, putting 

 in a hundred pounds of bones, and then mixing fifty pounds of 

 acid with the same bulk (not weight) of water in a tub, and pouring 

 it on the bones, and stirring it up with long-handled hoes. The 

 greatest difficult}' comes from the mixture being in a wet state. He 

 uses plaster or dry soil to assist in drying it. If too much acid is 

 used it is left of the consistency of melted India-rubber. He had 

 dissolved whole bones with acid, but it is very difficult, and he 

 advised those present not to try to dissolve any but prett}' fine 

 bone. Bone cannot be ground fine enough for plants to lake up 

 without being dissolved. 



O. B. Hadwen said that, from the statements made here today, 

 we can conclude that finely ground bone and potash are excellent 

 food for crops. He had used many tons of each, and had never 

 failed, when they were properly applied, to get good results. In 

 Mr. Hills's experiment there was probably not rain enough to dis- 

 solve the potash in the ashes ; crops cannot take up food until it is 

 presented to them in solution. The most natural source of potash — 

 wood ashes — is getting short. If near a cit}' a farmer can avail 

 himself to a certain extent of stable manure, but away from the 

 city he must use commercial fertilizers, and we can sum up the 

 matter by saying that potash and bone are the cheapest. 



Mr. Hills did not want to leave the impression that he did not 



