ASH. 



ASHES. 



orow^e on summer evenings on the sprays of 

 ash, that they may not stray too far from the 

 walk. The branches are frequently given to 

 deer in time of frost. The ash-tree, in early 

 days, served both the soldier and the scholar. 

 It was also a principal material for forming 

 the peaceable implements of husbandry, as it 

 continues to be with us to this day, in the 

 snape of carts, wagons, teeth and spokes of 

 wheels, harrows, rollers, &c. The gardener 

 recognises it in his rake-stem, spade-tree, and 

 other tool handles. The hop-planter knows its 

 value for poles, the thatcher for spars, the 

 Guilder for ladders, the cooper for hoops, the 

 turner for his lathe, the shipwright for pulleys, 

 the mariner for oars and ship-blocks, the 

 fisherman fur tanning his nets and drying his 

 herrings ; the wheelwright employs it usefully, 

 and the coach-maker profitably, whilst the ca- 

 binet-maker palms it off upon us as green 

 ebony. The ashes of this wood afford very 

 good potash, and the bark is used in tanning 

 calf-skins, and dyeing green, black, and him-. 

 The ash-keys were formerly gathered in the 

 green state, and pickled with suit and vinegar, 

 and served to table for sauce. 



Were we to transcribe all we have seen 

 written on the medicinal virtues of this plant, 

 it ini^ht naturally be asked how it happens 

 that \ve do not meet our ancestors upon earth, 

 who had in this tree a curt- for every malady? 

 The Arabian as well as the (Jreek and Roman 

 physicians, highly extol the medicinal proper- 

 ties of the seed which the Latins named lingua 

 civ'*, bird's tongue, which it resembles. Drs. 

 Taner, Robinson, and Bowles, are amongst the 

 later physicians who commend the good quali- 

 ties of this little seed. The common ash pro- 

 pagates itself plentifully by the seed, so that 

 abundance of young plants may be found in 

 the neighbourhood of ash-trees, provided cattle 

 are not suffered to graze on the land. It pro- 

 duces its leaves and keys in spring, and the 

 seeds ripen in September. The foliage changes 

 its colour in October. (Baxter's Lib. A<f. Kn. : 

 Phillipa's Syl. Flor.) [Michaux state- .i, al 

 eight species of ash are mentioned by botanists 

 as indigenous to Europe, whilst a much greater 

 number exist in the United States. Probably 

 more than thirty species can be found east of 

 the Mississippi. A striking resemblance runs 

 through the whole genus ; but it is the while ash 

 . ica, the wood of which, by its strength 

 and elasticity, is adapted to so many useful 

 purposes, that bears the nearest resemblance 

 to the common ash of Europe.] 



ASHES (Goth, utzgo, azgo, dust ; Sax. a r ca ; 

 Dutch and Germ, cache; Su. Goth. aska). 

 *' A*/tt's contain a very fertile salt, and are the 

 best manure for cold lands, if kept dry, that 

 the rains doth not wash away their salt." 

 (MnrF. Hiisb.,- Todd's Johnson.} 



The use of ashes may be traced to a very 

 early age. The Romans were well acquainted 

 with paring \nd burning. Cato recommends 

 the burning cuthe twigs and branches of trees, 

 and spreading them on the land. Palladius 

 says, that soils so treated would require no 

 other manure for five years. They also burnt 

 their stubbles, a practice common among the 

 Jews. The ancient Britons, according to Pliny, 



used to burn their wheat-straw and stubble, 

 and spread the ashes over the soil. And Con- 

 radus Heresbachius, a German counsellor, in 

 his Treatise on Husbandry, published in 1570, 

 which was translated by Googe, tells us, p. 2o[ 

 that " in Lombardy, they like so well the use 

 of ashes, as they esteem it farre aboue any 

 doung, thinking doung not meete to be used for 

 the unholsomnesse thereof." 



It is the earthy and saline matters of the 

 burnt soils, and combustibles employed, 

 which constitute the substance of the ashes 

 employed in agriculture. Their use as a ma- 

 nure is very general in most parts of England, 

 although many errors are usually committed 

 in their application, and much erroneous rea- 

 soning wasted in accounting for their unsuc- 

 cessful application in some districts, or their 

 general success in others. Those usually em- 

 ployed for agricultural and horticultural pur- 

 poses in this country are, 1. The ashes of 

 coal ; 2. Ashes of wood ; 3. Peat ashes ; 4. The 

 ashes from turf, as in paring and burning; 

 5. The ashes of burnt clay ; 6. The ashes from 

 soap-boilers. I will remark upon these, in the 

 order in which I have enumerated them. 



1. Coal Ashes. The only analysis of coal 

 that I am acquainted with is that of earth-coal, 

 by M. Klaproth : he found it to be composed of 



Volatile matter 



Charcoal 



Lime 



Sulphate of lime 



Oxide of iron - 



Alumina 



Sand 



62257 



20-255 



02005 



02-05 



01-00 ^=17-5 



00-05 I 



11-05J 



100 



The combustion of the coals dissipates al- 

 most all the gaseous matters, and much of the 

 charcoal ; and the ashes, therefore, will consist 

 almost entirely of the various earths, a small 

 portion of charcoal, and the saline matters of 

 which the sulphate of lime (gypsum) and lime 

 constitute about a fourth. 



The presence of these last-named substances 

 gives to the coal-ash almost all its value as a 

 fertilizer, for these ashes are always most 

 beneficially applied to those crops which con- 

 tain sulphate of lime in sensible quantities, 

 such as to lucern, sainfoin, red-clover, &c. In 

 the garden, they are more often employed for 

 the purpose of forming walks, and to prevent 

 the ravages of garden-nfice, than as a manure ; 

 or, when they are employed as an addition to 

 the soil, it is generally in considerable quanti- 

 ties, on stiff clay soils, with the intention^ by 

 the mechanical operation of the cinders, of 

 rendering the soil more friable and permeable 

 by the gases of the atmosphere. As a top 

 dressing for lucern, red clover, sainfoin, and 

 other grasses, there is no application superior 

 to coal ashes. This fact was clearly proved 

 n some comparative experiments made by 

 Lord Albemarle, with a variety of manures, 

 as a top dressing for sainfoin. He found coal 

 ashes far superior in value to any other ferti- 

 lizer. As a manure for gardens, it is generally 

 employed in quantities much too large ; and 

 thence an idea has been entertained by many 

 ^ardeners, that coal ashes are inimical to 

 plants and trees. Mr. London has given seve- 

 ral experiments of this description. In these, 



115 



