Agriculture is the most Healthy and Honorable, as it is the most Natural and Useful pursuit of Man. 



VOL. XI. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y.— DECEMBER, 1850. 



NO. 12. 



POTASH AS A FERTILIZER. 



From our boyhood to the present time, we have no- 

 ticed that soils which abounded in potash, as demon- 

 strated by their producing large forest trees rich in 

 this mineral — the accumulation of centuries — -were 

 always distinguished for their fertility. If there are 

 any exceptions to this rule, where the land is properly 

 cultivated and drained, they have escaped our obser- 

 vation. Taking a similar view of this interesting 

 subject, M. Burger, a German author, gives the 

 following table of the amount of ashes in 100 parts 

 of dry wood, and a few other products of the earth, 

 as found by him on analysis : 



lOU ll)s. of Elm or Maple gave 2.400 ashes— 0.390 lbs. potash. 



Oak, 1.3.50 " 0.155 '• " 



Poplar 1.230 •' 0.075 " 



Box, 0.584 '• 0.145 " 



Fir, (Pine,) 0.341 " " 



Vine,..- 3.379 " 0.5.50" " 



Fern, 5.000 " 0.626 " 



Maize stalks, 8.300 " 3.600 " 



Wheat straw, 4.300 " 0.390 " 



Oat straw, 5.600 " 0.870 " 



By copying from Schwertz, Sprbngel, Libbig, 

 Will, Boussikgault, and other continental analysts, 

 researches of this kind might be indefinitely e.xtended; 

 but it is thought more usefid to invite attention to 

 the facts above stated, than to multiply figures the 

 purport of which might not be fully seen by many 

 readers. As 100 Ibs.of maple wood consume 2.4 lbs. 

 of earthy minerals in which there are .39 lbs. of pure 

 potash, it is obvious that for every 1000 lbs. a tree 

 of this kind, or an elm, adds to its solid weight, 3.9 

 lbs. of this alkali are extracted from the soil, to say 

 nothing of the potash in jts leaves and bark, which 

 contain more ashes than the wood. Oak forests will 

 grow on poorer land than elm and maple ; for 1000 

 lbs. of its wood contain only .155 lbs. of this alkali. 

 In 100 lbs. of fir (pine,) the ash is only a third of a 

 pound, and the potash too small for the chemist to 

 state the amount. In 100 lbs. of the wood of the 

 vine, there is over a half pound of potash. The fruit 

 of the vine is remarkable for the quantity of potash 

 it contains. Fern is also rich in this element ; but 

 corn-stalks and cobs are among the largest known 

 consumers of this alkali. We are, however, inclined 

 to suspect some t_, pographical error in the figures 

 that indicate the existence of over three and a half 

 pounds of potash in one hundred of corn-stalks. 

 They have a large amount of silica (flint) in their 

 hard, glassy stems, which is rendered soluble in 



water before it enters their roots, by combining with 

 a still larger quantity of potash. But all this alkali 

 does not remain in the plant : for most of the soluble 

 silicates of potash are finally left as insolnble salts in 

 and near the cuticle. 



Corn plants are large consumers of incombustible 

 minerals ; and all their stalks, cobs, and seeds, should 

 be husbanded with care as manure. Straw, hay, 

 pea-vines, and even forest leaves, are less appreciated 

 as fertilizers tlian they deserve. Leached ashes com- 

 posted with rotting corn-stalks, straw, or other ma- 

 nure, are much improved by the action of carbonic 

 acid and ammonia on their insoluble salts. These 

 are decomposed and rendered available at once, as 

 food for plants. To show the importance of husband- 

 ing potash as a fertilizer, it is sufficient to state that 

 a good soil rarely contains more than 1 part in 1000, 

 while poor soils often have less than 1 in 10,000. A 

 sample taken from near the Ohio river, "distinguished 

 for extraordinary fertility," gave Dr. Sprengel only 

 12 parts of potash, combined mostly with silica in an 

 insoluble condition, in 10,000. 



In the "Geological Survey of Canada — Report of 

 Progress for the year 1849-50,'' we find several 

 analyses of soils, which are full of interest. A sam- 

 ple from " the fine alluvial flats on the Grand river, 

 below Brantford, which, owing to their richness, are 

 scarcely adapted to wheat," gave the following re- 

 sults : 



Alumina 2,090 



Oxide of iron, 2,.520 



Lime, 310 



Magnesia, 456 



Potash, 105 



Soda, 060 



Phosphoric acid, 380 



Sulphuric acid, 008 



Soluble silica, 006 



It will be seen that 100,000 parts of this soil gave 

 only 6 of soluble silica. The insoluble silica and 

 organic matter are not estimated. In this exceed- 

 ingly rich bottom, there is but a small fraction more 

 than 1 part of potash in 1000 ; and of sulphuric acid, 

 only 8 parts in 100,000. 



As soda in common salt is much cheaper than pot- 

 ash, it is highly desirable to determine by careful 

 experiments, how far the former alkali can serve as 

 a substitute for the latter in the growth of potatoes, 

 wheat, corn, and grass. One half of the ash ob- 

 tained in burning potatoes, is potash ; and about a 

 third of that of wheat is the same mineral. By mix- 

 ing slaked lime and salt together in loam or manure. 



