ASHES. 



Ashes are used with advantage to 

 every cr()|), but t'spccially as a dress- 

 inj: to that iiiteiulod for jtrramiiicous 

 plants and the cerealia; hut tijrni|)s, 

 poiatuos.ihe while fitdd carrot. and ev- 

 ery crop, lias heen honelilcd hy them. 

 Tiie application should diOer with 

 the ohj(;ct in view ; six bushels are 

 enoufih to advance a clover or lucern 

 crop in the spring, hut 15 to 20 bush- 

 els arc sown as a dressing for an an- 

 nual crop, as grain, barley, &c. Large 

 doses should not be applied to the 

 land with seed or upon young growth, 

 as the carbonate of potash present 

 sometimes injures them. They tell 

 best on land rich in vegetable mat- 

 ter, upon which the potash and soda 

 acts. On clayey soils ashes general- 

 ly produce n)ore rapid effects than 

 on lighter kinds. 



The action of all ashes is twofold, 

 partly due to the soluble portions, 

 and partly to the insoluble. The 

 chloride of sodium, or common salt, 

 the carbonate and sulphate of potash, 

 are soluttle, and produce immediate 

 effects on the crop; but the phos- 

 phates and silicates, as well as car- 

 bonate of lime, require time to dis- 

 solve and benefit the crop. Hence 

 it has been observed that some lands 

 are pr^rmanently improved by ashes, 

 and some crops immediately benefit- 

 ed, as the leguminous plants. — {Sprc7i- 

 gel.) In those soils which already 

 contain much alkali, as the detritus 

 of primitive and transition coun- 

 tries, seashores, lands near salt 

 springs, the soluble parts of ashes 

 will be of little moment ; and the 

 leached remains may be altogether 

 superior, for few soils contain so 

 much phosphoric acid as not to be 

 improved by an addition as manure. 



Leached., or Washed Wood Ashes. — 

 Where wood ashes are washed for 

 the manufacture of the pot and pearl 

 ash of commerce, this insolul)le por- 

 tion collects in large quantities. It 

 is also present in the refuse of the 

 soap-makers, where wood ash is em- 

 ployed for the manufacture of soft 

 soap. The composition of this insol- 

 uble matter varies very much, not 

 only with the kind of wood from 



AH 



which the ash is made, but also with 



the icmperiiturc it is allowed to attain 

 111 burning. The former fact is illus- 

 trated by the following analysis, made 

 by Berlhier, of the insoluble matter 

 left by the ash of live different spe- 

 cies of wood carefully burned by him- 

 self : 



The numbers in these several col- 

 umns differ very much from each 

 other ; but the constitution of the in- 

 soluble part of the ash he obtained 

 probably differed in every case trom 

 that which would have been left by 

 the ash of the same wood burned on 

 the large scale, and in the open air. 

 This is to be inferred from the total 

 absence of potash and soda in the 

 lixiviated ash, while it is well known 

 that common lixiviated wood ash con- 

 tains a notable quantity of both. This 

 arises from the liigh temperature at 

 which wood is commonly burned, 

 causing a greater or less portion of 

 the potash and soda to combine with 

 the silica, and to form insoluble sili- 

 cates, which remain behind along 

 with the lime and other earthy matter 

 when the ash is washed with water. 

 It is to these silicates, as well as to 

 the large quantity of lime, magnesia, 

 and phospiioric acid it contains, that 

 common wood ash owes the more 

 perina7ient effects upon the land, which 

 it is known to have produced. When 

 the rains have washed out, or the 

 crops carried off the more soluble 

 part from the soil, these insoluble 

 compounds still remain to exercise 

 a more slow and enduring influence 

 upon the after-produce. 



Still, from the absence of this sol- 

 uble portion, the action of lixiviated 

 wood ash is not so apparent and en- 

 ergetic, and it may therefore be safe- 

 ly added to the land in much larger 

 quantity. Appliea at the rate of two 



