52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



very readily, almost as readily as with the ashes from peat. 

 You may take off the whole of the top soil, and apply peat 

 ashes for a year or two, and it will all come in with white 

 clover, without any other application, so that I would be will- 

 ing to purchase ashes under any circumstances. I have just 

 bought a farm, the pastures of which have been run down, and 

 which I am determined to cover with all the ashes I can find, 

 to see if I cannot renovate them. 



A Member. Does Mr. Thompson mean that coal ashes will 

 produce white clover ? 



Mr. Thompson. I do, on our land. I will say, that many 

 years ago, I rode over our island with Judge Bishop, where 

 there is a moss growing that will destroy almost all vegetation. 

 Then in 1832 and '33, there were 14,000 sheep on our island, 

 and they took out the last elements, it seemed to me, of vege- 

 tation, and there was nothing but organic matter left there. The 

 Judge said to me, " Why, my dear sir, put on coal ashes ; 

 harden up your soil, so that it will not blow away ; then the 

 crops will grow." 



J. F. C. Hyde. I did not intend to speak this afternoon, but 

 this discussion leads me to say a few words. 



I have used wood ashes on strawberries with the most grati- 

 fying success. I have raised the greatest crop of strawberries 

 that I ever raised in my life from their application. I do not 

 believe that I can go astray in the use of wood ashes. But as 

 that has been said a great many times, and as you all believe 

 it just as strongly as I do, I will pass on to coal ashes. 



I have used coal ashes sometimes with pretty good results. 

 It seems to me there is a difference in the coal. I have used a 

 great many cords of coal ashes which I have procured for the 

 expense of carting, no charge being made for them. I have 

 carted them from the village near which I reside, Newton Cen- 

 tre, to my own ground, and screened them there, or I have 

 screened them at the place where I obtained them, and then 

 carted them away. I use a screen such as we use to screen 

 gravel for the highway. I have used the ashes from both red- 

 ash and white-ash coal. I am not learned enough in this mat- 

 ter of coal to say that the red ash is richer in those materials 

 that go to benefit the soil than white ash ; I can only say, that 

 I have had the best success from the ashes obtained from the 



