Bulletin 43 February, 1897 



NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 



SOME INFERIOR WOOD ASHES 



By Fred W. Morse 



The time for purchasing fertilizers having come, the Station 

 wishes to call the attention of farmers to the variable composi- 

 tion of wood ashes and particularly to some evidently fraudu- 

 lent lots of Canada ashes, samples of which were received at 

 the laboratory last fall. 



Five samples, representing three different lots, were received 

 during October, 1896, from widely different sections of the 

 state, namely Plymouth, Stratham, and Walpole. The ashes 

 were all bought of the same wholesale dealer, and analysis 

 showed them to be quite uniform in quality ; but noticeably 

 inferior. By referring to the first five analyses in the table, it 

 will be seen that the proportion of moisture is very high, 

 amounting to 450 pounds of water in one ton of ashes as pur- 

 chased. 



The proportion of potash is low, especially if the soluble 

 form is alone considered, which fact, taken with the quantity 

 of water, leads one to suspect that these ashes had been either 

 leached partially or prepared by mixing leached and dry ashes 

 together. The proportion of lime found in the most inferior 

 sample (467) disposes of any suspicion of adulteration with 

 lime as the percentage is not high. 



The price of these ashes was $10 per ton delivered in carload 



