176 BBACKEN AS A SOURCE OF POTASH 



. For practical purposes you may assume that 50 tons 

 of the dried fern would yield an ash containing one ton of 

 potash. ... In addition to the potash the ash contains 

 small quantities of soda, phosphates, sulphates, and chlorides. 

 I doubt whether, as a source of potash, the fern could 

 compete with other sources, but there can be little doubt 

 that the ash obtained by burning it would form a valuable 

 potash manure for root and certain other crops.' 



It seems pretty clear from this that although re- 

 covery of potash from burnt bracken would not in 

 itself prove a remunerative proposition, it is worth 

 while to get rid of bracken by cutting it, and securing 

 the fertilisers it contains by burning it and saving the 

 ash. One precaution is essential. Potash in the form 

 recovered by burning being highly soluble, the ash 

 must be scrupulously shielded from rain or wet until it 

 can be stored in bags. Exposure to a single heavy 

 shower would deprive it of all its virtue. This applies 

 equally to wood ash and the ash of garden refuse, 

 which is generally known to be a beneficial dressing 

 for root crops. But the importance of keeping the ash 

 dry is not so generally realised. I found an experienced 

 gardener one day lately, carefully loading a barrow 

 from a pile of ash where some woodland refuse had 

 been burnt. As it had lain exposed for several days to 

 heavy rain, I ventured to express a doubt whether it 

 would do his crop much good, remarking that the 

 potash must all have been washed out of the ash. ' I 

 reckon,' said he, ' there will be some good left in it.' 



There is a wide range in the proportion of potash in 

 the ash of various vegetable growths. It is much 

 larger in the twigs and small branches of trees than in 



