236 



SOILS 



Sources of potassium. In the olden days our fathers 

 depended upon wood ashes for soap-making" purposes, 

 and learned early of their value as a help for old and 

 worn-out lands. Their value may have been due to the 



A MUCK SOIL THAT PROFITABLY USES POTASSIUM 



A celery and lettuce crop when 500 pounds of sulphate of potash are used 



per acre 



lime present in the ashes (lime, you know, corrects acid- 

 ity and improves physical condition), or it may have been 

 due to the potassium contained in the ashes, and which 

 served as a plant food. 



Wood ashes are valuable, therefore, both for the potash 

 and lime they contain. In unleached ashes, potassium 

 runs from two to eight per cent. the hard wood supply- 

 ing the greatest quantity and the soft wood the least. 

 Potassium in ashes is readily soluble in water, hence, ex- 



