534 AGRICULTURAL ANALYSIS 



suiting after the extraction of all the crystallizable sugar in 

 beet-sugar manufacture is very rich in potash. The molasses 

 contains from 10 to 15 per cent, of ash. 



The composition of the ash varies greatly in the content of 

 potash as well as of the other constituents. 24 The content of 

 potassium carbonate varies from 22 to 55 per cent, and, in ad- 

 dition to this, some potassium sulfate and chlorid are usually 

 present. 



The following figures give the composition of a good quality 

 of beet-molasses ash : 



Per cent. 



Potassium carbonate 45-3 



Sodium carbonate 13 .86 



Potassium chlorid 1 7.02 



Potassium sulfate 8.00 



Silica, lime, alumina, water, phosphoric acid, and unde- 

 termined 15.82 



Thus, in 100 parts of such an ash over three-quarters are pot- 

 ash salts. The molasses may be applied directly to the soil or 

 diluted and sprayed over the fields. 



453. Kinds of Potash Fertilizers Derived from Beet-Molasses. 

 The by-products from the factories using molasses for any 

 purpose contain varying amounts of potash, and this renders it 

 uncertain in any given case, without a special analysis to deter- 

 mine the actual quantity of potash purchased. 25 The residue from 

 the molasses distillery known as "Schlempekohle" is a very com- 

 mon potash product in the German markets. The residues of the 

 still are evaporated and incinerated to a carbonaceous mass suit- 

 able for transportation and application to the soil. In this prod- 

 uct the potash is chiefly in the form of carbonate, but notable 

 quantities of chlorid and sulfate are also present. The potash 

 mass above described is used also largely for the manufacture 

 of commercial potash which utilizes the greater quantity of the 

 chlorid and sulfate present. The residue is dried and sold also, 

 as a potash fertilizer, but contains comparatively very little pot- 



14 Horsin-De"on, Traite 1 de la Fabrication du Sucre, 2nd Edition, 1900 : 

 loot. 



" Reitmair, Wiener landwirtschaftliche Zeitung, 1905, 55 : 844. 



