USE OF ASHES. 367 



soil, and must be left to the judgment of those who use 

 it. In general, on peat and clay soils, from ten to fifty 

 bushels to the acre will be required, though less would, 

 perhaps, be beneficial. 



The addition of lime to the compost heap is often of 

 great importance. The decay of all vegetable sub- 

 stances is accelerated by it ; but it should not be 

 brought in contact with decaying or fermenting animal 

 substances, unless covered by a thick coating of peat or 

 other absorbent. Whenever lime is used in a compost, 

 unless it be for the special purpose of hastening the 

 fermentation of vegetable substances, it ought to be 

 mixed with salt, by dissolving the salt first in water and 

 slacking the lime with it. A bushel of salt will thus 

 prepare four bushels of lime. Refuse brine will answer 

 very well. 



We come now to the use of ashes as a top-dressing. 

 Of this we may speak with more confidence ; for, while 

 experiments with lime have not invariably proved suc- 

 cessful, owing, probably, to the soils designed to be 

 benefited, we know of no instances in which the appli- 

 cation of ashes has not fully repaid the expense. If 

 farmers would bear in mind that ashes contain most 

 of the elements which assist plant-growth, they would 

 be unwilling to part with a substance which they might 

 turn to such profit. If the quantity is small, let it be 

 husbanded with the greater care, instead of being sold, 

 with the idea that so few can do no good. One sub- 

 stantial farmer says : " I am now, more than ever, fully 

 persuaded of the value of ashes as a manure. Nothing 

 in the whole catalogue of manures compares with them 

 on my land. The soil was a thin, clayey loam, and 

 where the ashes were sown there was a crop of excel- 

 lent clover, where for years the land had been almost 

 unproductive." 



