98 Manufacture of Potash. 



of wood ; but iu this case tliere is reason to think 

 that some extraneous matter may have been included in 

 and weighed with the ash. The proportion of 1 lb. of potash 

 to 10 lbs. of ash is that given in the best works which treat 

 on the subject ; and it is corroborated to a certain extent by 

 the experiments made here. What then, in the first place, 

 may be assumed to be the quantity of timber, including 

 branches and leaves, in a heavily wooded district of this 

 Colony ? Upon a rough computation I should say from 

 600 to 1000 tons. If, then, the quantity of ash be taken 

 on an average at 10 lbs. per ton of wood, the weight of ash 

 will be from 6000 to 10,000 lbs., and the quantity of 

 potash from 600 to 1000 lbs. per acre. The value of the 

 potash in the English market is now from i;38 to £-10 per 

 ton, — deducting £8 for freight andchai'ges, value of casks, &c. 

 The value of the potash on the ground would be 30^. per 

 cwt., or 26s. Qd. per 100 lbs., and the return per acre would 

 amount to from £8 to £10, — an ample return for the cost 

 of manufacture, when it is considered that land which would 

 otherwise be altogether unavailable will at the same time be 

 laid open, and made ready for the plough. I am in hopes 

 that I may be able to give at some future period some more 

 positive statements than the above : but these are sufficiently 

 valuable to warrant their adoption. 



