Tobacco as a Farm Crop for England. 
241 
nnfavourable, and assuming that the leaves lose weight in fermentation, the 
percentages of ash in the fermented leaves would be still higher. Taking 
20 per cent, as the probable loss in weight during fermentation, the resulting 
figures would then be, in 
Per Cent. 
No.l 31-6 
No. 2 28-6 
No. 3 26-5 
No. 4 29-5 
tmusually high results. The highest ash recorded in connection with 
tobacco-leaves is not over 23 per cent., and the average is very much below 
this. 
A complete analysis of the English samples of ash was then made, with 
the following results 
Percentage Composition of Ash. 
No. 1. 
No. 2- 
Xo. 3. 
No. 4- 
Potash (K„0) 
8-02 
10-15 
7-38 
9-09 
Soda (Na^O) 
4-42 
4 84 
4-45 
4-64 
Lime (CaO) 
41-02 
38-66 
43-16 
41-26 
3-96 
3-61 
3-92 
3-36 
28-02 
26-95 
28-52 
27-01 
Carbonic acid (CO^) (by dif.) .. 
11-85 
12-60 
9-69 
10-95 
4-95 
3-72 
4-55 
3-80 
Phosphoric acid (PjOj) 
2-64 
2-78 
2-86 
3-31 
Silica (Si02) 
1-43 
2-76 
1-89 
2-72 
Pe Al 
nil. 
nil. 
nil. 
nil. 
106-31 
106-07 
106-42 
106-14 
Deduct oxygen equiv. for chlorine 
6 31 
6-07 
6-42 
6-14 
100-00 
100-00 
100-00 
100-00 
The usual methods of analysis were employed, and therefore need not be 
detailed. 
The ashes of the foreign samples were not analysed. There are many 
already recorded. 
The figures obtained above are very important and useful, and in one or 
two cases rather remarkable. The most important constituents are the 
alkalis and the lime. The low percentage of potash and the high percentage 
of lime speak very badly for the quality of the ash, which should contain a 
much larger proportion of potassium to lime. The high percentage of chlorine 
is a most remarkable result, and one also detrimental to good quality. The 
low percentage of carbonic acid is no doubt due to a certain extent to the 
excess of lime over potash, a certain amount of caustic hme being produced 
at the dull red heat required to burn off the carbon. Sulphuric acid is 
fortunately low, and the phosphoric acid is much below the average. Taken 
altogether the ashes in the four samples, although varying in percentage on 
the leaf, seem to be practically the same. Nos. 1 and 3 seem to go side by side 
in what little difference there is, and the other two are also very close to 
each other. It will be remembered that 1 and 3, as also 2 and 4, showed a 
similarity in weight per square foot. 
The total nitrogen was then estimated. The method employed was the 
combustion method, with copper oxide in vacuo. To ensure complete 
VOL. XXIII. — S. S. B 
