of  the  Ashes  of  Plants. 
525 
straw.  The  flax-straw  in  steeping  loses  very  considerably  in 
weight ; and  for  our  present  calculation  it  is  necessary  to  know 
what  this  loss  is.  Mr.  Warnes  finds  the  loss  in  steeping  to 
amount  to  very  nearly  one- third  of  the  original  stalks.  On  this 
datum  2 tons  of  straw,  the  produce  of  an  acre,  would,  after  steep- 
ing and  drying,  be  reduced  to  about  27  cwt.  or  more,  exactly 
4480  lbs.  would  become  3020  lbs.  In  such  cases  as  this  a 
practical  result  is  of  more  importance  than  that  of  any  experiment 
on  the  small  scale,  but  if  additional  confirmation  of  a fact  is 
obtained  by  such  a means,  there  can  be  no  reason  why  we  should 
reject  it.  It  occurred  to  us  that  having  abundant  specimens  of 
the  same  crop  before  steeping  and  after  that  process,  we  might 
arrive  with  tolerable  correctness  at  the  loss  of  weight  in  steeping, 
by  weighing  a given  number  of  straws  in  both  conditions ; a 
quantity  of  steeped  and  unsteeped  straw,  as  nearly  as  might  be  of 
an  average  degree  of  fineness,  was  selected,  the  straws  being 
counted  and  weighed. 
Of  the  unsteeped — 
Grains. 
1st  Experiment,  100U  straws  weighed 3720 
2nd  Ditto  ditto  3241 
Mean  weight  of  1000  straws  unsteeped  .....  3482 
Of  the  steeped — 
1st  Experiment,  1000  straws  weighed  ......  2445 
2nd  Ditto  ditto  ....  . 2403 
Mean  weight  of  1000  straws  steeped 2424 
These  figures  would  indicate  about  30  per  cent,  as  the  loss  of 
weight  in  steeping.  This  experiment  was  made  before  we  had 
ascertained  that  the  loss  was  estimated  in  the  practical  way  at  one- 
third,  and  allowing  for  all  the  imperfections  to  which  it  is  liable, 
it  sufficiently  confirms  Mr.  Warnes’  calculation. 
With  this  information  we  proceed  to  inquire  what  occurs  in  the 
process  of  steeping;  it  is  obvious  that  by  deducting  the  mineral 
matter  contained  in  26  cwt.  of  steeped  flax  from  that  contained  in 
40  cwt.  of  unsteeped,  the  quantity  remaining  in  the  steeped  water 
in  which  the  produce  of  an  acre  has  been  retted  will  at  once  be 
obtained. 
100  parts  of  fine  flax  stalks  contain  (Analysis  No.  1) 3‘ 27  parts 
of  ash;  4480  lbs.  (2  tons)  will  therefore  contain  146 • 32  lbs.  of 
mineral  matters. 
100  parts  of  the  same  flax  after  steeping  contain  only  0-97  per 
cent,  of  ash ; consequently  3020  lbs.  (which  is  two-thirds  of  2 tons) 
will  contain  29  "3  lbs.  of  ash. 
The  following  table  exhibits  the  composition  of  these  ashes — 
the  third  column  indicating  the  amount  of  mineral  matters  sepa- 
rated in  the  steep- water: — 
VOL.  xi.  2 M 
