THIRD 
SERIES. 
Stttpnm tjji inil nttiJ tlji Mint 
Yol. IT. ALBANY, 
Will Ashes Dissolve Bones? 
The above seems to be a mooted question with some 
of our agricultural papers. One correspondent affirms, 
and another denies, that ashes are a solvent for bones; 
and if the farmer, not knowing what’to do, where doc¬ 
tors disagree, appeals to the editor, he gets an answer 
so near to the fence that he could hardly tell whether 
it were on one side or the other. 
The question is one of some consequence, as bones 
occur about every farm-house, too many to be lost, but 
not in sufficient quantities to warrant the expense and 
trouble of procuring sulphuric acid for the purpose of 
converting them into superphosphate of lime, which is 
the best course, whenever there are bones enough to 
make it an object. The farmer, who has but a few, 
can turn them to a good account, in a less troublesome 
way. 
If the question be asked, will ashes dissolve bones ? 
the answer is, no, not in the proper sense of that term, 
not as water dissolves sugar or salt. But if it be asked 
whether ashes will reduce bones to a condition in which 
they will be speedily available to plants, the answer 
is, yes. The Hon. Philip Pusey ascertained several 
years ago, and, after carefully experimenting upon the 
discovery three or four years, published in the Journal 
of the Royal Agricultural Society, that bones, if placed 
in a pile and covered over with wood ashes, the ashes 
of fossil coal, leached ashes, common soil, or sand even, 
will heat and crumble to powder. He showed, as the 
result of careful experiments, several times repeated, 
that bones treated in this way become a valuable ma¬ 
nure ; and upon the strength of his own experience, 
he recommended this course to English farmers. 
A friend of ours, in whom we have entire confidence, 
informs us that seven years ago he fell into the prac¬ 
tice of reducing bones by means of ashes, by a sort of 
fortunate blunder. Being at the head of a very large 
family, in.which fresh meat was largely consumed, he 
found that his Irish cook was in the habit of throwing 
all the bones out of the back window. This drew such 
a bevy of dogs, with voices, bass, tenor and treble, 
about the house, that it was impossible to sleep quiet¬ 
ly. In order to withdraw temptation from the dogs, 
and to preserve the bones for the use of his land, to be 
prepared in some way then unknown, he ordered the 
MAY, 1854. No. Y. 
bones to be carried and put into an old sugar hogs¬ 
head, placed in a grove at a little distance from the 
house, and the ashes from the kitchen to be thrown on 
them, the hogshead to be uncovered that the rain 
might fall into it. Whenever an offensive smell arose 
from the bones, which was only in dry times, he found 
that a little water thrown on prevented it. As soon as 
the first hogshead was full, another was placed by it 
and filled, and then another. His intention was to use 
the ashes and bones on Indian corn, supposing that by 
the next spring the bones would be somewhat softened, 
so much so that they might be pounded to pieces with 
a sledge hammer on a flat stone. The hammer and 
the stone were actually procured for the purpose. But 
no bones were found, except near the top of the hogs¬ 
head last filled. Instead of the bones, were found soft 
soponaceous masses, retaining the form and size of the 
original bones, but none of their hardness. They were 
easily cut through with a shovel and mixed with the 
ashes; and when so mixed and applied to corn at the 
rate of half a pint to the hill, they proved an excel¬ 
lent manure for corn. The experiment has been re¬ 
peated every year since with good effect, not only pro¬ 
ducing great crops of corn, but manifestly leaving the 
ground in good order for a succeeding crop, with but 
very little yard manure, not more than a quarter of 
what would be regarded as a fair dressing, say from 
three to four loads to the acre. The land is a light 
loam, and has been under the plow incessantly for 
more than twenty years, bearing for the last eight 
years hoed crops every year, generally corn and pota¬ 
toes alternately, but some of the time corn two years 
in succession. As yet this land shows no diminution of 
crops, but rather an increase. In 1851 a comparison 
was instituted between bone earth procured in market 
at 2^ cents per pound, the best Peruvian guano, and 
this mixture of bones and ashes. The quantity of the 
bone earth and of the guano applied to the hill was 
just half that of the bones reduced by ashes. The ef¬ 
fect of the bone earth procured in market was barely 
perceptible as compared with rows that were unma¬ 
nured ; the effect of the guano and of the home-made 
bone earth (the bones reduced by ashes) was very 
striking, that of the guano being more manifest in 
June and July, but that of the bones with ashes giv¬ 
ing decidedly the best crop in October. 
