HOUSE AND GARDEN 
November, 
1914 
325 
of their lime content they are not so good 
for potatoes, although sometimes used for 
this crop. 
In New England, where farmers have 
had to look more carefully to the renew¬ 
ing of old soils than in some of the newer 
sections of the country, wood ashes have 
long been appreciated. Ashes indirectly in¬ 
crease the available nitrogen of the organic 
matter in the soil, and have been known to 
do excellent service in Europe on drained 
moorland. 
Besides the potash, ashes contain other 
ingredients which are of value to plants; 
namely, about 1 or 2 per cent of phos¬ 
phoric acid, a little magnesia and a great 
deal of lime. The importance of these 
last-named elements is made plain by the 
esteem in which leached ashes are held by 
some of our farmers, although from 
leached ashes all but a very small portion 
of the potash has been washed out. The 
farmer who wishes to restore potash to the 
soil by the use of ashes should take great 
care that they are kept dry and are not 
allowed to leach at all. Many house¬ 
wives save their house ashes and leach out 
the potash for use in making soap. They 
may now have an additional reason for 
conserving them ; namely, their increased 
value as a garden fertilizer. But, as has 
just been said, ashes to be used for the 
improvement of the soil should not be per- 
mited to leach. 
Ashes from hardwoods (deciduous 
trees) are richer in both phosphorus and 
potash than those from pines and other 
softwoods (conifers). Ashes from oak, 
elm, maple and hickory have more potash 
than those from pine. The ashes of twigs 
(faggots, for example) are worth more 
for agricultural purposes than the ashes of 
heart-wood taken from the middle of an 
old tree. In general, the smaller and 
younger the wood burned, the better 
ashes. The ashes of coal do not contain 
enough potash to make them valuable in 
this connection. 
Ordinary house ashes contain on the 
average about 8 or 9 per cent of potash 
and 2 per cent of phosphoric acid. Inves¬ 
tigators have considered that there is 
enough potash and phosphoric acid in a 
bushel of ashes to make it worth 20 or 25 
cents. Besides that, some 10 or 15 cents 
additional might be allowed for the 
“alkali power” of the ashes. This power 
is that which enables ashes to rot weeds 
and to ferment peat. Of course, prices 
vary with local conditions. 
If wood ashes are purchased, the farmer 
should assure himself that they have 
neither been contaminated with coal ashes 
nor adulterated with leached ashes. These 
facts determined that the place of burn¬ 
ing has no effect on the value of the ashes 
as fertilizer. They are equally satisfac¬ 
tory whether taken from a stove, a fire¬ 
place or a bonfire. 
RESIDENCE, JOHN W. GARY, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS 
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