BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 53 
Percentage of — 
Phosphoric acid in the crude ash. 3.17 6.95 5.06 
Potash in the-crude ash. . . . 26.21 42.62 34.41 
Phosphoric acid in the ash free 
from CandCO, .. . 4,20 7.89 6.04 
Potash in the dst free ee C 
ae a eth. eo, B475 48.40 41.57 
In other words, a ton (2000 lbs.) of the straw would contain about 
64 lbs. of phosphoric acid, 40 or 50 lbs. of real potash, and 12 lbs. of 
nitrogen, as will be shown directly. 
The analyses of Malaguti and Durocher,* of stalks and leaves of 
buckwheat plants gathered at the end of September in Thorigne, 
France (III.); of Moser,t of buckwheat plants that had been mown 
for fodder, September 25, when in full blossom (IV.); and of Vau- 
quelin $(V.), —all go to show, like the analyses given above, that buck- 
wheat straw is by no means so exceptionally rich in phosphates as 
would appear from the analyses of Wolff.§ Thus, there was found 
by — 
Vauquelin. 
In crude ash, con- 
UL, IV. taining besides COg, 
Malaguti & Durocher. Moser. 163% of silica and 
. In pure ash, i.e. ash free from C & CO,. sand. 
RS tii). 30.64% | 24. ae More than 16. 10% 
Phosphoric acid . . 7.70 6.1 4.81 
Salts soluble in water. 36.44 —_ 38.33 
The average amounts of. potash and phosphoric acid contained in 
the ashes (free from C and CO,) of other kinds of straws, are given by 
Johnson (“ How Crops Grow,” p. 153), as follows : — 
Wheat Rye Barley Oat Pea Bean 
Straw. Straw. Straw. Straw. Straw. Straw. 
PO Melies vinep 11.5 15.4 21.6 20.5 21.4 32.7 
Phosphoric acid . 5.3 5.3 4.5 4.1 rie 7.9 
The fact that the proportion of potash in the buckwheat plant is . 
large was insisted upon long ago by Vauquelin,** who urged that the 
* “ Annales de Chimie et de Physique” 1858, 54. 257 and table B. 
t Wolff’s ‘‘ Aschen-Analysen,” Berlin, 1871, p. 41. 
t “Journal des Mines,” 1801-2, 11. 525. 
§ See Johnson’s ‘“‘ How Crops Grow,” page 163, 
|| Potash and soda together. 
] Obtained from the soluble part of the ashes, only. 
**® “ Journal des Mines,” 1801-2, 11. 525. 
