Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-07-02
,AgTiculGuralo
FROM THE ALBANY cULTIvAToR.
ON THE Use OF LEACHED Ash ES


Mn. EprTon-I have jus, received your
81 pril number Of the Cultiyator, in which you
wish, for the benefit Of one of your couespon-
#3dcnts, III. G. b., some information of the value
of ashes Sc, &c., and call upon scientists TO
tell" Not being exactly chemist myself,
yet having dug into the science little, for the
purpose Of assisting me in my farming opera
X3 lions, | will offer few remarks -
& Wood ashes, as you observe, generally do
III best on rather light soils If they are applied in
IN large quantities, either leached or unleached,
III they have a tendency TO bring in the red moss,
s q but upon grayelly soils this may not be detri-
ff mental, as they are usually dry and warm
&& enough II there Is moss. But upon more
n moist and close soils, ashes may ultimately
|X prove injurious.
4x Unleacbed ashes when first applied to grass,
#* or other crops, are much more efficient than
H* leached, owing TO the much greater amount of
vi alka. or potash they contain, but | do not
III think the sowing of unleached ashes upon land
al the most economical way of using them. If
X heavy rain Immediately follows the potash is
III mostly washed out and carried off the land, or
E sinks into the soil beyond the reach Of the
HI roots of plants. Common potash Is very read
III iiy dissolved in about its weight of water. If
farmer wishes to apply unleached ashes to his
II grass or grain crops, it would be the better way
Al TO mix his ashes quite moist with ground gyp-
III sum, and let them remain for sometime IN the
M heap. The potash Of the ashes would decom-
n pose thegypsum, and sulphate ofpotash would
Il bo formed. Sulphate fpotsah is much less
n soluble than carbonate Of potash, as ii requires
n sixteen pounds of water Cat the temperature OF
n 60 degrees) to dissolve one pound of sulphate
III of potash From this fact the loss of potash.
by rains would be likely to be much less, and
NJ for clover, cabbages, turnps, radishes, the
4 sulphate is decidedly better than the carbonate
II Of potash.
But think il a much more economlcal plan
to mix ashes with swamp muck, peat or de
b caying vegetable matter from the woods. All
these substances are acid (decomposng veg
etabe matters always produce acds.) These
acids want neutralizlng before the muck, &C.,
are suitable manures for most crops, (sorrel ex-
cepted) Frequently swamp muck is saturated
with sulphate of iron. or alumina, that has ooz-
cd out in the water from higher land In
Il such cases, the ashes will have the direct ef
{ feet to neutralze the acidity of the muck, and
make ii good manure.
Il Leached ashes are highly valued by the far
& mers upon Long Island, but | suspect thai,
most that are used there are from the soap bo
lers, and think they are better for agrcultu-
raj purposes than the leached ashes from the
potash or pearlash factory. In teaching ashes
for making soap generally, there is about one
peck of lime used to each bushel of ashes but
there is very ittle if any lime, with the leach
ed ashes from the potash.
There is, after the usual process of teaching
ashes for soap or potash, certain quantity OF
potash left Ill the ashes, in combination with
sick. DIR. DANA says, there are 30. lbs OF
potash in a cord # eached ashes. Exposure
10 the air decompoSes this, and then another
portion of alkali can be extracted by water
This partially explains what you have heard
OF the Long Island farmers, who CONSIDER the
leached as good as the unleached ashes, provi-
6ed they are not used for sometime after being
leached." And you farther say, "some sup
pose they attract valuable properties from the
atmosphere after coming from the leach-tub
Is ii so and if any, what are the properties
acquired 2" In answer 10 your question,
ray yes, il is so, and will explain it.
If quantity of leached ashes are piled up
vnder cover of shed exposed to the air, anoth-
or portion OF alkali will be set free BY the Ge-
composition of the sick, as before stated, and
the alkali has strong affinity for nitric acid
The air we breathe is mostly composed Of nj
rogen, 70 parts, and II parts of oxygen in
these proportions, these two gases are mechan-
icaliy combined. But by well known chem
ical laws these two great gases chemically
combine IN several different proportions, and
form very different substances from common
air. In one of their chemical combinations
they unite in the proportions Of IA parts nitro
gen and 40 parts oxygen, and IN these proper
tons it is called nitric acid, and mixed with a
certain quantity OF water il becomes hydro nj
trio acid, or aquafortis. Ifcommon pot OF
pearlash is dissolved in diluted aquafortis
and the liquid evaporated, the result will be
nitre, or saltpetre. But this is an artificial way
of making saltpctre-and expensive too.
Nature takes a somewhat different method
As before stated, the alkali in the leached ash
es has a strong affinity for nitric acid, and so
strong is that affinity or attraction, that the nj
trogen and oxygen of the atmosphere, viii rerj
Geeommodatiagy chemically combine in the
right proportions 10 form nitric acid, which
readily unites with the alkali, and forms nitro
or saltpetrs-naturally and cheap too. The
longer the ashes are kept, and occasionally
moistened and shovellcd over. the greater the
accumulation of nitre. But if the ashes are
occasionally wet with urine. DRAWINGS from
the manure heap, or mixed with night soil, or
dscaylng animal matter-substanceS all rich
in nltrogen-the process will be much hasten
ed and the accumulation of nitro much great
or in given time. Perhaps twelve months
would be proper time for the ashes to re-
main.
A similar process is going on under all
houses and other buildings the potash in the
tslspar and mica of our soils, is being slowly
but continually dissolving, and as there is also
continual ascent Of water, by evaporation,
each particle of water as il ascendS brings with
1t its particle of potash, which IS returned in
the dry surface soil, which combines with the
nitric acid, And there are frequently large
accumuations of nitro under old buildings
In some parts OF the East Indies, where It sell
dom or nsver rams, nitro accumulates Gas un.
der houses here.) in such quantities that the
soil is shovelled up and leached as we do ash
hOttnd flONln Ia nj e
h formed in vast quantities in the lime caverns
of Kentucky. Aud the dry plains in the pro-
vince of Africa, in Peru, are covered with an
incrustration of nitrate of soda
Every body knows, or ought to know, that
saltpetre is good manura-though perhaps
they do not all know why ii is so. Possibly
may continue the subject, but my sheet is
full at this time l.. b.
Farmer, NJ H., .4prii 90, 1876.
HEAvEs IN HoRsEs.-A correspondent says,