Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1854-04-11
.Gh aaiIp sPg.
TUESDAY, APRIL II, 1854.


following extract from letter received by me,
explains the origin of this article, which is
also at your service for publication if you think
desirable soliciting respectfully some infor-
nation concerning the best and most profitable
mode of using sshes, taking into consideration
the kind of soil, also the crop, time to apply,
quantity, management, &C., items Of great
Importance to farmers" (Signed)
Yours, &C., Rev. -.
Dear Sir-Yours of the 22d ult., making
inquiries about the best method of using
ashes as manure, was duly received, and l
am happy to oblige you with any information
in my power.
The inorganic part of all plants G.. g., tie
ash,) although differing in some particulars,
yet so uniformly contains the same leading
elements, viz lime, potash, soda, 1nagnesia,
and psosphorus, that ashes must ALWAYS be OF
some benefit to them all. However, in addi-
ton to furnishing those elementary bodies to
plants, they have other beneficial action-as
chemical, in rendering insoluble bodies solu-
Bile, neutrallzing acids, inducing and aiding
fermentation-or mechanical as tending to
loosen or solidify the soil. These various eff
fects of course viii depend upon the kind of
soil to which they are applied to sour or peaty
soils containing much inert vegetable matter,
Its acids Will be neutralized, and deeomposi-
ton promoted. But if the soil Is sandy, the
alkali will favor the solution of the silica.
forming silicates SO necessary to the growth of
the straw Of grain and grass.
As ashes have tendency to liberate ammo
MIA from its combinations, they should never
be mixed with guano, or any nirogenous ma
nure, unless absorbents arc present in large
quantity, to retain it as soon as it is set Free
This is readily shown by mixing little ashes
with moistened guano. or in a heap of fresh
barn-yard manure.
AS ashes are in part readily soluble, they
ought to be applied only during the growing
season. Leached ashes still retain their lime
and phosphoric acid; therefore, although their
effects are not SO Immediately visible, yet they
possess high value, and their influence Is
very enduring.
The locality and circumstances alone must
decide to what crops ashes must be applied
AS they contain no weed seeds, they are IA
vorte dressing for all hoed crops. Mixed
with plaster, in the proportions of three of
ashes and one of plaster, l have used them
with the greatest apparent benefit on corn ,po-
tatoes and roots, putting small handful on
each hill Of the corn and potatoes when they
first appear above ground, and sowing the
mixture III turnips and other roots. The color
OF the leaves soon changes to a richer, darker
green, and the plant assumes an appearance
Of greater luxuriance. Carrot and beet Seed
soaked "A hours, and rolled in ashes, come up
stronger, and of finer color than without
the application.
By the use Of ashes on cold, damp meadow,
the moss is eradicated, as the increased growth
of the valuable grasses soon oYerpowers it
but thorough haining must also be employed
to produce permanent results. In making
composts which consist mostly Of turf or peat,
ashes are very valuable, as they aid much in
decomposing such bodies.
| have had no experience in the use of ashes
fruit trees they are invaluable, containing as
they do, all the inorganic materials they need,
without the heterogeneous bodies stimulating to
over luxuriance.
Ashes differ very much in their character
and qualities, depending on the kind of wood
from which they are made, and the circum-
stances under which it is burnt. When they
are formed in common stove, and removed
daily there will remain many fragments of
charcoal, largely increasing the bulk made
from given quantity of wood. "A cord OF
wood thus managed, may yield barrel or
more, while burnt in air tight stove where
the ashes are rarely removed, it would not
make a half bushel; these last, possessing
equal strength, would be nearly as valuable as
tllc luOAC UulNg Dut sOluO CdutlOA
must be used in their application to small and
delicate plants, or they will be bitten, and per-
haps destroyed by their causticity. The sill
Gates may also become partially vitrifed by
the burning, and will be heavy like sand; in
this case their action VIII be slower and more
durable, but their actual value will remain.
Ashes are advantageously used for the des-
truction Of insects, and protection of plants
from their rayages. The Shiny snail, which
strips the green from the leaf Of our fruit trees
leaving the fbrous part, is destroyed by throw
ing ashes upon the leaves when wet with dew
or fog. BY taking a small quantity at a time
in shovel, they may easily be thrown SO as
to cover the foliage of trees Of considerable
size.
A timely application Of ashes viii also to
some degree save the young turnips and cab
bages from the ravages of the little black beet
les which attack them on their first appear
ance, causing them to grow less instead of
greater, and the scotsman to incur the charge
of having sold bad seed.
Thus, my dear sir, / have set down these
thoughts as they have occurred, and in clos
ing l would repeat, that consider the effect
Of ashes and many other manures, as impor-
tant in thier chemical and mechanical effects
ON the SOIL as in their directly furnishing food
for plants; in fact operating somewhat IKE the
small doses of medicine called by the faculty
alteratioes, which, though insignificant in
themselves, may produce great results on the
system. Yours, &c., I. S. GOLD.
Cream HUI, March 8, 1854.