The Florida agriculturist., 1879-01-29

to use this SalJ Will calS' "So ~
with safety, it should be sown broad
cast upon the fresh soil, 10 days be-
fore the seed is sown, or composted
with 20 times its weight OF dry
swamp muck, or 40 times its weight
of fresh manure. The market price
Of this form Of potash, is now about
p cents per pound, which is equal to
A cents for real potash, and there IS
no other form OF potash in which
this base could be procured SO cheap
ly. Another advantagein in purchasing
potash in this form is, that it is very
regular in its quality, and as ton OF
it contains 1910 or more OF potash
salts, and 1000 or more OF actual
potash, it is far more cheaply carried
than the more impure salts, ton OF
which may not contain more than 2oO
pounds of potash.
Sulphate of potash is imported in
various conditions of impurity. The
best quality contains more than
40 per cent. of potash and sells for 3
to 81 cents per pound. 1t is thus
more costly fertilizer than the mu-
riate, the actual potash in it selling
for y to 8 cents per pound, instead
of Al cents in the muriate. An i'm
pure sulphate of 273 per cent. Of act
ual potash, sells in the market at ! to
cents per pound, but the impurities
in these low grade salts are generally
injurious to vegetation, consisting of
chloride and sulphate of magnesia.
There is also another serious object
ion TO the use of this class of potas-
sic fertilizers, viz, the necessity OF
handling 1900 to 1000 pounds of
useless, if not injurious rubbish, with
400 or 500 pounds only of useful ma
terial in every ton. But there is
another use for these potassic ma
nures, which is worth study. 1t is
we'll known that wood ashes are very
useful for composing peat and other
vegetable matters, as we'll as for
sottening bones. The potash salts
may be made equally useful in the
same ways. Prof. johnson in his
valuable work, Hoac Crops Feed,
mentions the fact that when a soil
rich in organic matter is made aka
line, and when warmth and moisture
are present, putrefactive fermenta-
ton occurs and decomposition speed
lily results. Every one who has
mixed moist poultry manure with
wood ashes has recognized the fact
that a rapid decomposition takes
place. The same occurs when barn
yard manure is composted with lime
Now, while these cases mentioned are
to be looked upon as serious mistakes
and are always to be avoided, yet
there are many circumstances in
which process of composing such
matters as fresh manure, swamp muck
sods, leaves, rakings of woods, and
other coarse vegetable substances,
may be of the greatest benefit; and
in these cases, potash salts of various
grades may be used with profit; for
by submitting these different sub
stances or any of them, to the action
Of potash, together with a moist
warmth, nitrogenous. matters are de-
composed and nitrogen compounds
are formed which may be directly
available. Thus, a mass of peat,
which may have 3 per cent. Of nitro
gen will be totally inert and useless
IN it's raw state, but if composted
with high grade muriate OF potash
at cost of 2! cents per pound, at
the rate OF so pounds to the ton OF
peat, there would result quantity OF
manure which would contain over 60
pounds of potential ammonia, and
25 pounds Of potash to the ton and
if 100 pounds Of fine raw bone dust
were added, there would be more
than so pounds of phosphate Of lime
and a, further. quantity Of ammonia,