The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-07-11
Ashes as a Fertilizer.

Next to stable manure, wood ashes
come nearest to meeting the farmers
wants. Most lands are benefited by
the application of wood ashes. While
valuable chiefly for their potash this is
by no means their only merit. Professor
Atwater, excellent authority, says:
"Ashes contain all Of the food ingre-
dients that the plants require from the
soil, except one-nitrogen. By their
chemical action they render the inert
nitrogen of the soil available to the
crops. They also help to set free pot
ash and other mineral ingredients of
plant food that are locked up in soluble
combinations in the soil. They improve
che mechanical condition Of the soil.
They make heavy soils lighter and coun-
teract the i'll effects of drought. Thus
by virtue of what they themselves con-
tain and what they enable soils to fur
nish, they constitute a practically COM
plete fertilizer. Hence, like stable and
yard manure, they are fitted for all
soils and all crops. And, finally, they
are generally applied in large quaint
ties, are exposed to scarcely any waste
until they are used by the plants, and
therefore their effect is as lasting as it
is valuable.
In many localities the high cost of
wood ashes prevents their use. To meet
this obstacle, Davis, in his book on
'Improving the Farm, gives formula
for artificial 'shes which, while it may
not analyze precisely like ashes, has on
repeated trial given practically the
same results. For one ton: 500 pounds
ground bone ii per cent phosphoric
acid; 300 pounds superphosphate, 10
per cent phosphoric acid; 400 pounds
muriate potash, so per cent; 200 pounds
suiphate magnesia, crude, 80 per cent;
600 pounds gypsum or land plaster
The formula can be varied. For use
on grass as permanent manure the
dissolved bone can be omitted by using
more of the bone dust. The chief advan-
tage of using the superphosphate is that
1T gives quicker action and makes the
fertilizer do better work when first ap-
piled. And III those localities and on
those soils where plaster produces no
good results this may be substituted by
a good loan. 1t should be thoroughly
pulverized. On many soils the magnesia
can be omitted altogether, SO that if it
were made up of 800 pounds Of ground
bone, 800 pounds of superphosphate, 400
pounds of n-uriate potash, 800 pounds
of gypsum or loan, it would make a
first class fertilizer, though not CORE
spending fully to the ashes
In using this it will be borne in mind
that the bone supplies phosphoric acid
and lime. The potash salts give the
potash needed, and the superphosphate
affords lime, phosphoric acid, sulphuriC
acid and a small percentage Of nitrogen.
This last element is very valuable ont
which ashes do not afford at all. Il
gypsum is u ed, it also supplies lime ant
sulphuric acid for it is Of itself simply
sulphate of lime. Sulphate of magnesii
gives also 81 .phuric acid and magnesia
A fertilizer thus made up has proved
OF great value ON meadows, pastures
sown grain and hoed crops Of all kinds
1t is permanent in its influence, as tn,
bone dissolves slowly, while the mechan
ical action unlocks latent elements o
plant food and makes them available
for Immediate usa