The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-03-15


name of the person seeking this In
formation. / am very careful about
such matters, but the old saying "mis-
takes happen in the best of families"
seems to apply to me. 1 think, how
ever, l can answer the inquiry by
writing some things about alkali that
will apply in this case and perhaps
In many others.
The first question to be considered
is, What is alkali? In complete def
milton we would have to say that
there are three alkalies-potassium
sodium and ammonium hydrates. The
potassium hydrate Is called vegetable
alkali because derived most frequent
ly from the ashes of vegetables. The
sodium hydrate is called mineral al
kali We need not here say anything
about ammonium hydrates. In an
swering the inquiry sent to me we
need only to consider the combination
of soda. There are two of these
combinations, viz, sulphate OF soda
and carbonate of soda. 1t is easy to
distinguish these two forms of soda;
the sulphate of soda presents a white
appearance and is commonly called
white alkali, while the carbonate OF
soda usually has black appearance
and is called black alkai because of
the black appearance of the soil where
it is found. This distinction would
be of no Importance but for the fact
that the white alkali can be washed
out of the soil, but the black kind can
not be. However, there is way to
turn the black alkali into the white
Ia, thnYa hn
the soil. How to make this change
will be considered later.
Now, when I have said that the sui
phate of soda (white alkalD can be
washed out of the soil it must not be
concluded that just to flood the land
will wash out this alkali. To do that
the water must pass through the soil
and not simply over it. If we study
the conditions prevailing where al
kali abounds, we will find that 1t is
the water arising to the surface that
brings the alkali from below. Where
irrigation is practiced on higher
ground the soil becomes filled with
water which cannot sink away by
reason of hard pan or some other OBJ
struction; this surplus of water rises
to the surface in the lower ground
This rising of the water brings the
sodium to the surface. Hence 1t will
be seen that in nearly all cases alkali
appears where irrigation is practiced
on the higher ground not far away
The irrigation does not produce the
alkali, as some suppose, for it is al
ready in the SOIL but it concentrates
it at the surface What we have to
send the water back to the lower stra-
ia of the SOIL But this requires I'M
derdrainage. Without this drainage
tue water will flow over the soil and
not through it. Where soil has
natural underdrainage no alkali will
rise to the surface, but where this
is lacking we must provide it by arti-
fetal means. No hard and fast rule
can be laid down concerning this I'M
Interchangeable drains must be fire.
quent enough to carry all the accu-
mulated alkali below. This, then, is
the secret of the whole process-we
must reverse the operation by which
the alkali was brought to the surface.
In some cases the expense will be
quite heavy in order to reclaim alkali
land and can be profitably used only
where land is very valuable. No one
must for a moment imagine that it is
childs play to get rid of alkali.
I have said that carbonate Of soda
cannot be washed out of the SOIL
Where the soil is we'll filled with this
black alkali, water will not pass
through it. In such a case we must
change this carbonate of soda into
the sulphate of soda. This can be
done bv the use of gypsum Gypsum