THE NECESSITY OF POTASH TO FARMERS.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 1, 9 July 1874, Page 4

THE NECESSITY OF POTASH TO FARMERS.

. i * 'It is well fer.own.that many of- the important ingredit-uts. which exist' in the soil we taken. away with each eurcestive crop, and are not -renewed by the ordinary manuring process. 'This a ises from a varietj e-f caußts-whicb cant or be explained -without erte ring into the detail of soil sub,- .- stances and the plant they produce. The -one we refer to' cannot be reproduced from >- the- /atmosphere as in the case of ammonia, vbich isfum-tshed by nvars rf *■ egt table carbon, Mich as rotten wood, p at-decajicg *.- rootp, etc., which ah orbs the ammonia - from the air, returning it- to the roots of plants in each f ueceedn g fall of rain. Much of tl is is lost by evaporation, to be r« sored. however, by the same, pocess. * 'Lime, however, will liberate many of the feoel constituents, bnt r o ash is not res*ored by lime; r either is it by the dung of t- animals. 'To-ahow the value of this* salt in the production of wheat, oats, barlty - and r)e, we will give tbe relative proportions of potash required to the acre of - > ground at 50 bushels of wheat, and an average ot 3000 to 5000 pounds of straw. " This wi I remove abcut 70 pounds of potash ■ from the Foi'. - Oa's will remove about 14 rounds at <>0 bishels per acre. Barley, at >70 I v h- I°, ab'-ot 40 pounds, aud rye neat ly the* same. We a-e not sure but there exists large deposits of the muriate of - po'ash in it-is Pro\i-ce. At anyrste it is sn indu try which might be profitably '.- carried- on at CatHn's lliver, Kaitangata, "•* Ware-pa, or any o'her wooded country -■'"tebere tbe waste t : mber, stumps, limbs, "*■ " twigs, in fact anything which cr-nfainsj sap, -.-aa fern?, &c., could be worked up into this •ealnable ast. Independently of its use a« a *- lucessfrv fertiliser, it is used in the arts • * and matiufr eft-res, and c-mmands a high " figure in the Duntdin market. Tbe pro- <.. cess ol producing it is very simple and - misfit be adopted by those saw mille*rs who burn their scantling — or the consuming the refuse of tin ir timber leases. The flant rrqu : rtd for the purpose would rot . exceed LIOO, and- consists rf tbe ash vat, the tubs, and the evaporating pans with - their furnace-*. The s »c- s are tv oio number; the "ash shed, " which must be * watertight, and the evaporating shed and - storebon«e." The sedimentary deposits in - connection with cur coal and lignite bed-* may contain these sal-a If so, they will become invaluable, and will assist to restore the over-cropped pastures in tie neighborhood of Tokomairiro and other. portiors of this fine distiier. Farmers who suffer fr< m exhausted soils would do well to con sider this point when they ley down mnnuTf p, which Teturn n*» potash to tbe I- soil. "By the application of dry hardwood - ashes as a top dressing, after ascertaining per centage of salts to c«t. of ashes ; for cxamp'e, say a cwt. oi hardwood a*-hes\v-n---fair, 1011s of conde potash, then if wheat at 50 bushels to the cere sbvll have exhausted the soilof the potfish require dfori's r production, 7 cwt. of such ashes per see will be sufficient to reetore it to its yielding proportions; at the same time it will be fourd tbat 21 cwt. to the acre will render tbe crop superior in the addition cf carbon as a means of providing ammonia, and the woody Fubstances required in the fabiica t?on of the stem or stalk of the plant Tbe idea, origiral as far as I have heard, ■-■ has occurred, that in snpp'ying conde v poiash to the pril by means- of bard wood abbes, it wru'd insure the destruction of sorrel, at d that this plant is the consequence of the e xhaust : on of this salt in soilp. .Any farmer wishing to know the quantity , t»f- potash which exists in a cwt. of ashes can - rVfoly a very -*im]le process, nsmely, place, the ashes in a hogehead and cause a - em&ll stream cf water to fall nprn them — c * hele is bored in the side of the cask near the bottom, furnished with a fluted plug ; - the cask is placed en a stand that a tub may be put under it to catch the liquor which percolates through the ashes. This liquor which will have a strong a'kaline taste, is roured itfto an iron pot and eva- . porated to drjnesp, when the salt can te - weighed and'its bulk determined. Farmers residing near, the sta could add to -he mixture, shell, lime and sand with advantage to these soils which contain a large proportion of stiff city, such as the highland .- alluvials. . The kinds of wood lkely to contain the lest per centage of potash, are kauri, manuka, rata, and red birch ; these .- are hard woods. The available portion? of these varieties of timber are the stumps, fchips,>and small branches ; fei ns and roots also cotitam a large amount in making large -. quantities of a-hes ; much of the soft or useless timber might be got rid of though - it would r.ot add in any/considerable proportion to the per centage of salt. The cold c^ays of the Mataura, which are said - to be almost useless for tbe cultivation of wheat, ar.d'are being reduced to grazing ■< farms aa much as possible,.might be brought under the system nf draining, and mixed - liming and potsshing to produce first-rate - crops. In tbe Lake Wakatip district the application cf hard wood ashes to the lands of B. Haller.stein, Esq., and others in the neighborhood wouid ensure splendid pastnrage by the promotion and conservation of moisture as well as its other great fer- - talising properdr s.