WOOD ASHES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXVII, Issue LXXVII, 4 January 1918, Page 3

WOOD ASHES.

FERTILISING VALUE

In those days of scarcity of imported fertilisers, scarcely too much stress can be laid upon the value of common wood ashes. This local source of potash is almost entirely neglected, although there are very few selections and orchards that have not hundreds of tons of this highly valuably manure easily available., especially in forest lands carrying hardwood. Even without felling a single tree, most selectors have thousands of tons of hardwood lying rotting on the ground. To have this burned and cleaned up would almost, if not quite, double the area of lan_ for grazing purpose.?, also a large quantity of potash would be liberated. Japan has considerably over 20.000 square miles of cultivated land and every acre annually receives 38.61b of potash and 12.81b of phosphoric acid, derived from wood ashes, contributed by the non-arable hills and mountains of that country. More than 2,000,000 tons of wood ashes are annually spread upon the arable soils of Japan—a fertility tribute exacted by these painstaking and thrifty farmers from lands that are unsuitable foj. the production of crops. What an object lesson this presents to orchardists and farmers elsewhere.

It should be noted that the source of wood ash affects its composition and value: thus hardwood ashes are moie valuable than those from softwood. Softwoods are probably as valuable as the heavier timber, pound for pound, but they yield a very much srnaJler amount of ash in proportion to their bulk. Deciduous trees also generally yield more ash, and are higher in potash content than the conifer family. Asii.es owe their principal agricultural value to the lime, carbonate and potash that the.y, contain. In the TJnited States o'-P" America much attention j

given to manurial experiments with wood ashes. Especially is this the case at the great agricultural colleg-BS In Connecticut ajid Wisconsin, where it has been demonstrated, for example, that the crop of potatoes has increased by H tons per acre by an application .'•f ashes, which worked out at an increase of 50 bushels of potaoes per ton of ashes, making the ashes worth about £3 2s 6d per ton when potatoes were at average prices. The great, value of wood ashes as a fertiliser will be very evident to anyone who has broken up a few acres of virgin forest land,, burned off the timbers, and ploughed in the ashes. Even the very poorest soils yield amazing results for one or two seasons; but after that the plant food must be replenished or down goes the yield.