Ned,
 
I'm pretty sure you are aware of this article, but for what it is worth:
 
        *Miller, Harry.  1980.  Potash from Wood Ashes:  Frontier
Technology in Canada and the United States.  Technology & Culture 21:
187-208.
 
Cheers,
Mary
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Mary C. Beaudry
Editor, Northeast Historical Archaeology
Associate Professor
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Archaeology
Boston University
Boston, MA 02215
 
tel. 617-353-3415
fax. 617-353-6800
email [log in to unmask]
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~