The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-12-10


Process of Manufa cturing ,he Super
phosphate-Aims and Prospects OF the
Company.
at the time that the discovery of the South
Carolina phosphate deposits was first bruited
abroad it was the popular belief that we had
at our very doors natural wealth which would
make the State as productive of gold as Cali
fornia. No thought was given as to what
might be necessary to be done to prepare the
phospiatss for the market, and vague idea
was entertained that the nodules, as they were
dug out of the ground, would make the finest
fertilizer in use. 1t is hardly necessary to say
that this idea had 40 foundation in fact. The
process of manipulating the phosphate rock, so
as to adapt it for use as superphosphate, is
both delicate and expensive, requiring elabo-
rate chemical apparatus, Us well as powerful
and costly machinery. At first, no attempt
was made to manipulate the rock in the State,
the principal company combining itself to exca-
waiting the rock and shipping it, when cleans
ed, to the North. Some of our long-headed
business men saw that it was great loss to
send tue material from the place where it was
taken from tho ground to Baltimore or Phila-
dephia, there to be manipulated, and then to
be returned, perhaps. for s'le to the very State
which first sent it forth. In tho profit made
by the shipper, tho manufacturer and the sell
Ter of the marketable article, they saw large
margin of profit to themselves, as we'll as
sayin. to the consumer. and they determined
| TO establish 1 South Carolina factory which
should, in the first place, mako the sulphuric
acid-by the action OF which the rock is made
ready for use-and then manufacture the rock
in the section of country in which it was pro-
duced.
THE sULpHURIc ACID AND sUPEnPHosPHATE COM
PANY OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
which grew out OF these general views, is alto
gether Charleston enterprise. The principal
projectors were the Hon. q. G. Memminger,
MIR. ", C. lee and Mr. Robert Adger, o. this
city, who secured the seryi ices Of DR.. N. A.
Pratt, keen. energetic, practical chemist,
thoroughly familiar with the process OF making
the acid and OF manipulating the phosphate
rock. There were many difficulties in the way.
The Northern companies do not allow their
puvsrizing machinery to be Inspected or de-
scribed; but DIR. Pratt was not to be daunted,
and designed, himself the necessary machine
nv, which was made partly in the North and
partly, and very satisfactorily, at tha work
shops of W. s. Henerey & Co. and John F.
Taylor Il Co.: in this city: For making the acid
wore required Series Of huge lcadol tanks or
chambers, which could only be made perfect
for their purpose by Northern mechanics skill
ed in that particular branch OF business.
Gradually, however, the horizon cleared, and
the company has now made such headway as
to justify
A GLANCE AT THE WORKS,
which arc situated about three miles from
Charleston. The avenue which loads to them
turns off from tie main road n short distance
above tho Neck forti6catiors, and adorned
though it be with majestic oaks whose gnarled
trunks and mossy boards make them seem
images Of iho sombre past, it leads to scene
whose hustle aud activity tell Of the living
breathing present.
At the end of the avenue in :he vicinity OF tht
cd magazine, at the junction OF deep cress
with the Cooper River, was tho old shipyard
where was built towards the close OF the las
century the United States man-of-war John
Adams. But for more than fifty years the
yard has been deserted, and the spot which II
occupied is now ovcrgrown with luxurlan
vegetation. At this point there is sufiicien
depth of water to allow vessels OF deep draugh
to come up to ! landing, and as 1t was near tue
phosphate deposits, within reach Of the city
and close to tho line Of the Northeastern ane
South Carolina Railroads, the new compaa,
purchased tract of several acres and made
arrangements for putting up the necessary
buildings. II may be remarked here that th'
site Of the works is very healthy, bong fte'
from fever at a seasons, although slnGularl'
enough few hundred yards IRON the Juttlnf
point upon which the works stand tue mas
matte influence holds full sway.
The contract tor the erection Of the works
was given to Messrs. D. Lopez 4 Sons,
Charleston, in September last, and has beer
carried out IN prompt and highly cf2dltaDl
manner. The main building is about tho hun
dred and forty feet in longth, and two and
half stories high, and is SO arranged that ad
ditiups may be made as the business OF tn
company increases It is handsome anu sub
s.antlal structure, and laces The creek, which
has depth of about seventeen feet lnsid
the building is divided by q partition. the west
ern section, moro than half OF the whole
forming the sulphuric acid works, and tn
eastern section tho superphosrhate works
This leads us to the consideration OF
HOW sULpUURIc ACID IS MADE.
The buildIag of which We spoke as being d;
yided into two sections is not woather-boarde'
throu. hout-the western section, whcro tn
acid is made, beng no more than skeleton
of timber With solid lead lining forming tw
huge tanks Of that metal, the larger OF whic
ia only euuallsd in size by three others IN th'
United Statos-two at Pittsburg and one
philsdolphla. 10 this part of tho building
there is no first story or second story. 1t is
Ieaden house without stairs Or means OF com
munication, and containing two chambers
UNEQUAL size, the smaller being toward the eaS
and the larger toward the wess. In iarS
furnaces which aJjoin the smaller chamber
placed mixture of seven or eight parts OF su
nhur with one of nitrate Of soda OF OF potasa
An intense heat is applied, and Z cul
rons of air carries the products OF IN
com ,ust,on into the leaden chamber, tn
bottom of which is covered with water te Ii
Il