The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1879-11-19

found ready sale for the same. Des-
piTe hard times, and widespread de-
preston in trade, the Fairport Chemi-
cal Works have year by year extended
their capacity, and have run, during
much of the whole period, night and
day, to keep pace with orders. Hav-
ing had charge of sales, before assum-
ing chief management, Mr. H. A. De
Land has been fortunate in pushing
sales ever since, and has shown exec.
utive ability Of the best type in thus
multiplying demand in equal ratio
with supply. For it is not quite
enough in these days OF lively COM
petition, that good article is manu-.
tactured; the public must be advised
OF it, the trade must be interested in
1t, the consumer must be won to its
purchase. Through the West and
Southwest ''DeLand's Chemical Sal.
eratus" has long been the favorite
brand. There it is ordered by the
ton, even by. the carload. Thus far
the DeLands have seen no occasion
to push it before people of the East
ern States, who know comparatively
little OF its excellence.
The Fairport Chemical Works now
occupy an area of four or five acres,
and comprise several buildings Of the
factory proper, with needtul out-build-
ings tor storage, shipment and the
like. Their capacity is from twenty
five to thirty tons OF saleratus and
soda per diem, and, as we have re-
marked this capacity is regularly
tested to the uttermost. There are
nine run OF stone, for grinding the
crude material, eleven packing and
weighing machines, and numerous
other mechanical devices. A steam
engine OF ffty-horse power furnishes
motor, and nearly one hundred and
fifty persons are constantly employed.
Super-Carbonate of Soda. Best Chem
iOot sssivI dUrS, Da1lng HoWder, cream
of Tartar, and Sal Soda are the sever
al products made, and for their man
ufacture vast amounts of raw mate
rial are imported direct from Europe,
where DeLand d Co. have long been
heavy purchasers.
AS has been well written, the man
utacture of soda, in it's various forms,
is entitled to rank high among Amer
lean productions. Few chemical
compounds are used iu so wide a
range OF manufactures few have such
an extensive application in the arts ;
few have contributed SO largely to
! the diffusion of knowledge; few have
as efficiently aided scientific investi-
cation, and fewer still enter so di-
rectly, so minutely or in so many
ways, into the home-life OF the people.
The glass that freely admits sunlight
into humblest homes, would but for
this be an expensive luxury, within
command only OF the rich. 10 Soda
are we indebted for the very white
ness OF the paper now i'll your hand
Soda gives us borax for the black.
smith and the housekeeper; it bleaches
your cotton and scours your wool l.; i,
cleanses your petroleum, purifies youl
common salt, and retines your sugar
1t makes your saleratus, rises your
bread, renders washing easy, and
serves you cheaply as 1t serves you
we'll,
In its crude form Soda has beer
found in many natural deposits. The
plains OF Egypt abound with it it is
seen in Hungary, and on our own vast
plains of the West. But these sup
plies are not yet valuable Tor com
merce. To-day the Soda-ash Of com
merce is most cheaply produced from
Chloride of Sodium-common sea
salt, equal weights OF this and of sui
phuric acid being mixed together
placed in reverberatory furnace and
subjected to high heat. By chemi.
cal action sui phate is thus formed
known to commerce as salt cake
This being mixed with charcoal and
limestone, is in second furnace re.
duced to ball soda, and this in turn is
dissolved in water and crystallized to
yield sal soda, or dried and calcined
into soda-ash.
Ut the further processes necessary
to convert soda-ash into saleratus
and other household necessaries, we
can not speak. What is done at the
Chemical Works is not altogether
| subject to insnaction 4hou.,h uuoh