The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-05-08

| A few years since vein of apatite
| was discovered on the Southern coast of
Norway, which has since then been
worked by the Bamble Phosphate Com
pany and others on considerable scale.
The expense of preparing the rock for
market By hand-trimming is great The
present annual production barely reaches
few tons. The extent of the deposit
| was estimated at seventy FIVE thousand
tons. The first quality of apatite con-
tains eighty-fve to ninety per cent.
bone phosphate of lime, selling for thirty
dollars per ton; the pointof shipment
is some three and one half-miles distant,
whittier it is transported in small noun
tain wagons.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
You will observe appended to the
analysis of the various foreign phosphates
on the table to which your attention has
been called from time to time this even
ing, some results obtained on the rock
from different localities in this State. If
we confne our attention exclusive to the
grade of the superphosphates manu-
factured from this suite of samples ex-
amined in this laboratory, you will note
the following average:
sUPERPHospHATEs MANUFACTURED.
Contain of Soluble
From, Phosphoric Acid.
Cambridge Coprolites. per cent.
French Coprolites ........... II
Bordeaux Phosphate. 5 to 10
Gorp,oD phoenhotp .--... & tn 16
Spanish Phosphate................. 9 to 20
Navassa Phosphate..-.... .......-l13
South arolina.....".......-."..... to 153
Rio tirande Bone-Ash...........:.. IA
While have not hesitated to employ
this criterion Us the basis of our practical
survey this evening, it would be certainly
amiss to ignore another mode of COM
parison which possesses a like interest
and profit. You are aware that consid-
erabie use is made of phosphate rock
simply ground to a fine powder, and ap-
piled to the soil by itself, or in conjunc-
ton with potash salts, burnt mari, stable
manure or other fertilizing materials.
Without entering upon a discussion of
the merits of this procedure, would
call your attention to the following table,
which gives the average results of o long
series of examinations as to the solubili-
ty of the different ground phosphates in
solvent which is supposed to approxi-
mate in its effect to the action of the
waters occurring in soils.
Amount of phosphoric acid dissolved
on treatment of the finely ground phos-
phates from the following localities, with
an nniform quantity of neutral-citrate-o
ammonia solution, (spec. gray. 1.09 y
Cambridge coprolites...... 0.S5 per cent.
French oprolites..................0 0.63 to LII
Bordeaux phosphate.......... 3.35
German phosphate. zoo to 2.4O
Mexillones guano.. o.................. 4.69
| RaZa ISLAM d......."...-............-l5.S3 S3
Rio Grande ne-ash..-..-.....4.9 4.9S
South Carolina phosphate rock 2.21 to $50
While it must DO admitted that this
method of Investigation as to the COM
parative assimilability Of the various
| phosphates leaves much to be desired,
yet there is considerable value to be
attached to the lcsults, conducted as
they were in an uniform manner. At
tention is called to the fact that the
South Carolina phosphates are, on the
average, as readily attacked as the Mex
illones guano and the Rio Grande bone
ash, and much more so than the French
and German phosphates, which have
been used for long time and, as
is claimed by some successfully-in the
simple pulverized condition as means
of supplying the requisite phosphate
pabulum 10 plants.
= The lateness of the hour precludes
anything more than brief summary
of the commercial situation. Assuming
that of the two hundred thousand tons of
phosphate rock now raised from the va
rious South Carolina mines, one-third is
consumed at home, and two-thirds are
exported, chiefly to England, we see at
once how seriously the price of our COM
modify must be affected by any new or
increased competition in the English
market.
| At this moment the stagnation and
anxiety in commercial operations on the
other side of the Atlantic have unques-
tionably depressed the price of phos-
pilates in general. 1t is to be expected
that a reaction must come some time, and
that the demand will once more become
active. When that day shall, happily,
have arrived, will there be room for a
yet larger consumption OF. South Carroll
ma rock? Ny remarks this evening have
been designed to put you in position to
answer this important question.
The old beds-on which the English
market reiied-have either failed entirely
or show evidence of early exhaustion,
with the exception of the Spanish, more
especially that of Logrosan, which looms
up like spectre. Is there any proba-
bility of the discovery of a new deposit
Ip-answer to this question, it must be
remarked that the great variety of occur
renee, form and color, which mark phos-
phatic substances, are favorable to their
having been overlooked or neglected
even in regions where considerable at
tention has been bestowed on the develop
ment of mineral wealth.
For the sake of the State, of the COM
munity, of US all who are here assembled,
it is to be hoped that with an increasing
demand for phosphates, no other bed may
be discovered or give unexpected in
crease of yield, so that we may reap n
long and rich harvest from our Bonanza.
.'3 COMMERCIAL PHosPHATEs.
The following is the comparative
statement referred to by Professor Shep-
ard in his lecture:
A-Percentage of phosphoric acid in
the natural phosphate.
B-Percentage of phosphoric acid in
the superphosphates made from them.
Localities. 4. B.
Rio Grand--Bone ash...............39S4 1898
Mexillones s-Guano. o......... .......33.23 1888
Phoenix Islands-Rock guano...39.0s 17.lS
Sombrero-Rock guano. o............3751 1850
CuracOa-Rock guano..............3252 1880
Swan Island-ROck rliano - 1383