The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1894-12-22
oRxAr NEW INDUSTRY.
Making Of Fertilizers-The Works q
Village in Themselves.

VbioS0 II AnoIuS0lVeB
In the folklore of some European
countries stories are told of great
castles that have been built in a
night by the fairies. With plenty
of muscle and material at disposal
such feats would be noteworthy,
but perhaps not miraculous. In
full view of Honolulu, within the
short space of ten months, modern
enterprise has reared an establish
ment that has consumed more of
human skill and common, hard,
terrestrial material than half
dozen baronial castles. Passen-
gers by the Oahu Railway and
Land Company will have noticed
the tall chimney-symbol of the
hum of busy industry-an aggreg-
alton of buildings that seem made
to contain a manufacturing plant,
and q group of dwellings, all in
spacious plot between the railway
and the Eva main road at Kalihi,
short distance beyond Kameha-
meha schools.
These structures belong to the
Pacific Guano and Fertilizer Co.,
of which H. Hackfeld Il Co. are
the promoters and the agents. A
representative of the BULLETIN
visited the works, and was courte-
ously shown over them by DIR.
Averdam, a skilled specialist who
has been brought from Germany
to manage the establishment. The
doctor was not only exceedingly
polite but very patient in explain
ing details 80 fully rs to enable the
BULLETIN to give some idea of the
nature and capacity of the works
to its readers.
The works are extensive and a
beginning having to be made some
where, IL il done at the receiving
warehouse. where the crude mater
ial is stored which is the basis of
the company's commercial product
This is wooden building 200 feet
long by 50 feet wide. with a capac-
ity Of 5000 tons of guano. At the
present time il contains $500 tons
Of that article brought direct from
Laysan island in vessels chartered
especially by the company. What
is stored there ut present is the
cargo brought by the clipper bark
entine Planter, well known in the
San Francisco and Honolulu trade.
The material is discharged from
the vessel mt the railway pier in
Honolulu into the cars, and a
switch leads the cars there laden
close TO the door Of the receiving
warehouse.
From the receiving warehouse
the crude guano il taken across the
track in hand trucks to the grind
ing room in n large brick building.
Here IL is first put through n
crushing machine that breaks the
rock guano into small Jumps.
Thence it is carried by travellers
to the disintegrating machine,
French mill stones continuing the
process by resolving the material
into fine powder. This ground
product is sent up to the next floor
in an elevator, where it il dumped
into the mixer. In this machine
il is mixed with sulphuric acid.
Tho mixed result is discharged
through chute in liquid form into
ahuge container, in reality liquid
proof chamber of masonry on the
ground floor, with a sliding door,
that practically seals IL hermetic-
ally. After ten hours tho mass be-
comes set and solid. This is what
is called superphosphate, and il
contains from l5 to 20 per cent. OF
soluble phosphoric acid. 1t is sol
uble in water.
Two processes have now been
mentioned grinding and the
treating with sulphuric acid. The
third process is that of mixing
dry with potash, salts and ammo
mia, in such proportions as the
different soils Of customers may
require. The product is dug out
of the chamber with picks and de-
posted in the superphosphate
wareroom into which the chamber
opens. This wareroom is 24O feet
long by 80 feet wide. At presen,
it contains 1900 tons of crude
guano for which there was no,
room in the receiving warehouse
when it was discharged. The
wareroom floor is of brick, based
ON foundations of native stone
resting on the bedrock. There is
a wide side door toward Eva
through which the manufactured
superphosphate is loaded directly
into the cars, there being another
switch on this side of the works
This building has also to afford
storage for 500 tons of potash
salts, ammonia, saltpetre, etc. At,
tention is called to very ingenious
scales, that, by turn of the wrist
on a lever, automatically registers
round hundreds up to 1000 pounds
leaving a small sliding weight tc
be shifted for the odd pounds. The
bags are made to contain l25 and