The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-03-04
A GREAT INDUSTRY.
THE ENLARGED PLANT OF THE
NAVAsSA GUANO COMPANY.

NAVAsSA GUANO COMPANY.
A Wilmington Concern That Has $500,
600 Invested and Does "A Volume q
5000 900 of Business "a Year-Improve
m-nts to- the Amount of $4,000 Added
and The Capacity Increased To $4,000
Tons of Fertilizers "A Season-Two Hun
dred and Fifty Hands Employed.
The Messenger last Sunday men
toned that the Navassa Guano Com
pany had just completed $780, 900 in i'm
provements to it's plant. The factory
is five miles above Wilmington and is
located at Navassa on the Cape Fear
river. 1t is reached by both the Allan
tic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air
Lin and is at the hea of ocean navi-
cation on the Cape Fear, as the river
is navigable to that point for large
Ocean-gOing steam and sailing craft.
There is now at the company's wharves
a vessel loaded with 1900 tons Of phos-
Dhate and drawing 1872 feet Of water.
THE PLANT.
Our citizens generally know that the
Navassa Guano Company is one of our
principal industries but only those who
have visited the factory hav any idea
OF it's extensive proportions and great
Importance. A few days ago two Mes
Senger representatives, accompanied
by Mr.. C.. e. Borden, president of the
company, took a trip to the works and
~ yra &, n ntya1 o+ino -, - yIv1--1x+ ~ -
thecompany's steam tug avassa which
piles many times daily between here
and Meares' Bluff. The steamers
wharf is at the foot Of Princess street,
and upon taking seats in her neat for
ward cabin, we were landed at the fac
tory in just twenty minutes.
Mr.. Borden took us Immediately
through the plant, and the operations
were on a scale that took US by sur
prise. We found two hundre and
fifty hands as busy as human energy
lis capable of, and amid the chatter of
the machinery, and the hustle and
bustle of the hundreds of hands, it was
indeed an impressive scene.
II MAIN BUILDING.
Tt plant embraces a dozen build-
dngs of considerable size but while the
first building we mention is not the
largest Of the lot, we take it up first
as it is where the process of the man.
ufaCture of fertilizer begins. This
building is the phosphate mill, which
-.,--:, h. tut. l:rL
200 feet long and 60 feet wide. On the
ground floor is the phosphate storage
where phosphate rock is stored to be
used in manufacturing fertilizer
Large quantities of rock are received
from South Carolina, Florida and Ten
nessee. On this floor at the front part
of the building is the power plant,
consisting of q battery of three boilers
of so horse power each, and a large $50
horse power Corliss engine. AT the
rear of this floor are two iron jawed
crushers that crush so tons of rock Zach
per day. The crushing of the rock is
the first process in the manufacture of
fertilizer. The rock is thrown into the
crushers and crushed into small pices
that are carried to the second story
by pocket elevators. On the second
floor are three mills for grinding the
crushed rock to impalpable powder.
These mills are on solid concrete foun-
dations and have a capacity for grind
ing IS tons Of phosphate per day. From
the mills the ground phosphate is carri-
ed in pocket elevatorsto the third story
where it is put through the mixing
process. 1t is not necessary to de-
scribe the machinery in the mixing de-
partment, but it need be stated that
when the ground phosphate comes up
in the elevators it passes through the
machines and is treated to a bath of
SulphuriC acid to release the phosphate.
L then becomes acid phosphate and
p.sses from the mixers into cars which
run on an elevated railway extending
through the shipping building de-
scribed elsewhere.
On the second floor of this building
adjoining the mills, is a complete ma
chine shop with lathes and other ma
chimes for making repairs to the ma
chinery. 1t is supplied with an auXili-
airy engine, to be used in the event that
the big Corliss engine breaks down.
Should that get out of repair, it is re-
paired right on the grounds, as a COM
petent force of machinists are employ
ed by the company. Mr.. b. w. New
kirk is the machinis in charge.
THE SHIPPING BUILDING.
The shipping building is a large
structure three stories in height,
400 feet in length, and 80
feet in width. On the first floor of
this building are great Dins and pits
for dumping the acid phosphate from
the cars as they run out or the ele-
waited railway from the mixing de-