The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-10
LETTERS TO EDITOR
ALAeAMA's CEMENT ROCK.
It Is of Superior Quality and Is Practi.
 cally lnexhaustible.


 To the Editor of the Age-Herald.
 Among the many evidences of the in- terest your valuable journal Is taking in the development of the valuable resources of Alabama, Is the fact that frequent attention is being called. through it's col umns, to the superior and inexhaustible supply of cement rock within the state, and particularly in the southern port of it.
 As my experience with this rock includes shape hence have concluded that few lines from me, for your columns, on the subject, might not be amiss. The extent of cement rock in Alabama, is much greater than most persons are aware. It lies as a sub-stratum of the soil, in the lower portion of the state, from the Chattahoochee river, westward across the Alabama river, into Mississippi In fact, in the shape of sub-strata, 1t can proba- bly be found in all the lower tier of counties in the state, and may exist in large quantities in F1oria and Mississippi. A few years ago my attention was called to articles of laudation in the papers of the cement rock at Chattahoochee, Fla, on the east side of the river of the same name, and 1t was said that a company largely capitalized was then forming to develop what the papers called "the very superior and inexhaustible cement beds of Chattahoochee, Fla" At that time. I was building mill dam on a creek with in a few hundred yards of the center of the town of Geneva, Ala. I used the rock that underlay the surface sand on that creek in constructing the dam; and as Geneva is not far from Chattahoochee, Fla, I felt confident that the rock that l was having picked out of the bank of the creek at Geneva was similar to the valuable cement rock that the papers had so much to say about" at Chatta- hoochee, Fla In constructing the dam mentioned, I noticed that the rock when thrown together in the water had a ten dency to become competed or cemented together; and especially when the frag- mentary or powdered parts of the rock were thrown among the larger rock in the dam. And whenever the powdered rock left in wheel-barrows used came in con tact with water or the dampness in the bottom of the barrows, it formed as fine or finer cement than the mortar of lime and sand-and struck to the bot toms of the wheel-barrows closer than a brother" And although I left the dam alluded to in an incomplete condition, and therefore have not "a dam by a mill site, nor mill by dam site" yet, am per suaded that when I go to complete my dam that I will find that the rock that l first threw together in forming the dam possess more adhesive habits than most loving couples of the twentieth century.
 From what I know of the cement rock of Alabama I am prepared to concur fully with the Age-Herald's editorial comments on thes ubject.
 And not only do I believe (know might be better wordD, that southern Alabama possesses inexhaustible resources of the most valuable cement rock (which may be adapted to street pavements. as we'll as purposes for which lime and Portland cement are now used), but am also per suaded that when this rock is trturated into powder, that it will make a fine fer tilizer or at any rate will form splendid basis for the ingredients of the perfect fertilizer-potassium phosphorous and ni- trogen: for it is well known by all intel ligent agricuturists that the bulk (weight) of commercial fertilizers now on the mar ket. are composed of sterile matter Ono better than sand) and contain only small proportion of potash. phosporic acid and nitrogen.
 All honor to the Age-Herald in its commendable efforts to develop the munif- icent resources to be found in the cement rock of Alabama! Yours truly.
 T. J. COX,
 Gadsden. Ala, March 8. 1904.