The Detroit times., 1910-11-07
WI[L TRY TO TAK[
N|TR0GEHFR0MAH
Plant Is To Be Opened at Gre.
Falls, s. c., and Effort Made 70
Fertilize worn-Out Land.

WASHINGTON. Nov. 7.--Scfenfi&.
al the department OF agriculture "a.
interested In project TO open
1reat FAILS, s. C., plant for takI.
nitrogen from the air to fertilize worm
out land.
Inc agricultural chemists, hoWe41.
are not optimistic over the future "a
the new enterprise. similar plan
started at Niagara Falls some wears
ago, proved financial failure and va.
abandoned.
however, the promoters my haVE.
discovered some chemical secret That
VIII enable them TO take the nir6&
nitrogen so cheaply they can sell a
at present prices for a profit, saiH
DIT Harvey W. Wiley, chief OF the
bureau of chemistry.
Nitrogen is the most important and
most expensive fertilizer the farlneE
has to buy. II is indispensable to planI
life. Ordinary crops take vast am0uu[
OF the element from the soil. Unlee&
there Is continual restoration the son
gradually becomes sterile.
Yet four-ffths OF the earth's envet
ope Of air Is nitrogen. The nitrOgeN
supply rests on the earth with pres
sure OF 12 pounds to the square incu.
Our present nitrogen supply practI
cally all comes from the earth's sub
terranean deposits OF nitrates, chieI
of Chile. Farmers buy commerci4i
nitrogen for Is cents per pound. lN
81 900 worth OF prepared fertilizer TIM
nitrogen represents 800. The cheap
est price at which nitrogen can be me-
chanically taken from the air and sold
at present is % cents per pound.
A process that could Elk" the air'u
nitrogen and sell IL at from Ave O.
ten cents per pound proftably, might
revolutionize farming. So far, how
ever, the processes invented have MOI
been able to compete with the mining
of nitrates. Even cheap water Ia TAR
too expensive. DR.. Wiley thinks the
manufacture OF nitrogen OF the ar
will not become profitable until tna
diminishing supply of nitrate uet
posits sends the price up to % cents
or more per pound.
A small amount OF nitrogen Is added
to the soil continually by rains, which
absorb II from the air. Scientinc
farmers take nitrogen from the aAr
with natures machines-the various
air plants, such as cowpeas, clover and
vetch. These plants live principally Y
on the nitrogen In the air, storing y
lup in their leaves and stalks. The
farmer plows these crops under nno
thus returns tons OF nitrogen to the
soil. SBiIt farm bookkeeping proves
that this costs nearly as much as
| II the same amount OF nitrogen nan
been bought from the fertilizer com
pany.
The cheapest mechanical process
for fixing" free nitrogen is by elecs
tricity. Electric furnaces, heavily
magnetized, are heated TO high tenn
perature and air is sucked into them.
Air is four-fifths nitrogen. Most OF
the remaining fifth is oxygen.
When the air passes into the NOT,
charged furnace, the oxygen ana nitro-
gen combine, forming another gas
known as oxide Of nitrogen. This -
cooled and piped into a series or
chambers filed with water dripping
through pebbles. This water aDsoroe
the oxide of nitrogen. There Is hydro
gen IN the water and some OF this
mites with the oxide, forming new
combination, nitric acid. With TINS
acid various salts are treated 10 Sc
curo nitric salts are treated TO secure
nitric salts, the form In which the
farmer wants nitrogen for tertinIer.