The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-05-25
Increasing Use of Fertilizers in
the United States.

WASHINGTON, D. c., May %. Soil
foods seem to be rapidly gaining in pop
ularity or absolute requirement, or per-
haps both, among the agriculturists of
the United States. The total value of
imported fertilizers, including materials
largely, though not exclusively, used for
that purpose, aggregated 40 million dol
lars in the calendar year 1910, against
10 l-2 million in 1900, and ~ million in
1890, according to figures compiled by
the Bureau of Statistics of the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor; while
other reports covering the production of
fertilizers indicate also large and per-
haps equally rapid growth in domestic
output of the various materials used for
fertilizing purposes. The production of
phosphate rock, for example, largely used
in the manufacture of artificial fertiliz-
ers, increased, according to reports of
the Geological Survey, from 1-2 million
dollars in 1904 to 10 Sd million dollars in
1909; while the Census, Office reports the
value of fertilizers manufactured in 1890
at 80 million dollars, in 1900 at as million,
and in 1905 at 81 million dollars, and if
the rate of increase just shown with re-
gard to the production Of phosphates,
basic material in the manufacture of
fertilizers, occurred also in the output
of manufactured fertilizers during the
period since 1905, the total production in
1910 was probably 70 million dollars.
Meantime the United States exported
last year fertilizers to the value of 10
million dollars, making the approximate
consumption Of soil foods by the farmers
of the country about 100 million dollars
per annum, emitting consideration in this
connection of cotton-seed meal, used in
part as fertilizer material, but largely as
food for livestock.
The increase in importation of the more
important classes of articles used as fer
tilizers, is indicated by the following
figures: Imports of soda nitrate, or
Chile saltpetre, have increased from 8
million dollars in 1890, to million in
1900 and to over 16 - million dollars in
the calendar year 1910 The imports of
potash salts of the fertilizer class, chief
ly the muriate and sulphate, have in
creased from l million dollars in 1890 to
2 million in 1900 and 6 2-3 million in
1910; while imports of phosphates, guano,
kainit and other fertilizers have increas-
ed from over million dollars in 1890 to 2
million dollars in 1900 and IL million in
1910.
The commercial sources of the ele-
ments chiefly relied upon as soil foods
nitrogen. phosphoric acid and potash
are comparatively few. Nitrate of soda,
valuable because of its high contents of
nitrogen, comes almost exclusively from
Chile, from which the imports amount to
over 300, 900 tons, valued at about Is
million dollars per annum. The potash
salts are practically all the product of
Germany, the imports therefrom of mu-
riate of potash, valuable by reason of
its richness in available potash, ranging
from 200 million to 400 million pounds,
valued at from million to 5 million dol
lars per annum. The imported sulphate
of potash also comes chiefly from Ger
many, though smaller amounts are inn
ported from Belgium, Austria Hungary,
and Japan. Imported guano comes from
a considerable number of countries,
though mostly from Peru and Germany,
smaller amounts being imported from
the United Kingdom, Mexico, Neither
lands, the Dutch West Indies, and in
some years, from Uruguay, Venezuela
and British possessions in Oceania. Of
the imported crude phosphates, Belgium,
French Guiana and British Oceania are
the chief sources; while of the other i'm
ported fertilizers rot separately enumer-
ated by the Bureau of Statistics Germany
IS the chief source, supplying from 20 to
80 per cent, the remainder being chiefly
from the United Kingdom, Canada and
Belgium.
Additional evidence of the increased
COllSQIIIJ llUI VI tllICldl lGIllllZGFS III l16
United States is contained in the figures
of the Census, which show that the num-
Der of establishments devoted to that
purpose has increased from 278 in 1880
to 553 in 1905; the tons of material used,
from 727, 453 to 1851 I'll; and the value
of their product. from 20 million dollars
in 1880 to 81 million in 1905. The ma
terials used by the domestic fertilizer in
dustry in 1905 included bones, tankage,
ETC., 5 million dollars; phosphate rock,
IL million; potash salts, 1-2 million;
superphosphates, million; cotton-seed
meal, 2 l-3 million; pyrites, 2 million;
kainit, nearly million; nitrate of soda,
l 81 million; sulphuric acid, l million;
fish, nearly l million; ammonia sulphate,
a little over a half million; and various