Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1911-11-17
Of Potash Salts into the
United States,


The recent announcement by the De-
partment of Agriculture and from other
sources regarding discoveries of large
supplies of potash in the United States
lends interest to a statement prepared
by the Bureau Of Statistics, Depart
ment of Commerce aed Labor, showing
that the importation of potash salts is
now running at the rate of over a
million dollars a month and has aggre-
gated since 1900 approximately rs mil
lion dollars. While these potash salts
enter the country in various forms and
thus under various titles, including
muriate of potash, sulphate of potash,
carbonate of potash, kainit, etc, their
aggregate import value in the 9 months
ending with September, 1911, vas II 1-2
million dollars, against about Z million
in the corresponding months of 1910 and
a little over 5 million in the correspond
ing months of 1909 thus indicating a
steady and rapid growth in the importa-
ton of. this class of products. Taking
the figures for fiscal years, the total for
1911 was ID million dollars, compared
with less than IL million in 1910, less
than q million in 1900 and less than two
million in 1890.
The principal classes of potash salts
imported into the United States are,
in the order of magnitude of imports in
the fiscal year 1911: kainit, 1900 mil
lion pounds; muriate of potash, 431
million pounds; sulphate of potash, LOG
million pounds; carbonate of potash, %
million pounds; nitrate of potash, or
crude saltpeter, 9 million pounds: AUS
tic potash, 7 million pounds; and all
other salts of potash, 6 million pounds.
Measured by value the largest importa-
tons dnring the year occurred in the
muriate, 61-2 million dollars; kainit,
2 2-3 million; the sulphate, nearly 2
million; and the carbonate, three-quar-
ters of a million dollars.
American farms absorb a large pro-
portion of the imported potash salts,
most of which are valuable as ferti-
lizers by reason of their large content
of potash. This is especially true of
kainit, muriate of potash and the sui.
plate of potash. Nitrate of potash,
or crude saltpeter, is chiefly used in
tine manufacture of gunpowder anC
nitric acid; caustic potash, in the manu-.
f~acture of soap; and carbonate of pot.
ash, or potash" as popularity called,
obtained largely from the ashes of Ger.
tam land and marine plants, is used il
the manufacture of soft soap, fol
cleansing purposes, in dyeing, and fol
the emulsifying Of oils; while the chem
ical and other industries utilize tn,
foregoing and other potash salts in thu
preparation of drugs and medicines ant
in other technical processes.
Germany is the chief source of kaini
; and indeed, of all the imported potas'
salts except crude saltpeter. OF tn
muriate imported in 1911, 431 millio
pounds, Germany Supplied all eXceI
31-4 million pounds received from Bel
GUM and 1-2 million pounds from tn
United Kingdom, most of which was
y in each case, presumably, Of Germa
t origin. Practically all the imports c
> sulphate of potash are from Germany
: and of the 20 million pounds of cal
u Donate of potash imported in the la:
) fiscal year, Germany is credited wit
I 16 million pounds, compared with lei
u than half that sum from all other Eur,
/" pean countries. In the case of nitrat
of potash, or crude saltpeter, howevei
. British India is the chief source, thf
country being credited with wei
. million pounds out of a total imports
{ ton of 9 IA million pounds in the isci
o year which ended June 80, 1911.