Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-09-30
PHOSPHATE ROCK AND LIME
Legislative Commission Not Eneour.
aged to Recommend State Operation
af nannatfe

5e5SlOn OI the SeHeTdi dSSSihoy oy lHc
commission named at the last session
to investigate the matter shall be
adopted, according to statement
made by the chairman Of the commits
sion, who has given out what the re-
port of the commission will be.
The report, however, has not been
formally drafted yet. The members Of
the commission named to investigate
the phosphate and lime deposits are:
Senator J. L. McLaurin Of Marlboro,
Senator w. II. Hall Of Cherokee; Rep
reseptative r. A. Means, Of Greenville;
and Representative B. G. Wilburn. Of
Union county. - s.,.g ~
will not be profitable for the state to
engage In the mining of phosphate are
that most OF the phosphate rock Is be-
meath the ocean bed as far as that Dor
tion owned by the state Of South Car
olina Is concerned, and the cost Of ex-
pensive dredges and other necessary
expenditures In the mining of the
phosphate will not pay the state to go
into the matter. The rock owned by
the state that is not beneath the ocean
Is in the navigable streams making
the situation practically the same with
regard to the expense or mining II.
Just now, 1t Is stated, the people are
able to secure from Tennessee and
Florida all the phosphate rock needed
at less cost than 1t could be furnished
II mined by this state under the con-
ditions pointed out above. Senator j..
L. McLaurin, the chairman Of the in
vestigating commission stated that he
Is not in favor Of French company
further mining the rock owned by the
state as had been done at the payment
of q royalty OF 25 cents the ton, ne
said. This mining was stopped during
the summer. II Is understood. ii
The chairman of the commission Is
in favor Of using convict labor to work
the lime deposits in the state and pre-
pare the limestone for use Of the plant
ers, II Is likely that such q recon-
mendation will be embodied In the re-
port of the commission to the general
assembly. he said. On the question OF
lime deposits and the possibility OF
their utilization under state authority
the chairman goes into detail. He was
asked what the committee appointed
to investigate the phosphate and lime
industries Of the state with view to
working the deposits by convict labor
had done. .py mcn aH ed
He said: stSt tEG;. .e.I1,.,r
Senator Hail. Messrs. Means and
Wilburn and myself visited the lime
kilns at Gaffney and also went to Beau
fort and Charleston and looked into
the phosphate deposits. No report mas
been agreed upon and. as chairman OF
the committee would not like to at
tempt TO forecast the nature OF the re-
port without the formal approval OF
the COMMITTEES will say in general
way that II is costing the farmers too
much to get the phosphate without
which it is impossible to make large
crops. ,.Nl nns ..t
"Most of the lands in South Carolina
have naturally potash which can De
obtained by deep plowing and we can
supply nitrogen. by the use OF stable
manure and the legunes, but we are
totally deficient in the fruit forming
material which we are now obtaining
through the purchase OF acid phos-
phate.
.T haven't the figures before me now
and il i had would not care to give
them out because want the farmers
to read this report when Ii does come
and profit by the information Exten-
siye experiments have been made In
using the raw ground phosphate rock.
The Illinois experiment station mas
done the best work on this line ana
clearly demonstrated that by using the
ground rock In connection with stable
manure or green crops turned under,
YOU add to the permanent productive
ness Of the land and get better results
at one fourth the cost. 16 % l.A5}
However, these matters will be dis
cussed by the committee and our con-
clusions as to the most practical plan
to follow will be submitted to the gen.
eral assembly. The lime proposition
in my judgment Is much simpler than
the phosphate question. sop
There are, in my Judgment, no very
valuable lime deposits in this state.
The best Is at Gaffney and that has an
over burden Of 40 to SO feet making 1t
expensive to dig. The deposit itself
does not cover very great area, at
least SO far as the best lime Is con-
cerned. The lime is Of high grade. IL
was struck with the property owned, by
the female college at Gaffney. am
no mineralogist but 1t seems to me
that the marble there Is worth develop
ing. II owned by me, ! would certain
ly be doing something with 1t. / talk
ed to Mr.. Sloan, former state geolog1st,
and I do not think there Is man In
the state now or heretofore with more
accurate knowledge Of her geological
formations. His handbook Of the state,
refers to the bluffs of mari along the
Santee and he described them to me.
I am going to see my friend Senator
Banks later. He has a large motor
boat and will go down the river and
look into this mari. Mr.. Sloan says 1t
is almost pure lime and needs only to
be dried and spread on the land, that
there are fields where 1t was used be-
fore the war right by the side OF fields
where 1t was not used and that even
after the lapse of fifty years the diff
ference Is perceptible.
'I notice Mr.. John Mobley Of the
board Of directors Of the penitentiary
is agitating the question Of using the
convicts in producing agricultural
lime. He Is a practical man and l in
tend to invite him to go with me. If
these beds are as described then why
can't we have the drying sheds at the
penitentiary and lighter the mari up
there to be prepared for shipment.
Senator Banks uses his motor boat to
haul lumber from his saw mill to Co
lumbia. II this Is practicable no far
mers anywhere can get cheaper agri-
cultural lime than we ,can In South
Carolina
'T haven't mentioned the oyster shell
lime. Much of this Is shipped from
Meggetts, S. c., and is said to be as
good as the limestone rock. though not
as readily soluble. ! tried some but
cannot say that the results were salts
factory. 1t may be that I did not use
ii in sufficiently large quantities.
II do not use lime in fertilizing my
crops. Lime is in no sense Of the word
a fertilizer. In fact. under certain con-
ditions lime will impoverish the soil
by using up too rapidly the vegetable
matter. It does not do to use 1t in
contact with ammoniated fertilizers or
stable manure However, lime and iron
90 to make up the bones, the blood and
tissue Of all animal bodies. Unless 1t
is present in the soil, the crops grown
will lack these blood and bone making
elements A sandy soil Is not good for
stock raising. The blue grass regions
of Kentucky and Tennessee have much
lime and iron in the soil, hence 1t pro-
duces larger men and better stock than
we can ever rear in South Carolina on
products grown here. The wheat grown