Omaha daily bee., 1914-09-13

third supposition Is that the ntrates
came from certain electrical discharges
of the Andes which combined with the
air so as TO make nitric acid, the acid
being deposited in these beds in the form
of nitrate Of soda.
Come from Lagoon.
None of these theories is satisfactory
and yet the scientists have little better to
offer. Dr. Walter s. Tower of the Chicago
university says they have come from a
great lagoon which was formed in this re-
gion by the rising of the land in such a
way that 1t formed the home of world
of bird life. The lagoon was shallow and
the birds waded through 1t and fed on its
shores, Their droppngs formed guano,
and as evaporation went on this combined
with other chemicals in the water and soil
and the result was nitrate of soda. At
any rate, the nitrates have been preserved
by the dryness of the desert. which has
no moisture to leach them out of the soil.
l wish I could take you out into the
country and show you how these great de-
posits of valuable fertilizer are taken out
of the EARTH Where the mining is done
plowed up by giants. The earth lies in
mammoth clods OF all shapes and sizes,
and beyond are nothing but bleak and
bare sand There is no sign of vegetation
nor life OF any kind. All ia sand and salt
rock. The rock is of different colors in
some places white and in others yellow,
gray, lemon colored or green. The nitrate
lies in beds or strata at some distance
under the surface; and the method Of get
ting It out is to bore a round hole a foot
in diameter through the layers of sand
and rock above II and blow il out with
blasting powder. The powder is made on
the spot, and that out of nitrate similar
to that which it is to blow up. The only
things required in addition are charcoal
and sulphur. The explosion breaks up the
earth for a radius OF forty feet around
the charge, and the charges are put in in
rows so that the mining can be done in
trenches. After the rock has been broken,
IL is dug up with picks and crowbars. It
is broken up into Jumps of such size tnat
they can be loaded upon the cars. end he
taken to the factories where it is further
reduced by machinery made for the pur-
pose.
seldom FOund Pures
Nitrate is seldom found pure IN nature.
As 1t lies in the desert 1t is mixed with
other rock, and the best OF the deposits
contain only from 10 to 90 per cent OF
pure nitrate of soda. II the ore contains
more than 20 per cent it is called caliche.
and II less than that it is costra. The
costra lies on the top. and the caiche is
usually found underneath. Before the
stuff can be used it must be refined ana,
all the earth and rock taken out. The
laws require that the salts exported must
be So per cent or more pure II is such
salts that form the nitrate OF SODA of
commerce.
There have been but few changes in
the methods of nitrate reduction since I
visited this region, now more than fifteen
years ago There are many more Off
cinas, as the nitrate factories are called,
and the output has been quadrupled; but
the methods Of working are Just about
the same. The average officina is a coll
lection Of great buildings with tall smoke
stacks rising above them. II has thou
sands of dollars worth Of costly macbin
cry. vast tanks for boiling the nitrate
rock and crushers ike those OF a smeIter
that break the rock 10 pieces. 1t has set
Ting watts, in which the liquor contain
ing the pure nitrate OF soda is left, until
il has dropped its burden OF valuable
salts, and also arrangements for bagglng
the salts and shipping them down TO the
seacoast over the railroad.
Some OF the largest plants Of this kind
cos: millions of pesos and some OF them
employ hundreds OF men. Some have an
output of half million pounds OF nitrate
per day, and there is one which markets
in a good season as much as 100000
pounds per annum.
Done scientifically.
The work OF the big nitrate factory Is
scientifically done. The rock is crushed
lust so fine and boiled just so much and
no more. The boiling tanks are usually
situated in a building high above the
ground. Each is big enough to form
bathtub for an elephant II is equipped
with coils OF steam pipe that keep the
temperature OF the fluid within At Just
the desired point The caliche. or nitrate !
ore, is carried up an inclined railway and
dumped into the tank. Then the water
containing a certain portion of nitrate of
soda in solution is allowed to flow from