Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-06-17
Farmers BUY
Fertilizers
IMPORT MANY INGREDIENTS
NECESSARY TO EN-
RICH SOIL.
ARE STUDYING TIE MATTER
Indiscriminate Use of the Mater
ial for Improving Fertility
Has Passed.
ARE STUDYING Tue MATTER

Washington, ID. g., June 10 udI
American farmers are using constant
ly increasing quantities OF fertilizers
is evident Doth from the rapidly
growing production of soil foods IN
The United States and from the mark
ed increase in importations OF that
class.
Increase in Supply.
A steady increase in the available
supply of fertilizers is indicated by
the latest statistics Of the Govern
ment. The domestic manufacture OF
fertilizers, for example, as reported
by the Bureau of the Census, in 1909,
amount to 1O4 million dollars, or
nearly double the total reported for
1904. OF phosphate rock the domes-
tic production has doubled since 1892,
the total for 1912, according to the
United States Geological Survey, be-
ing about 3 million tons, OF which 1
million tons were exported. Of cot
tonseed oil cake, about one-fourth OF
the total consumption Of ~ million
tons is used for fertilizer purposes,
recent estimates placing the value OF
the oil Gaze thus employed without
first feeding It to animals at from 6
to s million dollars per annum. The
domestic production Of sulphur, which
yields sulphuric acid, an important
material il the manufacture OF tertil-
iZers, has increased enormously in re-
cent years-from 3,147 long tons in
1900 to 303,472 tons in 1912, exclusive
of about 100000 tons of pyrites, also
a source of sulphuric acid. About 80
percent of all the sulphuric acid made
in this country is used in the prepar-
atlOn of superphosphatcs and other
artificial fertilizers.
Import Much Fertilizer.
Imports of fertilizer materials have
also increased, data compiled by the
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce, Department of Commerce, for
the period ended with April, 1914, in
Heating greatly enlarged arrivals of
n%itrates, potash salts, and other SINH
lar materials. The important excep-
lions relate to those articles, the do
nestle production Of which has SO in
creased as to obviate the necessity of
large importations, as in the case of
phosphates, and to- Those, the supply
of which has diminisher, as in the
case OF suano, formerly abundant in
South America, South Africa, and Ger
tain Pacific islands, but yearly be-
coming more scarce as an article OF
commerce.
Is Of First Rank.
Nitrate Of soda ranks first in value
Of imports of fertilizer materials, the
.otal imports thereof in the last fiscal
year having exceeded a half million
ons, valued at ovcr"2 20 million dollars.
About 10 PER cent CT this is used for
fertilizer. Or sulphate of ammonia,
The imports increased from Is thous-
and tons in 1903 to IS thousand tons,
valued at nearly 4 million dollars in
1913, and in the July-April period Of
the current year have already reached
Il thousand tons. We also imported
Is thousand tons Of calcium cyana-
mid, popularity known as "air-nitrogen
compound"
kainit is Cheap.
Kainit, a potash salt of very low
price, was imported last year to the
extent of 466 thousand tons, valued at
2 million dollars; sulphate of potash,
43 thousand tons, valued at nearly 2
million dollars; and other fertilizer
salts, 172 thousand tons, valued at 2
million dollars. About 80 per cent of
the imported potash is used for fer.
tilizers, and only about ~ per cent in
the manufacture of glass, soap-mak-
ing, and other chemical industries.
The imports of both the nitrates and
the potash salts have than dou-
bled in the last ten years.
Bone Dupst.
Other important fertilizers import
ed last year included 80 thousand
tons Of bone dust, or animal charcoal;
10 thousand tons Of Thomas meal, de-
rived from basic Stag, a phosphorus
bearing by.product OF the Thomas.Gil-
christ process of making steel; and
lis thousand tons of miscellaneous
substances used only for manure. Our
imports of guano which amounted to