The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-11-25


States, to provide s5 per cent of her
consumption of food products, not
withstanding the fact that her popu-
lation is approximately 70 per cent of
| the population of the United States.
At the same time she has restricted
the increased cost of living within a
given period to approximately one-half
to two-thirds of the increase in the
United States
AS I stated in my former letter,
there are three processes for the fix
alton of atmospheric nitrogen, but
only one process is feasible in this
country because of the high cost Of
power, that is known as the cyanamid
process, and is the one that would in
all probability be used at the govern
rnent nitrate plant.
The principles of it are very simple,
There are two independent initial
steps; the first one is the making of
liquid air. The atmosphere is com
posed of two gases which do not
chemically combine. They are chemi-
cally separate and when you freeze
them and get a temperature in the
neighborhood of 400 degrees below
zero these two gases become liquids,
and as you allow the temperature to
rise one of these liquids becomes gas
before the other. one does and the one
LildI DGCOlueS gas llTSCi is inc nitrogen
. ard the nitrogen is carried off and
what remains of the oxygen runs
away, and there you have the two
gases separated. This constitutes the
first operation. While that is going on
there has been prepared in electric
furnaces a peculiar form Of carbide
Subjected to the very high tempefa-
ture of the electric furnace, coke and
lime melt into a liquid. This is tapped
much q n ~,
is run off, and the product is known
as calcium carbide. 1t is ground to
impa1pable fineness.
Then the nitrogen and this fine
powder are brought together in a sec
ordary electric furnace under pres
sure. Under the temperature of the
electric resistance in that furnace the
nitrogen combines with the carbide
into a chemical compound known as
calcium cyanamid, and it is made up
of calcium carbon and nitrogen The
cyanamid is used directly as fer
tilfzer; or rather, I should say it is
sold to the fertilizer companies and
manufacturers. who use it as one of
three kinds of ingredients to make a
complete fertilizer.
However, at the government nitrate
plant, during times of peace, a COM
plete high-grade fertilizer, a form of
ammonium phosphate, which contains
not only nitrogen but phosphoric acid,
might be manufactured. This is a fer
tilzer which enables unlimited guam
titles of nitrogen to be used fool
proof" and which contains from so
to so per cent of plant food, as COM
pared with IL per cent that the great
percentage of our farmers use, there
by enabling the higher grade product
TO be transported long distances. This
fertilizer is believed to have all of the
possibilities of the great economic
value to this country that phosphorus
acid and nitrogen have separately in
the German development of the fer
tilizer and nitrogen industry. where
the farmer puts each of his varied
plant foods upon the soil at differ
ent times. Abroad farm labor is paid
from As to so cents a day. Our farm
labor costs three or four times that
much. We cannot afford to send a
laborer over a field on three or four
different trips with nitrogen, with
phosphoric acid and with potash. So
that in Germany the nitrogen indus
try was able to reach it's great value
to the people because of that practice,
and here we cannot have for it as
great value until we have combined,
beforehand, the nitrogen with the
phosphoric acid.
It may not be known that the phos-
phate deposits of the United States are in
the northwest, in Tennessee, in Florida
and some in South Carolina, but the
largest deposit is in Tennessee and prob
ably the next largest is in Florida Ma
jor Burgess, of the engineer corps, Uni
ted States army. in a hearing before n
congressional committee, stated that the
phosphate belt of Tennessee is very near
ly inexhaustible. and the center of that
belt is distant from Muscle Shoals only
about 80 miles by rail, Another gentle
man at this hearing testified that Muscle
Shoals is right on the edge of the Ten
nessee phosphate deposit; in fact there
are some of the deposits that can be
reached by scow from Muscle Shoals.
and that therefore. that location is a
peculiarly favorable place for the manu-
faeture of high-grade fertilizer.
At Muscle Shoals, according to govern
ment army engineers. there could be de-
veloped a continuous power OF about 120.
OcO horse power, and as much of the Sec
ondary as might at any time be desired
These engineers all agree that Muscle
Shoals is the ideal location for the pro-
posed nitrate plant.
! The development of the Muscle Shoals
water power means the development oil
| the central south on a scale that indus
trially would equal anything of that kind
in the United States. Therefore the peo-
ple of that whole section, the state OF
Alabama. and the south generally. ought
not only to feel, but take deep interest
, in this gigantic enterprise. and exert
themselves to the utmost in determined
effort to secure the locating of the pro-
posed government nitrate plant at Muscle
Shoals.
The benefits to be derived by Birming.