Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-10-05
PROPERTIES OF SULPHUR
United States Dominates World
in This Essential Commodity.
output Of Wells in Louisiana and rcxaS
Coastal Regions Bids Fair
to supply the Worlds
Markets.

Inc mention OF sulphur 10 the average
man may very probably serve to bring
10 mind the historic SO callod "eixht-
day" matches rodolent with acrid fumes.
The era of the sulphur Snatch is we'll
nigh completely passed, but this coun-
try consumes annually three hundred
thousand tons of sulphur, and as a nat.
er of fact IL has become virtually an cs-
sential commodity in many different
directions. Furthermore it is con-
modify in which the United states has
come 10 dominate the world
Prompted by such considerations. the
United states National Museum has ar
ranged an exhibit calculated to present
at a glance Just what sulphur is where
H. comes from, ana the uses 10 when
! 1t is put
| The sulphur in the matches used IN
our childhood. in all probability came
from sicily. Although we had plenty
vt our own. the native occurrences we're
either remote from shipping facilities in
he mountain regions of the far west, or
far beneath the surface of the earth in
the Gulf regions of Louisiana and Tcxa :,
land it was cheaper to import our sup
Iplv than to obtain 1t from tho domestic
sources However, about Is wears ago,
| a scheme. known subsequently as the
Frasch Process. was devised whereby.
|
sulphur by the conventional process of
mining, the material might he melted in
place by means Of superheated water,
and pumped to the surface like SO much
water. BY this procedure the difficulty
of depth was overcome and the vast de-
posts of the gulf regions. already acct
sible. as to geogra phcal location. at onc1
began to assume significance
To-day a little sulphur finds it's way
to the Pacific coast from Japan. lit
tie more to our Atlantic coast from
Sicily. and relatively small operations
are being conducted here and there In the
mountain States of the west. hut the
output from the wells in the coastal re-
Fions Of Louisiana and Texas has prac-
tically excluded all other sources from
! the domestic market and bids fair t.
do the same in great markets the world
over.
The exhibit now TO he seen m the Givi-
sion Of mineral technology in the Older
, building OF the United states nationa
museum centers around n model whicr
shows the occurrence of sulphur in this
region and the procedure for its extrac
tion. Superheated water is forced dowr
pipes to the level of the sulphur which
Is brought to the surface by an air lif
as fast as it relts, and flows practicall,
capacity of such we'll for a period Is
probably from 400 to 900 tons per day.
Sulphur is found in animal and veget
able life. but most conspicuously In in
organic associations in connection wifi
volcanic activities either of the presen
day or of the geologic past. For thi:
reason deposits of sulphur We're Ions
supposed to be indicative of volcanic &C
ton, hut it is now known that such &C
currences those of our gulf regior
where it exists in pockets in strictly SD
imentary rock represents derivato-
deposit identical with those which yielt
our plaster Of Paris or wall plaster, it
self a compound of calcium with sulphu,
and oxygen.
| Internationally il Is a rather widely
distributed substance in nature, ant
naturally it attracted attention among
all the earth's cviliza tons, Speaking
generally. sulphur sis one OF the odes
known elements the ancient Assyrar
slchemists regarded II as the principle
Of combustion on account Of its in
Hammability, and termed il ''hrimstone.
mea ming literally burning stone, nam'
now applied popularity to roll sulphur.
Though perhaps NOT SO popular as .
old. when it was served as a spring medi
cine with molasses. sulphur continues t.
play very important role incidentally
and of late it has developed that human
ailments are not alone in their Response
to its efficacy, as every up-to-dat'
horticulturist will testify. by his spraNinI
Operations. The preparation Of artif
cial fertilizers too, is dependent upon
sulphur in its combined form of sui
phuric acid; so is also the manufacture
Of paper. Another important user is th'
rubber industry. and almost the entire
range of chemical industries p'1y'
SlInhur in one guise or another