The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1916-02-10
FARMERS CONFRONTED WITH SERIOUS
PROBLEM IN FERTILIZER SHORTAGE
Secretary of Agriculture Makes Statement Regarding the Supply
of Potash Phosphate and Nitrogen mportao of Potash
Is Cut Off as Result Of European INSTRUMENTATION -
of Fertilizer Material Is Recommended

nestle sources for agricultural pur.
poses in time. 1t would require nine
ty or more plants, costing approx.
mately $4,000 and having an operating
capital of about $25, 900 each to produce
the quantity needed for agriculture.
This would involve the assumption
that the commercial phases of the prob.
lem were satisfactorily solved. Even if
the requisite funds were available, 1t
! is q question whether operations
! could begin in time to provide an ade.
quate supply for the coming year. The
department is investigating all as
! poets of the question and is planning
to send experts to California to study
the situation and especially to con-
slider possibilities of production on a
commercial scale.
The Phosphate Situation.
Acid phosphate is the basis of near.
ly all commercial mixed fertilizers.
1t is made by the action Of sulphuric
acid upon phosphate rock. Our avail
able sources of phosphate rock are
greater than those of any other ma
ton. The main supply for domestic
consumption and for expectation
comes from Tennessee, South Caro-
lima and Florida. ii
In 1914, 2,734000 tons of phosphate
rock were produced in this country.
Up to that year about one-half the
quantity mined was exported to Eu-
rope. The rock in it's natural state
10 Oh
food. 1t is made available for this
purpose by treatment with sulphuric
acid, about one ton of the acid being
used to ton of phosphate rock. When
thus treated, a super-phosphate con-
tanning IA to IS per cent of water.
soluble phosphoric acid is made. The
bulk of the sulphuric acid which en-
tiers into the manufacture of acid phos-
phate is made by fertilizer companies
Practically every fertilizer establish
ment excepting the cottonseed meal
factories) having an annual capacity
OF $4,000 tons or more operates also
a sulphuric acid plant The demand
for the acid is so strong at present
that every effort is being made to
utilize old and abandoned establish
ments and to erect new plants,
The potential sources of sulphuric
acid in the United States are ample
to produce more than double the pres
ent annual output. Few of the lead,
zinc, or copper smelling companies
using sulphide ores have sulphuric
acid plants in connection with their
smelters. The fumes discharged into
the atmosphere by these smelters are
sufficient to produce many thousands
Of tons Of sulphuric acid daily. Under
normal conditions, the limited market
FOR the acid and the long haul neces-
sary to reach the market have made
it commercially impracticable to con
vert the fumes into sulphuric acid.
Involves Big Outlay.
The erection of acid plants of suf
fcient capacity to convert the smelter
gases would involve an outlay of at
least several million dollars. Under |
normal conditions it would take four
months to complete the plants. In !
the present situation, at least six
months would be required The bu-
reau of soils estimates that sulphuric |
acid could be made by some of the
western smelling plants at approx
mately one-half the normal cost of pro-
dUcing the acid in the East where
pyrites are used The saving in cost OF |
manufacture in the West, however,
would be partly Offset by the lopG
haul necessary to bring the acid to
the eastern market.
In view of the difficulties in the way
of the production and utilization of
sulphuric acid for fertilizer purposes,
to develop a commercial method, in
volving the use of the electric fur
mace, for manufacturing phosphoric
acid which can be ~3ed as substi-
tute. Through this method double
super-phosphate, which will contain 40
to so per cent of water-soluble phos-
phoric acid, or the still more concen-
trated form of ammonium phosphate,
could be secured. But the use of the
electric furnace for the purpose is
commercially feasible only where
phosphate rock coal, and cheap water
power are readily available. The de-
partment is investigating this matter
to ascertain whether there are local.
tiles where these conditions exist and
where, therefore double super-phos-
plate may be made.
The Nitrogen Situation.
The nitrogen situation is of less
pressing concern. Cottonseed meal
forms the bulk Of the heterogeneous sub.
stances entering ipto commercial fer.
tilizers. The amount available for
fertilizer use is dependent upon the
annual production of cotton and the
demand for the meal for Feeding stuffs.
The supply of dried blood and tank
age, also sources of heterogeneous ma, 5
terial, is dependent upon the number
Of animals slaughtered. Only few
large packing concerns conserve these
products, which are now used to
extent as cattle feed as
well as for fertilizer purposes. In
vestigations of the bureau of soils
have shown that there Is a large
amount of waste from the fisheries
~. ~ aSh1 rax,,,a,saes fall u nm ina