Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-06

speaks of the exaggerated idea of the value
of potash as an essential element in artificial
fertilizer. The answer to this Is that Ger
many used before the war-and her area
Is less than the State of Texas-twice
as much potash as we did, and her average
of wheat per acre was 31,2 bushels against
14.7 bushels per acre in America. And Ger
manys increase in bushels per acre in ten
years previous to the war was AIS per cent
| and America l57 per cent in ten years pre-
vious to the war. The same conditions held
good. and even more so regarding rye, oats,
barley and potatoes: in fact, the average
yield OF potatoes In Germany per acre pre-
Vious to the war was 210 bushels. Every
farmer knows that an average of 100 BUSH
els per acre is tremendous on our broad
acres.
The sam. conditions held good in Hol-
land With an area equal to that Of New
Jersey and Connecticut, she used three
times as much potash per acre as these
States and n total amount Of one-seventh
our entire consumption previous to the war.
She produced crops twice or thrice as large
as the average yield of our farmers.
There is no substitute for potash 1t Is as
staple as gold a component Of animal, min
eral and vegetable existence. As a plant
food there is nothing to take its place it
has value in the way of nutrition to vege-
table life that Is just as essential and just
as important as a well-baanced diet Is to
the sustenance of the human body.
This article proceeds to deal with the
disappointing progress toward discovering
new sources OF potash" Men of the highest
scientific attainment, engineers of ability
and success, have given as their opinion that
deposits of such magnitude in one of our
countryS natural resources alone contains
sufficient potash to supply America for
generations and commercially compete with
German even in normal times without a
| tariff protection.
n OF <atx
| the broad, sensible view of the immense i'm
| portance of potash as one of the essentials
| to our national life and place a tariff on the
| importation Of potash salts, it would be but
a little while until our different national re-
sources would yield all the potash we could
use. And the great increase of food from
| our broad acres eould feed the world
And we, too, could give employment to
| an army of laborers, as Germany does to
more than 35, 900 laborers in normal times
| in her potash industry.
This article further implies that no mate
| rial success has been obtained In the pro-
duction of potash from alunte.
II any one will take the trouble or oppor-
tunity to look up the reports filed with the
State of Utah for 1916, which reports are
under oath, and at the same time the net
| profits are subjected to a State tax, will
| find the report of a company that Is manu-
| featuring potash from alunite. Which re-
| port Is herein shown:
Net proceeds for the year 1916. s7o,4s47s
| Gross income '................ 610,266.45
| Cost of operation ............. 539,7s1,Ts
Net income being s7O4s47e, arising from
| production Of 2772 1-3 tons of potash This
report shows the entire cost of installation
of plant and expenditures. and beyond this
$25 per ton profit and without the separa-
| tion OF any by-product and its added or
prospective value.
| Therefore, nature once again at the call
| and behest OF man is unlocking from her
| bountiful resources another of her rich Off
springs, of which our broad land mothers
| more than any other land on earth
Time will develop and conclusiyely dem.
| onstrate that It is true in America, as It has
been In Europe, that q large consumption
| of fertilizer goes hand In hand with highly
developed and intensive system Of agricui-
| ture. HOMER c. BLOOM M d.
| Philadelphia, August g.