El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-05-18

we we're then producing in the neigh
borhoOd Of 100000 tons in the shape OF
ammonium sulphate- This came from
1.-THE byprOduct coke ovens which re-
Gently have been established in con-
Injection with our largest blast fur
Inaces and from our gas works that
make coke. We got also a consider
liable amount from the tankage and
other products Of our slaughter
houses, and, in addition, many thou
sands OF tons in the shape OF fish scrap
and cottOnseed meal Nearly all Of this
went into fertilizer OF one kind or an
other. Indeed, the amount we spend
for the nitrogen we use on our farms.
taking all the products into consider
alton, Is said TO be about Sl5,000,OO0
per year, and we might spend much
more at profit
Important as Fertilizer.
It IS estimated tnat one pound of
nitrogen properly applied to the soil
viii increase the yield Of wheat by
I one-third- It is one Of the most impor-
Z tant elements Of the balanced fertili-
zers Of today, and Il is largely due to
I IL that the countries Of northern Eu-
rope get so much more ont Of their
I land than we do By means Of It Ger
I many has increased her average yield
| per acre OF all crops several times as
much as we have. Indeed, we cannot
get along without nitrates N our
manufacture Of fertilizers, and they
are OF an enormous importance to the
/ food supply OF the present.
We need many thousands OF tons OF
nitrogen for our military explosives
We need vast quantities in our chem
Z zeal industries, and also IN the ammo
MA necessary for our refrigerating
plants Of one kind or another. All Of
the fresh food that goes across the
water is carried IN cold storage cham
bers, which are cooled with ammonia
and the same is true OF the cooling
plants OF the meat packing industry
IN short, we must have hundreds OF
thousands OF tons OF fixed nitrogen
evey year, and at present about half
OF all we use comes from abroad and
mostly from Chile. The supply is de-
Hcient. and we shall need all We can
make for some time in the future.
I have Travelled through the Chilean
nitrate fields and have watched them
taking out the salts and loading them
on ships to be sent to our country The
nitrates come from the great desert
which lies between the Pacific ocean
and the Andes mountains.
The country there is as barren as the
Sahara Il has not a blade OF grass or
any green thing. and In parts OF il you
would have to go 100 miles Tor drink
It is all rock, stone and sand. with here
and there beds Of salty particles that
reflect the rays Of the sun. inflaming
the eyes. It is this salt when extract
ed that forms the nitrates Of com
merce- There are great beds Of IT in
the desert They run north and south
for a distance OF about 400 miles be-
ginning below Autofagastas from
which most OF the nitrate is shipped,
and extending beyond the port OF
Iquique, which is not far from Peru
Both ports are in Chile The belt in
which the nitrate deposits lie Is con-
fined TO that country It Is from 20
TO 100 miles back from the coast, and
Il is seldom more than ten miles in
width
Barren Land wonderfully Valuable.
Nevertheless, that strip Of desert
sand is one Of the most valuable strips
Of land upon earth Within the past
generation IL has paid Chile in export
duties alone several hundred million
dollars in gold, and today Il brings IN
about four-fifths Of ali the govern
menr expenses, and also yields for
tunes to the men Woh are working It.
The 0ulk OF the exports are controlled
by American and British capitalists I
Before the war began we we're taking
ont about one-fifth Of the product and
our imports last year were over 1900
600 tons Our nitrates are loaded at
Antofagasta, from where they come
northward about 2400 miles TO the /
Panama canal and thence TO the Unit
Eu states DDLAHa ~ men E-A4EkE4 AAAN ]
nitrate OF soda looks just like dirty I
white salt II is put up in bags OF
200 pounds each. and is carried out 70 /
the steamers IN lighters
Is Interesting Work
II is interesting TO watch them I
mine nitrates The salts are not I
evenly distributed. They lie in peck I
cts, and there is a single bed that 7
covers an area Of 100 square niles I
The stuff is mixed with other rock. /
and the best OF the deposits contain /
only from 20 TO 80 per cent Of pure /
nitrate As a general thing the nj 4
trate lies close TO the surface, with I
a little sand or salt rock above It. Z
II is gotten out By putting hole
down through this sand and salt rock
and on through the nitrate rock TO /
the soft earth beneath This hole IS
now charged with powder ana tne
rock blasted out The powder Is Of
ten made on the spot from the same
material as that found in the hole.
After the rock has been taken out
it is broken into Jumps. crushed by
and boiled in great tanks
Of water. In this boiling the salts
go into the water and turn Il TO a
thick, lemonlilze syrup. The water
Us now taken off by evaporation and
the nitrates allowed TO settle They
are then dried and ready for ship
ment to Us at prices as high as the
traffic viii bear.
And now as to the source OF these
Chilean nitrates. The nitrogen we
shall make for the future Is to come
rom the air The nitrates from Chile
IRE supposed TO have come from the
bed Of an inland sea which once COW
sred this part Of the desert There
s nitrogen in seaWeed. and some be-
ieve that the nftrates came from II s
when e decayed- Another theory is
hat they are the salts OF the am
nonia which rose from the vast beds !
n guano formed by the birds on the
Stands OF the west coast, and a third /
hat they were made from the air by .
ertain electrical discharges in the
Audes mountains which so combined /.
With the air as to make nitric acid, I
he acid being deposited in these beds !
n the form OF nitrate OF soda.
None OF these theories is satisfac-
ory, but the last one is based upon ,
much the same principle as those
low applied in the arc process Of I
getting nitrates from the air.
Riches From the Air. =
The atmosphere which is all about
IS and which extends for miles over a
ur heads is mixture Of two gases,
itrOgen and oxygen. More than v
hree fOurths Of il is nitrogen. and / q
his nitrogen contains all the values I
lille at a cost Of millions OF dollars p
.er year. According to DR.. Charles
= Monroe, the eminent chemist and
Xpert on explosives. there are 1880 <
ons OF nitrogen in the air over each
ere OF ground. There is so much
hat few thousand acres has e blan-
-et above II which contains more nj Y
rates than is now left in the desert q
T chile mere IS so much right Il
hive r1e that II -a 0owT1 u-a11 fr the n