The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1920-10-23
MARI BEDS Great
New Jersey Has Much Wealth in
Its Possession.
Formed Ages Ago When the Atlantic
Coast Was a Marsh and Swarned
With Gigantic Reptiles.

1he cfetaceOuS peTlOu may Sttih 'eT
mote from the present and in P0iB4
of time it is. 1t was a good many ages
ago when the Atlantic coastal plain
was under water and when gigantic
saurlans swarmed in ocean and marsh.
But natural processes that were UNI
der way during this period are af-
fecting our present civilization very vi
tally. They touch our food, our
clothing. our industries-in fact, every
phase of life, HerschOI BiCkell tells the
Brooklyn Eagle. For il was during
the cretaceOus period that Mother Ma
ture was storing up coal and ligHites'
petroleum and marIS, especially
greensand mari which has recently
been brought prominently to the atten-
ton of Apericans by the discovery
! that 1t is rich in potash.
The chief constituent Of grsensand
is mineral called glaucOnite, which,
In technical terms, is a. duh green
amorphOuS silicate Of iron and potas-
SUM. Giauconite contains rom 6 to y
per cent of potash. This Is removed
J by treating the mineral with milk or
| lime under pressure, the result being
pure caustic potash, which is the base
! for all the many potash chemicals used
in industry and alsO-ev2n more impor-
tant at the present time-for the best
commercial fertilizers.
The exact origin of glaucOnite is not
yet known. although scientists have eS-
tabIiShed the fact that its formation
is continuing today at the bottom nt
the sea, in some places from 200 to
1000 fathoms deep, although it seems
to be especially favored by shallower
wafer of about 100 fathOms.
The fact that it occurs in rounded
humps, surrounded In many instances
by shells of the fOraminifera, minute
organisms of the bottom of the ocean,
has given rise to the theory that tn
some little understood way the decOm-
poSition of the bodies Of these ami
mails brought about the chemical re-
action that resulted in glaucOnite.
1t is crystalline in form but is rare
" found in anything like perfect crys-
tails. usually occurring in minute par
ticles, which react feebly with pOlarized
light. Often free glauconite is found
without traces Of the shells mentioned,
and It is believed that this occurs be-
: cause ocean currents have washed
AWAY the heavier minerals from IT'S
surrounding saIcareOus formation. The
shells tend to become very friable, ana
the whole mass of glauc0nite ana
shells may easily be crushed between
! the fingers.
: The mari beds of New Jersey have
been known and used as sources o'
, fertilizers for ms many years as the
: STATE has been settled. Until recently
however. ii was for the phosphorl'
acid and carbonate of lime, both Oi
which they contain, that the mars
: we're used. Their richness in potash
|, content. while known vaguely. had new
er been regarded as of first import
ance. because no satisfactory process
for separating the potash had beel
found.
l. These beds cover a large area wh'c
d stretches obliquely across re stat
IS from Raritan bay and the Atlantic e
r, the southwest. distance Of 100 mile
m They vary from nine to nineteen mile
l. in width and the average depth OF III
deposit is 80 feet.
I'd According TO figures compiled ny III
lg geological survey, square mlle
~ greensand-there are apprOXimatel
ne ]. go square miles of II in New Je
ed sey-wilI yield, from thickness of o'
W foot, $1,000 tons Of potash, and q :
X foot bed that covers nm area OF
do square mile will yield 1.rOOOOO tons.
re New Jersey is not the only stat
ch however, that has rich greensand
nosits. The mari beds run throu'
at delaware. across the District of I
Ial lumbia and down into Virginia. tape
I'd. ing TO point short distance sou
rs of Petersburg. They are slightly via
ey in their southern reaches.
er. EXPERTS estimate that there Is su
cient raw material in the New Iers
and Delaware beds to furnish potn
for the United States these next 80
oI- TO 1000 years.