Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1920-06-11
VALUE OF PHOSPHATE
AS A FERTILIZER is
ATTRACTING BUYERS

AllkAGllKG bUIEN
The farmers in the west and mid
die west are rapidly becoming enthu-
siastic over the virtues of phosphate
as a fertilizer. For many years the
farmers in these sections of the coun-
try have thought that their lands
contained practically inexhaustible
quantities of the various chemical
properties which made their farms
such large producers. Unfortunately
for them, this fact is now known to
be untrue, as their crops are dimin-
ishing because of the want of high
grade fertilizers Thousands of tons
Of the phosphate rock, after being
created into super-phosphate by
treating it with sulphuric acid and
adding slaughter-house refuse, are
now being sent to thoose sections of
the country.
The supply of phosphate rock in
Florida and Tennessee has proved too
limited to meet the demand, so Idaho
is now looked to for relief. The de-
posts of phosphate in the vicinity of
Paris are sufficient to keep the entire
United States supplied for several
years, in fact reliable authorities
state that the known tonnage of
this valuable element in our immedi
ate vicinity is sufficient to supply
the entire world for over two humid
red years.
AS a result of the publicity the
newspapers of the country has given
to phosphate, Paris is becoming
known as the coming center of the
industry. Fertilizer manufacturers
and buyers are coming from all parts
of the country to look into the situa-
tion here with view of contracting
the entire output of our local mines
for long periods of time.
In order that our people may be-
come posted on what phosphate is
and what it will do, the following ex-
tract from the Twenty-first Annual
Report of Robert N. Bell, state in
spector Of mines for Idaho, will prove
most interesting:
Idaho Phosphate Resources.
The western phosphate field was
discovered about 15 years ago and
has since been covered by a series of
admirable bulletins issued by the u.
s. Geological Survey between 1907
and 1914 covering an area in detail
and reconnaissance review of this inn
portant mineral occurrence that is
fully 500 miles long by 800 miles
broad and extends from northern
Utah through eastern Idaho and
western Wyoming we'll into Montana
to a point north of the Northern Pa
cific Railway at Garrison. The en-
tire region is one of rugged noun
tain topography, we'll watered and
timbered with many broad fertile
valleys and we'll supplied with rail-
way transportation facilities. 1t is a
healthy, picturesque mountain coun-
try with elevations ranging from
1000 to 10000 feet above sea level
and the Yellowstone National Park
as its central scenic feature.
The formations embrace some bold
bosses of eruptive granite and all the
everything sediments from Pre-Cam.
brian times to the most recent Teri
tiary horizons. The particular series
in which the phosphate veins occur
have been classified as correlated tC
the upper carboniferous coal mea.
sures. The phosphate emasure prop.
er varies from 100 to 200 feet in
thickness and carries an everything
horizon of massive highly fossilifer-
Gus and cherry limestones and thick
beds of underlying ealeareous sand
stone. The phosphate veins between
these horizons present a succession OF
thin bedded brown to black shales
and thin limestone layers, some Of
which are made up entirely of 9
mass Of shell fossil remains. This