The Lakeland evening telegram., 1920-05-27
1919 SHORT YEAR
FOR PHOSPHATE
ROCK MARKETED
lBy F. II. McGoWan.l

|, eoh, nuy ~ f.-l he Qudutl
} t" OF phosphate rock marketed in the
United States in 1919 appears to havl
been less THAI in any year withir
the last decade except 1915. The pro,
duction in South Carolina was near.
ly treble that of 1918, Tennessee
greatly increased her output, and ths
Western states made proportion
ately large gain, but strike in thu
Florida pebble phosphate field, which
lasted several months, so greatly re-
duced the output from that state that
the record for the whole country
shows decided decrease in quantity
The value of the product In 1919,
however, appears to have been great
er than in any year since 1913.
According to estimates made by R
W. Stone, United States geological
survey, department Of the interior,
from the incomplete returns available
at the end of April, the quantity Of
phosphate rock sold in the United
States in 1919 was about 1,941,700
long tons, valued at $1O,335, 900, as
compared with 2,4sO,7s0 tons valued
at $S,214,463 in 1918.
Florida
The production Of phosphate rock
in Florida in 1919 probably would
have been approximately 100000
tons, or nearly up to the output Of
1913, had it not been for strike liz
tie pebble phosphate field, which
lasted about seven months. The ex-
port of phosphate was approximately
100000 tons, or only about one-ha,f
those OF 1918, 1t might we'll have
been 100000 tons The production of
hard rock, however, which was de.
creased by the cutting off of exports
from 483,000 tons in 1918 to less than
$4,000 tons in 1917, increased in 1918
to $4,000 tons and in 1919 to approx
mately 100000 tons. Between $4,000
and $4,000 tons of soft phosphate and
Lhosphatic mari, all of which is used
for direct application to the soil, was
sold at prices ranging from "a to
SIS ton but averaging about 81. The
total shipments from the state were
about 1,355,OO0 tons, valued at ST.
10000. On account of the strike in
the pebble phosphate field greater
quantity of hard rock was shipped to
domestic factories than in previous
years. The effect of the strike Is
shown by the shipments through
Tampa, Port Tampa and Boca Grande,
which fell FROM $4,000 tons in Janu-
ary, 1919, to $500 tons in June and
rose to $4,000 tons in December.
Exports
From 1913, when more than 1,300,-
600 tons Of phosphate rock was OK
ported, the quantity leaving the Unit
ed States steadily decreased until in
1918 when it was only 132,455 tons, a
little more than one-tenth of the ex-
ports in 1918. In 1919, however, as
more vessels became available Tor
commerce, the exports increased to
37S,731 tons. As Europe must i'm
port phosphate rock in large quanti-
ty to replenish her soils, the outlook
for the export of phosphate rock
is becoming increasingly bright.
In 191S-1S1a most Of the high
grade rock exported was sent to
Sweden and Norway, and much Of
the land pebble to England, France,
and Spain. Cuba and Canada also
were notable consumers of phosphate
rock mined in the United States, Fig
ures compiled from the records of the
bureau Of foreign and domestic COM
merce, shows that in 1919 Denmark
was by far the largest importer OF
high-grade phosphate rock from this
country and that Sweden and Ger
many stood in second and third plac-
es, England. the Netherlands, and
Denmark took more than half the
exports of land pebble England TAX
ing the largest quantity by a small
margin.