Omaha daily bee., 1921-09-07
Alabama Leads in
Manufacture of
By-Product Coke
Birmingham District Likely
To Become Pre-Eminent
In Production Of
Fertilizers.
BY HOLLAND.

A year or two before the Euro
pean war began George w. Per
kins visited Birmingham. Ala. IN
order that he might verify the im-
preston he had received OF the
manufacturing. industrial and COM
mereial growth OF the Birmingham
district. He discovered that his
opinion was we'll founded and he
said with enthusiasm that the Bir-
mingham district in the south
would in a short time match any
other industrial center OF the United
States. at least so far as the pro-
duetion OF iron and steel was con-
cefned.
All that Mr.. Perkins then said is
pow confirmed by Courtenay De
kalb. one OF the foremost engineers,
chemists and electrical experts in
the United States. Notwi,hstand-
ing the stagnat;on caused by the
after effects OF the war, and espe-
cially the serious depression in the
iron and steel industry. Mr.. De
Kalb now states that Alabama is
the most progressive state in the
union in the manufacture OF by
products coke. That manufacture is
now prominently associated with
the Birmingham district.
This district therefore has become a
leading factor In the ammonium sulphats
industry and ultimately IL will become.
Psnnn IN hI INC s,sS world center For ss, "s.sn rsss
Mr.. De KaIb says that Alabama will soon
deserve to be called the nitrogen state
Center Of Product Cokins.
Tho production OF nitrogen and by
product coke In the Birmingham district
visited that district as II Is today. He
had chiefly In mind the almost unmatched
association In that district Of coal and
iron ore. so plentiful as to make the dis;
steel district In the world.
Mr.. De kalb's Investigations. however.
have shown him that In addition to the
iron and steel industry the Birmingham
district 10 now recognized as far In ad-
vance OF any other center OF by-product
coking because the plants recently erected
there are the most perfect OF the Kind es.
merely OF local Importance for II fur inishes
product which will greatly avail In In
creasing the agricultural output OF the
United States Mr. De kalb goes so far
a. to say that fixed nitrogen which is re-
covered in by-product coking In ,he form
OF ammonium sulphate IL of vital import
snce for maintaining the iuii ana a,lin,e Tree
increased fertility Of the soil and also In
the manufacture of explosives. not neces.
sarily explosives to be used In war but
those which will be employed In industry.
F1xation Of Nitrogen.
1t In n little over 20 years since expert
ments were made at Niagara Fails by an
inventor who felt confident that he could
obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere by
the utilization Of very G,a h,Sn sHers Ky, he's
endowed with Intellect He could not
persuade men Of finance to furnish the
nitrogen obtained from the air. Norway.
however, having learned Of this process
and how to adopt It. did enter upon lns
Of artiticlally producn.l haro- s,,o
Vow Norway's prseminence In the man.
ufacture Of fixed nitrogen is 70 ss nc iIss ths
nossIbIe now TO secure the high tempera,,
ture OF electricity which Is an essential
factor in the eaptu,ren S,sn OF n''r0tte temperature
not 40 that ss which nisn i employed a NJ
agara Falls for the mrnufae.nre % ,sep.turs o, Il
eulsted Ersphitfs;; there nSs Were amy excess Of
Il Il It would result In yaporisins .ns snhsto Saf
han out Of which defloccuiated sraphi''
Use Of Fertisiief..
Although there remain many acres OF
Ycrtile soiI in the United States adaptea
To the cultivation Of wheat, yet on 'ne
whole our hat has 0esh slfeaay some
sigrs of .impairment OF soil fertility are are
Observed. In order to oyercome, s, ,sr.ii. rnis
deterioration y IL NECESSARY, ,on 70 haryests of
the south have been increased. Mose ce
than a hundred years have passed since nee
tha southern states began the cuitYass
Of cotton on large sosf sGats hscame anne 50 great
.h. .he =, was necessary to use fertilizer. Not
until a few years ago the ialms.s ,i,,vaS ~ vs.
south began to supplement co''"A
Mr Da Kalb points out the Stlecx =,
fertilizers which contain principally ed tixedd
nitrogen upon crop produc..on.. uxed on
that In this g sounepy hapy III bounds to the acre
and and he average yield in the yeafS Dss
tween TIVE 1905 and 1913 was not GIi anlIe was a.
bushs. 70 the .s,s sss,,,zsrs we're as abana
an,iv used BY tho American wheat sro%et
as they are by those VINO cu'e,va'5 ,r 5,rmsrs
in the European countries our ge ~ about
should get yield on the average VI
as bushels to the acre. ,,,o,o.sd nv
what fertizilers can do is disciosea ,,n. =.
the farmers OF Belgium up 70 .vinh Ian in tho
,ss m,as Of y fertilizers, infusins the soil wSn Sa
soil responded 70 that he.t efeatsns 10 ,hs acre.
Yielded 81 bushels ,hs of nrminsSa distrio.
of y Alabama sbou. as to r,ssssen ssssms from Pes
eminent IN tns ma the utilization Of It
me me tsrtiiizsrs and explosives. The dis-
ter tpic, viii gain distinction fer THIS ms an an
aussy which rnt.toa will sGmDsGss tie wn dises IA.
reanS n,a nf The leaders In the steer
and iron industries Of the United states
3yA Stock.