6o T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y V o l . 7, N o . 1
been more than a hundred well equipped mines, with a capacity equal to six times the world’s consumption.1
The Government is largely interested in the mines, as are also the nobility, and ruling families of Germany. Thus they are able to limit the output and maintain prices. If need be they can pass laws to nullify contracts, as they did in 1910 when the American buyers had made contracts six months pre
vious in good faith, at $20 a ton. Six months later these contracts were practically nullified by the Reichstag which passed an ex post facto law, mposing a surtax of $20 a ton. This we did not regard as fair. I doubt if it would have stood in an international court.
Broadly speaking, American agriculture can do without pot
ash for a time. Little if any potash is used in the great M iddle W est where the cereals are grown. The great bulk of complete fertilizers is used in the middle and eastern A tlantic states on staple crops such as cotton, potatoes, corn, tobacco, fruits and vegetables. Where we have used fertilizers rich in potash in the eastern states, or where we are practicing intelligent rota
tion, also plowing in green crops, w e can get along for a time with less potash, and in some cases with no potash, depending upon the amount which is left over in the soil, and also upon that which becomes available b y weathering.
Prof. Charles D . Woods, Director of the M aine Experiment Station, has recently issued a statem ent to the effect that the potato soils of Maine, especially in Aroostook County, contain sufficient potential potash to produce an average of 300 bushels of potatoes a year for nearly a hundred years, estimating that a bushel of potatoes requires about one-third of a pound of potash. Through natural agencies a certain sxiiall percentage of the soil potash is rendered available every y e a r; nevertheless to produce the great crops in Aroostook County they use from 100 to 200 pounds of potash (K 20 ) to the acre. W h at is not re
quired for the current potato crop is left in the soil for crops which follow in rotation, such as oats, mixed grasses and clover.
In the cereal belt of the M iddle W est they arc growing cereals at the expense of the soil; thus in the wheat belt they produce 011 the average about 14 bushels of wheat to the acre as against 40 bushels in Germ any; 100 bushels of potatoes as against 300 to 500 bushels to the acre in Germany, and 300 bushels in Aroostook County, Maine.
In m y opinion the Germans are the best farmers in the world.
One of m y oldest friends and best teachers was a German chem
ist, the late Dr. Charles A. Goessmann, who for m any years was the Director of the Massachusetts Experiment Station at Amherst. I have the greatest admiration for the German scien
tists. T h ey are masters of whatever they undertake. They are specialized in the highest degree.
Speaking of the German farmers and German agriculture, do you realize that Germ any produces 88 per cent of her food
stuffs? She, no doubt, was well provisioned for this war, and since the women and children largely carry on the actual farm operations in Germany, she will 110 doubt be able to produce 80 to 90 per cent of her foodstuffs the coming year. Moreover, she has a great asset in her soil. She believes in making a fertile soil still more fertile. A fertile soil in Germany is not one which will produce crops without added fertility, but one to which they add more fertility and still more and b y good seed and very thorough culture they are enabled to raise three and four times
1 S in c e th e a b o v e s ta t e m e n t w a s m a d e th e r e h a s a p p e a r e d in th e
“ C o u n tr y G e n tl e m a n '’ o f O c to b e r 24, a n a r tic le e n t itl e d “ T h e F e r tiliz e r S i t u a t i o n ” in w h ic h P ro f. H . A . H u s to n , w h o t a k e s c a re o f th e K a li P r o p a g a n d a fo r th e e a s te r n a n d s o u th e r n s ta t e s , is q u o te d a s s a y in g : “ W e h a v e 190 m in e s , 4 0 o f w h ic h w o u ld s u p p ly th e w o rld v e ry n ic e ly . W e a r e p r e p a r e d fo r a lm o s t a n y s o r t o f e m e r g e n c y d e m a n d .” T h e a r t ic l e a lso s t a t e s “ t h a t th e S y n d ic a te is s p e n d in g a m illio n d o lla r s a y e a r in its w o rld w id e c a m p a ig n , a b o u t o n e - f o u r th of t h a t s u m in t h e U n ite d S ta t e s , a n d a n y f a r m e r w h o c a re s to s tu d y th e s ta t is tic s s h o w in g th e e n o r m o u s ly in c r e a s e d u s e o f p o ta s h in A m e ric a n fe r tiliz e r s d u r in g th e p a s t d e c a d e m u s t b e c o n v in c e d t h a t a d v e r tis in g p a y s .”
as much per acre as we do in the United States. The only farmers in America who follow the German system are the m arket gardeners around our great cities. T h ey keep enriching their soils and thus they are able to produce large crops in normal seasons, and in abnormal seasons their crops are less injured b y drouth, plant diseases and pests, for a well-fed crop like a well-fed man will better withstand abnormal conditions.
According to statistics published b y the Departm ent of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Sum m ary for 1913, pages 103 and 104, we imported into this country potash salts for that year as follows:
E q u i v a le n t B a s is n e t to n s P e r
K 2O c e n t K a i n i t 4 6 5 ,3 3 6 lo n g to n s of 2 2 4 0 lb s.. 62,541 12 M a n u r e s a lt s 2 2 3 ,6 8 7 lo n g to n s o f 2 2 4 0 lb s.. 5 0 ,1 0 6 20 C h lo r i d e o f p o ta s h 4 7 5 ,2 6 1 ,5 9 5 l b s ! ... 118,815 5 0 S u lf a t e o f p o ta s h 8 8 ,6 9 8 ,1 9 3 lb s ... 2 1 ,2 8 8 4 8
T o t a l , 2 5 2 ,7 5 0
This is equivalent to 505,500 tons of muriate of potash, the standard grade imported; of this it is estimated that from 280,000 to 300,000 tons are used in fertilizers. T h e remainder is used in the arts, but more particularly in the manufacture o f black powder.
W ill Germ any let out her potash in time of war? If she dared to do it she undoubtedly would, because it is a great source of income, but, as you chemists know, potash is the basis of many explosives and as it might fall into the hands of her enemies and be used against her she is likely to place an embargo on it; but as soon as the war is over it will come forward freely.1 H ave we any sources of potash in this country' that are worth considering at this time? A s I have stated, our annual consump
tion of potash is about 500,000 tons. A t Searles Lake, C ali
fornia, according to government estimates, there is a natural deposit equivalent to about 600,000 tons, or about one year's supply. A trial plant is about ready, having a capacity of about five tons daily or for 1915 say 1,500 tons. In Oklahoma there is a possible source of sulfate of potash; in Texas results seem to indicate the presence of potash about 2,200 feet below the surface. Alunite, yielding after treatm ent about 18 per cent sulfate of potash, exists in Utah, Colorado, N evada and Arizona. T he great source of potash in this part of the coun
try is the feldspar and granite rocks of N ew England. M any of them, as you know, contain from eight to twelve per cent of potash, but as yet no commercial process has been perfected for rendering this potash quickly available to plants.
There is a great fortune awaiting the man who can invent a feasible and cheap process, but the potash must be rendered soluble in water, and it should be produced at a cost not exceed
ing $20 a toil (on the basis of muriate) laid down in the eastern markets, for if put to it the Germans could sell their potash a t that price in this market, and even for less. So if any of you chem
ists have a process up your sleeve don’t waste any time over it unless you can produce water-soluble potash to compete with the German source.
Now one word as to a substitute for potash. It has been claimed, and some experiments would seem to substantiate the claim, that certain crops, in the absence of potash, will substitute soda. These crops, however, are not the great staple crops like corn, potatoes, cotton, etc. Where this substitution has taken place, it has been with crops which belong to the root family. It is believed, however, that the use of available phos
phates w ill help many crops to assimilate potash from the soil.
A t a recent meeting a t M ount Carmel Experiment Farm in Connecticut, Dr. Jenkins, Director of the Connecticut Experi
ment Station, spoke as follows:
“ M y opinion is that, in our general farm practice, it will pay 1 S in c e th e a b o v e s t a t e m e n t w a s m a d e i t is r e p o r t e d in th e p a p e r s t h a t G e r m a n y h a s r a is e d th e e m b a r g o o n 1,000 to n s v ia R o tt e r d a m , in e x c h a n g e fo r c o tto n .
J a n . , 1 9 1 5 T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
better to use available phosphates more freely and potash, in m any cases, less freely than we are doing.
" I do not believe in the use of ground phosphates on our thin soils, deficient in humus, but let us stock up our laud with available phosphates which we can get, in place of potash which we cannot get, and we may perhaps find a benefit to our farming from this ‘war measure.’
“ Do not understand me to argue against the need and the use of a liberal amount of potash in our fertilizers. I am merely stating m y conviction that, on land where potash has been freely used in the past, a one year’s lack of it will not seriously reduce the general crop production of the state, particularly if we will make increased use of available phosphate.”
These, however, are technical questions which Dr. Wheeler, who is present and was formerly Director of the Rhode Island Experiment Station, is better able to discuss than I am.
In closing let me say there is no fear of American agriculture breaking down this year because we'cannot get potash. There is no fear of its breaking down in the Middle W est for some time, if we do not get potash; but the South and East, unless we have potash within two or three years, will be put to it to raise their staple crops. L et us hope that before that time ar
rives we shall have plenty of potash from other sources to com
pete with the great German deposits.
Th e Am e r i c a n Ag r i c u l t u r a l Ch e m i c a l Co m p a n y Bo s t o n
THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY
B y \V . D . LlVERM ORE
I cannot add anything to the knowledge of those present who are personally connected with the textile industry, but I shall try to speak in a general w ay, and in respect to the woolen or worsted industry only.
The first effect was felt in the fear of scarcity of money with resulting fear, cancellation of orders, trade failures, etc., which m ight even lead to shutdowns in the textile industry.
This phase, as the real situation developed quickly, passed and was followed immediately by some confidence that the busi
ness end of the textile industry in the woolen branch might not be injured a t all b y the war. About this time our anxieties regarding supplies that had usually been imported began to rise, and have not by any means been removed yet. This feature is, of course, the one that appeals most sharply to mill chemists, purchasing agents, etc. The chemist who had planned a nice vacation realized a chance to cancel it and an astonishing change of spirit came over us in our relations with our friends in the dye- stuff business. W e used to let them come to see us and were quite careful and even critical regarding just w hat brands of colors we could best use and what we ought to pay for them.
In the twinkling of an eye we experienced an undreamed of change of heart.
The dealer whom we suspected of having a good stock of any
thing we thought we could use became dearer than a brother;
we rushed’ out to see him about it, we wrote him and we called him frequently 011 the telephone and told him w hat a lot of busi
ness he had always done with us. And I may say that he treated us kindly— he didn’t remind us of all the knocks we had given his colors in the past, and he had the opportunity of a lifetime to work off the second best colors he had had on hand for a nice long time. W e took them gladly and besought him to find us some more.
Seriously, however, I suppose that the mills of this country are far more frightened than really hurt, but w hat the future holds we can hardly predict.
W e hear very many stories of four and five times the normal price being paid freely for dyestuffs and chemicals and no doubt these stories have a basis of fact— nevertheless, I think they are largely comparable to the case of the wealthy party who pays
$40.00 for a pair of $2.00 seats to the Yale-H arvard Football
game. Undoubtedly he pays it, but he sits along with some 30,000 people who paid $2.00 each and who do not receive special mention in the newspapers.
If colors are going to come to us via Denmark, Holland and Italy, as we hope with considerable reason, we m ay be troubled with nothing worse than a moderate increase ¡11 cost and a necessity for carefully looking ahead and getting our supplies for a period further in advance than has been our custom, and for avoidance of exceptional dyestuffs which are not staple even in ordinary conditions.
The consumption of the United States is in the neighborhood of 15 per cent of the total production of dyestuffs in Germany.
If we can get from Germ any 15 per cent of their normal annual production we can take care of ourselves quite com
fortably. In support of a hope that we can do this it is easy to remember that Germ any will not export any color or raw material for color in such a w ay that it can be obtained b y the countries now hostile and that these countries include practic
ally all the important textile producers outside Germany, A us
tria and Italy, and also that Austria and Germ any are likely to be much too busy with the war to use their full normal amounts of color themselves. The normal stock of colors produced in advance of requirement will, therefore, last us quite a long time if we can get it over here.
As to present production in Germ any I do not believe we have very reliable information. I have heard statements running from a present production of 40 per cent of normal in some places down to the closing of the factory and its use as a hospital in others.
It is also worth notice that those organic raw materials which can be converted into high explosives and other w ar material will be so used and wholly removed from consideration as far as our affairs go.
Some color will be obtainable from Switzerland. England, which usually furnishes a modest percentage of our supply, has practically dropped out of our m arket— they themselves need more than they have.
Should the worst happen and Germ any be entirely closed to us b y the course of war, some of the older wood colors like Log
wood, Fustic and the Tannins will have a sustained boom.
Whether these will be enough to go around will then be an in
teresting question, but I do not think we want to cross this bridge till we get to it.
As for the proposals for development of our own dyestuff manufactories I think something helpful will be done— but that it will in any very large w ay fill the gap I can see no great probability. It takes too large an investment, too much technical
skill and experience, and even more important, too long a time.
As for the textile industry itself, and apart from this con
sideration of supplies, it is worth while to remember that no large amount of cloth is likely to be imported for some time—
certainly not in the quantities which m any of us feared as a result of the new tariff and in this w ay a t least we ought to benefit.
For the first time in the experience of some of us we have heard talk of large orders of blankets and cloth, etc., from abroad.
It may be talk only but a t least it is very encouraging to those of us who think this means that we shall at any rate have the opportunity to supply our own people with their textiles for the present and that our severest competitors will be among our own manufacturers.
Am e r i c a n Wo o l e n Co m p a n y La w r e n c e. Ma s s.
THE DRUG TRADE
B y C . A . We s t
I wish to speak, not on the trade of dyestuffs or chemicals used in the textile industries, but more particularly on the chem
icals used in the arts and in the manufacture of medicines, and I think the general opinion is th at there never was such an op
62 T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y V o l . 7, N o . 1
portunity for American chemists as presents itself a t the present time. T he fluctuations in the m arket during the last month have been greater than ever known before, and we are very much in the position described by Mr. Livermore— that of people willing to buy w hat medicines they can get.
Y o u may be interested in a few items which I have jotted down.
The normal price of benzoic acid is 22 cents per lb.; the price readied $1.25 and went up to $1.50. Carbolic acid which cost us 14 cents per lb., we could have replaced at 77= cents per lb.
and we figured a loss of $20 a drum; we sold most of it for 40 to 50 cents per lb. Citric acid which was sold freely at 54 cents (at which we make an average profit of a cent a pound) w ent as high as $1.35 per lb. One of the large manufacturers came into our store and wanted five kegs of citric acid. We told him the price would be $1.25. Then he wanted to know how much we would charge him for 5 kegs more. W e told him $1.30. Then he wanted to know how much we would charge him for 5. kegs more and we told him $1.35. For 5 kegs more, he inquired, and we told him $1.40. “ W ell,” he said, " I guess we had better w ait a little while and see w hat is doing.”
Oxalic acid went from 7'/< to 22 cents, salicylic acid from 25 cents to $1.25, tartaric acid from 30 to 75 cents, arsenic from 2*l\ to 6, nitrate of barium from 5 to 15, calomel from 60 to 90, camphor from 45 cents to $1.00, carbon tetrachloride from 7 to 15 cents, cream of tartar from 233/j to 60, Epsom salts from 1 to 3, chlorate of potash from 7 '/a to 25, potassium perman
ganate from 9 to 60, saltpeter from 4V2 to 12, quicksilver from
$36 to $100 and back to $55, and oxide of zinc from 7 '/a to 25 cents. So I might go on mentioning m any others.
When I was in London the last of August I saw an order from the U. S. for Hydroquinone a t $3-00 a pound, the price of which today is five times that. Such extreme prices, however, cannot be
main-Less than one-twentieth of our pig-iron is produced from im
ported ores. Of this about $4,000,000 worth comes from Cuba and half as much from Sweden. The war, therefore, can pro
duce 110 shortage in ore; it creates almost 110 demand for iron;
and, 011 the other hand, depresses business in general to such an extent that the demand for iron has grown less and less. The producers are unwilling to reduce the price to a figure lower than $14 per ton, the price a t which it has been held for m any months, and as the demand decreases, prefer to reduce the
and, 011 the other hand, depresses business in general to such an extent that the demand for iron has grown less and less. The producers are unwilling to reduce the price to a figure lower than $14 per ton, the price a t which it has been held for m any months, and as the demand decreases, prefer to reduce the