Fertilisers.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XLIII, Issue 2280, 15 January 1912, Page 3

Fertilisers.

TINS WORLDS DEMANDS. Hy a glance at the enormous qnanli- | ties ul artificial fertilisers employed in \ the world one can get a good idea of the j general progress of agriculture." The' ligures cannot be more than approx - !- ! male, hut they serve to show how' dependent agriculture has become upon (he fertiliser industry. (1) Phosphate of lime. —The total pronuetiou is estimated at about du,0()i),00i) tons, of which S,U(l(),i)'Ji) may he attributed to superphosphate ami JS,OOi),(.CJiJ to basic slag. This dues not include the large quantities contained in guano, boyes, etc. y'l) Potash salts,—-The Slassfurt mines deliver potash salts in different forms equal to about 5U0,01li) tons of pure potash. (d) Nitrate of soda.—The shipments of this commodity from Uhili amount to about 2,00U,00i) tons a year, of which it is roughly estimated that three-fourths are for agriculture, ami one fourth, for chemical industries. (J) Sulphate of ammonia,—The total production approaches 1,()(IO ) UOO tons a year, which is employed for agricultural purposes. All (his fertilising material is transformed hy processes of cultivation and nature into supplies of food for mankind ami stock; yet experts tell ns that as lime goes on and cultivation becomes gcueially more intensive it will he necessary to employ far larger quantities I of fertilisers. Will the supply equal | the demand? There are already indi- j cations that prices are moving up, be- j cause the supplies are not keeping pace j with the inquiries.