NITROGEN

Grey River Argus, 4 October 1918, Page 3

NITROGEN

%l BIGGER DEMAND

As a%;i;iico[|^iSLtion of the growing demand fof^^ra, ;a o;eu in the World's markets, it i|^tei%*Mna to note the consumption int£|th^igi^;d States, ' which has nearly' treDle^it^^-^ports of nitrates during the last" sii; j^^ .. According to a return eompiie"d*^Ky|*S^ Dr. Paul J. Fox, the States during^lP 1917 imported 1,742,540 tons of sodium nitrate from Chile, representing 272,---880 tons of nitrogen, at a gross cost • exceeding £20..000,000, out of which : the Chile Government would obtain nearly £4,000,000, i n the form of export duty. The gross amount of nitrogen imported and produced in the ■ the United States during the year,' inchiding that obtained from ammonia, amounted to 390.187 tons. The exports i accounted for 44,066 tons, leaving . 436,121 tons for home consumption. Of ; the exports, gunpowder and smokeless : poAvder represented 29j023 tons, war * A munitions^ 8800 tons, and nitric acid, 3 picric acid, dynamite, and saltpetre, V;1 made up the balance "of 6241 to»s of | contained nitrogen. It will be observed. . j that in spite of the large quantities of war munitions being supplied by the ','.jj States,' the nitrogen contained therein I is comparatively small compared to the _ honie consiymption. It is therefore J evident that in spite of the Increased f| cost nitrates are being more lapgel/ ; - -^ usod as fertilisers. No doubt the«Var ■% has largely contributed towards this I result. First, .. because so many articles haye ; appeared in. the press giving de- J tails of the great advance in the. pro- <] duction of foodstuffs in Germany of re- % cent years ; second, the increased re- „--4 turns for . farm produce has, "nabled $ the cultivators to spare more money •?■ for fertilisers, with a view to stiij^greater gains. in future, a