IMPORTATION OF FERTILIZERS.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XII, Issue 5, 20 May 1916, Page 368

IMPORTATION OF FERTILIZERS.

ANNUAL RETURNS

B. C. ASTON,

F.1.C., Chemist to the Department

The returns of fertilizers imported into New Zealand for the year ended 31st March, 1916, are now, by courtesy of the Comptroller of Customs, available, and have been classified according to the scheme drawn up last year (see Journal for August, 1915), which may be compared with the current figures. Several important and instructive points in which the table differs from that of the previous year may be first noted.

Potash salts have, as might be expected from a knowledge of the country of origin (Germany), decreased almost to the vanishingpoint. Only 96 tons have been imported, as against 4,148 tons in the previous year and 4,546 tons the year before the war. As a partial set-off against this deficiency of potash imports may be placed gypsum, which has increased from 4,374 tons for the latest

complete year without war to 6,314 tons in 1915, and to . 8,182 tons during the year under review. Gypsum, or sulphate of lime, as is well known, in its action is an indirect potash fertilizer, liberating the inert potash of the soil silicates. - ' Basic slag, a . favourite top-dressing fertilizer . for pastures, shows a great diminution, ..falling to what, is practically one-third of the amount for the previous year or the year before that. All the other phosphate fertilizers, however, show a marked increase, so that to make up for the 20,000 tons deficiency of basic slag there were imported 24,000 tons increase of other phosphatic fertilizers, about half of which would contain a similar quantity of ; phosphate, and the other half much more. It cannot therefore be said that there was a great deficiency of phosphates. Moreover, the year was not one in which the settlement of lands would require much higher amounts of phosphates to be used. Farmers, however, are becoming more alive to the value of the phosphatic fertilizers, and if the demand exceeded the supply it would be more to this cause than to any other.

' ' ‘ — ■ '''J': Weight. Value. Year 1915-16. Year 1914—15. Year 1915-16. Year 1914-15. Tons. Tons. £ Bonedust ’ .. ■ .. Tons. 10,059 Tons. 7,966 £ 64,177 £ 52,235 \ Bone char • .. 906 686 3-209 . ,270 Blood manure . . . . . . : 109 251 • ■ 727 ’ 1,650 Blood and bone . ■ . . .. 808 • 798 ' 5,570 5G95 Basic slag ... . . . . 10,339 29,385 38,892 97,7 j 6 ■ Egyptian basic phosphate • ■ . . ,026 7,562 Superphosphate . . . 58,013 54> I 9° 231 ,007 196,009 Guano and rock phosphate .39.366 . 23,983 96,449 . 64,881 Phosphate unspecified . . 2,139 ! 841 ' 4,144 2,875 Sulphate of potash ■ • ;. •■..', • • 92 1,196 . 2,342 ' 14,606 Muriate of potash 13 151 Kainit ... .. 4 1,962 ' 81 . 699 Potash, salts unspecified ... . . 977 5,757 Gypsum ' . . 8,182 6,314 12,010 9,953 Sulphate of ammonia . . ' 845 . 590 11,013 • 8,640 Nitrate of soda .. 659 545 6,842 ; 6,411 Calcium cyanamide . . 81 60 2,050 61 1 Sulphate of iron . . . . 158. 7i ' 771 367 Manures unspecified . 116. 771 542 . 4,286 Totals . . .. 134,002 130.599 487,388 480,312

The following is a summary of the kinds, quantities, and values of the various fertilizers imported into New Zealand during the years ended the 31st March, 1916 and 1915: —

Australia. Belgium. Germany, (including Austria), Holland. New Zealand Port of Entry. Nitrogenous Bonedust Bone. Superphosphate. andRock Phosphate unspecified. Gypsum. Manures. Superphosphate. Basic 1 Manures. Nitrogenous Superphosphate. Basic Phosphate Manures. Superphosphate. Basic Auckland - 1916 292 4,713 11,013 152 890 170 » 1915 268 6,360 3,295 26 1,288 5 50 t6zo 5 io ,gyo 8,639 305 858 3,4io t525 Poverty Bay .. 1916 1915 IO 50 50 5 Kaipara 1916 I 9 I 5 40 New Plymouth.. 1916 1915 32 20 124 1,415 340 200 igo goo "687 220 1,047 Patea 1916 1915 100 40 ' 80 20 Wanganui 1916 5 45 1915 5 45 r 10 25 5 50 Wellington 1916 27 7,990 1081 430 102 1915 776 27 *80 n 43 1915 20 7,990 43 25 1081 20 536 430 15 496 536 20 102 496 * ,345 20 1,294 1,345 210 1,294 776 *80 210 400 400 Napier 1916 35 59 6 50 45 n 1915 35 1915 25 59 6 50 25 25 45 15 2 III 25 2 49 ' , 25 200 49 25 200 150 25 150 Wairau and Picton 1916 1915 12 Nelson 1916 1915 3 18 30 70 IO 20 14 75 99 55 Lyttelton 1916 I 9 I 5 152 5 7,893 1,563 1560 3,548 2,267 550 650 556 1,000 Timaru 1916 II 5 ' ' 1 IO 3,330 950 1,040 50 860 125 215 1,218 Oamaru 1916 1915 675 300 Dunedin 1916 441 1,697 625 321 » 1915 33i 125 79 2 539 25 ■ ) 100 50 140 25 Invercargill 1916 477 874 1,416 1325 ,070 67 1 D96 ,, • • 1915 1915 178 178 454 454 2,809 2,809 775 775 350 350 25 25 320 310 894 894 2 ,100 2', 100 10 10 ■ * Phosphate unspecified. t Includes 50 tons phosphates unspecified.

IMPORTATION IN TONS OF ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS TO NEW ZEALAND FOR YEARS

India. Japan. Pacific and Indian Ocean Islands. Scandinavia. United Kingdom. United States. EgyptBonedust. Superphosphate. Name of Islands. Phosphate. Cyanamide. Manures. Nitrogenous Superphosphate. Basic Manures. Potash unspecified. Phosphate Iron Nitrate Sulphate. Phosphate. Basic 4 >+90 975 1 ,500 f Seychelles Islands _ New Caledonia . . I Tuamotu Archipelago I Malden Island .. ' Seychelles Islands - Society Islands .. . Tuamotu Archipelago 2,500 1,790 15,673 120 1,150 28 4,3oo t,837 4i 6,025 .1,83.7 3,oi8 6,023 7 N 3i 3,018 4 4 27 60 50 27 1,526 24 24 "85 415 . 526 40 21 75 3,775 •• 141 15 New Caledonia 1,000 115 37 15 641 829 6,154 3,438 70 2 "6 400 2,375 1 ,600 II 50 154 195 10 "1 "80 32 30 140 100 ■■ ■ 3,t95 2,205 Seychelles Islands Madagascar .. 850 1,050 I ,IC)O 1,950 1,050 600 1,950 1,000 600 1,000 175 55 55 175 29 55 55 J 9 200 100 3,419 2 ,4-8 Madagascar 560 10 1,250 1,150 350 ■■ 27 27 18 125 75 675 104 4,475 ( Straits Settlements J Seychelles Islands Tuamotu Archipelago I Straits Settlements J Malden Island 1 Madagascar . .. (, New Caledonia fMadagascar 1 Tuamotu Archipelago 300 II,000 2,522 3,407 2,431 1,098 1 ,449 3,4io 6,262 5 50 47o 240 435 TOO 10 315 •• ICO - 50 47° 240 435 100 10 315 ICO 625 f Straits Settlements Straits Settlements (Malden Island 2 422 4,335 149 762 418 ••

ENDED 3IST MARCH, 1916 AND 1915, SHOWING COUNTRIES OF DEPARTURE.