244 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



PROSPECTUS OF VALUE OF PRODUCTS OBTAINABLE FROM ICO TONS PER DAY 



RAW KELP. 



Potassium chloride, 95 per cent : 



2.5 tons=l.jO units at $2 $300 



Or 150 units at ?2.50 §375 



or 2.5 tons chemical grade at $250 per ton 625 



Salt, NaCl, 95 per cent: 



1 ton at $25 25 



Iodine, resublimed : 



20 pounds at $4 80 



Anunonia, anmionium sulphate, 95 per cent : 



400 pounds NHs or 1,600 pounds (NH4).S0i at $4 per hundredweight— 64 

 Or aqua ammonia 26° at 5 cents $60 



Bleaching carbon, Norit grade: 



1 ton, 2.000 pounds, at 5 cents___, 100 



Or 2.000 pounds at 15 cents $300 



Or 2,000 pounds at 25 cents 500 



Total per day 569 



25 days per month at S5G9 14.225 



Or, per year 170, 700 



Attention is called to the fact indicated by this prospectus that 

 Avith potash selling at $2.50 per unit this plant could be made self- 

 supporting on the basis of potash alone. 



We have set ourselves the task of realizing this prophec,y, with 

 the exception of the production and sale of ammonia, v.-ithin the 

 current fiscal year. Since it is believed that profit can be shown with- 

 out ammonia, in view of the limited funds at our disposal for the 

 current year and the expense (in materials, labor, and especially in 

 timiC lost) in experimentation with retort furnaces, and since the 

 full retort capacity will be needed for the production of bleaching 

 carbon, it Avould appear to be wise to proceed Avith all dispatch to 

 putting the plant on a producing basis wdtli respect to potash, salt, 

 carbon, and iodine, and to look to these for proceeds and profits. We 

 believe that Avitli these alone Ave can sIioaa' a profit by the end of the 

 year and that this fact should justify the acceptance of our recom- 

 mendation that the enterprise be continued and enlarged until it can 

 show AA'hether or not the A'arious other bj-products noAv undei' in- 

 A^estigation can be commercialized and likewise AAhcther or not the 

 process here employed is the most economical one. 



In this connection it should be recalled that at the time the initial 

 authorization AA'as enacted three processes Avere under consideration; 

 namel\^, (1) the destructive distillation of kelp, the process noAv 

 under successful development here; (2) the fermentation of kelp; 

 and (3) the manipulation of kelp to yield feed materials and potash. 

 The second of these Avas subsequently tested on a magnificent scale 

 by a powder company, at the expense of seA'oral millions of dollars, 

 full details of Avhich arc noAv in our possession and Avill be made a 

 part of the department's records. The third remains to be developed, 

 but i)reliniinary experiments, both here and in France (the latter as 

 a Avar-time investigation to develop a ucaa- source of feed for army 

 horses), strongly indicate that it is entirely feasible AA-hile obtaining 

 l)otash, to prepare a cattle feed in nutritive value of about the grade 

 of oats. 



It is the purpose, then, during the year noAv beginning, to em- 

 phasize production ami to bend especial effort toAvard the produc- 



