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BETTER FRUIT 



November 



Nitrate of Soda for Fertilizers 



[Weekly News Letter, U. S. Department of Agriculture] 



THE Department of Agriculture has 

 for some time been giving careful 

 consideration to the problem of secur- 

 ing nitrate of soda for fertilizer use. 

 Under a recent authorization of Con- 

 gress there is available an appropria- 

 tion of .$10,000,000 to be used, at the dis- 

 cretion of the President, to secure 

 nitrate of soda and to supply it to farm- 

 ers at cost for cash. 



It is proposed to co-ordinate all the 

 Government purchases of Chilean ni- 

 trate for this country through the pur- 

 chasing committee of the war indus- 

 tries board, under the immediate super- 

 vision of Mr. Baruch, so that there will 

 be no competitive bidding for this ma- 

 terial. This should very much simplify 

 the problem and make it feasible to 

 secure the best possible terms. The 

 price of Chilean nitrate on board ship 

 in Chile has greatly increased within 

 recent months without justification. 

 Shipping rates also have increased. The 

 increase in price is due in part to un- 

 founded statements regarding the de- 

 mand for Chilean nitrate for munitions 

 purposes and for fertilizers, especially 

 in connection with the 810,000,000 re- 

 cently appropriated by Congress to pur- 



chase nitrate of soda. As a matter of 

 fact, the demands of this country for 

 nitrate of soda will be smaller than 

 heretofore. The navy already has 

 placed contracts for this material to 

 satisfy its needs for the next twelve 

 months. The war department an- 

 nounces that practically all the sodium 

 nitrate which it has been planned to 

 procure for the gradual building up of 

 the war reserve already has been con- 

 tracted for. The quantity which may 

 be purchased for fertilizer use under 

 the special appropriation of Congress 

 will not be an addition to the quantity 

 normally used. Any quantity purchased 

 by the Government and sold to farmers 

 will simply take the place in part of 

 quantities heretofore supplied to them 

 through private agencies. As a matter 

 of fact, unless satisfactory prices can 

 be secured it is probable that the farm- 

 ers will not seek as large a quantity of 

 this material as has been used in the 

 last year or two. Some contracts al- 

 ready have been made by farmers for 

 nitrate of soda. In view of all these 

 facts, it is probable that the aggregate 

 demand for the next five or six months 

 will be below the normal. It is certain 



that unless the market prices, which 

 are now in the neighborhood of $100 a 

 ton, fall the farmers' demand for ni- 

 trate will decrease. 



As has been stated, the purchasing 

 will be handled directly through the 

 war industries board. The department 

 of agriculture will co-operate with the 

 purchasing committee in the effort to 

 procure nitrate of soda. It is author- 

 ized by law to secure facts as to the 

 demand for fertilizers, including nitrate 

 of soda, their supply, consumption, 

 costs and prices, and the basic facts 

 relating to their ownership, production, 

 transportation, manufacture, storage 

 and distribution. This inquiry is now 

 being prosecuted through the bureau 

 of markets. In connection with this 

 the needs of farmers will be ascer- 

 tained and all amounts purchased for 

 their use, after the shipments reach the 

 ports, will be taken charge of by the 

 department and will be distributed 

 through the department to farmers at 

 cost for cash. The collections will be 

 made by the department and will be 

 turned into the treasury. To assist the 

 department in its activities in this 

 direction the services of Mr. Mell R. 

 Wilkinson of Atlanta, Georgia, have 

 been secured. He will be given such 

 assistants as may be needed and will 

 have available the services of the ex- 

 perts of the bureau of soils and the 

 bureau of plant industry. 



Authority has been given the Presi- 

 dent, if necessary, to license the im- 

 portation, manufacture, storage and 

 distribution of fertilizers, to require the 

 licensees to submit reports, and to per- 

 mit entry and inspection of their places 

 of business. The President is further 

 authorized, if he shall find that any 

 storage charge, commission, profit or 

 practice of any licensee is unjust, or 

 unreasonable, or discriminatory and 

 unfair, to cause such charge, commis- 

 sion, profit or practice to be discon- 

 tinued, and in lieu of such charge, com- 

 mission, profit or practice may deter- 

 mine what is just and reasonable, and 

 his finding shall be prima facie evi- 

 dence in any court in which proceed- 

 ings may be brought. It is also pro- 

 vided that licenses may be revoked for 

 cause. If it becomes necessary to exer- 

 cise the licensing power, the depart- 

 ment of agriculture, through a special 

 agency, will utilize the services of the 

 licensing division of the food admin- 

 istration. 



There have been available no thor- 

 oughly satisfactory data as to the yields 

 of crops, due solely to the application 

 of nitrate of soda, and therefore as to 

 the price at which farmers can afford 

 to use it. Realizing this fact, the Secre- 

 tary of Agriculture directed the bureau 

 of plant industry last spring to make 

 100 experiments. These experiments 

 are being made with corn in five South- 

 ern States— Virginia, North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama— 

 in ten counties in each state, and on 

 two farms in each county. It is hoped 

 that the results of the investigation will 

 be available within the next six weeks. 

 When information is secured it will 

 promptly be given publicity. 



