FERTILIZERS. 517 



ages from GO to 70 per cent and at i)laces readies as high as 85 per cent 

 of tribasic phosi)liate of lime. Owing to the character of the deposit 

 the mining of the phosphate is exceedingly easy and cheap." 



The dei)osits are being exploited by English companies at all three 

 of the above-named localities. "The general ontpnt of these mines 

 was about 5,000 tons in 1893. It will reach at the very least from 

 30,000 to 35,000 tons during the current year, . , . Beds of phosphate 

 have also been found in other parts of the colony in the Department of 

 Oran, iu the region of the Rio Salado, close to the boundary of Morocco, 

 and at Inkermann (Oued Riou), 245 kilometers (157.8 miles) east of 

 Oran;'' but the deposits are of a different character, being in the form 

 of solid rock and of a lower grade than those of Tebessa. " It can not 

 be doubted that in the near future the ]S"orth African phosphates will 

 X)rove serious competitors in the European markets with our American 

 lertilizers."^ 



Production of potash salts in Germany, F. H. Mason {U. 8. 

 Consular Rpt. 1894, Oef., pp. 147-152). — The history, nature, and extent 

 of the natural deposits of potash salts at Htassfurt and Leopoldshalle, 

 Germany, are briefly discussed, and the apparatus and processes used 

 in preparing refined salts from the crude minerals are described. The 

 latter industry is now practically under the control of a single com- 

 pany, " Verkaufs Syudikat der Kaliwerke," with offices at Stassfurt. Its 

 principal works are at Stassfurt, Leopoldshalle, Westeregeln, Loeder- 

 burg, Aschersleben, Thiede, Bernburg, and Vienenburg. The actual 

 sales of crude salts and refined products during 1892 were as follows: 



Crude salts : Tons. 



Rock salt 293, 400 



Carnallit 736,750 



Kieserit 5, 782 



Schocnit 40, 689 



Sylviuit 32, 669 



Kainit 545, 084 



Refined products : 



Muriate of j)otasli 1 114, 311 



Sulphate of potash 15, 465 



Sulphate of potash-magnesia 12, 550 



Manure salts ♦ 8, 296 



Of the crude salts carnallit, kainit, kieserit, and sylvinit are used 

 both in a raw and i)ulverized state as fertilizers, and for the manufac- 

 ture of concentrated salts. Kainit, partially freed from rock salt and 

 other impurities, is the salt most generally employed for the first pur- 

 pose and carnallit for the second. More than 700 tons of the latter 

 were consumed in the refineries of the Stassfurt syndicate in the 

 manufacture of refined salts during the past year. The number of 



iPor a brief discussion of the geology and chemistry of the phosphate deposits of 

 Algeria, see E. S. R., 5, p. 933. 



