8 June, 1907.] New Sources of Available Nitrogen. 329 



manufacture of "nitrate" on a commercial basis has been successfully 

 accomplished, and several different systems are now being adapted to fac- 

 tory requirements. These innovations will be discussed seriatim, Init 

 it may be well to preface such remarks by a reference to the conditions 

 relative to the field operations and export trade of the Chilian " nitrate " 

 plains prevailing at the present dav. 



XiTRATE OF Soda Fields. 



These fields occur at an altitude of 3,000-4,000 feet in the provinces 

 of Tarapaca and Atacama in the Chilian Republic. They form extensive 

 waste, treeless, shrubless plains on which rain falls but once in every four 

 or five years, and even then in meagre quantities. 



The earliest known despatch of a parcel of nitrate occurred in 1820, 

 yet less than 15,000 tons per annum reached Europe during the five years 

 ending in 1844. Fully 50 years elapsed after the trial shipment 

 before the Peru\ian Government (to whom the Pisagua and Iqueque de- 

 posits then belonged) recognised the enormous value of these fiekls, and 

 took steps to insure a rapid increase in their productivity. Prior to the 

 rupture between Chili and Peru in 1879-80, the yearly output had reached 

 about a quarter of a million tons, but after the Chilian authorities obtained 

 control the export trade advanced l)v leaps and bounds, attaining in 1884 

 to almost a million tons. 



Alarmed b\ the enormous development of the industry, the manufac- 

 turers sought to control the annual yield of the fields by forming a union 

 amongst themselves, but individual interests proved too powerful, and 

 after three years the trust control lapsed. Abortive attempts to' regulate 

 the exportation were also made in 1891 and 1896, but in 1901 the pro- 

 ducers successfully combined to form the " Nitrate Syndicate," the 

 members of which agreed tO' submit tO' a limitation of their productive 

 capacity in order to secure themselves against the dangers of over- 

 production. 



Some interesting statistics illustrative of the effects of this agreement 

 are given in a recent issue of the Journal of the Board of Agriculture. 

 The average price per cwt. for the five years preceding the syndicate 

 control was 7s. 8Jd., and for the subsequent five years 9s. 6|d., an in- 

 crease per ton of ^1 i6s. 8d. It is further pointed out in the Economist 

 that owing to the difficultv of obtaining suitable labour on the nitrate 

 plains the amount of fertiliser exported is likely to fall considerably short 

 of the tonnage available for shipment bv the terms of the syndicate 

 committee. 



In March of last year the agreement amongst the manufacturers was 

 extended for a period of three vears, 1906- 1909, and the maximum annual 

 output was then estimated at 2,750,000 tons. The syndicate, however, 

 has limited the producers to 1,960,000 tons for the current year. 



Still it is onlv just to remark that no restrictions are placed upon the 

 indi\idual firms in regard to the fixing of prices or methods of business, 

 and again it should be noted that although in the year 1905-06 the syndi- 

 cate prescribed an exportation of not more than 1,755,000 tons, yet only 

 1,543,120 tons were available for this purpose. This lends colour to the 

 opinion that the greatest obstacle after all to the expansion of the 

 " nitrate " trade is liOt the regulating influence of the Nitrate Syndicate 

 but the scarcitv of labour. Over twenty years ago it was estimated that 

 at the rate of 1,000,000 tons per annum the fields would provide the 



