Section III., 1905 [ 73 ] Tkans. K. S. C. 



IX. — Preliminary Experimcnis with a Cyanamide Compound as a 

 Nitrogenous Fertilizer. 



By Frank T. Shutt, M.A., F.I.C., and IT. W. Charlton, B.A.Sc. 



(Read May 24, 1905.) 



Of the elements of plant food necessary to return to the soil in order 

 that fertility may be maintained, nitrogen is the most important, for 

 not crily is it the most readily dissipated by culture and cropping, but 

 it is the most expensive 'to purchase in forms suitable for plant nutri- 

 tion. It is evident, therefore, that any method which seeks to entrap 

 the unlimited supply of free atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into 

 a nitrogenous fertilizer would be one of great interest to the agricul- 

 tural world. This will be the more apparent when we remember that 

 " intensive " farming is becoming the order of the day and that such 

 calls for large amounts of available nitrogen. Further, if it is true 

 that the beds of Chili saltpetre (nitrate of soda, one of the principal 

 sources of agricultural nitrogen) are fast becoming exhausted, an 

 economical process for the. manufacture of a fertilizer from the air rich 

 in nitrogen, would open up an avenue for the profitable employment 

 of capital. 



The fixation of free nitrogen that we have here alluded to has 

 been recently accomplished, though as yet no one of the several pro- 

 cesses experimented with have, as far as we know, been sufficiently per- 

 fected to make it a commercial success. The source of energy em- 

 ployed to bring about the fixation is electricity and the product usually 

 sought, calcium cyanamide. In the investigation about to ])e described 

 the calcium and potassium salts of cyanamide — carboxylic acid were 

 used. A sufficiency of these compounds for our preliminary work was 

 kindly furnished by Mr. T. L. Willson and Mr. M. Haff, of the Willson 

 Eesearch Laboratory, Ottawa. The preparation of the compounds is 

 described by Mr. Haff as follows: 



" A mixture of lime and carbon through which a stream of air is 

 passed, is brought to high temperature in the electric furnace by a suit- 

 able current. The mass, when perfectly cold is lixivated with cold 

 water, filtered and the filtrate evaporated in vacuo. When the solution 

 is moderately concentrated it is filtered, carbonic acid gas is bubbled 

 through and the calcium cyanamide is precipitated as a calcium salt of 

 cyanamide — carboxylic acid, Ca(CiSr.NII)oCO,. 



To obtain the potash salt, the solution containing diluted calcium 

 cyanamide is treated in the cold with dilute potassium carbonate, filt>- 

 ered and evaporated in vacuo till a concentrated solution is obtained. 



