90 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



necessary to manufacture about 1,300,000 tons of acid, 

 there was an apparent need for the stimulation of the 

 industry and the discovery of additional sources 

 of raw material. It was also obvious that because of the 

 high freight rates from the western smelters, the acid in- 

 dustry would have to depend upon the brimstone and 

 pyrite producers for the additional amounts of raw 

 material necessary to carry on the industry, 



Naturally the acid manufacturers, when the importa- 

 tions of Spanish pyrite were restricted, turned to the most 

 readily available source of supply — the sulphur or brim- 

 stone deposits of Louisiana and Texas. These are located 

 respectively at Sulphur, Louisiana, and Bryan Heights, 

 Texas. Among those agencies interested in determining 

 the resources available for the continuation of the war 

 activities at the scale required, it became a matter of doubt 

 whether the Texas and Louisiana deposits were going to be 

 anywhere nearly adequate to meet the needs. The amount 

 of sulpliur necessary to manufacture the postulated addi- 

 tional 2,300,000 tons of acid that must be produced from 

 domestic resources was about 1,200,000 tons. As the 

 amount of brimstone used the preceding year was less than 

 500,000 tons, and as the wells were supposed to be produc- 

 ing about up to their capacity, it was thought quite impos- 

 sible for the two companies to produce the necessary re- 

 quirements of brimstone to meet the acid manufacturers' 

 needs. Unfortunately, actual statistics of the sulphuv 

 produced in 191' are not available, so that it is possible 

 that the amount of brimstone used was actually less than 

 that produced. 



In view of wliat was interpreted to be an impending 

 sliortage of brimstone the pyrite resources became a mat- 

 ter of investigation. Pyrite in tlie central and eastern 

 states was of especial interest because of its nearness to 

 the acid plants. In this part of the country it occurs as 

 "coal brasses'' in coal mines and as mineral deposits in 

 certain states such as Missouri, Virginia, Georgia, and 

 Wisconsin. Under the influence of interest stimulated by 

 war committees, such as the AVar Minerals Committee, the 

 U. S. Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the geological 

 surveys of several states, instituted an extensive inventory 



