48 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 



Previous to the formation of the Sulphuric Acid and Super- 

 phosphate Company, it was maintained that the manufacture 

 of Sulphuric Acid was impracticable in the latitude of Charles- 

 ton, S. C. ; but the projectors of this Company, appreciating the 

 great advantage of manufacturing the acid near to the raw 

 material, and seeing no scientific reason why it could not be 

 done, applied for a charter under the above name on Mav 26th, 

 1868. 



In selecting a site for their works the greatest pains were 

 taken, and the most advantageous locations in South Carolina 

 and the adjoining States were carefully considered. After ma- 

 ture deliberation, a point on the east of Charleston Neck, about 

 four miles from the city, and lying on " Town Creek," a branch 

 of Cooper River, was selected. This spot was where the " John 

 Adams," the first frigate of the United States, was built, and 

 where subsequently was the Confederate Navy shipyard. The 

 Creek is bold and deep, affording excellent harborage, and of 

 depth sufficient to allow any ship to come to the Company's 

 wharf which shall cross Charleston Bar. 



At this spot, on the 21st August, 1868, work was begun ; 

 and on December the 8th, of the same year, the first Sulphuric 

 Acid was manufactured south of Baltimore, 



The manufacture of fertilizers is by no means so easy a thing 

 as some suppose, and the difficulties increase as the grade rises, 

 in more than a geometrical ratio. This Company started out 

 with the determination to make the highest grade of ~ Soluble 

 Phosphoric Acid possible for the South Carolina Phosphates; 

 and after meeting and surmounting innumerable obstacles, both 

 seen and unforseen, turned out the highest grade fertilizer ever 

 manufactured in America. The good done the country by this 

 action is incalculable, for since that time the grade of all fertil- 

 izers manufactured in the United States has steadily improved, 

 and to-day the farmers and planters of America have offered 

 them commercial fertilizers not excelled by any made either in 

 England or on the Continent. 



Theprocess of manufacuure may be divided into four heads : 



1st. The Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid. 



2d. The Drying and Grinding of the Hock. 



3d. The Mixing. 



4th. The Disintegrating and Screening. 



The Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid ; 



Sulphuric Acid is a solid dissolved in a variable quantity of 

 water, and consists of sulphur and oxygen, so that the object in 



