208 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



operation in 1912. The confidence of capitalists in the future of the 

 industry seems to be firm, and the Franco-Norwegian company has 

 had no particular difficulty in securing funds in the Paris market. 

 Its capital in January, 1912, reached a total of $7,943,430. At the 

 annual meeting in May, 1911, dividends were declared on ordinary- 

 stock and of 8 per cent on the preferred stock. Much more capital 

 will be needed before all of the water power now under the control of 

 the company can be regulated and used in the production of nitrates. 

 At the lowest estimate fifty million dollars will be required. 



In 1905 the export of calcium nitrate was 115 tons; in 1907, 1,344 

 tons; in 1910, 13,531 tons. The export of sodium nitrite rose from 

 900 tons in 1908 to 3,200 tons in 1910. In the latter year 1,074 tons 

 of sodium nitrate were exported. It is estimated that about 2,000 

 tons of calcium nitrate are used annually as fertilizer in Norway. 

 Including a certain amount of nitric acid for local consumption, the 

 total production in 1910 was equivalent to about 22,000 tons of cal- 

 cium nitrate. When the water power at Saaheim is completely uti- 

 lized for the production of nitrate, the total Norwegian output will 

 reach about 160,000 tons. This is equivalent in nitrogen to 5 . 7 per 

 cent of the world's production of Chile saltpeter in 1910. 



It seems certain that the manufacture of nitric acid and the 

 nitrates from the atmosphere is established upon a firm basis and 

 destined to expand steadily within the limits fixed by the two main 

 controlling factors: first, the cost of the available electrical energy, 

 and second, the market rate for the time being and certainly for a 

 fair share of the present century of Chile saltpeter. In considering to 

 what extent the new processes for utilizing atmospheric nitrogen are 

 susceptible of introduction under American conditions, the following 

 points are to be borne in mind: The synthetic production of nitric 

 acid from the atmosphere is a highly specialized process, dependent 

 for the time being on exceptionally cheap sources of electricity. Many 

 are laboring upon the problem of increasing the output per unit of 

 electric power. Such experiments are most advantageously con- 

 ducted in connection with the gigantic plants in Scandinavia. 



In conclusion, it can be regarded as beyond doubt that the present 

 achievements of applied chemistry in this field render it possible for 

 American industry and American agriculture to face the threatened 

 exhaustion of the nitrate deposits of Chile and the demands attendant 

 upon a rapidly growing population without any feeling of apprehen- 

 sion. The processes already perfected and described in detail show 



