APPENDIX 

 SECTION I 



THE PRODUCTION OF PHOSPHATE ROCK 1 



THE occurrence of rock phosphate in the United States has a very 

 important bearing upon the agricultural industry, since certain classes 

 of -plant life cannot exist without the presence of phosphoric acid in the 

 soil. Growing crops deplete the soil of its phosphoric acid, and if no 

 steps are taken to restore this substance, the soil must eventually be- 

 come nonproductive. 



Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee have for several years been 

 the main sources of phosphate in the United States. North Carolina, 

 Alabama, and Pennsylvania have produced phosphate rock, but never on 

 a large scale, and there is at present no production from these states. In 

 1900 Arkansas entered the field as a producer, and in 1906 a new field 

 was discovered in Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. 



Phosphate mining began in the United States in 1868, in South Caro- 

 lina. The existence of the rock had been known since 1837, but the 

 possibilities of its commercial use were not recognized until 1859. 



Until 1888 South Carolina enjoyed a monopoly of the phosphate 

 industry of the United States. In that year Florida came forward as a 

 phosphate state, with a production of 3000 long tons. In 1904 the pro- 

 duction surpassed that of South Carolina, and Florida has maintained 

 its lead up to the present time. 



In 1892 phosphate was discovered in Tennessee, and two years later 

 the production from that state was 19,188 long tons. In 1899 Tennes- 

 see went ahead of South Carolina, the production from the latter state 

 having decreased steadily since 1893. 



The production of phosphate from South Carolina from the beginning 

 of the industry in 1867 to the year 1888, during which period that state 

 was the only producer, was 4,442,945 long tons, valued at $23,697,019. 



1 Extracts from " Advance Chapter from Mineral Resources of the United States, 

 Calendar Year 1908," by F. B. Van Horn of the United States Geological Survey. 



595 



