52 Fertilizers 



leaves in the soil an alkaline residue rather than an acid 

 residue. 



The search for deposits of crude nitrate salts in other 

 parts of the world has been rather fruitless, but it 

 has been known for a long time that nitrate exists in 

 Egypt and India in combination with potassium rather 

 than sodium, which makes these deposits even more 

 valuable because potassium is more valuable than sodium 

 in these countries. Very recently nitrate beds have been 

 reported in some parts of California, but the reports of the 

 composition of the raw material have been unfavorable. 

 If the most convincing theory of the formation of the 

 nitrate beds is to be accepted, namely, that gigantic 

 islands of sea-grass in the ocean became isolated by 

 volcanic rising of the ground, and subsequently the sea 

 water evaporating they remained and decayed, it is not 

 probable that new beds are in the process of formation 

 as in the case of the guanos of Peru. But there is little 

 cause for alarm because experts claim the Caliche beds of 

 Chile will last from 300 to 400 years before the higher 

 grade salts become completely exhausted at the present 

 rate of consumption. 



Calcium nitrate is a manufactured product of compara- 

 tively recent origin containing its nitrogen in the nitrate 

 form. It has caused much confusion because many 

 names have been applied to the same material ; as, nitrate 

 of lime, lime-saltpeter, basic calcium nitrate, lime-niter, 

 basic nitrate, and basic lime-nitrate. It is now being 

 manufactured in Norway, Austria, France and the 

 United States from atmospheric nitrogen. The commer- 

 cial product is a mixture of lime and calcium nitrate 

 containing 12 to 14 per cent of nitrogen, though it often 

 varies as much as from 9 to 14 per cent of nitrogen. 



