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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLI. No. 1045 



where accessible it can not be produced 

 without expensive plant construction which 

 would probably be useless as soon as the 

 German supply is once more obtainable. 

 In arriving at this conclusion due note 

 must be made of the German costs and 

 not of the German selling prices. The 

 Stassfurt salts can be produced very 

 cheaply indeed, and the price which they 

 have been able to bring in the markets of 

 the world have yielded an enormous profit. 

 This fact, of course, is a determining one 

 when we talk of producing our own potash. 

 One of the most important of the chem- 

 ical industries is the manufacture of fertil- 

 izers for the soil. We have in this country 

 enormous deposits of phosphate rock, easily 

 accessible and cheaply mined. This rock 

 has been exported in large quantities to 

 Europe and the Orient and is in sufficient 

 quantity to last a number of years even 

 in the careless way in which it has been 

 used. A complete fertilizer, however, re- 

 quires potash and, as noted above, we have 

 been in the habit for a number of years of 

 getting our potash from Germany, and 

 there is every reason to expect that we will 

 continue to do so for many years to come. 

 If, as one of the results of the war, while 

 it lasts, enough potash can not be obtained 

 to make the fertilizers to which we have 

 been accustomed, I feel that this will not 

 be an absolutely hopeless misfortune. It 

 is quite possible that the propaganda for 

 the use of potash has been carried too far. 

 and that less could be used on the soil 

 without any great disadvantage. At any 

 rate, we will be quite able to furnish an 

 abundance of fertilizers in this country 

 containing phosphoric acid and nitrogen, 

 and if for a while we have to rely more or 

 less upon the soil to furnish its own potash, 

 I imagine we will not suffer beyond re- 

 demption. From some quarters in the 

 south and elsewhere I have heard rumors 



that a smaller cotton crop would be looked 

 upon as a blessing, and it is quite likely 

 that without government or other assist- 

 ance the natural laws of supply and demand 

 will produce a smaller crop next year, 

 simply because there may not be enough 

 potash to supply the requirements of a 

 large one. 



With here and there an exception, the 

 only effect the war has had upon the chem- 

 ical industry is the effect which it has had 

 upon those industries which consume its 

 output, and I think this can be taken as a 

 general statement covering all articles. Of 

 course, there are notable exceptions, such 

 as smokeless powder and other products 

 required for war purposes. 



Some heavy chemicals, the receipt of raw 

 material for which has been very much 

 curtailed or stopped altogether, have ad- 

 vanced sharply in value, but generally 

 speaking the chemical industry has not 

 profited by advanced prices as a result of 

 the war. Owing to reduced home con- 

 sumption, the result in some cases has been 

 a great falling off in profit, a condition 

 which I trust will not be of long duration. 

 I am a believer that the manufacturing 

 industries of this country will before very 

 long be on the up grade and all of the 

 chemicals produced, ' speaking generally, 

 will be needed. 



More has been talked and printed lately 

 about a portion of the chemical industry 

 which has not taken very deep root in this 

 country, than about all the rest of the indus- 

 try put together. I refer to the organic 

 chemicals resulting from products of the dis- 

 tillation of coal tar. Many have wondered 

 why the American chemist has not stepped 

 up and taken the place of the foreign 

 manufacturer in supplying the textile and 

 other industries with colors, evidently not 

 understanding the size and complexity of 

 the question. I think it worth while, there- 



