1920.] 



Agriculture Abroad. 



123! 



To^the artificial manures must be added (i) farmyard manure, 

 estimated before the War at 200,000,000 tons, with a content 

 of 0*3 per cent, each of nitrogen and potash and 0.15 per cent, 

 of phosphoric acid and (2) green manuring, which, it is esti- 

 mated, was ploughed in on about 800,000 acres. 



The various amounts of plant food from the different manures 

 give the following totals : — 



Year 191 3-1 4. 

 Farmyard manure 

 Green manuring . . 

 Artificials 



Nitrogen. 



Tons. 

 600,000 



28,772 

 210.000 



P«0, 

 Tons. 



300,000 

 7,870 

 630,000 



K.,0. 



Tons. 

 600,000 



22,798 

 557.350 



838,772 937,870 1,180,148 



The writer points out that the chief anxiety of Germany for 

 the future will centre round phosphates, the production of 

 superphosphate depending entirely, and the production of basic 

 slag to a considerable extent, on imports. In 1910 Germany's 

 output of basic slag was 62*3 per cent, of the world's total, 

 This, however, was only possible with a large import of, chiefly, 

 phosphatic ores, the imports amounting to 11,000,000 tons of 

 ore as against a home production of 23,000,000 tons. 



An article in the Frankfurter Zeitung'^ estimates the total 

 nitrogen consumption of Germany in 1913 at 222,500 tons, of 

 which amount Chilian nitrate contributed more than one half. 

 Now that the Aniline Syndicate has decided to double its capital 

 by an issue of shares to the value of 300,000,000 marks, it is 

 calculated that the output of nitrogen by the Haber-Bosch 

 process will reach 300,000 tons annually, which is more than 

 the total consumption before the War. The addition of sulphate 

 of ammonia and nitrate of lime opens up the prospect of an 

 output of 400,000 to 500,000 tons. 



The report of the Swedish War Food Committee estimates 

 the total amount of animal manure produced in Sweden in the 

 year 1 912 -13 at 22,612,105 tons. The manurial values assigned 

 are, however, about half as much again as those given in the 

 German estimate above. Ko allowance is made for green 

 manuring, but, on the other hand, human manure is included. 



* Chimie et Industriey Vol. 3, No. i, January, 1920, p. 138. 



402 



