72 
the soil has been depleted for countless generations of cultivators, 
the crops are dependent upon the periodical monsoon for their 
supply of nitrogen. 
The insulation of Nitrogen from the atmosphere is a very sim- 
ple operation. A well known method is by igniting Phosphorous 
in a receptacle containing atmospheric air. The combustion of 
the Phosphorous exhausts the Oxygen present and when the 
burning ceases the resultant gas consists of Nitrogen in a fairly 
pure condition. Another method of obtaining this gas is to pass 
a stream of dry air through turnings of red hot copper. The 
Oxygen of the air remains behind and forms oxide of copper, 
while the nitrogen passes away alone. 
During the last few years a very material advance has been 
made in the discovery of practical methods to combine Nitrogen 
with other elements on a commercial scale. For this purpose 
there are already several factories in Europe and the United 
States engaged in the manufacture of nitrogen compounds for 
agricultural purposes. As yet this newest and in some ways 
most remarkable of the scientific industries, is in its infancy, but 
it has already passed beyond the realms of experiment and is en- 
gaging more and more the attention of capitalists. The chief 
obstacle at present which the manufacturer of Nitrogen com- 
pounds has to face is found in the cost of the new product. A 1 - 
though this can be marketed at a price below the cost of Chili 
Saltpeter and similar fertilizers, the margin of profit is as yet not 
sufficiently great to attract the notice of those who are looking 
for an investment to yield an extraordinary return. In this, as 
in all new enterprises, those who will benefit most are the manu- 
facturers first in the field, for in spite of the present conserva- 
tive profits to be derived, the methods of manufacture of the new 
products are already being cheapened and improved. This, 
taken into conjunction with the undoubted facts that the natural 
supply of nitrogen compounds is diminishing, and the demands 
of agriculture are increasing to an unprecedented extent, renders 
it certain that the factories which now take control of the supply 
of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, will in a very short time be placed 
in a most advantageous position. 
CALCIUM CYANAMIDE. 
The manufacture of the new fertilizer, Calcium Cyanamide, is 
conducted according to the Frank and Caro method, an electro- 
metallurgical process, the Europe rights of which are held by 
the Societa Generale de la Cianamide, of Rome, Italy. Already 
many subsidiary companies are in operation, chiefly in Italy, 
France, Norway and Switzerland, which are conducted on a 
profit sharing basis in conjunction with the general company. 
The manufacture of Calcium Cyanamide is performed on the 
principal that Calcium Carbide absorbs Nitrogen when heated 
