A SURVEY OF THE FERTILIZER INDUSTRY. 5 
War Industries Board did not permit fertilizer manufacturers to 
have any nitrate of soda for mixing, and allowed them only enough 
for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, estimating roughly that their 
requirements of nitrate of soda amounted to about 1 per cent of their 
total sulphuric acid production. 
Most of the large fertilizer companies make their own acid phos- 
phate. Such firms are known as wet mixers, of whom 104 reported. 
Table III shows the quantity of material used in the manufacture of 
acid phosphate during 1917 and during the first six months of 1918. 
TaBLE ITI.— Material used in the production of acid phosphate. 
[2,000 pound tons.] 
J ee 
. o June 
Material. 1917, inclusive, 
1918. 
DMS PALO Mocha nen Prag of RTE UL ima rene) | eee el ek .---| 2,206, 523 1,172,124 
Steamedssroundsponeaw-- cos. wee lo Seis eSiseean. Buea NAGE. Ses eee 71,925 33, 196 
EM MPEOUMG NO ONO s ein es see Sas. oS Mee Ge CERO. ee eel eee 31,657 22, 667 
PPE OTPON er C Kareena agen comiele ec os Ce ONE Ls Bee ANIN SN Oe Bee Pe oe 986 600 
IBBSO SIE ewe A SE SA he ISI SEE ces NPS a ec ea an UI Mies 128 77 
Othonpmhesphaticumatentalse: 2) cs. e bi See eee eee oe see bees ec 484 326 
SUT PMUIC A CLO Pee eens we alec incicle neice ce ein oeisie aie ESL ncdoe bene ou uene seadas 2,135, 113 1,068, 464 
The companies used more than 2,200,000 tons of phosphate rock 
in the manufacture of acid phosphate during 1917, as compared with 
only 72,000 tons of steamed ground bone, and 32,000 tons of raw 
ground bone with small quantities of other phosphatic materials. 
The quantity of sulphuric acid used is approximately the same as that 
of the phosphorus-bearing materials. 
The production of phosphate rock was conducted by a number of 
the fertilizer companies and by other producers, mostly in Florida. 
Many of the big fertilizer companies are interested in the phosphate 
fields and are producing their own rock. The total production of 
phosphate rock amounted to 2,696,000 short tons, in 1918, as com- 
pared with 2,588,000 short tons in 1917. The 1918 total is analyzed 
in Table IV. 
- TaBLeE IV.—Phosphate rock produced in 1918. 
[2,000-pound tons.) 
Kind of rock, Short tons. Kind of rock. Short tons. 
HNO fall Rees eine ae aie ows: 2, 695, 543 || Tennessee: 
——___—_—. Browmnjr otk sey ors eee NS ee 377, 511 
Florida: Je) UTSS Cole a Be oe aa Sua dens oks 52, 777 
rar GbnOe ice Meet ke SI 5 ne AD 840n | South’ Carolinay 22322-2822 cape eee 51, 387 
Solt phosphates... 822 2.4.-22222-. WA TOON Ni Ome ees oo sou). Lie citings atl o ejointarers eee ies 1, 532 
Wand pebbles. 2606 222 645 kas Dads 9oOM idaho x iihts obese eee chee) Mee 3, 211 
Kentucky et acccciee Se aee seiesicmsmcceen 6, 599 
The greatest production was of Florida land pebble (2,142,000 
tons), which alone comprised about four-fifths of the entire output. 
Tennessee brown rock, of which 378,000 tons were mined, is next in 
