Contribution from the Bureau of Soils 
MILTON WHITNEY, Chief 
Washington, D. C. Vv October 20, 1919 
A SURVEY OF THE FERTILIZER 
INDUSTRY. 
Prepared under the direction of Wm. Wallace Mei, Assistant to the Secretary in 
Charge of Fertilizer Control. 
By E. A. GoLDENWEISER, Statistician. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. Page. 
MHGLOGUCHION Goin selocine inte bem etee as - cots ese 1 | Production of mixed fertilizers............. 13 
Materials used in mixed fertilizers. ........-.. DMO LOCKS snare Seo soln toi rchaigo eee a ae 16 
Sulphuric acid and acid phosphate..-........ Ane imports and! Cxportis: os chee eee wee eee 18 
Sources of nitrogenous materials............. deelvelorencevlist, shee Gao sees Sees 26 
Potash-bearing materials..............-..... 12 
INTRODUCTION. 
The Fertilizer Control was created under authority of the food 
control act as a war emergency measure in the Department of Agri- 
culture. Soon after its establishment this office undertook a survey 
of the fertilizer industry in order to determine the materials used, 
the products, and the stocks of ingredients and of mixed goods on 
hand. In view of a serious shortage of several of the materials that p 
enter into the manufacture of fertilizer, it was deemed important | 
to ascertain what the requirements of the industry were, in order to 
stimulate production of the scarce ingredients, and, if it became 
necessary, to apportion the available supply of scarce materials on 
an equitable basis. A series of questionnaires was sent out by the 
office of Fertilizer Control. The information collected is for the calen- 
dar years 1917 and 1918. In the case of fertilizer manufacturers a 
schedule. was first obtained for 1917 and the first six months of 1918, 
and then another schedule was sent out to cover the last six months of 
1918. Data on phosphate rock were obtained for 1918, information 
for 1917 having been collected by the Bureau of Soils. A potash 
schedule was sent out later in the year, and called for reports for 
127491°—19—Bull. 7981 
