ameeica’s advance in potash production 
37 
was examined as never before for this substance. Other nations 
joined in the search, but nothing comparable to Stasfurt could 
be found. Under these conditions, therefore, it is not strange 
that efforts were put forth to secure potash from industries 
of the ^Var-baby’’ type, and to recover it as a by-product 
from existing plants. The success attending these efforts is 
remarkable. 
Fig. 2. Monthly prices in dollars per ton for ‘Tof^ssium muriate” (80 per 
cent), 1913-1918. 
INORGANIC SOURCES 
a. Lakes and brines. In 1912 some students from the Uni- 
versity of Nebraska filed claims on certain alkaline lakes in the 
western part of their state, and during 1914 development of an 
alkali industry was begun. The treatment of the brine is very 
simple; it is pumped into settling tanks, evaporated in vacuum 
pans similar to those used in sugar factories, crystallized and 
