28 
FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
active period of development. An excessive number of 
mining companies were floated, transportation was inade¬ 
quate, and, on account of exaggerated reports of the 
quantity of phosphate obtainable, prices were depressed. 
In spite of these conditions, however, the output, as 
reported by the National Geological Survey, steadily in¬ 
creased with succeeding years. In 1889, 8,100 tons were 
produced; in 1890, 46,501 tons; in 1891, 112,482 tons; in 
1892, 287,343 tons, and in 1893, 438,804 tons. 
The year 1894 is marked by the entrance of Tennessee 
into the market as a phosphate producer, 19,188 tons 
having been marketed from that State during that year. 
During this same year Florida became a leading phos¬ 
phate producer, having for the first time an output in 
excess of that of South Carolina. The industry, more¬ 
over, was becoming established on a firmer and more 
rational basis and has continued to grow with succeed¬ 
ing years. The output since and including the year 1904 
has exceeded one million tons annually. The amount pro¬ 
duced in 1907 was 1,386,578 long tons valued at over six 
and a half million dollars.* 
By way of comparison it may be added that the total 
output of Florida for twenty years from 1888 to 1907 
inclusive, will closely approximate the total output of 
South Carolina for the forty years, 1868 to 1907. The 
output in the United States during 1907 was 2,356,486 
long tons, more than half of which was produced in 
Florida. The world’s output of phosphate for the year 
1905 was something more than 3,500,000 tons. Of this 
amount Florida produced 1,194,106 tons, or slightly more 
than one-third. (Min. Resources, 1906.) 
Varieties:—Phosphate is an extremely variable min¬ 
eral. Four leading forms or varieties are commonly rec¬ 
ognized in the Florida deposits. They are known as hard 
rock phosphate, soft phosphate, river pebble phosphate, 
and land pebble phosphate. No soft phosphate has been 
produced for a number of years. The relative amount 
*U. S. Geol. Survey, Mineral Resources, for 1907, 1908. 
