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Show TRY Id iSCREASE Lack of Fertilizer Blamed for Falling Off in Cotton. Potash needs have been eonnen tod in minds of some agricultural oijxjrts with recent r&n:arkah!c fallins" off in cotton ro.:eets, says the Foston News Bureau. Although injurious weather is licld primarily pri-marily responsible, it is pointed out that cotton is one of the most sturdily drought -resistant of all plants; hence belief that a plentiful supply of potash micht have priven necessary vitality to withsuind, to a large extent, unfavorable weather. Before the war it was estimated that of ui 0,0'X) tons of pouisli annua liy consumed con-sumed in the United States about 170.-00 170.-00 went into the cotton soils. Not more than 0.000 tons was available for all pur roses in 1917, and perhaps less than half this went into fertilisers for cotton, which reduced the allowance to less than 10 per cent of normal. Potash figures for first half of 191S, from Governmental source?, show a do-nu-stic yic!d of about 000 tons, with increased activity toward close of the period. This points to a production of at least c.O.ooo ton.s for the year, or one-fifth one-fifth of normal pre-war consumption lie re. The greatest future promise is from dearies lake, wnieh turned out more than -0 per cent of the yield for first six months of th year. Two plants are woikinsr at Searies lake. American Trona corporation completei a new plant in October. 1917, and will have a second unit finished, at cost of $.'HiVf00. within the com in? month at present rate of procress. The plant of Bero-Solvay company com-pany is al?o turning out potash, producing produc-ing about one - fifth, w hi ie Trona corporation corpo-ration produces the remaining four-fifths of Searies lake output. iVoosits there are said to be curable of yielding potasti at a rate necessary to filling pie-war demands de-mands for the nxt eighty ears without with-out becomin exhausted. Two Ollvr p'anls are in nrvpert, hc "T'orax" Smirlj imeicsts ha in? started t- build an independent refinery, while Nevada rhemica I romj a rv. now hohb about i;.Vi a--res under federal lease, is "."rkm? on plans for a plant and refinery, re-finery, in which oti.er lessees of the potash pot-ash sections are expected to join. Other inmortart sources of rotasii are con-i"'tifi-l ::-iiniy to pc:fio coa.-t sea kelp. w!u, h ca o -t') tons in first half of 1 Tl v and v.isia e : : o:n cement manufac-turincr manufac-turincr ii:dustries. Ti e latter have been drawn unon but sl-htlv thus far. but it K.a? beer; officia !1- et; mated tlie possi-b;lit:es possi-b;lit:es of j.otas i reovery from eement du.-i represent not '.ess than 1m.O00 ton a year. j |