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Show Seaweed for Potash Germany has a monopoly at present of the potash production of the world, and as potash is one of the three essentials essen-tials of soil renewal nitrate and phosphate phos-phate being the other two she is able to hold this country up for about $15,-000,000 $15,-000,000 worth of potash salts a year. Germany makej no bones over, trusts and combines, so long as they" are for her benefit, and she stands behind the German Kali syndicate or -potash trust absolutely. There is little doubt that there is plenty of potash in this country but'Germany is far in advance of us in technical matters and until lately our people have made no great effort to develop our potash resources. Now Uncle Sam is bestirring himself at last and he claims to have discovered great things. To say nothing of the mountains of phosphate and nitrate that the government gov-ernment fertilizer scouts have sighted in the West, it is : believed that from two to three times as much botash as we now import can be got merely frora the kelp beds along the Pacific coast. Secretary of Agriculture Wilson in a report to the president estimates that these beds or "groves" of seaweed can be made to yield $40,000,000 worth of potash a year, and that the 19,000 tons of iodine that would pay. for all the cost of operation. The kelp of the Pacific coast is peculiar. It is several time as rich in potash as the Atlantic kelps, and these latter have long been used for fertilizer ih Europe and New England. . The giant kelpof the Pacific I has its roots on the rockfj sometimes as j much as 300 feet below the surface of the water, and the plants grow most luxuriantly. As they propagate by spores they renew themselves perpetual- ' ly. Every 100 pounds of sea water contains about three and a half pounds j of solid salts, and of these salts about three-fifths of an ounce is potash. The kelp has the faculty of absorbing this ! potash so that about one-third of its ; weight when dry is pure potassium j chloride, which is easily extracted. The ; German potash experts pooh-pooh the alleged American potash discoveries and declare that there is very small chance of a reliable potash supply being got from the Pacific kelp beds. The financial interests involved are of such magnitude that it is impossible to get at the exact truth of the matter, yet. j The country will have to wait some j years no doubt before it will be finally proved whether we can produce our own potash. - . , |