MINERAL PRODUCTS. 
35 
remains for effective legislation to be enacted to make these large 
reserves available for use. 
POTASH SALTS. 
Outside of Germany there is no known commercial source of 
potash salts. If the German supplies are cut off during the Euro 
pean war the agricultural world must either go without potash 
salts after the meager stock now on hand is exhausted or bestir itself 
to find another adequate source. Many inquiries regarding a do 
mestic supply of potash salts have been addressed to the United States 
Geological Survey since the beginning of the war, and the fertilizer 
journals report that small quantities of spot material are changing 
hands at sharp premiums. The situation is undoubtedly still less 
satisfactory than it was a few years ago, when national interest was 
first awakened to the fact that the United States is entirely de 
pendent on Germany for this important class of fertilizer materials. 
The imports of potash salts listed as such in the reports of the 
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce include the carbonate, 
cyanide, chloride, nitrate, and sulphate of potassium, caustic potash, 
and other potash compounds. The annual imports of these salts 
during the last three years have averaged about 035,000,000 pounds 
in quantity, and $11,000,000 in value. These figures, however, rep 
resent only a part of the potash salts entering the United States, as 
they do not include the imports of kainite and manure salts which 
are used in fertilizers. The quantity of materials of this class 
imported for consumption in the United States during the last three 
years has averaged about 700,000 tons, valued at $4,300,000, annually. 
Thus it is apparent that the value of the annual imports of potash 
salts exceeds $15,000,000. 
Potash salts are employed in many industries other than the 
fertilizer industry. Already letters have come to the Geological 
Survey from glass works and chemical industries inquiring where 
a domestic supply of potash salts can be secured. The chemical 
manufactures of potash include potassium hydrate, or caustic potash, 
and the carbonate and bicarbonate of potash, used principally in 
glass and soap making; the potash alums ; cyanides, including potas 
sium cyanide, potassium ferrocyanide, and potassium ferricyanide ; 
Various potash bleaching chemicals, dyestuffs, explosives containing 
Potash nitrate, and a long list of general chemicals. 
The needs of the manufacturers and the farmers of the country 
ar e well known and keenly appreciated by the Geological Survey. 
Since the question of a domestic supply of potash salts has become 
pf public interest the Government has endeavored to locate deposits 
this country and has followed up every clue that seemed to prom- 
lse results of importance. The Survey’s work has extended from