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OUR  MINERAL  RESERVES.

New  York  to  California  and  from  Michigan  to  Louisiana  and  has
covered  all  branches  of  investigation  where  results  might  be  expected ­
  exclusive  of  the  study  of  kelp.  Its  investigations  have  been
carried  out  along  several  lines:  (1)  Deep  drilling  for  saline  residues
has  been  done  at  Fallon  and  in  Columbus  Marsh  and  Black  Rock
Desert,  Nev.,  and  will  be  continued  in  Black  Rock  Desert  this  year;
(2)  natural  and  artificial  brines  and  bitterns  have  been  collected  at
all  the  salt-making  establishments  in  the  United  States  and  a  great
many  other  localities  and  examined;  (3)  deposits  of  alunite  and
other  minerals  containing  potassium  have  been  investigated  in  Utah
and  other  States;  (4)  certain  occurrences  of  igneous  rock  known  to
contain  considerable  quantities  of  potash  salts  have  been  examined.
Much  work  has  also  been  done  by  private  initiative  along  practically
all  the  lines  mentioned  above.  The  Bureau  of  Soils  of  the  Department ­
  of  Agriculture  has  investigated  the  kelps.  The  work  is  not
yet  finished  and  will  be  pushed  with  increased  vigor,  provided  the
necessary  funds  are  supplied.

NITRATE.
The  third  mineral  fertilizer  is  sodium  nitrate,  which  is  imported
from  Chile  in  large  quantities,  612,861  tons,  valued  at  $21,630,811,
coming  in  1913.  Deposits  of  sodium  and  potassium  nitrate  are
known  in  Utah,  Nevada,  California,  Oregon,  Montana,  and  New
Mexico  and  have  been  described  in  publications  of  the  Geological
Survey  and  Bureau  of  Soils,  but  thus  far  no  material  of  this  kind
has  been  found  in  sufficient  quantity  to  promise  commercial  value.
The  latest  report  that  has  come  to  the  Geological  Survey  relates  to
a  deposit  in  Arizona.
One  important  domestic  source  of  combined  nitrogen  is  the  gas
works  and  by-product  coke  ovens,  which  in  1912  reported  a  recovery
of  ammoniacal  liquor,  ammonia,  and  ammonium  sulphate  valued  at
$9,519,268.  This  output  of  by-product  ammonium  sulphate  increased ­
  in  10  years  from  17,643,507  pounds  to  99,070,777  pounds,
and  as  it  is  linked  with  the  great  coking  industry  further  increases
can  be  expected.
Another  domestic  supply  of  nitrogen  compounds  lies  in  the  fixation ­
  of  atmospheric  nitrogen  by  electricity.  Cheap  hydroelectric
development  is  necessary  to  establish  this  industry,  which  would
make  our  large  agricultural  and  industrial  interests  free  from  the
uncertainties  of  the  foreign  supply.  It  is  hoped  that  the  waterpower
  legislation  now  before  the  United  States  Senate  may  promote ­
  hydroelectric  development  in  large  units  and  thus  utilize  some
of  the  great  water  powers  in  the  West  in  obtaining  nitrogen  from
the  air.