46

OUR  MINERAL  RESERVES.

century  domestic  production  caught  up  with  imports,  and  since  that
time  it  has  greatly  exceeded  them,  the  production  in  1913  being
nearly  four  times  as  great  in  value  as  the  imports.  There  was,  however, ­
  last  year  a  considerable  decrease  in  exports  of  pottery,  a  change
which  should  now  be  reversed  by  reason  of  the  changes  in  the  world’s
commerce  that  have  become  inevitable.
For  the  manufacture  of  pottery  of  the  better  grades  considerable
clay,  mainly  kaolin,  is  imported  into  this  country  from  Europe  and
China,  the  value  of  these  imports  last  year  exceeding  $2,250,000.
It  seems  probable  that  under  the  necessity  of  finding  a  domestic
supply  these  finer  clays  can  be  in  large  part  replaced.  Already  a
process  of  decoloring  kaolin  is  reported  as  successful,  and  this  may
make  large  deposits  of  kaolin  and  ball  clay  available  for  the  manufacture ­
  of  white  ware  and  pottery.
Another  minor  product  is  mineral  water,  of  which  the  annual
imports  are  over  3,000,000  gallons,  having  a  value  of  nearly  a  million
dollars.  Two-thirds  of  these  imports  came  from  Germany,  France,
and  Austria-Hungary,  and  as  soon  as  the  stocks  on  hand  are  consumed ­
  domestic  waters  should  take  the  place  of  those  derived  from
foreign  springs.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  last
year  the  reported  sales  from  838  commercial  springs  in  the  United
States  were  more  than  57,000,000  gallons,  having  a  total  value  of
$5,500,000.  The  recent  activity  of  the  New  York  State  Reservation
Commission  in  conserving  the  natural  mineral  waters  at  Saratoga
Springs,  as  well  as  in  improving  local  conditions,  is  of  interest  in
calling  attention  to  the  many  opportunities  in  this  country  for
utilizing  such  waters  and  adopting  modes  of  treatment  similar  to
those  which  have  made  the  bath  resorts  of  Germany  and  Austria
famous.  There  is  a  somewhat  popular  but  fallacious  impression  that
certain  European  waters  have  medicinal  properties  not  possessed
by  any  American  waters,  and  many  persons  addicted  to  the  Apollinaris, ­
  Clysmic,  or  Celestine-Vichy  habit  might  be  equally  well  satisfied ­
  by  waters  from  American  springs  in  bottles  of  American  glass,
bearing  labels  printed  in  the  United  States.
Of  the  abrasives  imported  into  this  country  last  year  to  the
amount  of  $917,000,  all  could  be  replaced  with  domestic  products
except  the  diamond  dust  and  bort,  the  value  of  which  was  $100,000
in  1913.  Already  the  domestic  output  of  both  natural  and  artificial
abrasives  is  increasing  faster  than  the  imports,  and  the  manufacturers ­
  need  only  to  realize  the  abundance  of  tripoli,  diatomaceous
earth,  pumice,  garnet,  corundum,  and  emery  to  reduce  further  their
dependence  on  foreign  supplies.
Precious  stones  constitute  one  of  the  largest  items  in  our  imports,
usually  amounting  to  more  than  $40,000,000  a  year.  Inasmuch,  however, ­
  as  fully  three-fourths  of  this  value  is  represented  by  diamonds,