The shadow of the world's future, or The earth's population possibilities & the consequences of the present rate of increase of the earth's inhabitants

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1775636852

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-164018

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Knibbs, George Handley http://d-nb.info/gnd/1045010944

Title:: The shadow of the world's future, or The earth's population possibilities & the consequences of the present rate of increase of the earth's inhabitants

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Ernest Benn Limited

Year of publication:: (1928)

Scope:: 131 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter IV. The world's cereal and food-corps and its mineral needs

Collection:: Economics Books

THE WORLD’S CEREAL AND FOOD-CROPS 41 Fertiliser. Weight. Fertiliser. Weight. Natural phosphates 6-912 Norwegian nitrate Superphosphate of of lime ... . 0312 lime ‘ Calcium cyanamide 0-542 Basic slag . ‘ Sulphate of ammonia 1-630 Natural guano Sulphur . 1-609 Salts of potash . Sulphate of copper 0-166 Chilean nitrate of soda . 7-432 Total of above . 33-688 This total of a little more than 33 million ordinary tons, probably somewhat short of the true amount, will undoubtedly be greatly increased as population grows, and the increase—s$0 long as it can be maintained ~_will aid agriculture correspondingly. The elements most needed are nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Calcium is of course abundant. In regard to the first, nitrogen, it may be noted that the total nitrogen content of the earth’s atmosphere is about 3920 million million tons, and inasmuch as there is some return to the atmosphere through the agency of anaerobic bacteria, it may easily be drawn upon to the extent per capita necessary for nitrogen supplies for human needs. Owing to lightning, etc., rain brings down—directly and indirectly—in the form of ammonia, nitric nitrogen and organic nitrogen, the amount of no less than about 300 million tons annually. The amounts are about as follows:—Nitrogen in the form of ammonia, say about 2-8 lbs., in the form of nitrates and nitrites about 1-2 lbs., and in the form of organic nitrogen about 1-3 lbs., all per acre per annum. [his means a little over 1% tons per square mile. 1 A general survey of “Recent Progress in Soil Biology and Bio- Chemistry” shows that much has still to be learnt regarding the fixation of nitrogen in the soil, and that much existing literature on the subject is invalid.—See S. A. Waksman, Soi/ Science, 25, 29; 1928.

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