HARVESTING THE AIR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 2

HARVESTING THE AIR

»— —. WEALTH AND PLENTY AT OUR DOORS

PRODUCTION OF NITRATES

FROM THE ETHER

(By . "Claudio.")

• The -wholo of, tho' civilised world is-waking-up to the fact. that.there is an inexhaustible field of wealth and 'plenty. to -be harvested' ill the air. It exists in the nitrogon -that-means ■so much to human beings -and birds and plants and all things tliat grofr.' 'Nitrogen is , floating-about, and us a• constituent ot tl(o ' ether : tliilt enwraps this;' sphere. -.- That- precious-harvest is-only:awaiting tho hand of man to gariier.it. in in sum--cient quantities before the whole, worldwill' realise the-' newest -wonder. . - 'it is taking hold 'of - the imagination of . every : piom ,c sivG Koveruhu'tit. Una .every intelligent.people,itndwhy itis not acted uponin;Now Zealand is one of- those:ques-t-ions 1 tho present heads, 01. tho Govern-., nient' inav" have' to; answer one-; day;. Ilerei- too,- at-tlie'-Boweii JTalls,. arc the, meaus-to manufacture'nitrates, troni. the air cheapei' -and-; with -less trouble: probably, than in any- other part ot tlie world, for there' vessels -of' thiv largest draught may lie in .calm security, close, alongside the works, 'whereas. in Nor- ■ Wav, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy.,..jand in'America-' the' sources of, hydro-electric,, power'necessary for the work-are located I we'll away, from -:t-Jio . .seaboard,which-, niiike.r for 1 heavy, transit- charges -and double, handling. . InJhM* Article l>y .-Frederick A- -Talbot-in ; tho "World's Work" of November, entitled "Harnessing .-tlie .Hottest Heat and the Coldest.' :• Cold, ■ the .writer .. dwells romantically: on.. the/coming, great nidustrv of the world. Ho says:-r ''Though' in. pre-war days the supplies of Chilian nitrates were sunn]iemenbed. bv other ■nitrogenousvf<'°dstufl,'siriphate : of ammonia, hero again Supply is. subservient ■to the • quantity ot . coal' submitted to distillation-foi' the manufacture of town gas, and:the ac^yil t3r.pli the ■cooking ovens; the shale-c.istillciieo,..this, ': •these- processes. let;- all- the Chilian^ nitrates .which •.may. 'l° : lj ''°, u S f )! t t " tllls conntnv mid .all, (he ..sulphate,,ol ammonia'- which • is--likely -' to. .be .produced, from British coal,, will prove inadequate to carrv out intensive- farming, upon tho scale- which the exigencies demand. ■Plaht-'llfe revels;in nitrp'gen,as.lne,lrQ.ut. in ■- running- --water. ■■■■• So . .we -.must. .'supplement Hie " 1 'obvious- ~so"vces'. of supply •••■ witli.. .contributions-, from elsewhere. H.appib'. J-' 'another ..roservou - .lnmu'iUately to hami, tlie one which carries more of'llie reqius-. ite nitrogen thalii could-be- e.x]>ected from-'-(ill the- coal •<leposit<s and •• ■nitrate )« kiip'n n,«nd-unknown, .in j lie-w'prju, .which storehouse,-- in- - addition-to -being .inexhaustible, ,iuiisf..''.e!idiire;.as .long ;.as- lite.is possible on-this planet,,; ,■. : Io tap. this boundless:.accessible ■' reservoir- ;ot plant food man must display/a measure of fertility of tlioUfjht"nnd" exert hhnself -ii'-ti'ille..'''. .. -To '.the: avera.go ni ; . - dividual "the thunderstorm merely represents oiio'.of the many ..marvellous manifestation's ok the blind forcts of-nature-, and ail' illiistra.fi.on' ot electrical plieno-, "m'on'a. "But it is much- more- than time. Tt is' nature's power-h'ouso for fixing ni-; ticen"in such,a' manner as to permit tlio' transference of "this .con.siitiient of our atmosphere in tho form of fertiliser. ' to' the '.plants'lgrowMhg in tlie soil ibelpw.Tho passage of the electr'C current, through the.'aii—tho striking of the electric ■ arc—oxidises t'he nitrog'eii to form, upon . absorbing moisture, nitric . whic'li. is subsequently brought to earth, as nitrates by the rain." - . That-explain? in-a-nutslioll the natural way of-.applying. nitrate.s from the . flir.' 'Every farmer■. who observes., his crops, closely will'know the quickening growth thiil- succeeds..a-violent-, tlwiulovstojni, over li'is lands. He »• enjoying the tonefits of free nitrogen—and lias usually attributed tho good that, follows to Hie. downpour or some otlier more or less •obspuro cause. So the brain of man has..'to do! this—to devise a' means.of perpetuating a thunderstorm, or. rather, "perpetiialiiiif'tlid ftct"Verf«rnte'd ' by;' tho elcclrieal disturbance which 'causes the /tlnindei-.itor.in..;>Tlwt flrt'lhWalready been ncliieveil -in*' Norway; ••Sweden:".'Grrntoiijv Tlaly, England, and America. England lias been slow lowake un to the real value of nitrates, but it looks now as though she will take the lead. In her, case, 'however, 1 a shortage of watrr-power compels -her to.. use Vteiun.;' and steam means ' colli 'and coal'-labour-labour in the year of our.T.ord 1919. ,lii New ZeaI'nnd we Can do'niueh better.'* Subject to Government consent, only to save that which .is at. present, running to wasle—a New .Zealand svudicate is-, prepared.to go ahead wit'i the iiisfn'la-: tioil lof. a plant to turn out nitrates that' would supply all New Zealand and A us- - tralia, and still leave some for export; •and, what, is perhaps-more important., this amazin?..manure,-which is .such &>prime stimulator of -ciir crops, could be.turned out at a price I luit. would be a .fraction of. what we. are paying nl, present'for Chilean nitrates, and at the same time the syndicate could afford, to give: the (loyernmeiit either an annual subsidy for iva'tor..rights or. a royalty on tlie prfduce . turned- out at the works.- Tho proposition is a sound, level-li'eaded ' one that the Government can hardly turn down without running t'he'risk of being labelled "slow"-or foolishly conservative. 'The Bowen Palls scheme will yot coino to fruition, and the sooner it does so soon.' will'the lot of'the' farmer and .'consumer; be : lightened in tlus country.. : .. Mr. Barton 'ill his article speaks ..of the wonders achieved by tlie uso of. nit'rblim,. a product' of tho '. nitrates. "Precisely what"nitroiim can ac'liieve is .borne out by'tile, trials conducted at tho Harper Adams Agricultural ..College. In this, instance, the addition of one hundredweight of nitrolim to the acre, together with superphosphate-and potash, .lifted -tive yield frciu fl tons scwt.- from ground which had--not-been manured to 10 tons lGowt.-, and this, yield-was lowt. to tlie good over-ail- acre dressed with a' corresponding quantity of superphosphate, nitrate ol" soda, and pothsli."'

The, writer.siv.es a great deal of-infor-mation n» the properties . amt : value of. tho.various products fvom the nitrates that are-ealliered M'tificinlly from, tho air with tho aid- of electrical heat, ami shows very clearly and .convincingly (hat (he one fiireand certain cure for a world famiiio, and ;tlve-. most certain - preventive of one in any part of the world, is.-tho Abundant production and 'apnlier.tion 'to the soil of the everlasting wealth of nit.ro. gen t'hat Johns part of' the air we breathe. :