FERTILISER SUPPLIES

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 85, 13 May 1929, Page 10

FERTILISER SUPPLIES

DEAD SEA POSSIBILIT1ES. DEPOSITS OF POTASH. • The exploitation of the possibdities j 1 ; 1 tent in tlie wnters oi' the Dead Sea, is said bv Mr ,]. K. C'lark, in the York- : sl.ire Kvening News, to offer a new 1 ora of liie and pro-perity to the Brit- j >^ii farmer. "Surely." he says. "it is timo tliat 1 the knowledge of tlio relief awaiting ] tlie British iarming industry from ! potash derived trom the waters oi the Dead Sea, as well ns the inexplieahle l dela.v in its applieation. should heeome j 1 uhlic property? The experts see 110 | i'i asori why tliev tiro heing held luu kj f otu uiaiigurat ing their splciididly ■worked-oiU schenie. through which tiu-.v would he siipplying agriculture! w:th potash salts at much less than j h.-lf tlie present eost. "Potasji fonns. with soluhle plios- I plmrie add and nitrogen, a funda^.ental requisite for successful farm- j ing, hut British farmers think they (annot afford the cust of its liheral use. Apart from the fact that a great (cmhine coutrols ihe cliief Enropeau j sourees— the Af«;itian aml Cerman r-ines — tlie present liigli price. pertuitting not unreasonnhle returns to tlio pioditeers. is ihe chief deterrent to a mueli greater ocinsumptinn in all hinds. The appearance insfhe world'? markels of ellon p Palestinian potash mav well lcad to a tenfold increase itt the demand. JOTXT OWXERS OF DEAT) SEA. 'Palestine and Trans-Jordan, wards of Creat Britain under mandate. are tlie joint owners of tlie Dead Sea. First 1 onsideration of their interests is tiierefore our paramount duty." contiuues the writer. 'In Alay. 1S125. a conipetent Coverniuent survey was l'tihlished. and iuvitations to carrv out tlie work resulted. five months later iu four applications, two lrom chemists of uorkl-widc roputatiou and two from c ngincers. The former wero far the hest prepared in orgnnisation and in British fiiiancial support of thc first stand ing. Thov could give guarantees 111 a few mimitcs for all possihle funds deraanded and in less than a ycar sliow 1; rgo practieal results. In lf)27. Parliament was told that a decision was imminent. That decision rests with tlie loeal administrations and the Colojnial Office, suhjeet to Parliamentary approval. "A])parently the dclay, so dctrimental to the interests of agriculture, lies at the door of the C'olonial Office. The fitianeiers haeking the chief cngineering applieation appcar to be holding alnof. It is understood that they eonsider the proposals bv the chemists so generous to tlie two eountrics as to dcstrov the interest of higli finance. Hence no potash from Palestine is yet rvaihihle for our hungry land, and ihe two wards look in vain for the trih'.ite from the world — that would be so great a. gainer flowing automatic-r allv into their treasurics. Tt is practically certain that the four groups will he rcady to work amicahlv together. pooling their interests. their talent, experionee (loeal and gonerall. and sneeialised studies of this unique prohlem. haeked. too. bv their united finaneial supporters. The two chemists uartieularlv liave hehind tliom a \\ liolo nvniv of ehemists. j geologists. and engineevs of all tvpes icquisite in sueh an nndertaking. boili for ihe actual work and as eonsnltants. d! of high stauding. Everything is I'tillv planimd out for transport to the coast- and slrrpnient over tlio world. DE.MAND BY THE NATJYES. "The iiativcs are crying oul ior their share at onee in the L300 million tons of potash, useless where it lies until .this orgnnisation can set it froe. Tts 1 value at to-day's priee is Ll-f, 000.00(1, - | 0(10. Of the otfier salts of far highor j total volmne. bromine mav he noted. jits smallor ouantity represcnting almost- four-fold value. I think all will ondorse these words, writfen hy one of ! the applieants; | "British armed foreos, at tremendous eost nf. hlood and treasure. frced j Palestine from the grip of tlie Turk. |l5ritish administrators are now teaeh- ' mg hor nopulation to govorn themsHvcs. This latest elfort of AngloHaxon tochnieal and seientifie pfficipnev mav ]>laee the historie land at an Parkdale. among the nowerful industrial faeters of our age." "And ai: ti e snine timo farmers i would rocek e n honn far n-oatcr in the long niu than aoy of tlie rcliefs al present jiroposod."