nitrate, bromide, carbonate, and chloride were produced and are named in the order of quantity sold. Small quantities of other strontium chemicals, chiefly medicinal, were also produced. The total quantity of strontium chemicals sold by these three plants in 1923 was more than 635,000 pounds greater than in 1922 and about three times the quantity sold in 1921. Strontium chemicals (manufactured in the United States from domestic and imported crude ore) sold in 1918-1923 Strontium nitrate was the chief strontium chemical imported in 1923. During the year 1,886,861 pounds, valued at $116,255, was imported. This material was used chiefly in the manufacture of signals and fireworks. The amount of precipitated strontium carbonate imported in 1923 was 37,066 pounds, valued at $2,601. Figures for previous years, prior to September 22, 1922 when the Fordney tariff act became operative, are not available for comparison. Strontium chemicals imported into the United States September 22 to December 31, 1922, and in 1923 Strontium compounds are used chiefly in the manufacture of signal lights and fireworks. Much smaller quantities of chemically pure compounds are used in medicines and the arts. Celestite (strontium sulphate) is the most common strontium mineral and is the chief ore imported for use in the manufacturing plants. Strontium carbonate is a stable compound that can be readily handled, stored, and shipped, and considerable ore is converted into carbonate by treatment with soda ash (sodium carbonate) before it is exported to this country. Strontium carbonate is used in the manufacture of other strontium compounds, and considerable quantities of strontianite (mineral carbonate of strontium), as well as chemically precipitated carbonate, are imported for this purpose. Strontium nitrate can be made from the carbonate by treatment with nitric acid, but much of the strontium nitrate used in this country is made by converting ore (strontium sulphate) into sulphide by roasting with powdered coal and then treating the sulphide with nitric acid. Strontium nitrate is not so stable as the carbonate and not so suitable to transport for long distances, but by using proper containers it is imported in large quantities. It is also the chief strontium compound made in domestic plants. The nitrate is used in the manufacture of pyrotechnic red fire and lights, railroad flares, signals, and fusees, signal shells, and signal lights. Strontium bromide, salicylate, chloride, hydroxide, and other compounds are made for medicinal use and chemical reagents. Strontium chemicals are now made chiefly in the Atlantic States, although considerable quantities are made in St. Louis, Mo. During the World War some were made in California and Washington. The following companies are dealers in strontium chemicals: C. W. Campbell Co., 11 Cliff Street, New York, N. Y. H. P. Diehl, Lawrenceburg, Ind. Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del. Foote Mineral Co., 111 North Nineteenth Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Heyden Chemical Works, 80 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. Hummel & Robinson Corporation, 90 West Street, New York, N. Y. Innis, Speiden & Co., 46 Cliff Street, New York, N. Y. A. Klipstein & Co., 644 Greenwich Street, New York, N. Y. Lehn & Finck (Inc.), 635 Greenwich Street, New York, N. Y. Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, 3600 North Second Street, St. Louis, Mo. Meteor Products Co. (Inc.), 53 Park Place, New York, N. Y. Pfalz & Bauer, 300 Pearl Street, New York, N. Y. Charles Pfizer & Co. (Inc.), 81 Maiden Lane, New York, N. Y. Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Co., 100 William Street, New York, N.Y. FLUORSPAR AND CRYOLITE By HUBERT W. DAVIS FLUORSPAR Fluorspar, or fluorite, is a nonmetallic mineral that usually occurs in glassy transparent cubes or cleavable masses. Less commonly it is granular or fibrous in structure, and occasionally banded fluorspar is found. It has a specific gravity of 3.2, is brittle, has a hardness of 4, and can easily be scratched by a knife. Chemically it consists of calcium and fluorine in the proportion of 51.1 to 48.9. In color fluorspar ranges, according to purity, from a clear colorless or slightly bluish glasslike substance through various brilliant hues, of which purple and green are most common, and much of it is white and opaque. FLUORSPAR MINED AND SHIPPED The shipments of fluorspar from domestic mines in 1923 decreased 14 per cent in quantity and 1 per cent in value as compared with those in 1922. Colorado and New Mexico were the only States that showed an increase in 1923. The shipments of fluorspar to foundries and for use in the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid, glass, enamel, and sanitary ware were larger than in 1922, and the shipments to steel plants and for export were smaller. The general average price per ton f. o. b. mines or shipping points for all grades in 1923 was $20.68, an increase of $2.80 from the average in 1922. The highest average price in 1923 was reported from New Hampshire, and the lowest from Colorado. The exact quantity of crude fluorspar mined can not be ascertained, because at most of the smaller mines only the cleaned material is weighed. The total quantity of merchantable fluorspar recovered by mining and milling in 1923 showed an increase of 12 per cent over 1922. Merchantable fluorspar recovered in the United States in 1922 and 1923, by States |