DOI article:
Hume, William F.: The nitrate shales of Egypt
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11321#0165
THE
NITRATE SHALES OF EGYPT
BY
W. F. HUME, D. Se, À. R. S. M., F. G. S.
DIRECTOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF EGYPT
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE EGYPTIAN INSTITUTE.
(Plates IV-V.)
The following reinarks are a summary of the work undertaken in connexion
vvilh tlie Nitrate Shales of Egypt, the resulls hitherto obtained being iargely
distributed in pamphlets or officiai records clifficult of access.
The subject will be considered under the following heacls :
I. Studios made on Percentages and Average Content of Nitrates in the Shales.
II. Experiments in Methods of Enrichment in Nitrates.
III. Distribution of Nitrate Shales in Egypt.
IV. Théories as to Nitrate Formation.
I
STUDIES MADE ON PERCENTAGES AND AVERAGE CONTENT
OF NITRATES IN THE SHALES.
The Nitrate-bearing beds of Upper Egypt were first described from the
point of view of their agricultural importance in January, 1896, when
Mr. E. A. Floyer read a paper before the et Institut Egyptiens on the 51,1 January
entitled Note sur l'emploi d'une argile comme matière fertilisante dans la Haute-
Egypte. He there called attention to the wide employment of the ce Tafia n or
Nitrate shale by cultivators between Edfu and Girga as a manure for their
crops. He had also taken samples from the heaps of « Tafia v which had been
brought dovvn to the banks of the Nile, thèse being analysed by Dr. Mack-
enzie at the Agricultural Collège. The resulls of six analyses shovved a maximum
Sodium Nitrate content of 18.53 0/0, minimum 2.56 0/0, and mean 1 0.26 0/0.
(See Analyses, Table n° 1, p. 168.)
49
NITRATE SHALES OF EGYPT
BY
W. F. HUME, D. Se, À. R. S. M., F. G. S.
DIRECTOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF EGYPT
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE EGYPTIAN INSTITUTE.
(Plates IV-V.)
The following reinarks are a summary of the work undertaken in connexion
vvilh tlie Nitrate Shales of Egypt, the resulls hitherto obtained being iargely
distributed in pamphlets or officiai records clifficult of access.
The subject will be considered under the following heacls :
I. Studios made on Percentages and Average Content of Nitrates in the Shales.
II. Experiments in Methods of Enrichment in Nitrates.
III. Distribution of Nitrate Shales in Egypt.
IV. Théories as to Nitrate Formation.
I
STUDIES MADE ON PERCENTAGES AND AVERAGE CONTENT
OF NITRATES IN THE SHALES.
The Nitrate-bearing beds of Upper Egypt were first described from the
point of view of their agricultural importance in January, 1896, when
Mr. E. A. Floyer read a paper before the et Institut Egyptiens on the 51,1 January
entitled Note sur l'emploi d'une argile comme matière fertilisante dans la Haute-
Egypte. He there called attention to the wide employment of the ce Tafia n or
Nitrate shale by cultivators between Edfu and Girga as a manure for their
crops. He had also taken samples from the heaps of « Tafia v which had been
brought dovvn to the banks of the Nile, thèse being analysed by Dr. Mack-
enzie at the Agricultural Collège. The resulls of six analyses shovved a maximum
Sodium Nitrate content of 18.53 0/0, minimum 2.56 0/0, and mean 1 0.26 0/0.
(See Analyses, Table n° 1, p. 168.)
49