Mr. Cyril Hopkins, of the Illinois Experiment Station, says that the discovery of the Tennessee phosphate deposits is the greatest thing that ever happened for the farmers of Illinois.
Each year many carloads of this material are shipped into other States and wherever it has been used its use is spreading, yet these people have to pay more in freight alone than it would cost the average Tennessee farmer at his farm.
Immense deposits of this rock exist in Tennessee high enough in grade to meet the requirements for direct use, and if this prohibition were removed, almost every county seat in the sixth and seventh congressional districts would have phosphate mills to supply the local trade, just as they have flour mills.
The next Legislature should certainly correct the errors of the past by allowing the Tennessee farmer to exercise the same amount of free agency, common sense judgment as his fellows of the other States.
The principal mines in Tennessee are shown in the table on the following page:
| County. | Operators. | Name of Tract or Mine | Holdings. | Character of mining: Underground or surface. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Post Office | How Held | No. of Acres | |||
| Davidson | Charleston, S. C., Mining and Mfg. Co. | Charleston, S. C. | Caldwell | Fee | 65 | Surface. |
| Hickman | American Cotton Oil Co. | New York | Gregory | Fee | 125 | Both. |
| Hickman | Jarecki Chemical Co. | Cincinnati, O. | Ratliff | Fee | 300 | Both. |
| Hickman | Meridian Fertilizer Fac. | Meridian, Miss. | Laverick | Fee | 2,280 | Under’gr’d. |
| Hickman | Rich & Hays Phos. Co. | Twomey | Brown | Fee | 50 | Surface. |
| Hickman | Rich & Hays Phos. Co. | Twomey | Wiss | Lease | 40 | Both. |
| Hickman | Swift & Co. | Chicago | Eason | Fee | 60 | Both. |
| Hickman | Tenn. Blue Rock Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Fogg | Lease | 200 | Under’gr’d. |
| Hickman | S. M. Ward Mining Co. | Centerville | McGill | Lease | 500 | Both. |
| Maury | H. F. Alexander | Columbia | Jameson | Surface. | ||
| Maury | H. F. Alexander & Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Mt. Pleasant | Surface. | ||
| Maury | Blue Grass Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Blue Grass | Lease | 1,000 | Surface. |
| Maury | Central Phosphate Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Dawson | Surface. | ||
| Maury | Central Phosphate Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Kittrell | Lease | 125 | Surface. |
| Maury | Central Phosphate Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Harris | Surface. | ||
| Maury | Central Phosphate Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Long | Fee | 140 | Surface. |
| Maury | Charleston, S. C., Mining and Mfg. Co. | Charleston, S. C. | Arrow | Fee | 690 | Surface. |
| Maury | ” ” ” | Charleston, S. C. | Howard | Fee | 182 | Surface. |
| Maury | ” ” ” | Charleston, S. C. | McMeen | Fee | 540 | Surface. |
| Maury | ” ” ” | Charleston, S. C. | Ridley | Fee | 319 | Surface. |
| Maury | Columbian Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Columbian | Fee | 60 | Surface. |
| Maury | H. B. Battle | Winston, N. C. | Battle | Fee | 84 | Surface. |
| Maury | Federal Chemical Co. | Louisville, Ky. | Tenn. Phos. Co. | Fee | 1,200 | Surface. |
| Maury | International Phos. Co. | Columbia | Solita | Fee | 110 | Surface. |
| Maury | International Phos. Co. | Columbia | Satterfield | Fee | 275 | Surface. |
| Maury | Maury Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Moore | Fee | 264 | Surface. |
| Maury | Petrified Bone Min. Co | Mt. Pleasant | Petrified | Fee | 220 | Surface. |
| Maury | Swift & Co. | Chicago, Ill. | Bailey | Lease | 361 | Surface. |
| Maury | Tenn. Chemical Co. | Nashville | Douglass | Fee | 250 | Surface. |
| Sumner | Buffalo Fertilizer Co. | Buffalo, N. Y. | Watkins | Fee | 250 | Surface. |
| Sumner | Smith Agr. Chem. Co. | Columbus, O. | Sumner Phos. Co. | Fee | 1,500 | Surface. |
| Sumner | Swift & Co. | Chicago, Ill. | Guthrie | Fee | 321 | Surface. |
| Maury | France & Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Goodloe | Fee | 40 | Surface. |
| Maury | Ruhm & Barrow | Mt. Pleasant | Sedberry | Fee | 130 | Surface. |
| Hickman | N. Y. & St. L. Min. & Mfg. Co. | Aetna, Tenn | Peery | Fee | 7,000 | Under’gr’d. |
| Maury | Globe Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | American | Fee | 2,500 | Surface. |
| Maury | Century Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Harlan | Lease & Fee | 1,000 | Surface. |
| Maury | Southport Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Southport | Fee | 943 | Surface. |
| Hickman | Amer. Cot. Oil Co. | New York | Gilmer | Fee | 200 | Both. |
| Lewis | Big Swan Phos. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Walker | Fee | 600 | Under’gr’d. |
| Hickman | Ruhm & Wheeler | Mt. Pleasant | Harvill | Fee | 736 | Under’gr’d. |
| Hickman | Killebrew, Ruhm & Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Rochell | Fee | 541 | Both. |
| Perry | Perry Phos. Co. | Columbia | Tom’s Creek | Fee | 500 | Under’gr’d. |
| Decatur | Beech River Phos. Co. | Nashville | Parsons | Fee | 1,000 | Surface. |
| Lewis | Charleston M. & Mfg. Co. | Mt. Pleasant | Mayfield | Fee | 500 | Under’gr’d. |
A History of the Hals
By John Trotwood Moore