Yet Britain need not pay a further penny tribute to Germany. We are able to free ourselves entirely from the German yoke, and can confidently look forward to such a happy state of affairs so long as the steel age reigns. The raw material dumped into the blast-furnaces carries a certain proportion of potash. But it has always been permitted to escape. Being associated with the fine dust it was borne through the flues, a certain proportion being deposited therein, but at least 90 per cent. was irretrievably lost. Threatened famine compelled us to devote attention to the possibility of arresting this fugitive potash, and our efforts have met with success. The furnace flue dust is trapped to be passed through a special plant for further treatment. Previous to the war the economical and fiscal conditions would not have permitted such a practice with profit. The requisite plant is necessarily somewhat costly to install and to operate. Had we decided upon such a course of action the Germans would promptly have forced the process into bankruptcy by resort to price-cutting tactics. The Potash Syndicate was exceedingly powerful, and it never hesitated to wield its power, as the United States of America have every occasion to remember when, a few years ago, it came into conflict with the German Government in regard to inter-trading, and was brought full tilt against the potash ace of trumps. Had we ventured to dispute the German monopoly by any attempt to exploit our flue-dust we should have upset a pretty kettle of fish and should have been bludgeoned into surrender. It is to be hoped that the authorities will hesitate to play so completely into the enemy’s hands again, although this is fortunately very unlikely because the Teuton monopoly has been broken effectively by the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine to France which carries, among other numerous advantages in raw materials, the immense potash deposits which the Germans worked so profitably to their own ends. Still, even this achievement should not dissuade us from continuing to exploit the waste dust recovered from our blast-furnaces. Immense quantities of the essential material are forthcoming, the potash content of which varies from 3 to 13 per cent. As output increases it should be capable of recovery at a decreasing figure and at one which should enable the indispensable product to be placed upon the market at a competitive figure. The foregoing does not exhaust the list of potash-yielding wastes possible of exploitation. It is recoverable from wool in the washing process; feldspar also contains potash; farmyard manure will yield it in attractive proportions--from 9 to 15 lb. per ton; while liquid manure also carries it to the extent of 40 to 45 lb. per 1,000 gallons. Thus it will be seen that we need never suffer from an actual famine in potash if we but resolve to exploit our wastes to the utmost.