rms ammunition--a use which was
exceedingly important during the war, but is probably of minor
consequence in normal times. Mercuric sulphide forms the brilliant red
pigment, vermilion, and mercuric oxide is becoming increasingly
important in anti-fouling marine paint for ship-bottoms. Either as the
metal or the oxide, mercury is employed in the manufacture of electrical
apparatus (batteries, electrolyzers, rectifiers, etc.), and in the
making of thermostats, gas governors, automatic sprinklers, and other
mechanical appliances. Mercuric nitrate is used in the fabrication of
felt hats from rabbits' fur. In the extraction of gold and silver from
their ores by amalgamation, large amounts of metallic mercury have been
utilized, but of late years the wide application of the cyanide process
has decreased this use. Minor uses include the making of certain
compounds for preventing boiler-scale, of cosmetics, and of dental
amalgam.

The ores of mercury vary greatly in grade. Spanish ores yield an average
in the neighborhood of 7 per cent, Italian ores 0.9 per cent, and
Austrian ores 0.65 per cent of metallic mercury. In the United States
the ores of California yield about 0.4 per cent and those of Texas range
from about 0.5 to 4 per cent. In almost all cases the ores are treated
in the immediate vicinity of the mines, and fairly pure metal is
obtained by a process of sublimation and condensation. This is usually
marketed in iron bottles or flasks containing 75 pounds each.

The large producers of mercury are, in order of normal importance,
Spain, Italy, Austria, and United States. Mexico, Russia, and all other
countries produce somewhat less than 5 per cent of the world's total.

The largest quicksilver mines of the world are those of Almaden in
central Spain, which are owned and operated by the Spanish government.
This government, after reserving a small amount for domestic use, sells
all the balance of the production through the Rothschilds of London. In
addition British capital controls some smaller mines in northern Spain.
England thus largely controls the European commercial situation in this
commodity, and London is the world's great quicksilver market, where
prices are fixed and whence supplies go to all corners of the globe.
Reserves of the Almaden ore bodies are very large. Sufficient ore is
reported to have been developed to insure a future production of at
least 40,000 metric tons--an amount equivalent to the entire