Vale de Açor de Baixo, Memórias

WHEN I WAS YOUG (THAT IS... 60 YEARS AGO!) THIS WAS ADVERTISED EVERYWHERE...

WHAT'S "NITRATO DO CHILE"? IT IS "A COMMERCIAL MINERAL COMPOSED MAINLY OF "SODIUM NITRATE" FROM THE GRAVEL DEPOSITS IN CHILE. BEFORE THE PROCESS OF OXIDATION OF AMMONIA TO NITRATES MOST OF THE CHILEAN SALTPETER WAS USED BY THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY; TODAY IT IS MAINLY USED IN AGRICULTURE AS A SOURCE OF NITROGEN"; THEREFORE, BASICALLY A FERTILIZER!
WHY CHILE? CHILE WAS THE WORLD'S LARGEST PRODUCER OF SALITRE FROM 1850 TO 1930!....