FIGURE 4.—Sales of metallurgical lime and refractory lime (dead-burned
dolomite) compared with steel ingot production, 1932-41. Index numbers forsteel
ingots computed by Federal Reserve Board from data of American Iron and Steel
Institute.
LIME
1313

 A graphic comparison of the total quantity of lime consumed in building
with new construction activity for the past 22 years is shown in figure 3.
8

~:
~

r_Total new construction


1: -Building lime~ ~L__—__ Lg~p~~ —
 (~ I I  I I I I t_j___~______~___I 1920  1925 1930  1935 1940 1945

~c(
~n(
~-
~--—--—7New ren
stal unitS—
FIGURE 3.—Building-lime (quick and hydrated) value compared with total
new construction and residential building, 1920-41. Data for new construction,
1920-41, from Department of Commerce. Da~ for new residential dwelling units
(nonfarun) from Bureau of Labor Statistics.


 Consumption of metallurgical lime has increased each year since 1932,. except
for the recession in 1938 (see fig. 4). The rate of increase has been greater
in the past 3 years than the gain in steel-ingot output would indicate. This
may be due in part to an increase in the use


of higher-phosphorus iron ores, as indicated earlier, and possibly to a decrease
in the amount of scrap iron and steel used. The gain in production of metallurgical
lime was accompanied by a less spectacular gain (20 percent from 1940 to
1941) in limestone for flux. Data on raw dolomite are given in the chapter
on Stone.