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12 'Che Conservative *
TS'KW USKS FOll CO11X.
to Malto Siiiolcelt . > Powder niul
Many Ollior 1'roilticts.
Farmers in the Indian corn belt may
not be aware of the fact , but it is , never
theless , true that the manufacture of
the new smokeless powder promises to
benefit them extensively , announces the
New York Sun. The British govern
ment closed a contract last fall with the
Standard Distilling Company of Chicago
for the immediate delivery of 124,000
gallons of distilled spirits at Montreal ,
with an intimation that it would want
150,000 gallons more in a short time.
The spirits ordered were for use in the
manufacture of smokeless powder. The
Japanese government has recently
ordered 0,000 barrels of spirits for the
same purpose , and has given notice of
large future requirements. Our own
government has recently ordered 10,000
barrels , and further orders will follow.
Henceforth smokeless powder will be
exclusively used in civilized warfare ,
and in the manufacture of this powder
distilled spirits play a prominent part ,
thus opening up a new and quite ex
tensive market for American corn.
In the light of these facts , the prepara
tions of Great Britain and the constant
rumors of a great European war take on
a local and personal interest to every
western corn grower. An extensive war
among the great European nations would
have a marked effect upon the market
for spirits and for corn , as the whole
world is to a large extent dependent
upon America for this ingredient , of
smokeless powder , and this powder is a
necessity in warfare. This use for corn ,
coupled with the foreign demand for a
cheap food article , which is increasing
rapidly , practically assures the farmer a
fair price for his staple ; but other new
demands of equal importance should not
bo overlooked. The number of articles
of commerce that are now being made
from corn has reached twenty-nine , and
every particle of the grain is at present
turned into some useful product. The
glucose sugar refining companies alone
manufacture this number of products ,
and the number of bushels of corn con
sumed by their factories in the United
States reaches well into the millions.
The following is a list of the products
now being manufactured from corn
without the use of any other material :
Mixing glucose , of three kinds , used
by refiners of table syrups , brewers ,
leather manufacturers , jelly makers ,
fruit preservers and apothecaries.
Crystal glucose , of four kinds , used
by manufacturing confectioners.
Grape sugar , of two kinds , used by
brewers principally ; also by tanners.
Anhydrous sugar , used by ale and
beer brewers and apothecaries.
Pearl starch , used by paper and cot
ton mills.
Powdered starch , used principally by
baking powder manufacturers , and also
by cotton and paper mills.
Refined grits , used in the place of
brewers' grits ; they are giving better
results.
Flourino , used by mixers of flour ,
without detriment , except as to the
feeling that a corn product is taking the
place of a wheat product.
Four kinds of dextrine , used by fine
fabric makers , paper box makers , mucil
age and glue makers , apothecaries and
many similar industries where vegetable
oils are employed.
Corn oil cake , gluten feed , chop feed
and gluten meal , all cattle-feeding stuffs
of a high grade and capable of being
scientifically fed with superior ad
vantages.
Rubber substitute , a substitiito for
crude rubber and very extensively used.
Corn germ , the material from which
the oil and cake are obtained.
British gum , a starch which makes a
very adhesive medium , and is used by
textile mills for running their colours ,
as well as manufacturers who require a
very strong adhesive medium that con
tains no trace of acid.
Granulated gum , which competes
with gum arabic , is used successfully in
its place , and finds a ready preference
by reason of the absence of any offensive
odor.
Probably the most important in the
above list of products is rubber substi
tute , the substance which Chicago
chemists have recently brought to per
fection. This new rubber , made from
the waste of ordinary yellow corn , will
cheapen the price of rubber goods 25 per
cent. Corn rubber must bo combined
with an equal quantity of Para rubber
to give it general utility. Twenty
chemists have been employed at the
Chicago refinery for a year in bringing
this new rubber to perfection. The
greatest difficulty has been to make a
product that would resist heat. At last
the chemists have developed a quality of
corn rubber that will bend , stretch , and
show all the resileucy of the best Para ,
which is the standard of commerce. In
the manufacture of glucose part of the
corn , about five per cent , could not be
utilized. This waste is what will be
transformed into the new substitute for
rubber. Corn rubber has almost the
same appearauco as the ordinary reddish
brown India rubber. Oil of corn , from
which principally the rubber is made ,
does not oxidize readily. Its tendency
towards oxidization is one of the prin
cipal defects of India rubber. The
chemists who have been working on the
corn rubber declare this to bo an enor
mous advantage for the new product.
Articles manufactured from it will
always remain pliable and not crack.
It is calculated that corn rubber can be
sold at six cents a pound. It can bo
adapted to nearly all the uses to which
ordinary rubber is put , from bicycle
tires to linoleum.
W. Willard
FOIIKSTIIY.
Ashe , one of the
greatest exports on forestry in the
United States , and who has been com
missioned by the government to prepare
the forest exhibits at the Paris Expo
sition , is now paying a visit to this sec
tion of the West. Mr. Ashe has given a
great deal of attention to this siibject.
In an interview while here he said :
"We will have a great exhibit at
Paris. I shall have several sections of
our great trees on exhibition there. The
subject of forestry is ono that is very
extensive and opens up a great field. I
am not an alarmist and do not believe
in fire alarm methods. Our forests have
suffered by fires and otherwise. If wo
permit them to grow , we will obtain
satisfactory results. Wo oauuot restore
our forests by replanting. My observa
tion has been that the forests have not
been so badly destroyed as to render
their future growth impossible. I am
not much of a believer in reafforestation.
I have inspected the forests of your
western mountains , ind I believe Nature
will assert itself. Take your older
forests , and even if it is cutout , the new
growth will renew it.
"I see a great deal of talk about sheep ,
but I will put my opinion that sheep do
not hurt a forest and do not injure the
water supply. Of course , when sheep
are turned on to laud they will naturally
injure the young growth of the forests
eome , but they cannot hurt the older
timber. "
DENVER , Colo. , Oct. 80 , 1899.
My Dear Sir : The enclosed is cutout
of a Wyoming paper.
Had any one desired to give comfort
and relief to the tie and timber thieves
in that state , he could not have done
better. I don't know who Mr. W.
Willard Asho is , but if he don't believe
in fire alarm methods , and if he does
not know that our mountain fires
destroy the very soil ; if ho does not
know that the cutting out o a forest
and fires have altogether different effects ,
so far as the new growth is concerned ;
if he does not think that sheep abso
lutely prevent a new growth from
springing up , then all of us who have
tried to preserve and reafforest our
woodlands , have been utterly mistaken.
I think the outlook is discouraging.
Your friend ,
HKNUY MICUELSEN.
"Bryan's candidacy will be viewed as
a menace to the currency , no matter
what legislation may have been enacted
by the present congress , " says the Balti
more News ( dern. ) ; "thorepublicansby
doing their duty in the matter , will
make very few voters more willing to
take the chances of a Bryan adminis
tration , while they will give to thoirown
claims the strength which always comes
from taking a courageous attitude
on a vital issue. "