The Red Cloud chief., 1888-04-13
CHEMICAL DISCOVERIES.
Commodities rPoducible from Purely II.
organic Materials,

Commodities rroducibl- from Purely r.
organic Materials
It will be a long time before the far
mer finds himself snpplanted by the
chemical laboratory in the production
Of such commodities rs sugar.. :ea-
alcohol. drugs and dye s,nf>. though.
sancuine chemists tell Us that the ~.
cent ;riumph> of their science indicate
the probability that these and other
articles will some day be proitably
produced from purely inorganic ma
terialS. Synthetic chemistry. or In:
forming of compounds b. recombina-
;iOns Of chemical elements. is making
steady progress, and has already
affected agriculture.
Mr.. Robert Hugh Mills. in Il rcccn;
lecture. called attention TO the fac:
that the cultivation of ma,ider has been
almost destroyed by the chemical dis
covery that its Identical cOlorin- mat
ter can he cheaply produced from coal
tai. The production OF indigo is as,
threatened By an artificial proluc,
which the chemists have discovered.
\ while ago it was found thlt the cin-
chona tree could be profitab!v p,an;ri
in India. and \ fine new field of indu--
try was believed to have opened for
the farmers of that country. Scnres<a
chemists. however. have been at work
upon the synthesiS of Iuinine. am!
chain ra.a,r.baS b,,, oI,.u,l cn f,.
that the prediction is Cow confidently
made that the manufacture Of the pri:l-
cipie Of iuinine will soon be a ROM
mercial success. and hat cinchona
planting will become = thing of the
past. These chemical reproductions "t
the valuable principles inherent in
natural products are often easier 10
handle and utilize than the products
from which they have hitherto been de-
rived. and thus the tendency of manu-
features is to substitute artificial for
natural sources Of supply.
TIE problem Of su.ar-makiny from
inorganic materials has engaged S";na
chemists for 4 number of year.. TIE
svnthe>is of glucose last year b. Fischer
and Tafel. is said to promise IN ample
supply Of this commodity without lite
aid Of grapes or starch. Two wears a-o
some German chemists announced that
they had produced saccharose. the
equivalent of cane sugar. by pa>>in.
an electric current through 4 mixture
Of starch. salphuric acid and water.
Nothing has Yet been heard of the CONF
mercial value Of this new product. and
there is no reason to think it will prove
a dangerous rival IL the sweets we
derive from the cane and the beat.
Some sugar growers. however. have
been pr~Ophe>ying for years that IN
thing would happen to ruin the sugar
industry. and their alarm receives "a
fresh impulse at every new discovery
like that of RemSen's saccharine. an
exceedingly sweet article pro !uced
from coal tar. The day may come
when processes of suga--making by the
use Of inorganic materials will seriously
affect the sugar planter. but there is
Nv u q W AN tthS = IA
dustry will soon be imperilled.
Legislation has interviewed in some
places to protect the dairy farmer
against oleOmargarine even where this
product Is honestly sold rs artificial
butter. It is not to be expected that
in many cases where science supplies
us with a desirable substitute for any
product. the law can be successfully
invoked to keep the world from reap
ing the benefit of Increasing knowledge.
Future discoveries may compel the far
mer to cease raising sO,he produce by
which he has thrived. or to change
and improve his methods of agricul-
ture: but it is certain that the tiIlers Of
the soil will continue to supply the
chief Of food and apparel
y. J.. Sun.