The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-06-28

.
 The conversion of common straw into
 lumber for building purposes Is one Of the most valuable achievements in the | line under discussion. The straw is
 first reduced to pulp, mixed with ce- ment, and then pressed into solid
 shapes for practical use. This straw
 lumber may be ripped with the hand
 saw or buzz-saw, may be run through
 the sticker for the manufacture of
 mouldings, and takes a nail or screw
 about as well as oak. It may be fln-
 ished with varnish or with paint, and is
 susceptible of a. high polish. It Is
 practically water and fire proof, being
 manufactured under 800 degrees of heat,
 and has been boiled for some hours
 without any apparent change of struc-
 ture Its tensile strength Is greater
 than that of walnut or oak, and it's
 weight about one-fifth greater than the
 flax fibre-in fact, from any material
 that will make pulp-and ton of straw
 will produce 1000 feet of boards.
 The refuse water from chemical
 works has received considerable at-
 tention in recent years Not long ago
 the health committee of Glasgow town
 council set worthy example by hav-
 ing special report presented to them
 drawn up by duly qualified experts
 who were. among other things, to find
 out the best means of purifying the
 manufacturing discharges if 1t should
 be deemed necessary to treat these or any of them before permitting them to
 be introduced into the sewage system of
 the city, or into the river Clyde, and
 the result of the experiments made
 were published In pamphlet. The experts came to the conclusion that the simplest methods of treatment of the refuse water from chemical works and one which will be found effectual is to run the waste water over bed of chalk or limestone of sufficient extent. and that from this deposit various pro- ducts useful in manufacturing purpos- ee can be obtained. They discovered that liquid coming out as waste from large sulphur and copper works was in- tensely acid, and contained an enor- nous quantity of chloride and sulphate of iron, and after this was purified the oxides formed sediment, and from these an ochre was prepared-service- able to paper-makers, paper stainers, \ linoleum- um-manufacturers, and others, as well as for the purifcation of coal gas.
 Many other uses have been discov- | cred for so-called waste substances which can only be briefly mentioned here. Tin dustfs now advantageodsly used for button making and for other | various purposes. Pyrites, formerly a neglected mineral, is now made to yield l sulphur. The waste of glass-furnaces is used again, by simple processes, serv- l ing a purpose in the manufacture of | glass similar to that of rags in paper making; broken bottles, on being re- melted make an inferior quality of | glass, and can be made into a variety | of useful and inexpensive articles. Wa | ter in which wool has been washed for | purposes, and which for 1 generations has been allowed to flow | away down village streams or rivers Is now being passed through various pro- | cesses, and yields grease and other sub stances which form base for soaps and other lubricants. For many years after gas was the happy outcome of brain the coal-tar was a | terrible problem in the hands of gas | makers. and now we have out of it rich aniline dyes, which produce those bright and attractive colors found on every dry goods counter, and an almost list of articles, including delicate perfumes.
 As every one knows, use has been 1 'ound for nearly all rubbish aceurhu- ated from old buildings undergoing he process of demolition. The waste s very small. Nothing but the old plaster is thrown away, and very little goes into the junk heap except, per laps, the metal roof, if in very bad and some of the piping. The | broken lumber Is made into kindling lnd fire wood, the old bricks are sorted 'ver and used for inferior building pur- poses. The granite and blue stone, ogether with old bath-tube, wash owls, and other plumbers supplies, ind ready sale, and even locks and loor-knobs have 8 value,
 Facts have been given sufficient to how that it is not safe in these days o turn up ones nose, as it were, even t so low and despised thing as gar age barrett for there Is no telling what useful if not beautiful, things nay be made to rise from the barrel nder the magic touch of modern sci- nee.