The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-16

tainly the notion of protecting fighting
shlps with cattails was sufficiently pictu-
rescue, If not humorous. However, the
cost of them was too high, and they rotted
quickly So now the Italian navy las
adopted cork shavings mixed with tar and
pressed into cakes
France, too. has tried this mixture of
cork shavings and tar, but at present she
IS using "zostere''-a species of seaweed
common on the French coast 1t is dried.
treated chemically, packed in canvas bags
ana smeared with a waterproof coating
or else pressed into bricks. Being a ma
rlne growth, it is safe from deterioration
IN salt water. The experiments of the
United states government naturally have
attracted attention abroad, and all of the
principal European powers are making
trlals with cornstalk pith as a filling for
the coffer-dams of their ships of war
Doubtless it will be quite generally adopt
ed before long.
The process of preparing the cornstalk
pith is decidedly interesting. The untrim-
med stalks, Just as they come from the
neld mat has yielded its harvest are fed
TO chopping machine and cut into pieces
an inch in length. Then they are exposed
TO an air blast, which blows aside the
leaves and light trash, while the pieces
Of stalk are carried through a pipe to a
hopper This drops them into a miH,
which crooks the husks releasing the pith
The resulting product is exposed to an
other air blast, which bows the pith one
way and the shells of the stalks another
The pith is separated into two grades,
coarse and fine, by yet another air blast
The coarse pith-a white, spongy pulp
is the sort used for ship padding. and be-
fore the final pressing of it into books it
IS subjected to chemical treatment to rem
der il fireproOf and decay proof
The fine pth is utilized for a variety of
purposes presently to be described The
husks leaves, etc, of the corn plant, sepa-
rated in the manner above referred TO, are
ground into a meal which is a most ex-
celent food for cattle. The meal some
what resembles bran in appearance and
it has been proved to contain more di-
gestible food for cattle and horses than
timothy hay, weight for weight. AS ba-
sis for cattle food mixed with other food
material, it is extremely valuable. It is
easily imagined that the discovery of
use for cornstalks hitherto regarded as a
waste product, is likely to be very profit
able to the farmer. The entire corn plant
after the ears of grain are removed. con-
tains one pound of pith to fourteen pounds
of blades, husks and stalks
1t is predicted with confidence that the
demand for cornstalk pith will eventually
absorb the entire available supply-so
many uses are being found for this now
product. A finer grade of paper is made
out of it than the best and justly famous
Chinese rice paper. All other grades of
paper are made from it likewise Before
long, 1t is asserted the pith will super
sede wood pulp for paper stock. This, if
true, is matter of the greatest import
ance, inasmuch as the forests of the coun-
try are so rapidly disappearing. In order
to produce the Chronicle for one year an
appalling acreage of trees has to be wiped
out, and this cannot go on many decades
longer. 1t will be odd if the newspa pers
Of the future shall be printed on paper
manufactured from cornstalks.
The fine cornstalk pith above mentioned
is being utilized as base for explosive
compounds. 1t is declared that explosives
with this base will supersede all other ex-
plovise, and that they will develop them
selves, incidentally, as the smokeiess
gunpowders of the future. Among the
200 and odd uses found for the cornstalk
pith may be mentioned waterproofing com
pounds, leather enamel, vRrnish, glue. a
substitute for celluloid, artificial silk fill
ters for water and beer, electric lamp fla
ments, a floor covering superior TO limo
leum, mattresses, cement, paint, horse col
lars, insulation for refrigerator cars and
dry cells for electric storage batteries.
Thus If there is no error in the claims adj
vanced, it will be seen that a material
hitherto supposed worthless is about to
be applied most probably and in a great
variety of ways to the uses of mankind