The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-02-17

efficiency of them can all be greatl,
increased by making their sides auto
matically resist the inhow Of water
lnasmuch as the American cruiser.
carry heavier batteries than similar
ships of other nations they would when
} SO protected be able to give battle to
vessels far heavier than themselves.
The corn pith, it should be said, has
not been adopted by the Navy Depart
men, without elaborate experiments
and tests. Golfer dams filled with the
stuff were rlddled by big shells, but
water could not be made to enter even
when projected at the holes in a pow
erful stream from fire hose.
The old wooden vessels were attacked
by shells that made holes along the W.. .
terline but the amount of water that
entered was small, owing to the swell.
lag OF the wood and the fact that holes
IN wooden ships could be plugged with
comparative ease. But sheet steel YES
sci under fire from modern high power
guns is likely to receive a great many
shots along the water line, every one
admitting water. The first and most
natural way of guarding against such
water line damage was to put belt of
armor around the vessel, extending for
few feet above and below the water
line. But guns improved SO rapidly in
penetrating power and facility Of fire
that belt could not be carried the
whole length Of sufficient thickness to
guarantee defense. Hence the value
of the cornstalk padding for armored
ships, while for unarmored vessels it is
most admirable protection.
This idea, like many others, has had
gradual evolution. A few years ago
having decided on the correctness of
the principle, the Navy Department
filled the Golfer dams of some ships with
"cellulose,'' obtained from cocoanut
husks. That material was most highly
commended at the time. The husks
were imported from Ceylon and the
"cellulose" "a word for the cellular sub
stance of woody matter freed from i'm
purltes-was separated from them by !
machinery in Philadelphia. the finish
ed product looked like bits of ground |
cork. Unfortunately it did not prove
altogether successful. 1t was apt to !
purely, and taking fire readily, give
out distressing smoke. Ship rats bred
in it by myrlads, and, in short, it was
nuisance. 1t cost about SIoo a ton
more than the new cora stalk pith.
Meanwhile other nations were max
ing experiments in the same line. Ger
many favored cork, which was cut into
slabs an inch thick and slowed in the
Golfer dams with glue to fill the inter
stices. Italy tried cat-tails. These were
the every day cat tails Of swampy
places. which, not being cultivated
plants, had to be gathered at large ex-
pense where they happened to grow.
The fuzzy heads were packed in can
vas bags, which were covered with
non combustible coating. Certainly
the notion Of protecting fighting ships
with cat tails was sufficiently picturesque
if not humorous. However, the cost of
them was too high, and they rotted
quickly. So now the Italian navy
has adopted cork shavings mixed with
tar and pressed into cakes.
France, too, has tried the mixture Of
cork shavings and tar, but at preeent
she is using "zostere "a species of sea-
weed common on the French coast. 1t
is dried, treated chemically, packed in
canvas bags ant smeared with a water
proof coating, or else pressed into
bricks. Being marine growth, it is
safe from deterloation IN SAT- water.
The experiments of the United States
naturally have attracted
attention abroad, and all of the prlncl
pal European pDwers are making ex.
periments with cornstalk pth as a fill.
ing for the coffcr-damS OF their ships
of war. Doubtless it will be quite gen
orally adopted before long.
The process ofpreparlng tee corstalk
plth is decidedly interesting. The un-
trimmed stalks, just as they Come
from the field that has yielded its har-
vest, are fed to a 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 hopper.
This drops them into mill which
cracks the husks, releasln, The plth.
The resulting product is exposed to an
other air blast, which blows the plth
one way and the shells Of the stalks
another. The pith Is separated INTO
two grades, coarse and fine, by yet an
other air blast. Inc Coarse pllh-a
white, spongy pulp-;s the short used for
ship padding, and before the final press
ing Of il into blocks 1t IS subjected 10
chemical treatment 10 render 1t FIRE
proof and decay proof
The fl c pth Is UTILIZED for variety
Of purposes presently TO be described.
The husks, leaves, etc, Of the corn
plant, separated in the manner above
referred TO, are ground into a meal
which IS most excellent food for cat
lie. Inc meal somewhat resembles
bran IN appearance, and it has been
proved TO contain more diges,abe
food for cattle and horses than timothy
hay, weight for weight. As as basis
for caltle food mixed with other food
material, i, is extremely valuable. It
is easily imagined that the discovery
OF use for cornstalks, hitherto regard
ed as waste product, is likely 10 be
very profitable II the farmer. The
entire corn plant, after the ears OF