The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-07-09

| In the same way that the corn pith
enables our fighting vessels to keep
afloat, even after holes have been
| punched in their sides. it may be used
to add to the safety of merchant and
passenger ships. Most ocean disas-
! ters result from collisions between two
/ ships or from a vessel striking upon
/ hidden rocks. As the cellulose packing
swells TO nearly ten times its original
bulk under the influence of water. it
would serve to close up even the yawn-
/ ing hole torn by a liners PROV when
she strikes a weaker ship. Even though
the cellulose did not hold long enough
to float a ship back to port, it would
suffice to let her passengers escape,
and would thus remove the most hOr-
rible features of ocean catiStropheS.
The two new passenger ships, the
largest ever constructed in this coun-
try, which the Cramps have under
| taken to build for the American line
will probably have the corn pith pack
ing to add to their buoyancy and safe
ty. Mr.. Cramp himself is an enthusi-
astic believer in the new device.
In trying to find a product that would
answer the needs of the navy. Mr..
Marsden unwittingly stumbled upon d
product that is useful in a greater Va
riety of ways than any other growth
of our fields. Since the manufacture of
cellulose for the use of the navy, two
years ago, il has been applied to Il
dozen other practical uses. which ulti-
mately will utilize the whole product of
our cOrnfields. 1t is estimated that
$50, 10000 tons of cOrnStalkS go
to waste every year now. When
this amount is all utilized, it Will
add three-Quarters of a billion dollars
to the yearly resources of American
farmers, and will increase the annual
business of the country by considerably
more than a billion.
The absorbent qualities which make
the corn pith cellulose So valuable as
a packing for warships, also makes 1t
the cheapest and most useful material
for the manufacture of SmCkeleSS pow
der. All such powders are made by
dissolving guncottOn and nitro-glycer-
inc in solvent and then mixing them.
Corn pith makes a cheap and success
full guncotton. and company has re-
Gently been formed. with a capital of
$40 000. 900. to manufacture this form of
powder. The company's works are To-
Gated in New Jersey, and are now un-
der operation on government contracts
1t is not alone to warlike uses that
the humble cornstalk is To be devoted.
The absorbent pith makes the best sort
of a bath brush. Ii has also been used
as a packing for steam pipes, boilers,
fibrous portion of the stalk is manu-
featured into paper and paper boxes
and the residue. the leaves and the out
side of the stalks. are chopped up into
a prepared food for horses and cattle.
that has been adopted for the cavalry
and artillery of the United states
army. All this reads like the claims
of a patent medicine cure-all, but they
have all be tried and proved by prac-
81
which will probably be discovered raise
the maize plant from the position of
nuisance to the farmer to one of proud
importance as a source of revenue
Three factories now in operation are
employed in turning out the various
products mentioned above. The largest
of them is at Greensboro, Ky. The
others are at Rockford, Ills, and Ches-
ter. Pa. Later in the season another
factory for the manufacture of the
navy product is to be opened near
Newport News, Va.
Since the whole process of this man.
ufacture is a new one, the machinery
by which it is carried on had TO be es-
pecially devised. The problem which
it presented baffied the inventor for
some time, but he has at length sue
ceeded in perfecting machinery which
make it possible to turn out the fin
ished products on large scale.
To be useful for manufacturing pur-
poses. the stalks must be well ripened
before cutting. and must be thoroughly
cured. After stripping off the ears the
farmer hauls the stalks to the factory,
where they are paid for at the rate
of SO per ton.
The piles of stalks. just as they come
TO the factory. are fed into big cutting
machines. which chop them into short
lengths. Elevating shafts carry them
TO the roof of the factory. where they
pass over great screens with fans to
separate the leaves and lighter parts
An ingenious machine. with upright