The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-08-23
NATIONS DEFENSE.
THE UNITED STATES USING THE
PlTH OF CORNSTALKS.

Cellulose Made From the Once Use
less CornstallS Placed In the Steel
Walls of American Cruisers-Does
Not Stop Shot But Excludes Water.
The use of cornstalk pith as part
OF the defensive equipment OF the
modern battleship promises much TO
the Western farmer. The manufacture
of celloose is no longer an experiment,
but is gradually coming into extensive
use.
The Marsden Company of Philadel-
,pha was the first to use cellulose. 1t
Is made from the pure pith of the corn
stalk and is used to give protection
along the water-line and to prevent
the entrance of water If the ships
side should be pierced by shot.
After a ship has been launched and
the armor boted on, the three feet OF
space between the ribs known as the
cofferdam is filled with celluose. Should
a shot pierce the side at the water
line the damage would be lessened by
the cellulose. The cellulose is fire.
proof; water could not enter. Wettng
causes the cellulose to swell and close
the hole. This device does not stop the
plOJtNNilt, Dub dllONo II W pass NlOdl
through, while the holes made close
up much as if the projectile had passed
through a sponge.
The new battleships Illinois, Ken
lucky, Alabama, Kearsarge, Wisconsin,
have all been provided with a belt of
cellulose, three feet thick twelve feet
high, six feet above the water-line, and
six feet below the water-line, extending
around the entire ship. 1t takes fifty
tons of cellulose for each ship. On an
average of fifteen tons of stalks to a
ton Of cellulose, some idea can be gain
ed of the quantity used.
CelulOse is Manufactured by first cut
ting out the joints of the stalks to pro-
cure the pure pith The pieces are
run through rollers that crack the out
or casing and allow the pith to be eX-
tracted. The tubes of pure pth are then
cut up fine. After the fbres have been
taken out by tanning process the pith
is subjected to fire-proofng, then press
ed into blocks six Inches square.
From the press the cubes are placed
in pasteboard boxes and packed in cases
holding 1913 cubes, each weighing six
teen ounces Owing to its lightness,
but three tons can be loaded into a car
One company is now working on a
1,000-ton order for the home Govern
ment, and a 1500-tUn order for the
Russian Government
In addition to cellulOse. celluloid
goods are made from the pith by anoth-
er process. Another by-product is a
metal lacquer known as pyroXolin. used
in covering metal exposed to the wealth
er. The Dupont smCkeless powder fac
tory is also experimenting with a very
fine ground cellulOse with a view of
using it as base for smokeless pow-
der The greatest difficulty was to Sc
cure a quality free from foreign matter.
The factory at Greensboro. Ky, has
been paying SO per ton to farmers for
stalks. The experiment station at Rock
ford. ILL.,, paid 81 per ton. The large
amount of stock fed near Rockford
made the stalks of more value to
the Illinois feeder than the Kentucky
farmer. During the six months that
the Rockford station was in operation,
the company paid over $4,000 for
talks Land which will grow fifty
bushels of corn to the acre will produce
two tons of stalks. If the corn can be
marketed for thirty cents per bushel
and the stalks for So per ton, allowing
S for cutting, it means $50 an acre for
the farmer.
The practical use of cellulose in bat
teships will create an enormous de-
mand for stalks. Should England place
an order sufficiently large to equip a
part of her navy, it will mean the ex-
penditure of thousands of dollars for
that which has heretofore been consd-
cred of small value While foreign coun-
tries recognize the necessity of equip
ping their navies with this new protec-
ton, no country in the world can grow
the stalks as cheaply as the six great
Corn-growng states of the West.