The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1899-10-19
Wilmington Star)

1hiS Is an age OF science and di is
coVery and also an age Of thrift as
Tar as saving and utilizing MANY
things that not very many years AGO
went to waste
Previous to the war between the
States the only product Of the cotton
plant which had a commercial value
was the lint; the seed were used as
fertilizers, if used at all and the plant
was permitted to rot in the field. Now
the oil mills make the seed worth
many millions of dollars annually,
ana various uses are found for the
fbre Of the root and stalk.
Until quite recently the waste of
| the saw mills of the South was 2
nuisance; it was burned up to get it
out OF the way, but recently a process
has been discovered by which it is
said it can be utilized in the mar
utacture of paper, thus not only turn
ing it to valuable account but also
making it the basis of what NAV be-
come great industry.
Not many years ago we looked at
red clay and associated it only in a
manufacturing way with the making
OF bricks, piping and pottery, but
science has discovered wonderful
and valuable mineral in it-aluminum
and invention has devised processes
OF extracting this mineral from which.
nnmberless useful articles are made.
| Not many years ago the yellow
pine Of the South had a commercial
value only for its lumber, turpentine.
rosin and tar: t"-day, in addition to
these. no less than twenty valuable
| products are extracted from it.
We might add to this list other
things with which every one is more
or less familiar, to show what science
and invention are doing in the way Of
saving and utilizing what once went
to waste or was unknown.
| Every one at least in this country
| knows what corn is and knows some
| Of its common uses. but there ism t
one person in a thousand who has any
| idea of the important part the corn
stalk plays in the industrial world.
AS giving some interesting informa-
ton on this point, we clip the fol-
| lowing from the Savannah NeNS:
There is great deal more in corn
than most people imagine. Many
who have been familiar with its pro-
duction and ordinary uses all of their
| lives associate it in their minds only
| with meal, grits, cattle feed and
corn whiskey. To such persons it
may be matter Of some establishment
to know that there are besides the
articles mentioned here, more than
twenty other products of corn and its
| plant. Science has been particularly
| busy with corn during the past few
wears. and it has discovered that the
corn plant is one of the most versa
tile members of the vegetable family.
1t lends itself readily to a consider
able number of enterprises, and is
new Industries. The Chicago Tribune
has made the following list CT the new
| products of corn:
! Mixing glucose, crystal glucose,
grape sugar, special sugar, anhy-
drous grape sugar, pearl starch,
| powdered starch, refund grits flour
inc, dextrine, British gum, gran
ulated gum, gum paste, corn oil, corn
oil cake, rubber substitute, gluten
feed. chop feed, gluten meal, corn
germ.
In addition to this should be
mentioned cellulOse, the new pack
inc for the sides of ships, which i:
now manufactured in large and in
creasing quantities from the pith OF
the cornstalk. and 4 new absorban'
for nitro glyccrine and other hlgl
explosives, also pitch product
Hundreds of thousands of gallons o
distilled spirits, made from corn
are being used in the manufacture OF
smokeless powder. and the consump
ton of this article in the powde
factories is likely to increase during
the next few wears. The American
Navy Department is now building
great smokeleSs powder plant which
will run up the demand by thousand:
of gallons.
..Practically every particle of the
corn plant, from root to taSSel. l.
manufactured into some useful pro
duet No part OF the ear, from thu
grain to the cob itself, escapes tn
manufacturers One of the most i'm
portant of the new discoveries, ant
one which may have great deal o
influence upon certain markets is thu
rubber substitute. 1t is predicted
that this article will soon be used il
the manufacture Of all rubber goods
1t can be produced, the inventor
claim. for six cents pound, and II
connection with Para rubber in equa
parts can be used in all classes o
rubber manufacture.
when these new uses for corn arr
considered in connection with tn
old uses-and the demand in the ole
lines is growing greater understanding
the harvesting of few record break
ing crops"
, During the winter of 1897 Mr.. jaime
| p,>I o,o of tho laa.}iDp citizens and mel