Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-05
CORN BEARS ARNOR
Invaluable Contribution to the Safety Of
American Wal Ships.
VITAL PARTS BANKED WITH C0RNPITH
A Quartet of Floating Fortresses
Rendered Unsinkable by a Linz
ing Of the Product of
Cornstalks.

WASHINGTON, D. C, Feb. 2i.-(Special
Correspondence .)-One result OF our recent
war promises to be a new impetus TO an
Industry OF great Importance and value
10 the agriculturists OF this country. II
has been discovered, as the outcome OF our
battles, that c~ellulose is an immensely
valuable factor in the construction OF war
ships. This, as is we'll known, is the prod
uct Of the cornstalk. This article is already
an article of and those VINO con-
troll the patents assert that there Is prac-
tically no limit to the demand for 1t. Inc
pure plth of the stalk is worth several
hundred dollars q ton.
After a series OF experiments extending
over three years the United States govern
menr has found in this discovery a method
Of making cur war ships practically IN
sInkable. 1t is by placing over the inside
of the hull a packing Of this corn pith along
the water line. This simple device Is more
than q match for the most powerful shell
from an enemy's gun. It does not stop the
projectile, it simply allows 1t 10 go clear
through both sides OF the ship if it can,
while the holes made in the ships side
close up as II the shell had gone through
a sponge.
Strange as this may seem, il is accounted
for by the fact that this corn pith lining
sgells UP as soon as the water enters the
hole made BY the projectile. Before the
thrush OF water has penetrated half way
through this three foot belt the corn plth
has syelled and completely closed the hole
so that not a drop OF water enters the ship.
This removes one OF the most dangerous
features Of steel war ships-that IS, their
tendency to sink almost instantly on being
pierced by a projectile below the water line.
The old wooden war vessels in previous
times could be fairly riddled with holes
and yet keep afoat. The swelling Of the
wood and the ease With which they could be
plugged made it hard TO sink them.
The great horror Of recent naval wars
with modern steel vessels mas been the fear
ful quickness with which war ships were
sent TO the bottom. Dewey illustrated this
on the Spanish ships at Manila. IN the bat
tie OF the Yalu in the war between Japan
and China the Chinese armored cruisers
Tschi-Yuen and King-Yuen were sunk by
being pierced at the water line.
The rev battleships which have been
launched during the past year-the Illinois.
the Kentucky. the Alabama, the Kearsarge.
and the Wisconsin, have all been provided
with this lining OF corn pith. On these big
battIeships, designed TO be the finest ships
OF their class in the world, the corn pith
is packed in coferdams three feet thick.
They are not placed behind the heavy
armor. but extend from the ends OF the
armor. which protects the middle portions.
or yitals of the ship. clear around the bow
and stern, This thick lining Is four feet
above and three feet below the water line.
The corn pith is packed 10 a density OF six
pounds 10 the square foot. Mr.. Henry W.
Cramp, the great war ship builder, has cal
culated that this corn pith lining IS equal to
a six-iuch belt Of steel amor in defensive
value and a single hundred tons Of il equals
a thousand tons Of steel armOr.
Another new industry has recently devel-
oped from the product OF corEstalks. This
Is a process that has been discovered for
making paper OF cornhusks and cornstslks.
The process Is a very cheap one, and as a
good staple grade Of paper can be manu-
factured from these materials, the success
OF the patents seems almost certain.
L. ". THAYIs.