The Columbus journal., 1901-01-09


sufficiently brought to the attention Of
the people. and then to discontinue
their distribution, leaving the demand
thus created to be supplied through the
ordinary commercial channels. In this
way the department will be enabled
to carry out the original intent Of the
seed-distribution law. will furnish
seeds Of the highest character. and
will avoid the evil Of competition with
the regular seed trade.
By-PFoducts Of the soGar BesG
In q report to the Department OF
State on the beet sugar industry OF
Germany. Mr.. Geo. H. Murphy, vice.
consul at Magdeburg. says: "The in
fuence which chemistry has exerted
upon the production Of beet sugar has
been very great and has rendered pos
sible the victory Of the beet over
sugar cane. the production Of beet
sugar in the world being now twice a.
large as that of cane sugar. No other
existing industry is subject to snch
thorough and scientific control. In
German sugar factories there are now
employed about one thousand chem
lists who give their undivided atten-
ton to furthering the interests Of the
industry.
THE utilization OF waste materials
in the manufacture of by-products has
h~l n~,
molasses dress after the removal OF
the sugar a potash is won which Is
preferred to all sorts in the soap in
dustries. From the parts of the same
material which contain nitrogen, cy-
anide OF potassium is also produced.
This substance IA much used in mod
ern gold mining in the Transvaal. and
also to q growing extent in the Unit
ed States. It Is believed that q meth
cd will be found sooner or later for
using electricity in the clarihcation of
beet Juice"
Concerning the utilization Of sugar
beet waste as manure. he says:
Until recently no satisfactory pro-
cess has been found for utilizing the
waste materials which accumulate 30
rapidly in German beet-sugar factor
les. The questions found most dimcult
to solve were:
1. How to reduce to useful form the
valuable ingredients remaining In the
mass.
2. How to obviate the unpleasant
odors.
3. How to safely dispose of tho d,n-
gerous waste water.
These difficulties were seriously felt,
especially In establishments producing
sugar or alcohol from molasses. the
residuum known as brown lye or mo-
lasses dregs being substance which
1t was found difficult to dispose Of sat
isfactorily. When emptied into rivers
either directly or through sewers, it 10
said that certain result was the death
of a small percentage Of the fish In
such streams. When the lye was re-
duced to saline (Schlempekohle) or
potash, the products of combustion
escaping through the chimney spread
odors SO offensive as to cause annoy
ance and discomfort in the vicinity. It
Is now claimed that these evil-smell-
ing products Of combustion contain
valuable manure stuffs. and. further,
that the manuring Of fields with waste
material of this sort is advantageous,
because the soil thus receives back in
easily assimilable form useful matter
OF which the beet deprived it in its
growth, especially potassium and nj
trogen. This molasses lye cannot.
however. be conveniently used as ma
nure, owing to the fact that the large
quantity of water which it contains
makes its transportation too ex-
pensive. Furthermore. it cannot be
used in concentrated state on account
Of it's inconveniently stiff and syrupy
form.
It is accordingly interesting to learn
that a process has recently been in
vented which. it is alleged. obviates all
the difficulties mentioned above, in
cluding bad odors. dangerous waste
water, and inconvenient form. By
this process molasses lye is changed
into dry substance which can be
stored and eventually easily scattered
over fields. A recent issue Of the Han
over Journal of Agriculture and For
estry gives the following analysis of
the product: Nitrogen, 3.22 per cent,
Of which 2.74 per cent is nitrogen
soluble in water (of this OF per cent
in ammonia nitrogen and 0.09 per cent
saltpeter nitrogeu): phosphoric acid.
OILS per cent, of which 0.04 per cent is
acid soluble in water; pot
ash (soluble). 1914 per cent; car.
Donate Of lime, $3.50 per cent.