Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-09-05
SHELTER FUME PROBLEM.
Important Discoveries Made at Expert
ment stations In Smoke Districts.

Prof. John A. Widtsoe Of the state
agricultural college has announced that
he will have a report ready for publ
cation In a few days upon the sub
iect Of smelter smoke and us effect
ON the animals and vegetation Of the
Salt Lake valley,
For the past year and half six eX'
pertinent stations have been conducted
at different points between the Utah
Consolidated and American smelters.
Here the professor has studied carefully
the problem which worries the farmers
I'm that vicinity most, and has made some
important discoveries bearing upon the
situation. Prof Widtsoe contends that
the gas which docs the damage to Vege-
tatlon, etc, Is sulphur dioxide, and that
there is no known process OF smoke con-
sumption that Will help matters any.
According 10 the observations Of Prof
WidtsOe the amount Of ore handled
daily by the smelters is about 100000
pounds "Of this" he states, 'ap-
pToximately one.third, or 5000 pounds,
goes into The air as sulphur dioXide
When the gas comes into contact with
water 10 Is readily dissolved, and In
this form does most of the damage, as
1t gets into the fiber Of a plant and
destroys H. Besides the sulphur di.
oxide, a great deal OF 1ue dust, con-
sstng mostly OF iron, Is scattered over
the country. and when II comes into
contact with water 1t forms ferrous
oxide. or ordinary ust~whlCh many
farmers mistakenly blame for sup
posed damages 10 vegetation. Nor
does the sulphur gas itself poison the
vegetation At our station we have
fed Il COW upon hay from one Of the
worst affected fields in the smoke belt
for tho past fifteen months and she stu
shows no sign Of poison.
THE ground Is not injured either by
! tho smoke, az many suppose. The smoke
| could settle over the valley for twen-
| ty-fyc years without making any DIFF
| ference 10 tho ground itself. and there
need be no concern felt over this dam
ger
However great source Of damage
perhaps the principal source-comes
! from poisoned water In winter the
| sulphur dust settles on the snow aud
/ when the snow melts down In the spring
/ II forms pools OF water IN which much
/ Of the gas IS dissolved, and which are
| deadly poison cattle running at large
/ lu pastures arc often injured by drink.
Ing this water II farmers would take
/ the trouble to feed their cattle the
| blcached mccms in barns which they
| often destroy thinking Il TO be pois-
oned), they would save a great deal Of
| loss ms cattle and horses IN pastures
! get thirty or forty times az much of
| the dust as when In barns, owing to
| the fact that they crop the grass close
| down and often lick the dust coated
ground with their tongues Some ami
mails examined bv the station are found
10 be Fat and short Of wind, and 9th
ors lean and bony Just what affects
| them IN the smoke rs not fully deter
mined yet, but one thing Is certain, Il
Is not the lead and It Is an error to
speak Of 'leaded horses due TO the
smoke. The sickness may be due to
the due dust Of the arsenic, or neither.
although Il must have some connection
with the smelters.'
The worst devastation, the station
has asCertained Is along the course OF
| the prevailing winds Potatoes seem
TO be easy prey as well as nearly every
| specie Of flower plants.
Then come the perennial plants which
are affected year after year and are
finally killed, II they are directly In
the line Of greatest damage Corn seems
10 be- the hardest and TO have the great
est chance against the smoke.