Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-04-14
CORNSTALK SUGAR.
A ST. LOUIS WORLDS FAIR DEM.
ONSTRATiON.

Both Corn and Susar-Manufactur Practi.
cable in Wide Territory-Quantity and DUAL.
ity Are All Right.
One OF the things demonstrated at
the st. Louis Worlds Fair, that may
have radical effect upon a portion Of
our farming methods, was the fact
that sugar can be protitably manufac-
tured from the stalks Of common corn
and the corn also be used profitably.
A correspondent of the Country Gen.
hemdn, writing on the subject, says:
Perhaps the greatest new source of
wealth that for the first time was dem
onstrated at the st. Louis Exposition,
was the discovery Of Prof. f. L. Stew.
art of Murrysville, Pa, that sugar OF
equal quality and quantity may be
secured from suitable cornstalks as
from the sugar cane of the South.
The jurors OF the Exposition, recog-
nizing the immense value OF Preseason
Stewards revelation, have awarded him
a gold medal, one OF the highest awards
possible.
The manufacture OF sugar from the
cornstalk is practicable in all that
great territory between the sugar belt
OF the South and the short season ter.
ritory OF the North. A company i.
now being incorporated and the capi.
tai is secured to erect large factories
for developing the Stewart process.
One factory will be erected soon, near
Fort Worth, Tex, and another in
Maryland, and Others will, no doubt,
follow in many districts in the suitable
latitudes.
Professor Stewart has discovered and
fully demonstrated in the past few
years that if the ear of the maize (of
suitable variety is removed at GER
tain time (near the roasting ear condi-
tion), the nature OF the plant in fur
ther growth will be changed, and its
sugar.making properties will be raised
from say 6.7 to 1880 per cent, as in
one series OF tests, i. e., IL to Is per
cent. OF sugar may be obtained from
the Juice of stalks so operated upon.
Maize plants have long been known
TO contain sugar in the juice Of the
green stems, and many times efforts
have been made to utilize it; but this
has hitherto been commercially un-
profitable-the juice containing too
little sngar at any of its natural stages
and that obtained was associated with
relatively large proportions OF impuri.
ties.
On account Of the great value OF the
other products to be secured though
the Stewart process, the sugar might
be considered as a by-product or its
actual cost figured as low as cent per
pound for the highest grade COG per
cent? OF unreined sugar. Unlike unre-
fined beet sugar, but like that of cane
sugar, the maize cane sugar has ma.
turally a fine flavor, adapting it for
common use as we'll as for refining.
The products OF the plant under the
new process will be-first, the ear, suit.
able for food products or silo; second,
sugar products. including white crystal.
yellow end second grade sugar, table
sirup. mOlasses and cell ulose products,
including paper pulps, five grades OF
cellulose, and viscous pyroxylin amy.
loid and fine charcoal.
These products of the cellulose
structure of the stalk are used in the
manufacture OF many commodities de-
manded in the arts-for making cel-
luloid. collodion, sizing, varnishes,
transparent films, incsndescent lamp
fiIaments, artificial silk, gun cotton,
smokeless powder, and many other
purposes. The clean fiber and the
cellular.matter products result directly
from the previous operations required
to extract the sugar, 90 that the pro.
cess is profitable at every stage.