Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-07-10
ENRICHES EARTH
Edison Says Nitrogen Extracted
From the Air Will Give Much
Better Crops.
STEAM TO BE SUPPLANItD
Electricity Direct From Coal Will Drive
Horses From Field of Labor,
Predicts the Wizard.


York American recently the first inter
view since his announcements on his
sixtieth birthday last February that hs
had quit the career of Il money making
inventor for that of Il scientist.
For the rest of his life, he says, he j.
| intends to devote all his attention to
| scientific problems without a thought /
| Of whether or not their solution would |
bring financial gain. The wizard dis
| cusseI many of the mysteries into !
! which he was delving and prophesed
! that, even though he might fail of 4 !
| solution. he firmly believed others
| would triumph where he failed. Mr.. |
| Edison. for example, made the predic |
ton that before long science would |
| enable the farmer to enrich his lands |
| by means of nitrogen from the air.
The element necessary for making
land FERTILE he said. lis nitrogen,
which exists in almost meXhaustible
| quantities in the atmosphere Until
recently. however. the utilization of at
mospheric nitrogen was regarded as
! merely n laboratory demonstration.
| Business men said it could never be
| obtained cheap enough to sell to the
farmer as fertilizer
But the day is just about to dawn
when the air will be made to give Its
nitrogen TO the earth and to make it
Weld more abundant harvestS and fat
ter herds of cattle. In Norway a plant
has been established which has been
conducted with such good results that
expect to see atmospheric fertilizer
on the market in this country within
the next ten years.
THAT such n product will soon BE
imperatively necessary there is no
doubt Every shipload of wheat and
corn which goes abroad leaves the
United States so much poorer. not in
gold. but in nitrogen.
Sir William CrooIles. when be was
president of the British Association
For the Advancement Of Science. pro
phcsed that in another quarter of a
century the earth would be drained of
nitrogen to such a degree that there
would he famine in many regions of
the world. He may have taken too
diScouragiGg n view of the subject,
but nevertheless his statement had q
true basis of fact. At the present time
the bulk of the worlds supply of nj
trOgen comes from the saltpeter beds
; of South America. but these are being
: dug up so fast it will not be very long
l before they will be exhausted.
Generated Direct.
Another scientific discovery which
expect to see before die is the direct
generation Of electricity from coal
Imagine what will he the conse
quences Then locomotives will he
. thrown into the scrap heaps. All trains
u will be run by electricity. No longer
Z will coal be laboriously transported tC
:. the cities. but there will he great power
y plants established at the mouths Of the
4 mines, from which the electricity will
L be sent out over the country by wire.
There will be no horses in the
e streets, no stables, no flies. Wagons
a will be propelled by electricity. Houses
will be lighted entirely by electricity
for it will be so cheap it can be uset
by the humblest tenement dweller
:, Ships will no longer be driven 10y
steam. Electricity will be their motiv,
!. power. And then it will be possible
to cross the Atlantic in three days.
AT the present time nine-tcnihs o
the power obtained from coal IS los
by the use of boilers, wheels and dyna
mos. With the direct generation of TIL
electrical current, therefore. the work
Ii will have ten times more energy thai
~ now
When asked Just what subject nov
: eugrossed his attention a smile imme
| 1irl, ich
g sensitive face
* '"The man who is studying Il sCier
9 tific problem" he replied. ''can no NOR
x talk of what he is doing than can th
8 general of his plan of attack en- III
x eve of battle. The chief incentiv
G which prompts the scientist to labo
x toward q certain goal is the hope tina
6 he will be the first TO reach it. There
x fore he does not care to make plat
6 the road to others"
* at has been said Mr. Edison. yo
{, intended to take up the study of spcI
= taneous life" said the reporter
8 mo, l will leave that for Mr. Burke,
* was the prompt reply. THAT is to
Z, mysterious for me, and yet. for thG
{, matter IT, is no more strange tina
s 10000 other things a man may oil
g serve"
81 Here the speaker paused and, liftin
G bit of paper from the table. let
q drop.
G NO man can explain why that p;
& per falls" he said. You may call
8 gravitation, but then l ask, What
= gravitation?' No one can tell why Ii
8 magnet attracts iron or steel We al
x still ignorant of the true character
8 electricity. Indeed. to me. after all ii
x years have spent in studying electri
9 ity, 1t is more a mystery now tina
x ever"
9 When asked what he thought of Il
x Oslerian doctrine the sexagenarian r
6 piled: Il don't feel any more like ia
* ing chloroform now than when w;
{, thirty. 1 expect to live at least fort
& more years"