The Washington herald., 1907-08-19
BREAD FROM STONES,
AND CLOTH FROM AIR
By FREDERIC j. HASKTM
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

Kneading crushed granite into bread
and weaving cotton cloth from the air
ire late accomplishments Of science. Pot
ash needed for food by growing grain is
supplied from granite. and the cotton
plant is fed on nitrogen captured from
the atmosphere. Billions Of dollars worth
Of food products and textile materials
are taken from the soil of the United
States each year by the farmers much
Of which never finds its way back 10 the
earth Of the same locality. The potash
and phosphates and nitrogen and other
plant foods which are taken away must
be restored. or, in time. the farm viii
become barren and unproductive. Much
has been done by the adoption Of scien-
tifc methods Of agriculture and the ro-
tation Of crops and proper tllage, but
the main dependence IS upon the utiliza-
ton Of applied fertilizers. That the older
the farm the more the need for fe-tii-
zers is forcibly illustrated by the figures
showing that the old States east Of the
Appalachian Mountains use more com
mercial fertilizers than all the other
States combined.
The increasing demand for commercial
fertilizers has caused sharp advance in
prices and FOR this reason. if for no
other. great interest is manifested in
agricultural circles in the experiments
which tend 10 show that granite and
other feldspathic rocks, Of which there
IS the greatest abundance, and common
air may be utilized for fertilization. Nj
trogen is a plant food of which much is
required and in which many soils are
deficient Farmers have learned 20 ada
10 the supply Of nitrogen in the soil by
i planting red clover or soy beans or COW
peas. These and other legumiuous plants
take the nitrogen from the air, restore it
70 the depleted soil through the roots,
and, If the green crop is plowed under,
through the other portions OF the plant.
Now comes science and builds a ma
chine which takes the nitrogen from the
air as the red clover does. mixes it with
a carrying agent, and puts It UP in sacks
10 be shipped wherever the farmer needs
nitrogen for his soil The great nitrate
of soda bed OF Chile is the sole natural
source Of supply Of nitrogen in form
used for feEtilizer. Other sources Of sup
ply are from the blood and tankage ref
use Of the meat packing houses, sui
phate OF ammonia which is a by-product
Of coke ovens, fsh-scrap. and cotton-seed
meal
The imports Of Chilean nitrates have in
creased co per cent fin ten years, and the
price has increased IN the same percent
age. The demand for the lime-nitrogen
which is produced from the air IS de
pendent only upon the success Of the
experiments with growing crops now be-
ing conducted in Europe and Asia. Thus
far the experiments have been most en-
couraging. and in Germany and Italy the
business bhas already advanced 20 a posi-
ton of Importance in the commercial
world. With a plant az Niagara Falls
and others 20 be erected in the South
the lime-nitrogen business soon VIII have
prominent ilace in the catalogue Of
American fertilizers.
The process Of manufacture Is not in
tricate. Crushed coke is placed in a bat
terry Of ovens with crushed lime of "a nigh
quality BY the application OF an electric
NAAi tilL q TEN llArldtAAE OF Nt.HU degrees
Fahrenheit IS produced. This great heat
makes a molten mass Of the coke and
lime which IS then cooled. cleaned. and
milled into a fine powder. Air Is COM
pressed under enormous pressure until il
becomes liquid. Nitrogen gas Of almost
perfect purity Is produced from this liquid
air by fractional distiHation. The pow
dered coke and lime mixture IS placed in
another battery of ovens, into which the
nitrogen gas is brought In pipes. Again
electricity is applied and Ime-nitrogen Is
formed. When this is taken from the
oven il looks Ike dark gray cast iron.
1t IS again crushed and milled into q fine
powder, IS then treated with crude oil.
and is ready 10 be sent % the farmer
employed 10 do artifcialy what one red
clover plant has known how 10 do from
the beginning. But the important thing
is that science has found how to do 1t.
To the unframed eye a block Of granite
IS the most Hfeless and hopeless OF sub
stances. Yet experiments have proved
that a block Of granite ground 10 powder
as fine as -four will enrich the soil and
make plants grow. Potash is plant food
Of great value. It forms the greater por-
ton Of the solid parts Of many vegeta-
bles, and is present in larger quantities
than any other solid in the ashes Of
most plants Al of the potash available
for use in commercial fertilizers comes
1. from the mines in Germany. The supply
there is practically inexhaustible. but the
\ processes OF mining are expensive, the
demand is heavy, and the prices have
scared TO the skies
Granite, FOR example, not often carries
more than per cent OF potash. a cubic
foot Of the stone weighs about 10 pounds.
or this there is eight and one-half pounds
OF potash a quarry 100 feet square and
100 feet deep would yield S.500000 pounds
OF potash. This can be produced AT less
than half the price of German potash. il
is claimed. There is no effort to separate
the potash from the granite. The whole
rock IS ground into fine powder and
this powder IS spread on the land Ex-
periments were made with tobacco. a
plant which requires much potash In
the greenhouses there We're three beds.
one TO which feldspar was applied. an
other to which carbonate Of potash was
supplied and another to which no potash
was added The feidspar bed produced
the best results Experiments carried on
in tobacco fields in Connecticut and
Florida, side by side with pIats in which
other potash fertilizers were used, proved
successful. The work IS being carried
forward. and it is believed by many
scientists that the granite mountains VIII
soon be levied upon for a small part of
their rocky hearts &c be used in revivify-
ing the depleted soil of tho farms.
The nitrate beds OF Chile have cost the