The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-08-27
|]O My SCIENCE, CAN SAVE
@@|W0RLD FROM STARVATION
Without nifrafes, humanity
IN 2l::ii century would perish
From lock Of food

rious parts of the world are manufac-
turing many products used in the arts
and sciences which formerly were
only produced in laboratory expert.
nents.
Manufacture Nitratcs.
Thus we see chlornatcd substances
Especially chloroform-made from
chlorine obtained by passing hot hydro
chloric acid over broken brick impreg-
mated with copper chloride. The lat
ter is not exhausted by the process and
may be used over and over again
The hydrochloric acid is q by-produce
from ? process of manufacturing soda
so that il will he evident that the
process is not expensive. even If chlero
form Is. Sulphuric acid, one of the
most generally used substances In the
arts. is obtained with equal simplicity
and cheapness. Indigo is now arti
ideally produced from coal tar in such
enormous quantities that it Is actually
Imported Into India, the home Of the
natural indigo, and moreover the arti-
fetal dyestuff is not only cheaper, but
purer than the other.
If tie artificial production Of these
substances has become so extensive
business that trade has been revolu
tonized, there is room for expectation
that the manufacturer of nitrates will
proceed on the same lines, and not only
may science assure a constant and suf
ficient supply, but give the agricultur
list n better nitrate at lower price.
Several methods of utilizing the free
nitrogen of the air are being followed
with more or less success. By one
method the substance calcium carbide
familiar in acetylene bicycle and
automobile lamps-forms a kind of in
tcrmediary. This substance is made by
directing powerful electric current
upon mixture of chalk and coal. II
ut the moment of it's formation nitro
gen gas is allowed to play upon the
mixture, 1t Is swept into the combina
lion. Calcium cyanamide, the resultant
body. gives off ammonia In. contact
with water, and can be applied to the
land as a manure.
In Norway works are being estab
lishtd to produce in large quantities nj
t-ate of calcium for direct use as ma
nure. This nitrate Of calcium may be
brought to the market in one of three
forms-first. in a fused state. in which
1t contains 1876 per cent of nitrogen; sec.
oDd, in crystals, and, third. as a basic
salt. which forms dry powder which
does not become moist on exposure to
the air.
Simple Process Proposed.
Sir William Crookes has proposed a
simple process for producing nitric
acid. 1t consists merely in using the
electric current to make nitrogen and
oxygen in the air burn together until
they reach the state of nitric acid. A
crude nitrate of soda is about being
put on the market by one of the com
paries that draw power for generating
electricity from Niagara Falls This
nitrate OF soda is made by drawing
nitrogen from the air, and il is prom
sed that the farmer will be able to
buy the product for about one-half
what his fertilizers now cost him.
If the stock of available ready.
made nitrates is rapidly being ex.
hauSted, the fact remains that the ma
terlals from which they may be con-
structed may be found In abundance
Essentially a nitrate is a derfvative
of nitric acid, the constituents Of which
are hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen.
three of the most abundant elements
in the world
NJ. Lanos, another Frenchman, who
is not a scientist but an imaginative
painter, offers poor humanity more
cheerful prospect for the morrow. lie
has pictured the farm of the future as
an immense crystal palace, wherein
crops are raised with the speed Of the
East Indian mango tree from n ma
gician's basket. Here electricity will
I've the factor, furnishing actinic rays
more effective than those the earths
atmosphere appears TO receive from
the sun, and lending a temperature
equal to that Of the tropics. Wheat
and corn in this district of marvels
will grew luxurlously independent of
changes of weather. drought, flood and
destructive winds. Certainly Nj.
Lanos' chimera is delightful one,
AMI more agreeable TO the imagination
than Professor Berthelot's promised
chemical triumph.