The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-02-26
PRESS BULLETIN NO. 1872.
Donaturcd Alcohol from Catalogues

Inquiries have recently come in to the
Chemical Department of this institu
ton regarding the possibilities Of de-.
un'urcl mcohol production from can
taloup",, IN view of the above, u
,ncuirai examination was made of
some dead ripe cautnloupc, during the
past esa-ou.
According 10 our present knowledge
OF alcohol, It B.. produced from what
We call reducing sugars or like bodies
having the same formula. These ~ugars
We know 10 the commercial world ~
i"Ntrosc, grape sugar aud giucu,,, all
meaning the same mcterial.
There are different yields per acre
of cantaloupcs in different parts of
the Territory, depending on difiercn,
conditions of soil and cultivation aud
planting. There are also different vari
cite, OF cnutaloupcs produced which
would contain varying amounts of
icrm"ntable material, but the differ.
rucr IN the amount of sugar will not
bee very grea, IN the different varir
les.
The cantaloupcs ana,yzcd contained
i1 per cent reducing sugar This
would mean 1896 pounds OF reducing
,ulars per acre producing 1860
pounds OF cantaloupcs. II all these
roduciug sugars were f~crmcntablc com
rl"i"ly 70 alcohol, (Which il doubt
'ulJ they would produce 1926 pounds
If absolute alcohol 200 per cent?, and
his would make 2g.ss gallons of 100
per cont OF 200 proof alcohol. AZ -
cents per gallon 29,ss gallons would
bring tll.H5. The cost Of production
of III" rnutaloupcs aud the manufac.
turing OF the alcohol are next to be-
figured, but 1t is hardly worth while
corn will produc" per acre alcohol val.
ned Al s35.2i, sugar bccts 500 20, pc.
'ato"s 5000, sweet potatoes sii.sU,
aud tuuas 5000. Corn gives by.pro,
duct, ~ the manufacture of alcohol.
while wc nuow OF no by products from
Ne" cun,ulouprs.
Roughly speaking, : tons of cauta
loupes will bring gross receipts from
alcohol production amounting to sl2;
one ton produces $40 worth of nlco.
mol. On an average yield Of Rocky
Ford cHuiHloupcs an acre brings in
from $50 To $500, when the canta.
.oupr- are placed upon the market.
Now IT the cost IT production Of these
ls ~ per acre and It costs more Ia
produce alcohol from m acre of can.
aloupcs, which brings ~ this way on.
y sllHj, it is quite evident that the
production OF deuatured alcohol from
'uuiuloupcs would not be a paying bus.
mess but w,uld be- "a loss.
After certain complicated treatment,
sawdust and various other woody pro.
duets may be- made TO yield reducing
sugars which are fermentable to al.
rohol At the present time II hes not
been learned II cantnloupes can be
made to produce more alcohol event.
ually by this complicated treatment,
hence the common method was used in
thesc calculations. However, IL IL were
possible to ferment all the solid ma.
terial IA cantaloupes, one acre would
bring only s35.s5 worth Of alcohol, on,
ton would bring $40 worth; and, after
~deducting the cost Of production OF
rantaloupes, one acre would net as.
~ from which the cost Of manufacture
must be taken, leaving a very small
profit, II any,
Thus, In conclusion, II is quite evi.
lent that II would not pny Ia grow
rautaloupcs for production Of lcna
ured alroholi neither would il pay to
manufacture dcuatured alcohol from the
waste cnutaloupes,
8, Il. MITCHELL
February 23, 1910.