Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-05-24


were conspiring against her children?
That is just what it has been looking
like to those seer eyed scientists who
are able to peer into the future and
see the end of those supplies that
seem so boundless to the lay mind.
But even to them the question has
only recently become acute, and they
have been asking each other how this
great sphinx riddle could be answer
ed.
But where was ever the woman who
could forever remain a closed book to
other women? The riddle has been
answered, and answered by woman.
If earth demands fertilization and is
withdrawing her own natural supplies
of the coin she demands, what then?
Simple" said Nine Lefebre of Paris.
There's only one thing besides the
earth available. and that Is the air.
Use it." And then she devised the
method of extracting the nitrogen
from the air and using it to make nj
trio acid, and in turn the multitudin-
Gus chemicals that man now needs.
including the humble and all import
ant fertilizer.
when did she do it?" asks the pub
lie. ut must be very recent, or the
news would have travelled outside of
scientific circles. When it does, the
woman will be lauded as she de-
serves"
The woman will not be lauded. She
made her discovery more than half
century ago, taking out an English
patent on the process in the year 1859,
and the decades that interviewed be-
tween the time of her work and man
kinds discovery of its necessity have
been sufficient to bury her name as
completely as they hid her deed till
urgent necessity made us aware of it.
Look through the articles on famous
women scientists in the old French re-
views; look through French diction-
aries of science and histories of i'm
names of those who met then rec
ognized need, but you will probably
find no mention of her. though the
value of her discovery may exceed
theirs many times. And listen to this,
published not long ago in one of the
chemical trade journals: Nitrogen
Is so rare an article, the COM
mercial sources of it being so few,
that he who will discover a cheap COM
mercia1 process for obtaining it from
the atmosphere and combining it in
form that will be serviceable In crop
production not only will be great
benefactor and inventor, but will
change the economy Of living on this
earth"
"He who will discover!" she" had
already discovered, and had done it be-
fore the need became pressing, just as
a mother feeds her family so long be-
fore hunger becomes acute that they
are not aware that her simple act sus-
tains and saves their very lives. Had
Nine. Lefebre made her discovery so
years after she did this is what the
chemist. would have said: Nitrogen
is SO rare an article {. that she
who discovered a process for obtain
ing 1t from the Atmosphere AOt
only is a great benefactor and inven-
tor. but has changed the economy of
living on this earth Then he might
have added: "And the modern need
being eyerlastingly for the greater
cheapening Of processes, and the cost
OF water power, high or low, the one
who will make the latter still cheaper
or invent substitute Independent of
the natural supply of water power, will
make her blessing to mankind practic-
ally free"
What is this process that produces
such marvellous results? 1t is as ele-
mental in its simplicity as the great
primal drama / spoke Of in beginning
TO tell this story 1t is in this that fire
and water are called in to aid the
woman. Fire? The leading feature
OF the process Is an electric arc be-
tween the poles of which the tempera-
ture is 1900 degrees centigrade. or