The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-02-25
TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 25, 1918.
SECRETS WORTH MILLIONS.

we a. ~" NSShS oSo
that a distinguished chemist of the I'M
perial Technical School Of Moscow had
solved the problem of making artificial
rubber. and that he could sell the new
product at about Is I'D a pound.
Yet, in spite of this widely dissent
Der remains pretty much the same.
The reason may be found by examin-
ing the patent office records. During
the past ten or twelve years nearly
500 patents for artificial rubber have
been taken out.
petroleum, from coal tar. %turpentine.
peat. from nitrated linseed oil and by
treating cereals with phyalin.
The latter invention made a con-
siderable sensation 50 long ago as
1906; yet. judging by the constantly
increasing demand for the natural
product, it has had little effect upon
the real rubber market.
The chemist, working in his labora-
tory. can take any substance and an
alyze it-that is, break it up into its
original constituents and tell you what
they are. and how much Of each ele-
ment the substance in question is COM
posed of.
But when it comes to building up
the original substance out Of its prime
constituents there he is at sea. BY
dint Of long and patient experiments,
or perhaps by pure chance. he may
succeed in reproducing some few nat
ural products, but that is as far as
he can go.
Indigo dye took many years to syn
thesize. A German chemist accom-
plshed 1t at last, but the curious dis
covery was made that. if blended With
the natural product made from the
indigo plant. the color produced was
both more durable and brighter than
that made by either dye alone. So ar
tiicial indigo has not yet ruined the
indigo planter. .
Artificial canlphor has also been
produced. 1t is now made from pine
tree t%urpentine. But the chemist has
not yet succeeded in synthesizing gut
ia percha. This commodity grows
yearly more rare. Enormous quanti-
ties are required for making golf balls
n for the covering Of submarine
cables. A fortune awaits the clever
mar who can make artificial gutta
percha at a price which will allow it
to compete with the Juice of the
Dtchopis gutta.
Cork is another substance Of every.
day use which seems to defy the in
ventor. The only substitute for cork
is paper treated with parafin wax.
But such a cork could not be used for
a bottle of wine. So far nothing has
been artifcially made to compete with
the bark Of the cork oak.
AT Delhi, the new capital of India,
stands an ancient iron monument,
which. though exposed to all weathers,
never rusts or decays. Yet it has no
protective covering. Here is a secret
which would be simply invaluable to
the world, which has been discovered
by some Indian artificer of old time
and most unfortunately been lost.
AT a recent meeting Of the iron and
steel institute Mr.. Cushman said that
We could face the future with COM
p%lacency if We could rediscover the Sc.
cret. To ~shipowners alone it would
mean a yearly saving of millions. Rust
is the great enemy of the steel ship.
and she has constantly to go into dock
to have her hull coated with anti-cor-
rosive solution.
The mortar made by the ancients
deffes our laboratory workers of today
Many ancient dyes are more durable
than any modern ones. and Of these,
too, We have lost the secret, as we'll az
OF the wonderful and practically ever
lasting ink which was used by the
monks of old.