Evening star., 1916-05-21

later methods is to chop or shred the
kelp into smaller pieces as it is taken
upon the scow, and when delivered on
shore to run the product directly into
rotary kiln. There it is dried until
the water content goes from S5 per
cent to 10 per cent or less. The product
like tobacco leaves. only very much
broken and a good part of it powdered
or crumpled into dust.
This product contains the potash
and is an excellent fertilizer. although
lacking in some important elements,
and if it were not for the expense of
transporting SO bulky a product-being
about ten tons from every hundred
tons of kelp-it could be put upon the
market and sold to good advantage.
If there is not good local market
for the dried product and the freight
rates to the place of delivery are high
the transportation charges might alb
sorb all the profit il the worthless vege-
table matter and moisture content are
shipped along to swell these charges.
in consequence. an advertisement on
the subject might read:
.'Wanted-A method of extracting
from dried kelp the elements which
possess active value; these are potash
nitrogen and iodine"
The chemical engineers and manu-
the quantities of iodine and nitrogen
are very small. and the market value
of the potash is ordinarily not very
great. The war will be over some day.
the German potash fields are vast and
the treatment of their output is mex
pensive Therefore the problem of
freeing the valuable ingredients of the
kelp product from the worthless at a
cost so low as to leave good margin
of profit after paying for gathering the
kelp and drying II is by no means easy
and calls for efficiency of the first or
der
To supply the farmers with the soil
amendments without which they can-
not obtain economic results, applica-
tion has been made for government aid
to put up an experimental plant to de-
termine the best method of SECURING
this indispensable element. Some of the
large fertilizer makers also are ex-
perimentng in the same direction. for
at $500 ton they cannot put potash
into their product and sell it at price
within reach. Consequently. the farm
er is calling in vain for that which
must be given generously to the soil
to secure from it generous response.
One of the big manufacturers of high
explosives needs acetone for its gun
cotton, and il is now trying to get 1t
from kelp by process which Will pre-
serve some of the potash as a by
product.
These experiments for obtaining pot
ash are, in a general way. based upon
burning the dried kelp and treating
the ash remaining after the organic
matter has thus been eliminated. BY
teaching this ash and recryStalizing
the product, high grade potash salts,
such as are required in making soap,
glass and safety matches. are obtained.
The details have not been worked out
and thus far no large amounts of pot
ash have been produced.
The advantage of government de-
velopment of such a process is that.
like the Rittman process for cracking
petroleum to increase the yield of gas
oline. it is free to all who wish to use
it. and thereby the general consumer
has the opportunity to secure the out
put in abundance and at reasonable
interference with patent rights.
There is practically no limit to the
yield of kelp, for if the present groves
are insufficient they can be increased
by judicious planting of the spores.
seed germs. the only requirements be-
ing swift tides in something less than
fifty feet of water over stony bottoms.
navigable waters would prove
nuisance to heavy shipping and men
ace to light craft.
Sometimes, however, they are of as
sistance to the mariner. because their
presence indicates shoal water, and he
takes good pains to keep clear of them.
OK the Alaskan coast thc o.lcts in some