Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1917-09-06
Trade Secrets Held at Enormous Prices

in guarding valuable processes as are manufac-
turers. For example, the Chinese government is
the owner of the secret of making vermillion red.
which is held by many experts be the
beautiful shade Of red in the world. No has
ever been able to produ like vermillion
The Turkish government it appears, possesses
similar secret process of inlaying precious met
ais in the hardest steel The work is done per-
fectly and defies all attic mpts at reproduction
In 1913 1t was announced that distinguished
chemist of the imperial technical school of Mos
COW had solved the problem of making artificial
rubber, and that he could sell the product
about 30 cents a pound Yet the price of rubber
remains pretty much the same. if not more. The
reason may be found by examining the patent
office records In the last decade many hundreds
of patents for artificial rubber have been taken
out. Substitutes have been made from petroleum.
from coal tar. turpentine. peat. from ntrated lin
seed oil and by treating cereals with phyalin.
The latter invention created considerable sen
sation so long 1906. vet, judging by the
constantly increasing demand for the natural
product it has had little effect upon the real rub
Der market.
The chemist. working in his laboratory can
take any substance and analyze it. that is. break
1T up into its original constituents. and tell you
what they and how much of each element
the substance in question is composed of:
when 1t comes to building up the original sub
stance out of its prime constituents he is at sea
for the most part. By dint of long and patient
experiments or perhaps by pure chance he
succeed In reproducing some few natural products.
but that is as far as he go.
Indigo blue took many years to synthetize A
German chemist accomplished it at last. but
curious discovery was made that If blended with
the natural product made from the indigo plant
the color obtained both more durable and
brighter than that made by either dye alone. So
artificial indigo has yet ruined the indigo
planter.
Gutta Percha Becomes Scarcer.
Artificial camphor has also been produced. 1t is
now made from pine-tree turpentine- But the
chemist has not yet succeeded in synthetizing
gntta percha- This commodity yearly becomes
scarcer- Enormous quantities are required for va
he ring IF SHIN rlno
cables and the making of golf balls. A fortune
awaits the man who make artificial gutta
percha at a price that will permit to compete
with the juice of the Dichopis gutta.
Cork is another substance of everyday that
seems to defy the inventor. The only substitute
for cork is paper treated with parafin But
such cork could not be used for bottle of wine.
So far nothing has been artificially made to
pete with the bark of the cork oak.
At Delhi. In India, stands ancient iron
ument which, though exposed to all weathers.
never rusts decays. Yet 1T has protective
covering. Here Is secret which would be simply
invaluable the world. which has been discovered
by some Indian artiicer of old and unfor-
tunately lost At meeting Of steel and iron
men in London. the chairman said that they could
face the future with complacency IL they could
rediscover the secret To shipowners alone 1t
would mean yearly saving Of Millions Rust
IL the great enemy OF the steel ship and she has
constantly 60 into dock to have her hull coated
with anticorrosive solution