Omaha daily bee., 1917-01-23
GERMAN CHEMISTS
WORKING WONDERS
Scientists Find Substitutes for
Saltpeter, Aluminium and
Even Foodstuffs.
BREW TEA FROM BERRIES

Correspondence Of The Associated Prcss)
Berlin, Jan. 5.-The extent to
which substitutes and limitations are
rampant in Germany today form one
of the most interesting subjects OF
the now seasonable reviews, The
"ersatz"-the German word for sub
stitute--is now common not oply in
the line Of foodstuffs, but in the chem
ical industry textiles and metals.
Though from time to time indications
of this change in German life have
become known abroad, there have
lately appeared interesting summaries
which afford sharper focus on the
situation. Some of the items in this
development, under their respective
heads, are as follows:
Saltpeter: Before the war Ger
many imported annually $40W0,00
worth Of saltpeter for agricultural
and ammunition purposes. mainly
from Chile, and all of this regular
supply was lost at the outset Of the
war. Today countless factories in
Germany are manufacturing saltpeter,
whereas before the war there were
only a few such experimental estab-
lishments, and Germany is now able
not only to supply the increased
amount Of saltpeter necessary for am
munition, but also has been able to
furnish all that is necessary for fer
tilizers- ..gcs5
Aluminium: Before the war the sup.
ply of bauxite for the manufacture OF
aluminium had been imported from
France, and the cutting off Of this
supply led German scientists to dis
cover a process of aluminium manu-
facture by electricity from ordinary
clay.
Extracting Oils.
Mineral oils Chemical experts in
the German coal fields have discov-
cred new ways Of extracting oils from
their coal, partly relieving the serious
condition resulting from the cutting
off of mineral oil imports which. in
1913, amount to no less than $277,-
0O0. 900.
Rubber: Germany lost practically
all of its imports of rubber. and to
offset this shortage it has substituted
steel for rubber in innumerable cases
where rubber had been used purely
for its elasticity. Further, the per
lection Of the submarine merchant
ship made it possible to bring in
enough new rubber to mix with the
old in the creation of regenerated
or synthetic rubber. The supply Of
this has been developed until now il
is said to be sufficient to last for an
other eight months.
Graphite: Ceylon was the exclu,
sive source Of supply of graphite used
in Germany before the war, because
the Ceylon graphite was go per cen,
pure. Since the beginning of the war
Germany has been dependent entirely
upon the inferior Bavarian graphite
but German chemists have been able
to find process by which the Bavar
ian article can be purified to 81 pei
| cent standard.
| Resin: Supplies of this had come
exclusively from America and France
but Greman chemists have now be
come able to produce all that is
needed from the German forests, oil
are able to use as substitute fot
rosin the byproducts Of wood ant
coal.
Paper as Cloth.
Textiles; Paper has been adapted
in innumerable instances to serve fol
cloth. By using protoxide or sodium
sulphite cellulosei and paper very
durable and satisfactory thread ha.
been evolved, which, in turn, lends it
self to the creation of sacks and bags
| girdles, doilies, aprons, working gar
ments, wrapping cloth and thread ant
string. The inventors have discovered
a way to give the "paper-cloth' grear
resistance to dampness. Cellulose ha.
been found to lend itself to the pro
duction Of gun cotton when combined
with other chemicals, and nettles have
proved themselves to be the sourc,
of cotton batting. thread, yarn, color
| ing and even feed stuffs, Dresses ant