Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-10-07
CHEMISTRY AND
THE FARMER

The chemist has received consid-
cradle publicity. since the outbreak
of the war, due the important role
that he has played in the manufac-
ture Of munitions, poisonous gases,
gas masks and various industrial pro-
ducts necessary to the prosecution OF
a successful war. Few people real
ize, however, says R. Adams butcher,
a member Of the Minnesota section of
the American Chemical Society. the
important part that the chemist has
played in preparing the nation to pro-
duce agricultural products sufficient
to feed our own and the allied armies,
In the first place the chemist found
that certain soils produced large
crops because these soils were rich In
certain chemical substances neces-
sary for plant growth. Other soils,
which did not yield good crops. he
found to be deficient in some of the
chemical substances. With charac-
teristic initiative he found that he
could procure chemical substances
which caused the profitless lands to
bear good crops. This marked the
beginning Of the fertilizer industry.
When he found Chile salt-peter was
no longer available he found a
method of making saltpeter from the
nitrogen Of the air and an abundant
salt, known as soda ash. He found
that some Of our western lands are
now responding to drainage and irri-
cation to free them from alkali salts
which had formerly prevented the
production Of crops. He also found
that many soils produced poor crops
because of the acids they contained.
Thanks to the chemist any farmer
can now buy a simple fool PROOF
apparatus and take it out into the
field and determine for himself the
amount of lime to add per acre to
correct this acidity.
II no other chemist has accom-
plished a thing for agriculture. the
world would still owe great debt to
chemistry for the reason that DR.. >.
M. Babcock, while chemist at the
Wisconsin experiment Station, devel-
oped the Babcock test for butter rat
which has put enough money into the
pocket of the farmer to pay a large
part, IL not the entire expense. or
running our Agricultural Experiment
Stations. DR.. Babcock could have
made a fortune had he patented this
invention but instead he unselfshly
gave it to the farmer in whose inter-
est he was working.
The producer Of vegetables and
fruit would be unable to produce
these valuable commodities in COM
mercial quantities had not the chem
list procured chemicals IN the form OF
powders and sprays which kill the
insects without harming the plant or
the edibility Of its fruit.
Scientific feeding. so necessary FOR
maximum production Of meat and
dairy products. has not only been de-
pendent upon the chemical laboratory
for information regarding compare
tive quantities Of protein. fat and
carbohydrates in various feeds. but
the heat value and digestibility of
feeding stuffs have also been found
by chemical Study and the results ar
ranged in simple form SO that they
are now in general use over the en-
tire country.
More recs ltly the chemist has been
able to SHOW that many diseases Of a
nutritional nature can be cured by
substances. called vitamines, found
in certain foodstuffs but not in others.
This work is paving the way towards
more intelligent feeding Of young.
growing animals. These are but a
few OF the things that the chemist
has done to assist in agricultural nro-
dnetion.