The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-14
i TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director.
Washington. D. G.
THE NECESSARY NUTsHELLs.
Washington. D. G.

THE NECESSARY NUTSHELLS.
Washington, D. c., Oct 9,-Strange-
ly enough. the nutshell has become TO
the United States as important a war
material as steel, Or nitrate, or T. n.
T. The filter of hafd, brittle carbon,
which is all that stands between the
American soldier and death by gas,
can be secured only from the cinders
of burned nutshells.
Peach stones. cherry seeds. prune
pits and olive seeds have also become
important, for, tho the carbon yielded
by them is not sufficiently hard for
use by itself, it can. by admixture with
the carbon from nutshells, be made
into a satisfactory filter. 1t is the
plan of the war department to secure.
if possible, every bit of nutshell in the
United States.
A short time after the first battle
of Ypres, when "a Mortified American
public was forced to accept the almost
incredible fact that supposedly CIV
ilized nation had resorted to- the use
of poisonous gas in warfare, when 1t
read the terrible and revolving story
of how the pet battalions of England
and Canada, caught unawares.
coughed out their lives in wracking
agony, certain chemists of the depart
HleHl OIL anu OtIlSE
branches of the government service
were set at work to devise a means of
| protection against this Ffiendish form
| of attack. OF course, America. at that
time, seemed altogether detached
| from the world war, and the expert
mentS of these chemists were sur
rounded with the greatest secrecy.
Gradually, the scientists of the al
| lied countries were able to make ac-
curate analyses of the gas clouds float
| ed across the German lines. Bit by
bit. they devised methods for fighting
them. Crude these> methods were at
| first, but they were worked by stages
| toward perfection, and eventually the
gas lost most of its terrors for the al
| lied soldier. The allies. themselves.
were compelled to adopt the gas at
tack against the Germans. and Ger
man experts quickly devised gas
mask for the kaiser's regiments.
Doubtless they expected such a retail
alton and were prepared for it. The
Developments with the greatest at
tention.
By the time the United States en-
tered the war the gas mask had reach
| ed a state Of comparative perfection,
| tho experimentation was still going on,
and is continuing now on q wider
| scale than ever. When the gas de-
'fense branch of the chemical warfare
| service was created, the government
chemists who had been working on
the gas problem since the first battle
| of Ypres, turned over to the army the
| results of their experiments. In ad-
| dition. British and French gas experts
| supplied US with a vast deal of in
valuable gas data.
One thing which had been learned
was that a surface of hard, firm car
| bon was necessary as a neutralizing
1 q int nr-di T,aJ oh NJ
do, for it has a tendency, to "jambn or
pack, and allow gas to escape. 1t was
| found that from the shells. Of the
cocoanut and the cohune that carbon
| sufficiently hard for the purpose could
be obtained. Thousands of the shells
of these nuts were imported at very
great expense from tropical America
and elsewhere. As the American war
| program expanded, and successive
drafts called men to the colors by the
! hundreds Of thousands, the need for
gas masks expanded with it. 1t soon
became evident that the supply OF
cocoanut and cohune nut shells could
not meet the demands. That is one OF
| the problems which confrontS the
| chemical warfare service today. There
is an army of four million men in
prospect. To provide each of these
men with a gas mask will require
2S,000,000 pounds of nut shells.
1t was the experts of the depart
ment of agriculture, continuing their
| experiments independently. who dis
covered that carbon of sufficient
| hardness for gas mask purposes
might be derived from other things
They found that the bony shells of
| black walnuts, hickorfes. English wal
| nuts, butternuts and shellbarks would
answer just as well as cocoanuts or
cohunes. They found, too, that the
seeds of such fruits as plums. cher
| r;o 6
peaches and prunes could be made to
yield a satisfactory carbon. This dis
| covery was made in the height of the
California canning season. and thou
sands of carloads of peach and april
cot seeds which, in the ordinary
course of events would have known
no better destiny than use as fuel or
reduction into perfume and toilet
soap. were shipped east and put to
the noblest of uses-that of preserving
human life.
According to Mr. C. A. Reed, nut
culturist. of the department 81 agri-
culture, virtually the entire crop OF
black walnuts, hickories and shell.
barks in the eastern States goes an,
nualiy to waste. 1T us is im aasr,;e
that this year they be harvested
Stale nuts. wormy nuts, and halt
Formed nuts answer just as we'll as
fresh, perfect ones. And it should be
remembered that seven pounds Of the
shells of these nuts will make enough
carbon for one gas mask"
A little more than a fortnight age
a nation wide campaign to obtain car
bon materials was instituted under the
joint auspices of the food administra'
ton, the national war savings commit
tee, the department of agriculture ant
the Red Cross. Posters calling OF
citizens to save fruit stones and nut
shells have been distributed every
where. The Boy Scouts and othel
juvenile organizations have been en-
listed to make canvasses of hotels
restaurants and homes. The depart
ment has sent word to its count,
agents to carry on the campaign
among the farmers. Nut-gatherint
! clubs are being formed everywhere. II
| 80 ~ a M