Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-06-13
WONDERS OF SAWDUST
Brandy, Bread ard Marble Now Made
from Wood Waste.

from Wood Waste.
Only few years back sawdust was
regarded by owners Of sawmill8 as so
much waste, To be got rid OF anyhow,
and as quickly as possible. Anybody
could have il. and welcome. Some
proprietors even paid people to cart
il away. Today all this is altered.
Sawdust, so.far from being looked up
on as rubbish, is greatly priced, and
turned to account in Il hundred dlE-
ferent ways in arts and manu-
iacturcrs.
Sugar. for instance. is made from It.
So, too is alcohol. which is, of
course. the basis of all spirits. At
recent banquet, attended by famous
chemists from all over the world, cx.
cellent brandy" WAS served distilled
from sawduat. 1t WAS mellow, Of
agreeable flavor, perfectly free from
any odor or taste of turpentinc. and
none of the.fueets knew. until they
Were told, that il was other than The
genuine juice of the grape.
Sawdust, again, forms the basis of
more than 20 different kinds of eX-
plosiyes. The so-callcd white" and
yellow" gunpOwders are merely SO
much sawdust saturated with certain
acids.
Gas for lighting purposes can be
manufactured from saWdu6t equally
as woll as from coal. In the lumber
regions of Canada. where saWdust is
cheap and plentiful, many towns ana
villages are lighted with saWdust gas,
The mode of production is the same
as is used for coal gas. The saWdust
IS baked in retorts. and yields from
10000 to 10000 cubic feet OF Gas
Per ton.
What is known as Wood,meal fodder
for cattle is just aawdust mixed with
mash with hot distilers' wash and
favored with rock salt. Ii can be fed
TO the beasts in its fresh state, or It
can be dried and pressed into molls
like oil cake, or it can be baked in
the torn of4aough. Similar sawdusl
dough is made into bread and eaten
by the pcasant1 in some parts Of Rus.
STA and Germany.
Mortar made from saWdust is now
largely used in building operations In
fact, q. house could almost be built
throughout, for there is Il sawdu t
stucco on the market and all kinds of
imitation wood is made OF saWduat,
from plain deal panks to the most
elaborate oak ana mahogany mould
inEs, ornamental doors, windows, etc.
Then there is a wood marble which
is used for mantlepieeCs, and which is
sawdust combined with ivory waste
and colorcd with certain pigments.
The raised "yelvet" wall papers, now
so fashionable, are made OF saWdust
sfted over II surface that has been
previously sized with an adhesive
paste.
All Kinds Of dyes are now manufaC-
tured sfrom sawdust, and are both
cheap and perm lnent A round OF
sawdust dye, for instance. c SITS oily
about half as much as the same
quantity OF logwood extract, while pos,
sensing four times the dyelng power
Ordinary sawdust is used by jewel
fars to clean tarni3led silver and
beech sawdust is the best potishIHS
powder tor gold. Sswdust is also
Used in laundries in lieu Of soap,
since friction with it is very cllica-
cious in removing dirt.
Tens of thousands of tons of saw
dust are puped and made into paper
every year. Pressed, into round molds
it is made into shoppers for bottles,
into fiat moids, with dyes, it comes
out in the form Of coloreQ plaques
and tinted wooden tiles. SaWduat Is
now used for the cheaper kinds Of
llnoleums instead Of the more o.pca-
siye cork dust, and teascllatcd floors
ar laid with small blocks Of colorcd
sawdust granite" arranged in pat,
terms.
In fact there seems to be no end to
the uses to which this accommodates
substance is put. The motorists owes
to it the brilliant headlight, from
which, by the action of the water.
Lon, 4