The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-04-05
EVER HEAR OF DIATOMACEOUS EARTH?

In response to numerous inquiries and uses of diatoInaceous or infusorial
 earth, the United States Bureau of
 Mines has just issued a. statement
 giving the desired information The Bureau states that diatoma- ceous earth is abundant in the United States and widely distributed, being available in commercial quantities in no less than fourteen States.
 The chief use of diatomaceous earth is as a cleanser and po1isher, and for these purposes it is used in the form of a powder or mixed with soap. It is ] a most effective non-conductor of heat and has been used alone or with var ious compounds in coverings for boil
 CTS, steam pipes, furnaces and stoves. and in the manufacture of fireproof cements.
 It also has great absorbent quail | ties, which makes it suitable for water 1 filters. Boiled with shellac, it is used
 in the manufacture of records for talk 1 ing machines. It has also been used | in the manufacture of water glass, in l making cement, in tile glazing, arti- l 1fcial stone, ultramarine and other l pigments of ani1ine and alizarine col l OTIS, paper filling, sealing wax, fire works, hard rubber objects, matches, ! papier nlache, as a container for li- | quid bromine and for miscellaneous minor purposes.
 In California it has been used in | the construction of buildings, advan- l tage being taken of it's property of be- ing readily put into any desired shape l or size. In some of the California
 reports, it is referred to as shale. It is easily quarried, and the small blocks into which it may be cut are light in weight, and placed easily in position.
 A number of buildings have been 1 successfully constructed of this ma 1 teriaI in Santa Barbara, County, Cal.
 The blocks are compact and elastic
 under temperature changes and ap-
 pear to possess sufficient strength.
 They are moreover, very resistant to
 weathering on account Of the fnsolu-
 biIity of their chief constituent, siIi.
 ca- Such building material appears
 to be especially we'll adapted to regions
 of earthquakes or trenors, owing to
 the probable lesser effect of shock on such a light substance and the nin-
 mum amount of damage and danger
 resulting from it's fall. In powdered form the material has been used tc a certain extent in California in the ] manufacture or plaster.
 In preparing the earth for industria.
 use it is first roasted to expel as
 much water and organic matter a. , possible. It is then transferred to ( furnace and heated to a 1noderatel, high temperature, but with the ex ercEse of sufficient care so as not tt } destroy it's porosity by overheatfns. I : is then finely ground between rollers sifted and sacked to prevent reabsorp ton of moisture. For certain purposes it is only necessary to give it a pro | longed drying at a. high temperatur : prior to grinding and siftfng Diatoma ceous earth, more common 1y known as infusorial earth, is some X times referred to by it's German nam > 'tI1iesel-guhr.'' It is also, though CT $ roneously, called tripoIf. It is com 0 posed of the siIiceous remains O T minute aquatic plants known as dia. toms. The organic matter of thes LI plants has long since disappeare 's from most of the deposits, but ther u are notable exceptions, as in Califo1 n mia.
 l. These low forms of plant life St
 crete silica much after the same mar
 ner as moIlusks secrete lime and thu
 build up their shells. It is this pal 9 of the plant which makes up the fo1 nations found in nature. The sile
 ceous parts accumulate on the bottom in of the bodies of water in which tt e plants lived, and in time attain COT ,- siderable thickness and become ( a economic importance. The diaton h may live in either fresh or salt wate