Evening star., 1940-04-09
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henri.

| CINCINNATI, April 9.-Chemists are
demolishing apples and making new
things out Of the building stones in an
effort to save the great Virginia Mary
land apple beta few years ago one of
the richest orchard lands in the world
The plight Of the apple growers was
described to the American Chemical So
ciety. meeting here today, by Drs. F. c.
Vilbrandt and r. D. Sieg Of the Vir-
ginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacks
burg, which has undertaken to find new
uses for apples and their constituents in
American industry.
The growers they said. depended pri-
marily on exports to Europe. These
| have dropped off badly with the almost
continuous depression since the first
World War. At the same time the fruit
tastes of the American people have been
turning steadily to the orange, grape
fruit and pineapple.
Said DR.. Vilbrandt: "The average an
nual commercial apple crop for the
| United States has been estimated to be
| 100000 bushels, with 100000 BUSH
els diverted to apple products industries.
This has left in recent years variable
surplus of from 117,ooo,000 to 211,OoO 900
bushels. In peak years more than
100000 bushels have not even been
harvested due to market conditions.
"The Gull fruit graded out at the pack
ing plants may approximate more than
100000 bushels. The increase in in
dustrial and food utilization of surplus
and Gull apples seems to be the only
means OF obtaining stabilized apple
market. The apple products industries
at present possess approximately 20 per
cent Of the apple crop. Ten per cent
goes for cider and vinegar, per cent to
dried apples, per cent to canned apples.
IL per cent to canned apple sauce and
about per cent to brandy. Unfortu-
nately these same industries introduce
a waste problem of their own with
nearly 10000 tons of wastes. which at
present find an outlet in ensilage, mixed
feeds. fertilizers, etc.
The nutritional and therapeutic value
of apples and apple products, the cor
rective value Of apples on intestinal
disorders, the germicidal action and
vitamin value and the soluble iron con-
tent have been set forth by research
men,"
One of the results already achieved
in the infancy of the work, DR.. Viii
brandt said, is practical way of mixing
the complete mashed apple, including
the core and seeds with skim milk to
produce various forms of candy for
which market may be built up that will
care for some of the surplus.
The effect on plants and animals Of
poisonous gases found in the air over
industrial cities was reported by DR..
Carl Setterstrom of the Boyce Thomp-
son Institute. The gases studied in
cluded ammonia, chlorine, hydrogen
cyanide, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur
dioxide. Hydrogen cyanide proved to
be the most toxic of the industrial
gases. A concentration of 10 per cent
in air killed four of eight rats in a
little over a minute. The same amount
OF hydrogen sulflde killed an equal
number of rats in IA minutes chlorine
killed them in slightly less than an hour,
and sulfur dioxide in Is hours. All the
rats survived a 15-hour exposure to 10
per cent of ammonia
The only one of these gases which is
generally present in the air, Dr. Setter
strom said, is sulfur dioxide. Litigation
and settlements regarding injury to
plants from this gas coming from
smelters alone run into many millions
year, he said. Plants and fungi proved
most susceptible to sulfur dioxide and
ammonia while animals resist these
gases more successfully than any of the
others
Said DR.. Setterstrom: I'm industry
these gases constitute an increasing
health hazard. In the metal industries
ton, brought about by these gases,
are of considerable value. To students
of vital metabolic processes in plants
these results will furnish new method
of approach. The data are of importance
to biologists in general because of their
bearing on the mechanics Of toxic action.
Concentrations as high as three parts
per million of sulfur dioxide are en-
countered in centralized industrial cities
such as ST. Louis Pittsburgh and New
York. It is likely that concentrations
as high as 10 parts per million are en-
countered occasionally in the lee of
power houses and other large coal con-
sumers Workers engaged in the manu-
facture of refrigerants are frequently
exposed to concentrations varying from
80 to 100 parts per million. High con-
centrations also are met with in the
many industrial processes which use
sulfur dioxide as bleaching agent
Ammonia is formed by the distilla-
ton of coal gas. Chlorine is widely
used to disinfect the water and sewage
Of cities. Hydrogen cyanide is present
in small amounts in blast furnace gas
and impure coal gas. Hydrogen sulfide
is liberated in the course OF many
reactions used in manufacturing chem
icals and is sometimes encountered in
various processes in the gas, coal and
petroleum industries.
"Of all the organisms tested animals
were the most susceptible to hydrogen
cyanide and hydrogen sulnde, bacteria
and seeds the most resistant. Animals
and seeds were the most resistant to