Proceedings of the First Oklahoma Farm Chemurgic Conference

A TRIUMVIRATE OF PROGRESS

Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, Stillwater, Okla. before the

OKLAHOMA FARM CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma City, November 9 and 10, 1937

Ladies and Gentlemen~

It is with feelings of trepidation and pleasure that I find myself before this group of distinguished leaders of nntion~l industrial nnd scientific enterprise. 'To read the roster of those who will contribute to the progrwn is to recognize the no.mes of mnny whose contribution in their fields of endeavor hns been both national and internationul in recognition.

But I wn more stirred by the significance of your presence here. The nlliunce of industry with science is of long standing, and the alliance of agriculture ~nd science through the agency of the Fedornl Exporiment Stations is now in its fifty-fourth year. But tho coming together of agriculture, chemistry, and industry, ns hns boen the cuse in tho Chemurgic Conferences since 1935, murks a new ore in cooperative thinking; for thero is implied thereby tho renlizution by all pnrties of n mutuality of interest that hus hitherto boen largely lacking in our nation.

In this group v.-e ha.ve represented tho londership in tho production of goods. It h~s not boen tho custom for producers to look upon agriculture ns u bnsic source of ra.w mntorio.ls to o.ny grant oxtont. I boliove thnt many of our gront industria.lists ho.ve boon sons! tivo to the necessity of a p,rosperous o.griculture in order to insure u strong market for their goods. I think thnt here Ltnd there o.gricultural leo.dors hnve recognizod the nocessi ty for the continuous employment of labor Qt sa.tisfa.ctory we.gas in ordor tha.t fa.rm crops co.n be sold.

The industrialists and the agriculturists have been mutual producers and consumers of each other's goods for long; but I believe that they have both b~en looking abroad for markets for their so-called exportnble surpluses, instead of developing the home market. So the presence here of the scientist, the frontier-thinkers in tho conversion of raw mnterinls to the purposes of industria.l processin g , is symbolic of this entiroly new feeling of inter-rolQtion th~t is growing up throughout this nntion.

Effective coopera.tion between thesE> throe groups cnn menn much, It ctm mea.n a. new a.nd sound prosperity for o.g ri culture• A.s ha.s been pointod out in thoso meetings before, the co.po.city of pooplo's stomnchs to consume tho products of the fcnn is pretty well stnnda.rdized; but tho cnpncity of pooplo to consume fa.rm products in the fonns of uscib le goods seems to bo well nigh inexh~ustible--limi tod. in fnct, in any pr~cticnble wa.y only by thoir ability to buy. On tho oth ~r h~nd, a. prosporous ngriculturo mca.ns a busy industry, o.nd o. busy industry me o.ns full-time industrio.l employment, which in turn roClCts upon tho industria.l system. All of them mc.ko possible the oxpnnsion of subsidiary services, distribution, eduo ~tion. he~lth s~rvicos--you mny c~rry tho oxpa.nding circl os of influonco on out ns fo.r a.s yo ur imC\gina.tion ca.n go.

Object of the Conference

You a.re, then, indoE>d WfJlcomo. Hot simply beco.use of your distinction o.nd your o.uthority in your sevora.l fields, but boco.use your coopcrntion in this c~use of integruting scionco, industry, nnd o.griculturo is of tremendous significnnco. As I aoo the mutter, tho chiof object of this conference is basically to promote tho mutu~l understa.nding of ea.ch other th~t I h~ve boon discussing. A second object is to discuss o.11 possible wnys c.nd moans of finding ~nd promoting the industri~l uses of o.gricultura.l products. We neod such periodic

meetings as opportunities to check up on new ideas and as stimuli to discover new ones. This process can be aided materially by a survey of progress made. Such a survey includes reports of research that is being carried on in laboro.tories, statements of new proposo.ls, to~ether with explan~tions ~nd discussions of them, nnd the inspection of the exhibition of products thnt are in use or nre re~dy for industriul promotion.

Another object of this conference is to a.fford o.n opportunity for us to leurn the results of field experiments, to le~rn the extent und n~turo of industrinl plants and processes, their success, ~nd thoir problems industrially considered; to get some idon of the unit costs of thoir production, their relntiva economy; nnd to loo.rn other pr~ctic~l considerations, such ns the import of a. new product or a. new utilizntion upon fonner mo.rkots o.nd displa.ced goods•

The Rel~tion of tho Conference to Univorsitios o.nd Experiment Stntions

There is o. further topic which should bo mentionod here, I think; the rol ~tion of this conference to univorsitios o.nd experiment sta.tions. The problem is one of bo s t utilizing existing ,~goncies. For oxomple, I represent o. very peculi o. r institution, Fedorul collego r.nd Exporimont Stntion in n sta.te setting. Founded in 1883, tho system of ug riculturnl oxporimont stations is nntion-wide • o.nd hn.s o. personnel equipped to study uny tigricul tura.l problem thn.t mo.y present itself, not only from the nc~tionnl viewpoint, but Sto. te o.nd regional o.s well• In fa.ct, the agricultural oxporimont sta.tiona, through the guidance and coordination of thoir centra.l office are o.t work on mo.ny re gi ono.l und l oc nl pr oblems nll of tho timo•

Then, of cour s e, ther o a.re the othor rosourch la.bora.tories in lu.ndgrnnt colle ges and universities i ch emi s try, chomicnl enginooring, bio-chomistry, ns well o.s the ong inooring exp e rimont stnti o ns. Equally ~v~ilcblo und

adequate are the laooratoriee attached to industry, as well us the possibility of using parts of production plants.

There a.re, then, plenty of existing ngencies o.blo a.ud willint; to attack uny problems thnt this conference or o.ny of its members mny seo fit to luy before them. The essential thing to do is to suggest the problem o.nd subsidize its solution.

Results Thut Mny Be Expocted

If this be dono, I run suro thut chemistry will find the solvont, c.nd thc.t agriculture will produce the rn.w ma.terh.ls. To bo suro, this mc~tter of shifting~ cropping system 1s noither a.s simplo nor immodiuto u sort of thing ns to think nbout it is. Whole pa.ttorns of rurnl functioning must be changed. But through such [,gencios ns tho Ai;ricul tur::-,l c-. nd Home Economics Extension workers, tho colleges, c-.nd industry, this ccm b e done, with rousona.blo speed.

Looking rurnr~d, then• we mo.y feel c o nfi dont thr~t o ut of this o.nd simil~ r cunferoncos rnt\y com~ such unquosti o n ~ blo vnluos us tho pormo.n~nt conli tion of chemistry, c. g riculturo, t\ lld industry in the better unclvrstunding of mutuc.l ne e ds nnd mutual interests; the mul tiplica.tion o f industria.l uses of f n. rm mn teria.ls i t\ consoquent stt.biliz o.tion of o.grioulturo Md of the ~ '. gricultura.l populction o.s o. consuming body; the st~bilizntion of industrinl mo.rkots through stnbilizo.tion not only of s o urces of supply but of outlets for consumption; c:.nd, ~b\',ve nll, we mny confidently expect tho vnlidation of tho .Amerito.n wo.y--progress through voluntu.ry conforonce o.nd oooperC\tion. So long c..s this lo.tter goo d remnins, I fool no great disquiot a.bout our na.tion's ultimo.to future. n , ,e o.s indi vi duo.lo mr.y occ~ si onully suff er from tho lo.ck of f' c ros ight in e n rlior time s; but I hc,vo every c o nfidonco, onco the th o ught of the n '-4 ti o n is f ocus e d up on our problems (.;.nd they c~ re sufficiently dofined, Americnn initi c tivo a.nd Americ n n coopor ~tion will solve them udoqu~tely for the d~y nnd generat ion in which they occur.

CHEMURGY AND MODERN AGRICULTURE

before the

OKLAHCJ.iA FARM CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma City, November 9 and 10, 1937

Ladies and Gentlemen:

What the Farm Chemurgic movement will mean to the agriculture of Oklahoma. will depend almost entirely upon what the public-spirited citizens of this state do to foster the program. It has tremendous possibilities, but they can be realized only through the cooperation of funners, local business men, und our major industrial concerns.

As everyone knows, our Nutionul ugriculturo.l industry is n.n extremely complicuted affuir. It consists of some six or seven million individuul f~rm units varying widely in size und type. This is due, in po.rt, to the wide vc.riety of soil und climutic conditions.

In addition to these two importunt factors, there o.re muny others which hnve consideruble influence on the nc~ture of thej farming oper~,tions prn.cticed in different loc~lities. Trunsportution fncilities nnd costs, supply of, n.nd demund for, vnrious crops, n.nd £imU1cinl limi t::-.tions of individuo.l furmers pl~y important purts in detennining the typus of funning which will be followed on thous~nds of funns.

The ~bilitios und inclinutiona of individunl r~nners o.lso exert~ strong influence nlong this line, nnd it must be admitted thut the ~lmost universal hum~n trait of clinging to pructices to which they hnve become nccustomed is responsible for tho type!i of f:mning followed by t\ cons idero.ble percontc.ge of the men eng~ged in agriculture.

Under these conditions, it is plain that the response of individual farmers to the Farm Chemurgic program is certain to vary, just as the fa.nns and farmers vary,

This situation is no reflection upon farmers, It is quite similnr to that which exists in other industries, We huve fnctories in this country runging from the cellnr shop to the enormous plant employing thousnnds of workers, We hnve merchants rnnging from the peddler, who cnrries his pnck of goods from door to door, to the Wnnwnukers, Fields, Mncys, etc,, who employ thousands o.nd whose annual sales run into the millions,

Since this is true, we do not expect n uniform response on the po.rt of nll mo.nufucturers or nll merchants in nny general progro.m affecting their businesses, nnd we have no right, therefore, to expect n uniform response in the case of f:::.rmors.

One of th e busic idens upon which this country hus beon developed is tho freedom of ev e ry mnn to engage in nny business or profession which he desires. And if nt nny time he fe u ls ho hns m~do mist~ke, or ho finds competition too severo, he is freo to quit nnd ontor any other field which nppeo.rs to offer moro promiso,

The theory b ohind this system is thct it is not only the most suitnblo for n free country, but a.lso the best from the sto. ndpoint of the individuo.l o.nd the no.tion, since it not only insures hnving men enter lines of work for which they feel they are well qua.lifiod, but, through tho survival of tho fittest, it insures h u.ving tho b e st mon reto.ined in tho Vl-l rious kinds of work nocessc.ry in our n~tion ~l life,

However, thore is one importnnt difference in tho results obtained under this systom in the cnso of n g riculture, comp ~ rod vdth other industries und profe s sions• It is possibl e for o. fo.rmer ~nd his fwnily to subsist on his

products even though he be an inefficient producer and unable to compete successfully with other farmers. On this account, the weeding out of inefficient producers in fanning is not as rapid nor as thorough as in other lin~s. The incompetent merchant, manufacturer, professional man, or worker in other industries is promptly forced to quit and seek some other means of muking living.

There nre two other points which should be considered in sketching o. brief picture of American agriculture. One is the fuct thut during periods of depression large numbers of unemployed from cities o.nd town3 volunturily turn to r,,nning a.s o. rneo.ns of existence. Tho other is the plo.cing of relief clients on subsistence fo.rms by government o goncios.

Those facts are mentioned to show th~t it is not~ simple mutter to evdu'.'..te the influence which the Fo.rm Chomurgic movement will ha.ve upon c1griculture, and to obtnin a cleur perspective of the situution.

The sound common sense involved in tho nr.:.tiono.lly orgo.nized effort to huvo fo.:nnors produce ro.w muteriuls for other industries to tho fullest extent comp~tible with sound oconomics seems so obvious ns to be undob~to.ble. The extent to which this co.n bo followed on o.ny individu~1.1 fc,rming unit or by groups of r~rmers in any pnrticulo..r section, however, depends upon the typo of fo..:rming now being followed, upon the willingnoss nnd o.bility of individuo..l fc.rmers to tnke o.dvcmte.ge of the progro.m, Lmd to a. considora.blo oxtcnt upon the loca.l loo.ders who sponsor the movement.

Th& po~sibilitios ~re so grent th~t they might truthfully be so.id to be unlimited. But the ~cccmplishments in o.ny section rest lnrgoly in the ha.nds of 1 ocr,l public-spirited ci tiz.ens such o.s your group.

Thero are good reusons why the initio..tivo for u movement of this kind should be tttken by tho business men of o. community. They li.re nccustomed to cooper::i.ting for vo.rious purposes, C' nd know hoy; to goo.bout it to get results. Then, there CLre fewer of thorn thun there CLre of fanners und it is easier for thorn to orgunize for effective action.

This does not mean the.t business men should take this action merely from altruistic motives, It is to their own interest to do so, for whatever improves conditions of fanners in any community is always sure to have a similar effect upon other businesses in that area.

The fact that the Chemurgic progrEUn calls for closer cooperation betwe e n city business men and farmers is o. strong point in its fo.vor.

It is impossible for nnyone from outside your state to come here and offer a detailed plan ns to just whnt cnn or should bo done to obtnin quickest r e sults o.nd m:~ximum benefits from the Chemurgic progn.m. Th~.t must be worke d out by loc e1. l men who o..re thoroughly fumilio.r w; th your conditions, just us h t;.s b e en done in s ome st c-.te::; and is being done in others.

You ho.ve men who know your soils, your clim::1.te, your fo.nners, your ma.rkets. your transportation facilities, o.nd the other factors which must be considered in working out the most suitublo progrnm for your pnrticul~r condttions,

All th::-.t ca.n b~ done in this p,,per is to point out some of the possibilities which the Fe.rm Chemurg ic progrrun offers for increo.sing fc..:rmers 1 incomes. It is for you to decide which ones c~n be used to ndvo.ntago under your conditions.

The principal purpose of tho Chemurgic movemont is to provide new uses ~nd new m~ rkets for r ~rm products. It involves tho growing of some crops not now·produced in this country, nnd tho expallsion of tho prosent acrengos of others• The progrc:.m would not only provido a groo.tor income for ngriculturo, but would tend to stabilizo prices for fa.rm products und solve the problem of surplus e s.

Noto tho.t the c.i m is stc..biliz.ed pricos o.t profi to.ble levols c.nd n ot necessn.rily high priCl\S. High prices tlro not nn urnnixed blessing. It is impossible to mc.int c-.in them long f o r fo.rm products o r l, ny other commodity except

where there is a monopoly. High prices always lead to more cornpeti tion, in ... creased production, and reduced consumption.

But the tendency to stabilize prices of farm commodities at reasonable levels, while, naturally, of highest importance, would not be the only beneficial result. The Chemurgic program would also make it possible to increase the amount of time which could be devoted to profi to.ble labor on mo.ny farms. This is important, o.s mo.y be realized by a. compo.rison of o.vero.ge returns over o. period of yeurs on farms huving a. good labor distribution with those having short working sea.sons.

To.ke do.iry fanning, for example• It is a. matter of record that dairy fo.nners ho.ve been more prosperous, year in and year out, tho.n most other farmers. This ho.snot been because prices for dniry products ha.ve been higher, relctively, thnn for other fa.rm products. As a mo.tter of fa.ct, dairy fa.rmers mo.into.in tho.t prices for their products, for the most part, ha.ve been altogether too low. There is no doubt but thnt there is extreme competition in this field between individual fo.nn e rs a.nd between different milk sheds, und this nnturo.lly tends to keep prices down.

Nor is the reason for this greater uvero.ge prosperity of dniry fnrmers to be found in the fuct thut dairy sal e s a.re made every month of the yenr, with monthly or semi-montu.y checks coming in the yenr round, although this is frequently given ns the explanation.

The r e turns per hour of lnbor on tho uvcro.ge do.iry fa.rm nre no higher thnn for mnny other types of fnrming nnd not us high ns some• But d~iry fanning is well ba.lo.ncod, o.nd the nµinber of hours of productive lo.bor, per worker, per y e o.r, on the o.verngo dnirY: f o. rm is grea.t E) r them for most other types of f a nning.

It is in strong contra.~t with some of the types of f~rming found in Okla.homo., ns we ll o.s in most othor,stntes. Compo.re it, for example, with the

wheat fanner who spends a few days preparing his wheat ground and seeding his

1 wheat, and, months later, harvests the crop in an even shorter time• Almost as great a contrnst can be made with many cotton fanns where the work is concentrated inn few months and there are long periods where the fn:rm lnbor hns no profitnble employment.

Ma.ny other comp~risons of this kind could be mude, but they a.re not necessa.ry. The importnnt point is that, for best results, u f~nning business, like a.ny other productive business, must be organized to provide profitable employment for a.vniluble lnbor for ns mnny working dnys during the ye~r ns is pra.cticuble. And Chemurgy offers gre~t possibilities for reorgnnizing thousunds of furms on a. much sounder bnsis in this rospect.

It is unrensona.ble to expect that t:.ny type of fo.nning in which labor is employed only a. few months ench season c~n be profit~ble over n period of years. There a.re too muny people who would like to enguge in thut kind of a business.

Therefore, sound ~anning requires n f~rm orgnnizntion in which men o.nd equipment a.re kept profi to.bly employed to the fullest pra.cti co.ble extent., There is no one crop produced on fQrms in the United Stc.tes which provides profi tnble employment for fn.rm lo.bor during tho entire yeo.r. The lnbor requirements of most crops o.re distributed ovor two or three relc.tively short periods•

Consequently, good fo.mers hnve nlwnys endeavored to work out oropping systems which included severo.l different crops, preferably those which could be ha.ndl~d with tho same equipment, o.nd which did not conflict too seriously with ench other in th o mEltter of lo.bor requirements. Their idea, of course, wns to develop f n nning systems which would p rovide profita.ble omploym0nt for their lo.bor throughout o.s much of the y on r o.s possible. The soundness of this pro.ctice ho.s beo n recog nized for yeo.rs, not only by prncticul fo.nners, but by the best r.uthori ti e s on f::..nn mc.no.gement.

Since the Fann Chemurgic movement involves the production in this country of a number of crops which are needed by or could be used by our industries, but which are ei~her not being grown in this country or grown on a smaller scale than is desirable, it is plain that this offers an opportunity to many fanners to add new crops which may improve the efficiency of their farming systems.

This would be desirable under any conditions, but at a time like the present when the foreign markets for a large part of some of our usual crops is no longer avnilable, and curtailment in such crops is desired, the planting of new crops as a substitute for the unneeded acreage of old ones seems especially desirnble.

There is no need of adding anything furthor to the already extensive discussion of the plnn for getting more by producing less• It is sufficient to sny that the Chomurgic plan is bnsed on the idon of full production, but a better balanced production, and nn incrensod market which should tend to ruise · prices in normal times nnd prevent ruinously low prices in nbnonnnl times.

The possibilities of the various new crops vlhich nro being recommended for considerntion by Americnn fnnners will be discussed in detnil in the vnrious pnpers on this progrwn. These include pyrethrum. porilln. Jerusalem nrtichokes, slnsh pine, nnd tung trees. Crops now being grovm which mny offer possibilities for increased acreages if suitable locnl processing plnnts nre provided include soybeans. peanuts. sweet pot~toes, nnd sorghum.

Surely in these groups there ~re some which will fit well into many of the fanning systems existing in your , stnte.

Slush pine not only offers possibilities ns n fnrm crop, but, if pnpor mills nre built in the proper locutions,, the slush pine now sto.nding would nfford profitable employment for n great denl qf fa:nn labor fran cotton fnnns during the seasons when there is no wor~ to be _done on the cotton furm.

It is unnecessary to discuss at length before this group how desirable it is for any state or community to have new industrial units located in it which employ local labor and raw materials, provided of course that the products of such industries have a ready market at fair prices•

On the latter score, there would not appear to be much to worry about.

The manufacturing industries or the United States, large and small, have shown themselves more than willing to coopero.te 100 per cent in the plan to use the products of our fo.nners to the fullest possible extent. They realize that the more goods bought from farmers, the more goods there will be bought by fo.:rmers.

But between the fo.rm and many of our factories there must usually be un intennediute step, in the wuy of soybeun ~levutors or processing plunts, starch mills, puper mills, etc. And it is in this field that there is an opportunity for locnl business men to render u reel service to farmers and mo.nufo.oturers, which vvill bo to their own o.dvo.ntuge, also.

Without this help fror:1 locdl sources, it is much more dii'ficult for the oil from soybeans to reach our paint fo.ctories9 for the slo.sh pine wood to reo.ch our printing plunts in the fonn of po.per, for the sweet pot~to to reach our textile mills in the fonn of st~rch, und so on.

The Fnrm Chemurgic program is not o. plun for the bettennent of fnnning o.lone--it benefits everyono, roto.ilers, middlemen, ro.ilrouds, mo.nufo.cturers, o.nd professiono.l men•

While it wo.s conceived a.s me rms of serving ngricul ture, we o.11 know th!l.t o.nything which helps agriculture helps ull othor industries o.s well•

Since, o.s o.lreo.dy indico.ted, wo co.nnot expect our millions of sco.ttered fo.nners, with thoir vo.rying interests, to orgc.nize and develop the program on an o.dcquo.to basis, it devolves upon the loc~l business men to do their po.rt.

The large industrial concerns are showing their faith in the move( ment by contributing funds for financing Chemurg ic research, and by utilizing farm products in their manufacturing operations wherever practicable.

Fanners in sections where soybean processing plants, paper mills, starch mills, etc., have been built have demonstrated their willingness to cooperate wholeheart e dly by producing the necessary raw materials•

The gap which needs to be bridg ed in order to facilitate the flow of larger quantities of funn products into our industrial plants, and n larger flow of munufnctured products into the farmin g communities, is the providing of locnl assembling nnd processing facilities which cnn be organized best by the business men located in the he a rt of our ,~griculturnl arens--just such men as hnve been ' willing to give of their time nnd money to the organizing of this First Okluhomn F~ rm Chemurg ic Confer e nce. With the h e lp of thi s group thero seems little doubt thnt the Chemurgic Plan is certain to afford to Oklnhomn farmers nnd to Oklnhomu business men, tho bonefits which the organizers of this movement hoped for when they lnunched it n short three yours ngo.

FARM CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma City, November 9 and 10, 1937

Mr. Chainnan, Ladies ana Gentlemen:

You are to be congratulated upon your progressiveness in seizing the opportunity to promote in your State the Farm Chemurgic Movement which is generally conceded to be the most promising vehicle for prosperity in this era of transition.

I am not a Scientist nor even an expert on Chemurgy, but I am interested in the practical application of Farm Chemurgy £tnd the possibilities of Fann Chemurgy in the development of Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Before discussing the Fann Chemurgic possibilities of your State, it seems proper 1o discuss:

1st. The Economic Changes lo~ding up to this movement.

2nd. The Farm Chemurgic Movement itself.

3rd. Fa rm Chemurgic Possibilities.

4th. And other Chemurgic possibilities.

PART I

The Economic Changes leading up to this movement.

A. Decentralization of Industry and Southward movement.

In the beginning we ure confronted with decentralizntion of Industries, which is not a theory but n.n established fuct. For the first time 5ince the Civil Wnr, there is a ma.jar Southward movement from New Englund• It may be nnother 50 yeo.rs before there is ~nother mnjor movement, so it behooves us to tnke adv~ntnge of the present movement, organize our forces nnd mo.ke the neceasnry bid for the Industries which nre moving.

There are mnny reasons for the Southwnrd movement of Industrieas

1st. A generul trend toward decentralizntion which ho.s been quickened by the recent strike s and the desire of the larger mnnufncturors to decentralize their pl n nts instead of concentrating too much in any one City, nnd also a. desire on the part of manufacturers like Ford to put plants in agricultural communities like he has done i~ Georgia, where the workers may have their own smnll f n nns nnd work for themselves outside of the 36 or 40-hour week, which will giv e them sufficient time to tnke co.re of a small pla.ce. This is the theory of Mrs. Roosevelt's Resettlement.

2nd. The general movement of the c~nter of population from the Northeast during the past 25 years to the central part of the United States; the center of population right now being in the Southern part of Indinna, while during this time the center of .American Industry has remained at least 500 to 800 miles east of the center of population, being mnintnined in the Enst by urtificio.l means such as the principle of Pittsburgh Plus in figuring delivered prices to the various zones in the United St ~tes o.nd basing these delivered prices on the theoretical freight from Pittsburgh rega.rdless of the o.ctuo.l freight when shipped from points in the West o.nd South. The principle of Pittsburgh Plus ho.s been ntto.cked by the Federal Trades Commission, by the NRA, by the Robinson-Patman Bill, by Consumers orgnniza.tions and by Industry itsolf nnd these utt~cks hnve registered so strongly thut the Principle of Pittsburgh Plus may vanish within o. few yea.rs.

3rd. Next, the Textiles which really belonged in the South from the beginning, but wore established in New Englund when New Engl~nd contained the only developed ports of entry, has now come home to roost in the South. With the center of popula.tion in India.no.. there is no vo.lid roo.son why cotton should be shipped to New Engla.nd for processing and fa.bricution a.nd returned to tho Centro.l West nnd Southwest mo.rkets • During 1936, it is ostimr-,ted tha.t twentytwo million dollnrs were invested in expo.nding toxtile opera.tions in tho South,

4th, Next, the wood pulp industry, which V-IC'.s established in Ca.nnda. and New Englnnd on account of the l~rge forests. but which a.re now mostly cut out, is moving South principo.lly on account of recont developments which hnve mc-.de it possible to mc.nuf:1.cture white prlpor from Southern Yellow Pine, but nlso on account of the fa.ct that Southern Yellow Pino for wood pulp ca.n be grown in 5 to 10 yea.rs ag~inst 20 to 25 yours in Ca.no.do. or N~w Englo.nd. It is estimated thnt pulp u. nd po.per plo.nts a.ro underway o.nd contemplo.ted during 1937 to be built in tho South amounting to a.n invostment of more tho.n $60,000,000.00.

B, P opulntion Chnn~es.

It ceoms to be genc ra.lly o.g rood by ~uthorities thut we a.re npproo.ching a. st ~tion~ry populntion of tho United St ntes, which will be reo.ched shortly a.fter 1945• It is ulrea.dy appuront th ~t s ome sections of the United States a.re losing popul ~tion a.nd thnt those sections th ~t nre &nining popula.tion nre ga.ining ~t the expe nse of othor sections of tho United States. Up to now, wo have been nblo to depend on nntur~l growth from immigrntion o.nd our high birth rnto to build our citios o.nd our frontiers• With immigration pra.cticnlly a.t a. stnndstill, nnd our birth r~te falling stea.dily, it is~ vito.l necessity thc.t we orgo.ni zo to wi thstnnd inducornenta offored by other sections of the Country to dro.w your population ~wo.y from you. Thero are Counties in our St~te thr.t have been losing populv.tion stondily . for severa.l yet.rs. In fo.ct, the pla.ins Sto.tos genornlly, have suffered, a.pd if' our Sta.ta is to continue to grow and be prosperous, you will ha.ve t o tn.ke your po.rt in a sh:.:.rp competitive fight with oth e r St,ites.

c. Ne w Engl~nd Council, Fall River, Lnwrence--Ma.ssnchusetts Advertising.

While in Boston I studied the pl nn of tho Now Engl , ,nd Council, which is u Council of six New Englo.nd Gove rnors, or ganized after the trend of industry from Now Engl~nd become so painful th ~t s ome immedi~te a.ction wns necosso.ry. Fn ll Riv e r h n :i 5,000,000 squt\re f e ot of floor spo.ce vo.co.ted. k.wronco,

Massachusetts had probably 3,000,000 square feet of floor space vacated. The New Eng land Council made a survey of New England and found that their Number One plan in rehabilitation and their g reatest asset was tourist travel and immediately begun spending lo.rge wnounts of money to uttruct tourists, but they nlso mnde an efficient bid for new industries a.nd very successfully. Fall River divided up their empty factories into ureas of 20,000 und 30,000 squo.re feet euch a.nd a.ttra.cted smo.11 industries working from 25 to 100 men mo.king precision cut tools n nd other products, requiring skilled lo.bor nnd so successfully tha.t with h~lf of their floor spuce a.go.in occupied, their o.ggregnte p~yroll wns lurger th ~n fonnerly for the whole 5,000,000 squ n re feet.

I ho.v e here n.s u specimen of the crunpo.ign which Musso.chusetts is wa.ging for new Industries, n pa.ge to.ken from "Businests Weak!' October 16th, stuting th a. t more tho.n 400 Industrial Pla.nts were established in Mnsso.chusetts within recent months. Now Engl und will to.ke co.re of itself. They will lose the Industries which prop e rly belong in tho South or elsewhere, but New Englund, Yankee shrewdness, ingenuity o. nd energy will find Industries to to.ko the pla.ce of those lost, ~ nd New Engl und will r e tnin its world-wide reputntion as o. mnnufncturing section, nnd probc.bly with greo.tor profit than they enjoyed from their old est~blished Industries.

o. Competition from other Southe rn Sto.tes--Compo.rison of Per Capito. Income, South vs Eo.st.

Another very importnnt rec.son why our Stute must to.ke quick ~nd decisive nction in inducing new industries to loco.ta here is the a.ggressive a.nd intelligent bid be ing mo.de for new industries by other Southern States, and po.rticul~rly by Louisiuno. o.nd Mississippi• Louisio.no. offers ten yea.rs exemption from to.xes to new industries o.pproved by th e Governor. Governor Leche is tho Business Mo.ncger of the Sto.te, to.king a. v e ry o.ctive interest in loc~ting new industries nnd enlisting tho o.ssisto.nce of tho two Sona.tors from Louisinno.. During M~rch, Governor Leche hold n meeting in New York City which WM o.ttended by mo.ny i11dustrinlists, and o.s o. result of thu.t meeting he unnouncod sevoro.l new industries to be locc.tod in Louisio.nc., ono in pa rticular, which ho.d boon negotiating with Tex~rk ~nu n nd El Dorado, Arkunso.s - this vro.s the F. w. Bird Asphalt Roofing Plnnt, which Governor Loche s ignod up to build a factory in Shreveport, Louisir-.nn.

Gove rnor White h~s u fund of $100,000.00 for Advertising, ~nd $100,000.00 for expens e s of his Commission; offers five yet~rs exemption from tuxes, building sites, ~nd in many ~o.sus modern F~ctory Buildings constructed for the ,new Industry. Governor Whi~ o located twenty-seven new Factories in Mississippi ~jthin four months o.fte~ st n rting his c~.mpuign, o.nd ho.s twenty-five other Fact o ri e s under ne g otiation. Gov e rnor White stated to me some time ugo, thnt his problem \'lll.S not to secure new Industries, but to get Communities to t a ke co.re of them; that he hud more Industri e s booke c for Mississippi than ho c ould ho.ndla, and that Governor Lec~e had put in o. bid for Mississippi's overflow.

Anoth e r reo.son necessitating quick decisive action on the purt of the Southwe st is the d unger of stutqtory prohibiti o n of plant exp~nsion o.nd improvement of Industries, such us were include d in NRA Codes, noto.bly tho steel and textile codes. Arknns ns ~nd Oklruiomo. woul d suffer greatly from such Legislation, sinc e both nre o.g ricul t;uro.l Stutes 0.11d need new Industries•

Our per capita income ranks with the lowest in the United States, and in order to intelligently consider the problem of industria.l expansion in the South, it is necessary for us to get some picture of the situation in the South. It is known by every informed person that the per capita income in the South is much less than any other section in the United Stutes. This is well illustrnted when we compare five Southern Agricultural St~tes with five Industrial Ee.stern States:

It is knovm by every infonned person th~t the per c~pito. income from agricultur~l enterprises is much less thnn the per c~pito. income from industrial enterprises. The South, therefore, by m~inta.ining purely ugriculturul condition, denies itself the greatest opportunity for increasing the p0r co.pita wenlth of its people,

I do not know the per co.pi tu income of Oklo.hom~, but I OJI\ positive thnt if you could sepnrate the income of 100 of your oil people in Okl~homa., th::i.t the per C::i.pi tn income of the bnl,~nce of your population would not be much higher them the rest of the South.

PART II

FARM CHEMURGY

A. Enrly Beginning of Chomicul Revolution

Th~ f~nn is the found~tion of society. The riso of o.griculture marked the davm of civilization, Not until the middle of the nineteenth century did we find a. trend downward in utiliz~tion of agricultural products and this came through in-roads made by mechanical inventions and primarily through developments in metallurgy. Our population became mineral-minded and the fall of agriculture wn.s recorded, but the slow and definite rise in organic chemistry has arrested this drift and through chemurgy the rebirth of ~griculture is destined to cnrry civilization too. higher plune.

The first step in this transition is the chemical revolution itself, that chunge brought about through repl~cement of n~turas chemi-biologic~lly grown products by the products of m~n•s lubor und came about nnturo.lly as nn t'.ftermll.th of the World Wa.r.

The Chemicnl Revolution wo.s ushered in about twenty-five yea.rs ::1.go by the Ho.her-Bosch Process for fixt~tion of Atmospheric Ni trog,en und mc.rked the beginning of the do,mwo.rd trend of internntionn.l tro.de. The a.ir nitrogen procest mo.de Gormo.ny independent of Chila or the rest of the world for nitra.te supplL•s c.nd a.lmost won the Vlorld Wo.r for Germnny.. Gonncmy has consistently kopt f,:1.,: · a.head of the rest 01' the world in chemical advances, o.nd theso chomico.l o.dvnr.ce~ t a.long with tho discoveries of other pa.tions in dyes, ~rtificiul fiber, synth~tic plo.sters o.nd synthetic ammonia. huve : rendered futile tho la.bor ~nd ho.bi ts of

over 25% of the population in Europe and America and have caused the abandonment of millions of acres of land in the world. There is no turning back--to desert this chemical trend is just like the early nineteenth century crank returning to oxen.

Without nny doubt, the big future of Agriculture in the United States rests vdth Funn Chemurgy. I think we are o.11 now convinced that the theory of curtailed production is wrong, and that to be prosperous. we must create new wealth either on the fo.nn or in the factory• Chemists sny tho.t we will look ho.ck some do.y o.nd wonder why we ro.ised o.griculturD.l products only for food uses•

B. Chernurgic Industries in the South.

Governor White of Mississippi has o. cntch phro.se, "Bnlnnce Agriculture with Industry." Your Sto.to is o.n o.gricul tura.l Stc,te the some o.s the rest of the Soutn Qnd Southwest, nnd to rnise the per co.pita. income, it is ossontio.l tho.t we help tho f~nnors o.nd wo can best do this by giving th~m o. m~rkot for their products, which moans th c.t we must bring in industries which will utilize and process fnrm products und• principally, for non-food uaos•

Lnurel, Mississippi ho.s been cnlled tho 10o% Chemurgic City ~nd it would po.y you to visit Lnurel und study thoir industries• Tho stnrch plnnt, mnnufo.cturing stnrch from sweot potatoes, which turnod out lnst yonr npproximntely 500,000 lbs. of stnrch nnd which produces according to authorities only ubout 1~ of tho sto.rch which is now being imported into tho Unitod States. It is ostimnted that the United Stntes could utilize the output of 100 similnr sweet poto.to stnrch plo.nts to supply root starches now being imported.

I ho.vo o. sumplo hore of Masonite, which is mo.nufo.ctured ~t Lnurel, Mississippi out of Yellow Pine wuste• The story of the discovery of this process by Mr. Mason himself is ono of the most romantic stories of industriul history. The most interesting phnse of these chemurgic industries is the fnct that most of thorn nro utilizing vmste o.nd convorting it into n vuluable product.

I h~ve bore Q sample of Temlok, which is mnnufo.ctured by the Armstrong Cork o.ncl Insul!ltion Compnny nt Ponso.coln, Floridn, utilizing old stumps of treos, some of which hQvo been covered up for 300 ye~rs, but with the uso of dynrunite nn1 stump pullers, tho stumps o.re recovered o.nd shredded. The first product is crunphor, which probably pays o.11 tho expenses of the ftictory. How.. ever, there a.re mo.ny other by-products, tho princip~l one boing a bnse for perfume nnd finnlly, the residue is used to mo.ke this bocrd culled Temlok.

I hnve here n sample of Celotox, which is mnde in Louisio.nn from Sug~r Cnno Bngnsse o.nd until this process wns perfected, Bagusso wns o. troubles cme wnste product, too heuvy to float nW!ly, too wot to burn cmd too strong to rot, but since the o.dvent of Celotex, I think I am so.fe in so.ying that Sugo.r C~ne todo.y is rdsed for tho Bngo.sse just ns much E',S for the sugo.r. In fnct, I ho.ve been told. thr.t Bngo.sse is now being shipped into the Uni tod States from Cuba..

Similo.r boards a.re mndo in vnrious pnrts of tho country from wo.sto mutoriuls. Inso-Bonrd at St. Joseph, Missouri from wheat straw. Fir-Te x ut Portl~nd, Oregon from wo.ste fir and ma.ny othors• It is impossible to nc.me nll of those chemurgic victories and there a.re others on this progro.m, who know much moro than I do a.bout these processes•

C. Arkansas Council Agriculture, Science and Industry

1. Organization and Operation

In Arkansas this past Spring, we organized a Chemurgic Council under the name of the Arkansas Council for Ag riculture, Science and Industry, with an office in the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce at Little Rock, with a central organization o.nd with the seventy-five counties of the stnte divided into fifteen districts of five counties each• It is our plan to orgo.nize euch district vdth a sepnrnte office, raise funds from some source to employ a Chemical Engineer, o. Geologist or o. Mining Engineer, whichever is bost suited for that district ~nd take ~n inventory of the resources and determine their possibilities und net us a clearing house to g nther dnta ::i.nd disseminute infonn~tion to interested p~rties or to those thnt should be interested, not only to develop ~nd promote the industries which o.re adnpto.ble to euch locality, but to discournge thu promotion of industries not suitable for that section nnd get them moved to the proper places.

We do not wo.nt to ha.ve a.ny territory exploi tod by promoters working in the nnme of Chemurgy. For inst~nce, we know thnt the tung industry would not be suitable to Northern Oklahomn. It belongs within o~ hundred miles of the Gulf, yet there nre rumors tha.t stock in tung oil promotions hnve been sold for territories not suitable to tung.

2. Ha.ndico.ps ~nd Obsta.clos to be ovorcome.

To overcome somo of tho ha.ndi ca.pa and obst::t.clos to industria.l development in Oklahomn some of tho rocommenda.tions that we ma.do to Governor Carl E. Ba.Hey for Arka.nsa.s nre a.ppli co.ble here, t\S well•

First, a.n educa.tiona.l c~pa.ign to mnke the people of your Sta.to In• dustria.1-Mindode Considera.ble more than ha.lf of the popula.tion being o.gricul• turo.1, a.nd rura.1, ngriculture is a. ma.jor industry, nnd the educctiono.l compa.ign should be carried on evontua.lly through F~rm Orga.niza.tions, for you must convince the fnnners thct in this direction lios prosperity.

Second, Closor coopora.tion between vnrious Sta.te Oopa.rtmonts, Sta.ta Schools ~nd Collogos nnd Sta.te Orgnniza.tions to accomplish the objectives of your Chemurgic Council o.nd to eno.blo all these institutions a.~d organiza.tions to turn their do.ta. over to your central organization.

Third, Rea.djustment of freight ta.riffs unfnir to your Sta.to, by joining with the Council of Southern Governors in their fight for po.rity with the E~st on freight ra.tes. I quote from the report of the Alabwno. Policy Conference hold this yocr ~t Birminghurn: .

"Strange as it mo.y seem, however, those whoo.re opposed to interregiono.l competition for business ho.ve come forwo.rd with the o.rgumont thnt the present interregionnl or intertorrit,orio.l differences in ro.te structures ~re reo.lly justifiecl by underlying 1iff~ronces in regional tro.nsporto.tion costs• This o.rgumont is simply a.n after-thought put forwo.rd in the guise of n rntiono.l explo.n~tion o.nd logic~l justifico.tion, of a. situ~tion thnt ho.s been produced by other influences. This o.rgwnent .usuo.lly hinges upon difforoncos in the traffic densities of the severnl ra.te-ma.king territories•

11 Such argument, however, wi 11 not bear up under careful e.nalys is. In the first place, as I have previously noted, the cost-of-service principle was not, and is not even today, the dominant factor in fixing the measure of rates. Secondly, differences in traffic densities are not accurate reflections of differences in the costs of rendering railroad transportation service M between the various regions than there are ns between the vnrious individual carriers serving the swne region or territory. If, therefore, a number of individual carriers may be grouped with~n a particular geographic region under a common level of rates, as hns been done, then whut is there to prevent, other thnn the sheer force of trndition and custom, the hurmonizntion of regional or territori~l rute structures so us to p e rmit o.n unimpeded and uninterrupted flow of national commerce in response to economic demands?"

Gentlemen, the Black-Connery Bill demands purity with the East on Wages nnd Hours--we should demand, first, purity on freight rntes. Massachusetts is lending the fight for p~rity on wnges and hours, nnd if we demnnd parity on r~tes they will nbnndon the Black-Connery Bill before they will concede us purity on rates, which in effect would move Industry bodily out of New Englund into the South a.nd Southwest. I quote from a.n Associated Press Oisp~tch of November 3rd, showing the attitude of New Jersey in fighting the ra.te proposnl; nnd organizing to oppose Southern rate equnliza.tion:

"State to Fight Ra.ta ProposnlHoffmnn Seeks Funds to Oppose Southern Rate Equa.liza.tion.

Trenton, N. J.- (AP)

An executive request for funds to help fina.nce legal moves a.go.inst reduction in Southern freight rutes a.ppea.red a.s a likely addition todny to business fa.cing Ne w Jersey's logislntion when they return to lawma.king hulls November 15th•

Gov e rno r Hoffua.n, conferring with shippers ~d ma.nufa.cturors 1 delega.tes, promised ho would prepa.re a special messa.go recommending a.n a.llotment to engage counsel a.nd hire expe rts to 11 protect Now Jersey interests."

To disturb rntes which ha.ve been in affect 40 years, the Conference told the Governor, would be 'unfortuno.te' because of the present 'critica.l sta.te of business.• Application of lowered ra.tes in tho South, thoy so.id, threa.tened to hnve disastrous effects in the North, espocia.lly in New Jersey•

They urged that the state join New York nnd New Engla.nd stntos in fighting the move for equnlization, stnrted by a. group of Southern governors bended by Bibb Grnves of Alabn.mn.

Hoffinnn said he felt that th e 'st a t e its e lf should be the speurhea.d of the nttnck, co-operating with carriers and shippers.' He advised them to canto.ct legisl a tors with u view to obtaining f a vorable reception for his special massa.ge in which he said he would point out the 1 seriousness of the situa.tion.•

Southern interests hc,ve appealed to the Interstc-.te Commerce Commission for unequa lized r~to. contending they ure suddl o d with u differentiul running us high us 12 pe r cont.

John J. Hickey of Washington, forme r r.c.c. membor, said Northern sta.tes were gru.nt e d lowe r rat e s bocuuse of h e avier freight tra.ffic. 11

Jackson, Miss., Nov. 5.-(AP)

Governor Hugh White Friday challenged what he termed 'the assumption of divine right of the East to discourage southern industrial development.•

The governor said he resented 'attacks from northern and ea.stern sources on attempts of the governors of southeastern states to obtain a New Deal in industry.

He said efforts of the South to obtain 'fnir and equitable freight rntes in order thut we might market our products on o.n even footing with the Eust nre being attacked upon no other ground than thut they would give the South n chance to compete in the industri~l murkot.'

'Too long,' he said, 'have we proceeded on tho theory thut the Enst hus a monopoly on industry through divine right.

'The South is not attempting to wrost ostt~blished industries from the Enst but the South is bidding for new industries for its share of factories thut nre decentralized into smnller units.'"

Fourth, nn advertising crunpaign to sell your Sta.ta to the Na.tion a.nd to the World.

Fifth, Orgnnizution of u strong Sta.to Chemurgic Council•

Sixth, Revision of inh ~rit~nce a.nd estate ta.xos, and also the Sta.to Incomo Ta.x in order to ~et the fullest credit from the United Sta.tos Government a.nd to koop our Sta.to tnxes in line with Florida. a.nd other sta.tos offering inducements on a.ccount of low tuxes.

So v e nth, Ena.ctment of some industrio.l a.ct t\.uthorizing the Sto.te Industria.l Commission a.nd providing tho Commission with u suitable a.pproprintion so tha.t so.id Commission ma.y a.ctivoly solicit industries outside of your State und induce thorn to locute a.nd invest in this St ~te. This ~ppropri~tion should be not less tha.n $50,000.00 per your for expenses a.nd $100,000.00 per year for a.dvertising. S a. id udvertising should be directed a. t industry a.nd a.t ca.pita.! a.nd nt tourists, a.voiding, if possibl e , advertising thnt will attra.ct indigent persons to the Sta.te.

Eighth, Ena.ctment of legislation th a t will be conducive to the further fnbricntion of your State's Industries to your St a te, which could proba.bly bo done nlong the lino of n higher sev ornnco tax on your Stuto r0sourcos which a.re tro.nsported beyond tho Sta.to for fa.bric o. tion and c.llowing a. credit on the severance ta.x whon so.id ruwm o. terials aro processed in tho Sta.to. California. enacted a. lnw ta.xing b oor high e r produced outside the Sta.to than beer produced within the St a. te a.nd s~id Act w~s upheld by th e u. S. Supreme Court.

"South is Fighting For Her Industry, Hugh White Says Interference of East With Her Plans Is II Resented." Mississippian Asserts•

PART III

Fann Chemurgic Possibilities of Oklahoma

A. Chemurgic Problems of Oklahoma and Recommendo.tions.

So much for the causes of changing times and the necessity of quick action. Let us now consider the Fann Chemurgic possibilities of Oklahomo... It is obvious that with a population lurgely rural o.nd o..griculturo.l, tha.t a.griculture is probo.bly our mo.jor industry o.nd must be so regc..rded in o.ny plri..n seeking to muke Oklohomo. prosperous, a.nd to accomplish this we must depend upon Chemurgy. I om sure thnt by this time you a.re o.11 -well a.cquE:1.inted with the word - · CHEMURGY - a.nd the slogan of the Funn Chemurgic Council o.s sta.ted ~t Deo.rborn, 11 To n.dva.nce the Industria.l uses of .Americun Fa.rm Products through ::~pplied Science."

I am indebted to Dr. Burno.rd for a list of our Chemurgic Problems, a.nd I run listing these in the following order:

1st. New uses for lumber o.nd its by-products.

2nd. Cotton a.nd cotton by-products.

Jrd. Soy Bea.ns and Soy Benn products.

4th• Gra.ins a.nd grain sorghum nnd by-products.

5th. Fruit by-products.

6th. Sweet Poto.toes a.nd Jerus a lem Arti-Chokes o.nd their by-products-Starches nnd Alcohol.

This list by no menns oxhuusts the chemurgic possibilities in Oklnhoma., but it provides a program sufficiently lurge to comma nd the interest of Research Workers o.nd Industrio.lists for yea.rs to come.

1st. Under lumber and its by-products. we a.re interested, first in the uses of wo.ste material and round wood and young timber tha.t is not being utilized at present, and finding tho processes which will convert wc.sto into Vl'.lUO• Tho.nks to Dr. Harty o.nd his discovery th c.t vlhi te pP.por co.n bo mo.de from Southern Yellow Pino which grows much faster tha.n in the North, tho Pa.por Pulp Industry is moving South, a.nd in Southeo.st Oklahoma. you huve thousa.nds of a.ores of la.nd suita.blo for Pine a.nd not suita.ble for much else. There is enough pino lund in C!da.homa to support n. Po.per Pulp Mill a.nd c.lso c-. Print Pa.per Mill•

2nd. Cotton a.nd cotton by-products na.tura.lly include consideration of a.11 the uses of Alpha.-Cellulose, which is cont a ined in cotton in the runount of 98 to 99%• Thi s s rune mc.to ria.1, however, c nn be obtuined from wood :it o. cost of a.pproximn.tely 4¢ per pound. In other worls, unless cotton ca.n be proc.lucod chea.per, the stbstitution of Alpha.-Cellulose from wood will oventua.lly spell the doom of the cotton industry. So you cci.n seo tha.t a. low price for cotton is mixed with s ome good, since it brings bo.ck to cotton muny uses for which cotton is a.bnndoned on higher prices.

Th e re are ma.ny a.cres of flat l a nd in Okln homu on which it muy be possible to rnise some types of whole-cotton, which is cotton thut would not be

picked but would be sledded or harvested in its entirety, or whole, and reduced to its tiber content--stalk, boll and cotton, and would probably produce cellulose to compete with wood.

As I have said before, I am not a Chemist, nor a Scientist, but want to find the practical application of Chemurgy to our farm problems, and these questions must be studied by a Chemurgic Council which will be a Fact-Finding Bureu.u.

Jrd. Under Soy Beans and Soy Bean Products ~re included hundreds of i terns compuratively new to present dc~y Industry. It has been snid thc,t Ford mo.y some day be making his Car out of Soy Benns, since he used lnst yeo.r the soy bean output of npproximntely 40,000 ncres, using Soy Benn Plastic in steering wheels, etc. There appears to be no limit to the use of soy banns, first a.s a cover crop, by many considered our Number One nitrogenous crop, nnd mny extensively be used in rotntion with cotton to replenish the soil•

, The Ja.pr.nese have used soy bob.ns for Butter Substitutes, Vnrnish, Flour, Ca.ndy, Celluloid, Medicine, Animnl Food, Fertilizer and Chop Suey, nnd o.lso ~. ba.so for ro.yon, !lnd tho oldest use of all is for soy benn oil useful in Pnint nnd muny other purposes.

4th. Grains o..nd gruin sorghwns• Okluhomn should be pnrticulnrly interested in finding crops suit~ble to drought ureo.s whioh will resist dust storms o.nd put bo..ck your top soil• Thnnks to Mr. John Di Sioglinger j u Plnnt Breeder ut Woodwo.rd, Oklnhomn, you hc.ve four new Combine Sorghwns:

Ylhea.tlc.nd Beo.ver Sooner, and Greeley.

It is snid th t>. t these Oro.in Sorghums compo.re fc.vora. b ly with Corn in nutrients ~nd in chemic nl composition, cont~ining simil~r amounts of protein nnd cnrbohydr~tes. It is possible thnt o. Gruin Sorghum ma y be produced in Oklahomn which cnn be used in production of Alcohol.

5th. Fruit by-products. I wo~ld not a.ttempt to nrune the mnny by-products of Fruit, certainly not while Dr. B~rn ~rd is present, for I honrd him spenk nt the Chemurgic Confe rence o..t Littl o Rock this p~st Summer in which he unfolded the vnst possibilities of Fruit nnd its by~products, nnd I hopo that he will give th~t subject a. few minutes, since you hnvo the opportunity for growing much fruit in two sections of Okl ~homu.

6th. Under Sweet Poto.toes nnd Jerus nlom Arti-Chokes o.nd their by-products, St!l.rch t.nd Alcohol, :ire first to be considered. Both these tubers c-.re ensily grown in Oklnhomn, a.nd should be much mo r e pro fitnble thnn Cotton or Grain in o. l c. r go po.rt of the Stnte. It is a.lm o st c,s difficult to onumornte the possibilities of Jerus~lem Arti-Chokos us Soy Benns.

It mny not be populo.r in Okl:!.homo. to to.lk on Powor Alcohol, yet I know tho.t I nm snfe in discussing the subjoct sinco it is l\ problem thQ.t you will have to fnce, o.nd while petroloum resources o.re fo.llnciously considered inexhnustible, the da.y is coming when petroleum• g~s o line will be blended with ~griculturnl alcohol universully, nnd whero would it be moro proper to dovelop the industry of blended gasoline thun in Okl nhom" where you hnve so much petroloum,

and so much land available for production of alcohol~producing crops. Dr. William J. Ha.le of' Washington predi,cts that wi thi'n twenty yea.rs the possible need for power alcohol will be approximately fifty billion gallons annually, which would require the services of five million men on farms and in alcohol plants, and in nddition five million workers in plastic and silk plants, and would require in production millions of acres. Manufacturers of alcohol, Dr. Hule declured, could profitably pay $7.50 per ton for Sweet Pot~toes; 45¢ per bushel for Number Three Corn.

The uses of Industrial Alcohol in gusoline is just beginning in this Country, although several European Countries have been using gasoline mixed with Industriul Alcohol for many years, and it is predicted that the totul displ~cement by ugricultur~l alcohol will tuke place before many years. There is n plnnt ut Atchison, Kansas mnking Industrial Alcohol from grains, swe~t potatoes ~nd other funn products, und the tests that have been made show thnt go.saline with 5% or 10% Industrinl Alcohol will give more power and quicker stnrting nnd less hent tho.n straight ga.soline• It is reported that from tests mnde in Itnly, thnt n motor fuel consisting of 8'(% Ethyl Alcohol den~turcmts, together with 13% wnter, gives more speed nnd mileage thnn the best gasoline obtninnble. This Chemist declares thc.t he is looking for n motor fuel 5~ Alcohol o.nd SO% w~ter ns the ide~l fuel for internnl combustion motors.

P.UIT IV

Other Chemurgic Possibilities of Okl:momn

A. Oklb..homu the 10~ Chemurgic Stnte Visualized.

While this is primarily o. F~nn Chemurgic Conference for Oklnhomo., it would be proper to consider Ghemurgic possibilities for Oklnhomo. other thun Furm Chemurgic, o.nd I would list&

1st. Petroleum nnd its by-products.

2nd. Coal und its by-products.

3rd. Lime, Gypsum o.nd other minerals, which you hnve in Oklo.homa. in o.bundo.nce.

Those subjects should be discussed by Chemists nnd Engineers, but I run sure that there ere unlimited possibilities in these fiolds.

To sum up--we ho.ve everything desired from nnture; we hnve longer and more fc.voro.ble growing sec..sons tho.n the Horth a.nd East. We h~we a mnrkot of' millions of people within five hundred miles of the bordors of Oklo.homo.. We h~ve the no.turo.l resources, nnd we h~ve nn nlo.rming need for Industriul growth. We are in the position at present, of o. foreign no.ti on with tho balance of tro.de decidodly ago.inst it. We a.re shipping into Oklnhomo. imports fo.r in excess of our exports. Our ro.w muterinls und no.turo.l resources o.ro being sevorod with n compo.rutively sma.11 severance tc.x accruing to the State, o.nd the procossing o.nd fubric~tion is done in the North nnd Eust, when it should be done in Okluhoma.

My recommendation would be th~t you orgunize your Stute Chomurgio Council o.nd try to bring in evory section of the St~te, thut you plan c.nd propo.re for the grea.test educctionnl campnign the St~te ho.sever seen, to muko every farmer and every other person in O.klo.homn Industrio.1-Mindod und tench them tho Chemurgic possibilities of Oklo.homo.; to.ke ~n inventory of Oklnhoma resources,

have a central office for assembling and disseminating this do.ta and have it available to every prospective Industrialist whom you might induce to locate in Oklnhomai tie in your State Governments, your County Governments o.nd your Senators and Co ng ressmen in Washington, to me.ke Oklnhomu El. more prosperous Sto.te.

In closing, let's take a flight of f ~ncy n.nd visuo.lize Oklo.homo. the 100% Chemurgic Stnte, withi

1. A Print Po.per Plunt in Southeast Oklnhomo., so.y, ~t Broken Bow, Okla.homo..

2. A Kro.ft Ptlper Pl.mt a.t Heavener, Okla.homo..

3• A Stc.rch Plo.nt o.t Potet. u, Okla.homt., using Sweet Poto.toes•

4• An Alcohol Plant nt El Reno, Oklnhomn, using Jerus~lem ArtiChokes.

5. An Art-Choke Pl~nt at Enid, Okl c homo., processing Arti-Chokes for food us e s such o.s the pl~nt o.t Kerney, Nebrnskn.

6. A Soy Bet.n Ex:p e rim e nto.l Stution n nd Crusher or Solvent Process ~t Muskogee, Olclo.homo..

7• A Wo.llboo.rd Plc-.nt o.t !dnbel, Okla.homo., using wnste Yellow Pine.

8. An Experiment~l Station for Pao.nuts or o. Processing Plant nt Chickushn . Okl~homu.

9. A Cotton Experimental St~tion nnd Silk-Like Fiber Plnnt in SouthCentrnl Oklnhomn in the Red River territory, suy ut Durant.

10, An udditionnl Experimentul Stntion nnd Processing Plnnt nt Woodwnrd. Okluhom~ for de velopment ~nd procossi ng of Gra in Sorghums.

u. Additional Canning rind Preserving Plo.nts in the different sections of Oklahomn for fruits o.nd ve g etublea.

12. A Cnsein Pl ~nt in your best d~irying section, processing Cnsein from milk--now being usod for Billi e.rd Bnlls, Buttons o.nd eventuo.lly probnbly even for clothes.

13• One Rock Wool Plant o.t Stilwell, Oklnhomn.

14. Your Potroleum resources could furnish o.n even one-hnlf dozen lnrge Pl~nts for by-products,

15, Yo ur Co r~l District co.n furnish llny number of processing plcmts for conl by-products.

16. Your Coke District could be revito.lized, And on :md on n.d. infinitum.

The first State ready will win the Industries and hold them, but you need organization.

Oklahoma was started off with a bang and held the attention of practically the entire world for many years. You are now entering another phase of your development. nnd with the same energy, iniutive and resourcefulness which you have displayed in the past, I om sure that Oklahoma will improve her stunding in comparison to other Stutes.

I om very happy ut this opportunity of discussing the Chemurgic Possibilities of Oklahoma, and I hope th~t I have been able to picture the situr ~tion in such n wo.y th~t you vrlll get much more out of the technical discussions which are to follow.

CHEMURGY RE-DISCOVERS THE SOUTH

before the

OKLAHCMA FARM CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma City, November 9 and 10, 1937

Ladies and Gentlemeni

In truth the South is the npRWISED LAND OF CHEMURGY•"

Comprising only 29'/4 of our people• the South contributes SJ.% of the annual increase in population of the nation. It has that most highly prized of all possessions - YOUTH.

Producing 6.5% of the petroleum; 70/o of the natural gas; 41% of the coal; and possessing gigantic hydro-electric resources, both developed and potential. the South has that prime requisite to the industrial age - CHEAP POWER•

Potentially rich in its industrial prospects, the South is amply supplied with inorganic and organic RAW MATERIALS.

Among inorgnnic rnw materinls the South produces 10~ of the bauxite, 37% of the leud, 99% of the phosphate, 99% of the sulphur, 8~ of the Fuller's eurth, 100% of the barite, 6o% of the felspnr, und is well supplied with iron ore nnd with unlimited quantities of marble, granite, sedimentary rocks nnd ceromic clnys.

For producing orgnnic raw materials, the South is fortunntely situnted. One-hnlf of North America is too oold for crops. One-third is too dry. With smnll exception none of this nren lies in the South. The growing senson is long. Most of the important crops which bear promise of industrial use ure indigenous to its soils und climnte. ,With adequate scientific fertilizntion, large yield per acre is nssured.

The South possesses thnt rnre combinntion of youth, power and rnw mo.terials which is irresistible• provided the new tools which modern soienoe affords ure utilized.

STATE COUNCILS

How cnn these tools of modern science be mnde avnilablo? This is the missi on of the Nutional Fenn Chemurg1.c Council whose stated objective is "to ndvnnce the industrial use of Americnn fnnn products through applied science.•

It is also the mission of the individual Stnte Chemurgio which hnv~ recently been orgnnized in six of the Southern states. Southern states hnve set up organization committees nnd two others process of fonnulnting committees for tho some purpose.

Councils

Four other o.re in the

In reality this Chemurgic movement is re-discovering the South and thereby unfolding unlimited possibilities which promise a better future than has ever before beckoned its people onward.

As a native of Tennessee who resided in the Southland until the World War and who is most sympathetic towards its many problems, it is not without considerable gratification thut one can make such n prophecy and sincerely f e el assured of its realizution.

CHEMICAL REVOLUTION

Indeed the entire country in general ~nd Southland in p~rticul~r is on th e threshold of a chomicnl revolution which, within the next generation, will accomplish as much for the well-being of society and for tho broadening of opportunity for employment ns did the mechanicul and oloctricul revolutions in tho last two score years. This revolution will witness the creation of a host of now industries nll dependent upon scientific research plus hnericnn inventive genius plus the courage of private industry.

Th~t the Southern Region of this country is destined to benefit moat frcm this development is apparent fran new Chemica.l ~nd Chemurgic enterprises now projected which a.re without pa.rnllel in other sections of tho country.

According to rocent surveys such now Southern Chemicul enterprises la.unched within tho la.st two yeurs indicnte the following rema.rko.ble progress.

Pa.per, Kraft, Nowsprint a.nd Pulp Mills

Other Chemurgic pla.nts such a.s Nava.l Stores• vegetable oils, plastics, cellulose, etc.

Heavy Chemica.ls such ns sulphur, sa.lt, phospha.tes, a.cids, a.lcohols, wood distilla.tes, required principa.lly to serve new Pa.por a.nd Chemurgic plo.nts

Estimo.ted Toto.l

$ 96 •750 ,ooo

10,.5ao.ooo

19,706,000

$127,036 .ooo

Tho New York Journa.l of Commorco pronounces these recent dovolopments c-.s "more fa.r roaching thun cmy event since the o.bn.ndonmont of pla.nta.tion fa.rming" and mnkes the extrnordinnry forecnst tho.t growing out of the successful experiments of .Dr. Cha.rles H. Harty, there is o. good chance within tho present generation for tho Southorn pa.per industry to expa.nd into n total a.nnua.l business exceeding in substa.ntio.l fashion, tho v~luo of tho a.nnua.l cotton crop.

CHEMURGIC

One should explain the mea.ning of this word, 11 Chemurgic , 11 for a. greo.t dea.l will be hea.rd a.bout it in the future. It comes pa.rtly from the anciont Egyptia.n word nChemi" the origin of our modern word n chemistry; 11 o.nd po.rtly from the Greek v1ord "ergonn meo.ning 11 work.n Thus nChemurgic" li t o ro.lly meo.ns

"putting chemistry to work." And of course "Fann Chemurgic" therefore means putting chemistry to work in industry for the fanner and indirectly, for society in general.

If any one of us has been enjoying the privilege of doing something, and loses his job, his natural te11dency is to try to find something else to do. Yfuat the National Fann Chemurgic Council is doing is to react the same way as a powerful social group. In other words, it seeks to find on a national scale, something else to do for those millions of our citizens who are now cursed with enforced idleness, nnd something else to do for those millions of ncres producing more of certain commodities, including cotton, thun the market can profitably absorb under present conditions.

In this quest for new things to do, modern men of science, particularly in the field of chemistry, a.re teaching progressive men of industry how to sepa.ra.te the ingredients contained in the orga.nic products of the soil a.nd re-combine them in different form for industrinl use.

Here we hnve the basis for n host of new industries nll using molecules for ro.w mnterio.ls, o.nd nll pointing the way towo.rd the return of enduring prosperity and away from governmentnl subventions.

The members or the No.tionnl nnd Stnte Chemurgic Councils nre men who cnrry lnrge responsibilities in their respective enterprises. They recognize tha.t prosperity crumot be sectional, thnt no region ca.n be truly pros~ peroua unless every region is prosperous. In ndmiro.ble contrast to those who misguidedly would lower the standard of living of all by dividing the wenlth of the few, these men have set themselves to the tnsk of raising the stnndnrd of living of all by creating new aources of wenlth within the nntion.

SIX CHEMURGIC INDUSTRIES PENDING

Chemurgic research npplica.ble to the cultiv~tion of suitnble crops indigenous to Southern sta.tes o.nd the industrio.l use or the ro.vr mu.teria.ls thus provided hns progressed to the point where no further delo.y is justified in lo.unching o.n industrio.1-fa.nn program in the South which upon 1ts completion should result in o.n output of new crops products ho.ving an nnnu~l value of $1,500,000,000.

In view of the growing competitive 'situation o.brond, which, make no mistnko, will incrense rather than diminish, this runount certuinly fur exceeds a.ny income the South mo.y expect in the future from its cotton crop.

These new Chemurgic industries, six in number, a.re us follows s

I. I

400 Agrol plnnts utilizing stnrch nnd augur crops f~r producing u ble~ding constituent a.dnptable to motor fuel. The Council's power alcohol development at Atchison, Ko.nsns (finnnced by the Chemicnl Foundation) is pointing the way how.

200 Starch plants utilizing the Southern White Triumph sweet potato. The development at Laurel, Miss., in which the U. s. Department of Agriculture, the Mississippi State Agricultural College, the Chemical Foundation and the Council nre cooperating in pointing the way how.

III.

1,000,000 Acres of Tung Trees Needed. The flourishing growth of the 100,000 acres of Tung trees now planted in Gulf Coast States from Texas to Florida is pointing the way how. The initial production of 2 million pounds of Tung Oil this yenr is demonstrating the yield value of this new substitute crop. The present domestic market for 130 million pounds of Tung Oil annually, plus the prospect, because of new uses, of this demnnd trebling within less than n generation, justifies the planting of n million acres.

IV.

100 Pulp, Krnft nnd Newsprint P~per Mills. The rosoarch of Dr. Charles H. Herty nt the Snvnnnnh Pulp nnd Pnper Lnborntory, (9o% fina.nced by the Chemicul Foundation) is pointing the wo.y how. The 17 new Pulp, Kraft nnd Ne wsprint mills now under construction or announced in the South, o.11 utilizing Southern Slnsh and Loblolly pine, and representing n capitnl investment of nbout $100,000,000, give tangible proof of tho vnlue of Chemurgic resenrch o.nd positive reality to this new impending industry.

v.

100 Ligno-Cellulose Plnstic Plnnts including concentrl\tion mills o.s well ns fnbricntion pla.nts. Re search projects in Cellulose fibres now being prosecuted in vnrious lnborntori os including tho U. So Forest Products L~borntory; the Boyce Thompson Institute; o.nd the Mnssnchusetts Institute of Technology (both financed by the Chemical Foundction); ulso nt the Universities of Idnho, Vfoshington nnd Michi gan; nlso by the Dow Chemico.l, the Ford Motor nnd the DuPont Companies; plus nctunl demonstrntion by the Masonite Compnny o.nd the Mo.rnthon Paper Mills Company nre pointing the wo.y how.

Supplementing these rosenrch projects nnd very definitely relnted thereto are the investigntions being conducted by the Funn Chemurgic Council's Cellulose Committee in Forest Genetics • .Amolll§ those institutions cooperating nre the Institute of Forest Genetics of Plncerville, Co.lifornio.; No.tionnl Lumber Mnnufncturers Associntion; University of Wisconsin Alumni Resenrch Foundation; the Field Museum; Hnrvo.rd University; Eugenics Record Institute of Cold Spring Hc rbori the Universities of Minnesot~ nnd Cnlifornin; the u. s. Forest Products Lo.boru.tory and others•

Genetics is thu.t portion of e volutionary science denling with nntur~l dev e lopment uncomplicnted py hwnnn interferonco, politico.l or other,,iso. It invok es Nature's immuto.ble lo.ws in the formntion of new or bettor species of orgnnisms. Excopt for the shrubbery tho.t o.dorns our lnwns, trees are n wild crop. It is hoped that this study of Forest Genetics will result in o. better selection of se e dlings for reforestation.

It is the Council's purpose to encourage the growing of domesticated trees to industrial specifications. This is of particular interest to the South where the importance of modern reforestation methods fortunately is being recognized by the more progressive paper and lumber mills whose executive heads believe in sound . development looking towards a perpetual supply of raw material rather than sinful and ruthless exploitation of our forests. Indeed the day is not far distant when the old-fashioned policy of "cut out and get out," always uneconanic, will likewise become unfashioMble•

PLASTIC HOUSING

The greatest use for Ligno-Cellulose Plastics will be in the fnbricntion of plastic lumber for housing and for furniture. Such lumber will have 2-1/2 times the density of nnturnl wood; much granter strength; will be termite nnd tnrnish proof; negligible in moisture absorption; flame resistant; dielectric; and ndnptnble to molding in nny shape nnd in lnrge p~nels thus reducing by 75 per cont tho number of parts ontering into the construction of a fa.rm home or n workman's cottngew Economies thus effected should reduce the cost of housing, exclusive of utilities, by about 50 per cent.

Renl Estnto authorities estimate thnt the demand for housing both for replacement a.nd beca.use of incroase in population in the cities and towns in this country will, if satisfied, require five million new homes within the noxt twenty years. Certainly, as ono drives through rural areas nnd is impressed by tho rundown condition of such a large nwnbor of farm houses, it is not unronsona.ble to emphasize the desirability of building another five million homes if the America.n f t\rmer, tho tenant a.nd the aha.re-cropper are to be decently how ed.

Indeed the potential market is so great that one feels guilty of exaggeration in its contemplation. But it is not at a.11 impossible nor improbable when one appreciates that this new an~ better material forecasts a price cut of 50 per cent.

The raw material will come from the perennial crops of the forests nnd from certain a.nnual crops of the fields using the nnturo.l lignin of the wood for the principal binder plus the a.ddition, a.ccording to the fonnula. used, of furfurnl, aniline, phenyl or ethyl cellulose as n solvent or n plasticizing agent ns tho cnse mny be.

But best of all 100 per cent of the troe will be used by the chemist instead of the customary average of 48 per cont by the sa.w-rnill operator.

New heavy chemioo.l industr,iea. The preceding five new Chemurgio developments will employ o. large volume of vo.rious ba.sic chemica.ls roquirod in manufo.cturing processing. It is efi:timo.ted tha.t for ea.ch five dolla.rs invested in now Chemurgic industries, one a.ddi tionnl dollr1r is requi rod for ca.pi to.l in1 vestment in tho "he~vy chemico.l" 1,jlldustry in order to supply the resulting increo.sed domnnd for chemico.l proces}sing ingredionts a.nd for fertilizers such ns sulphur, snlt, o.cids, nlcohols, wood distilla.tos, phospha.tos, nitro.tos, poto.sh, etc. Since the South is rich in its supply of most nll of tho rnw mo.teria.ls required for the production of such chemicnls o.nd fertilizers nnd in a.ddition possesses a.n ~bunda.nce of chea.p p~wer, it is destined to co.pturo a la.rge aha.re of the new hea.vy chemica.l pla.nts roquirod for such purpose.

30 MILLION ACRES REQUIRED

lhe six Chemurgic groups of industries described are only a part of over a score of promising Chemurgic investigations now under way. To supply the organic raw materials for the South's quota of those six new industries alone will require over 30 million acres.

To accomplish this development program will require a capital investment in the South of over 1-1/2 billion dollars exclusive of the land devoted to producing raw materials.

The re~lization of this Industrial-Chemurgic renaissance in the South will not only increase furm income tremendously but will provide purt time employment in industry for many tenants thus assuring them of ndequate financial responsibility for buying and equipping their own f~rms.

When this progrrun becomes n realized accomplishment, new full-time employment vdll be provided directly ~nd indirectly for over four million men nnd woman. This estimnte is based on studies of qualified economists revealing thnt uny increase in purchasing power in rural America is reflected by n threefold to five-fold turn over per nnnum in our nntionnl economy, thus incrensing the opportunity for employment proportionately, nnd particularly in our cities.

When this is nccomplished, no longer will the dispnrity prevail between income in the South on only $463 por f~nn oporntor ns compurod to nn nvorngo of $695 per fnrm oporutor in nll othor googrnphic regions of the United Stntes. (Figures cited for yenr 1935 by Nntionnl Industrial Conforonce Bonrd.)

When this is nccomplished, now freight tonnuge nggregnting over 2-1/2 million cnr loads annunlly will be developed thus rostering all Southern rnilronds ton dividend basis.

Tho technical direction of these industries will create n a omnnd for 30,000 young men nnd women trained in tho vnrious brunches of science nnd engineering or thre e times the productive c upncity in one decado, of Southern Universities nnd Colleges. Henco, wise administrators, desiring to keep pnce with Progress. will favor tho colleges of science, engineering und ngriculture in their allotment of school budgets.

100,000 TENANTS PER YEAR

1,831,454 fnnns in Southern states nro opernted by teno..nts according to the 1935 Burenu of Census report. If only one-hnlf the estimated incrense in income from Chemurgic crops nnd from pnrt-timo employment in Chemurgic processing plants wero upplied to the purchnse of family sizo fnnns (ut $4,000 each Socret n ry Wnllnoe's minimum cost estimate) 100,000 tennnt f a rmers could bo eliminated rumuully.

Theoreticnlly, therefore, fn:rm ten~ncy could bo wiped out in the South in ab out 20 yours. Of courso tho ternpt ~ti o n to purchase gndgots would have to b e resisted in favor of old-fashi o ned virtues of thrift ~nd dili gence until tho r~rm is pnid for.

In proportion as tenancy diminishes, rural purchases of city m~da products and city services will increase thus benefiting both urqan and rural secti~ns of the South.

SOUND DEVELOPMENT

Indeed, sound development of our resources for the benefit of the , people as a whole, and not the unrestrained exploitation for the enrichment of the new, is the unmistakable trend of the times which promises a future in material wealth and in spiritual welfare far exceeding anything we have visualized in the past.

Summarizing, the National Fnnn Chemurgists vision displncing eventually some 250 million tons of raw mnterinls now withdrawn rumually from'tho Mineral Kingdom by n like amount of organic (fnrm) products from the Vegetable Kingdom, all for industrial use in the United Stutes. We will then be in the fortunate position of depending moro on current income und thus will exhaust less of our capital wealth.

This chunge would menn increasing agriculturnl production, instead of decreasing it. It would give us a better balanced distribution of population und would bring nbout a gradual decentr~liz~tion of industry. Congestion of population in large cities, which is the ronl thrent to modern civilizntion, would be retnrded. Man, once agnin, if ho so chooses, would be nble to live a wholesome oxistence, in spite of tho complex gndgets that crowd the ndvertising columns of nll publications.

STATE COUNCILS

The sound philosophy of Chemurgy is boing echoed throughout the South where within the last yenr, under the nuspicos of stnte colleges nnd universities, locnl scientific bodies, fann organiz~tions, industrial and finnncinl groups, Stnte Chomurgic Councils have been orgnnized in Arkansas. Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi nnd Oklahoma. Organization ccmmitteos are at work in most of the remaining Southern Stutes.

The membership of these severnl stnto orgnnizntions comprises outstnnding lenders in tho fields of agriculture, industry, science ~nd fin~nco, ns well as the heads of stnto governmental ngencios such us the Commissioners of Agriculture nnd Chairman of State Planning Boards end of Industrial Commissions. Cho.mbers of Commerce are very active in their support.

These nre times when we nll neod to join in doing some snne tlii}1king about our common problems, not inn selfish manner, but in their rolntion to the public welfare. The orgnnization of local Stnto Chemurgic Councils will furnish most appropriate vehicles for this purpose and will eno.ble this historic Southlan d to play n major role in the Industriul-Chemurg ic Development now imponding on the nution~l horizon.

ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS

To muke such n State Council u success, throe things nro necessary,

1. Improved technique and increased effort in tho fields of reseurch in the various branches of scionce. We must look to your splendi d colleges nntl universities us well us t o the laboratories in private industries to supply adequate facilities and appropriate personnel to discharge this responsibility.

2. Improved fanning methods freed from economic bondage to one crop - cotton - - and from the tradition and conservatism of the past through which the productive capacity per unit of area may be increased and through which any further erosion of the soil mny cease, desist nnd stop.

3• The third step is to apply the fruits of research insofnr as they reveal new industrinl uses for fnrm crops. This requires both industriQl foresight and financial oournge. nnd it is in this phase of the progrwn in which business men nnd bunkers cnn be most helpful.

BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY

With such oooperntion there is no limit to the possible achievements of men trnined in the v~rious branches of science nnd of engineering in elevuting the nvernge stnndnrd of living in the South nnd throughout tho nntion.

The mission of the scientist is to point the wo.y how.

The mission of the engineer is to ndapt to prncticnl use the new discovories of tho scientist.

The mission of the farmer is to grow npproprinte rnwmnterinls to industriul specificntions. And this he vnll bo glo.d to dons soon o.s n mo.rket for such mnterinls is assured.

But tho mnjor responsibility for such devolopmont rests aqua.rely upon the business a.nd finnncio.l loo.dors of the South. It calls for the cooperation of eminent ~nd responsible men who meet and confer on regulnr occo.sions, not ns usua.l to discuss their business ~nd vocntions in terms of loss or gnin, but to give thoir best thought to the solution of the vexing problems of tho do.y.

It r ¢ quires men of principle who without hositntion accept thnt serious public responsibility which rightfully belongs to those who ho.ve attained lendership in their respective vooo.tions.

The o.llinnco of such men ropresonting Industry, Finance• Agriculture nnd Science will solve tho fundt:mlento.l problems of enforced idleness of mon o.nd of acres.

Let us first solve these two funqnmontal problems nnd then most of our other difficulties which o.riso therefrom will dianppeur. But to nccomplish this requires thnt we o.s o. people onco o.gain must embrace tho old-fa.shioned virtues of solf-help, self-roli u nco and self-mninteno.nce plus effootivo but voluntary und neighborly cooperation.

It is high time for Americo.n industry to forge an nlliance with Amoricnn o.griculture using the tools of modern science which enable o. wide variety of fnrm products t o be diverted to industrial ruther than to food uses. In proportion o.s this is done, tho problem of surplus crops a.nd of ruinous prices will diso.ppear; fa.rm purchasing power will be nu~onted nnd stabilized; tho domo.nd

• for industrinl products will ste~ dily increase; the totnl omployment of all men o.nd women a.ble nnd willing to work will be required; econanic security will repkce industrial strife; 0.nd solf-determim~ti o n both of Agricul turo o.nd Industry will be restored.

"POSSIBILITIES OF CHEMISTRY .AND AGRICULTURE"

National Farm Chemurgic Council, Inc. Dearborn, Mich.

before the OKLAHOMA FARM CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma Qity, Okla.

November 9 & 10, 1937

Oklahoma is a rich state. Its riches can be counted in the annual value of the crops g rown from its surface soil and pumped from the diminishing suprlies of oil formed from the luxuriant flora g rown under the stimulatin g rays of the preglacial sun.

Every home in this new State, urban or rural, is built out of the earnings of these crops and the pr0sperity of its people, counted in terms of comfortable :iving J adequate education and physical well beingr wi:l be ~ed ~ured by the earnings of the labor of the farmer on h13 le nd and the worker · in the factory throughout our cou.ntry. As a whole there is a surprising relationship in the earnings of the farmer and of the laborer. Through every year of prosperity and depression for the past fifteen years this has been true. In 1929 both woru obout $12,000;000,000; in 1932 the figure for factory payrolls and farm income were $5 J. 000, 000, 000; in 1935 each had in-ereased to a little more than ,$9,000,000,000; I n every year since -1920 there has been a few millions more earned on the farm than in the factory.

Obviously then the solution of the farm problem means as much to the city dweller as to our rural populati 1.1n. Unless the land produces in abundance food rrices are high, land and farm labor are idle and the economic cycle takes a downward path.

The United·States·has an agricultural r,lant, valued at 55 billion dollars, ready, able, willing to ~reduce food for man and raw materials for industry, without limit.

It is obvious, howeven, that wholesale displacement of horses and mules by motori~ed equipment and i~tensive cultivation since the World War 'of large areas in foreign lands have caused a gradual shrinkage, both in domestic and export markets, equivalent to the productive capacity of almost 100 1 000,000 American acres,

Hence, ruinous prices for American cotton, cereal and certain other crops are an inevitable cons e quence after years of high or abno:rn..i productivity uoless an alternative is found.

It is idle to advocate an artificial crop control, which inevitably stimulates foreign competition and thereby further shrinks foreign markets unless other sters are taken to rrotect the farmer from such ruinous prices,

When farm income goes up, factory payrolls L1variably follow, but they do not lead the procession.

ONE IS CAUSE, AND THE OTHER IS EFFECT

When the farmer harvests a g ood crop at profitable prides he begins spending; the merchant increases his , commitments~ the manufacturer expands his producti oh sctledule; labor payrolls are augmented; carloadings incr e ase, bank derosits grow and the stock market g o e s up- rails, motors, imr,lements, fertilizers, mail oraer, utilities are all aff e cted.

Almost eve ry dollar tho farmer receives, except funds required for taaes, interest and insuranc e , is spent for the manufactured rroducts, the merchandise and the services of urban America.

But, when farm income goes down, factory payrolls come tumbling aft e r.

Producti o n schedules shrink; men lose · there jobs; unemployment r e li e f impos e s burdensome taxe s, and industrial disord e r flourishes.

WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE?

Where ar e the new mark e ts that will absorb the full productive capacity of American a g riculture ?

What will rro~ote ec o nomic s ecurity and induvtrial peace?

What will relieve the burd e n o f taxe s caused by unemployment?

What can be done to cr e at e n e w o rrortunity for the idle man?

These are qu e sti-ons which every business man must facefor the answer, in a free country, will not be found throu gh government edict, but through the courage of rrivate initiativet free enterprize and American inventive genius.

Whe1'ler it be economic insecurity or unemrloyment, or shrinkage in farm markets, no one remedy will suffice.

But there is an approach to the answer, which, more than anything else, will help the American people·once a gain to embrace the old-fashioned virtu e s of self-help, self-relianc e , self-maintenance and effectiv e cooperation/.

As the Nation's hope, we advocate the cteation of new industries which rely rrincipally on farm crors for industrial raw materials. To acc e rt this challenge requires that e v e ry facility for scientific r e search and engineering devolopm e nt in its broadest sense be emrloyed.

For this pupos e the United States has many millions of dollars invest e d in publicly owned laboratories and in agricultural and mnginee ring experiment stations.

The ~roblem of coordinating these state and f e deral activities with the talent found in the research laboratori e s of American industry, and joining with it the rroductive capacity of American agriculture and the resourcefulness of private enterrrise, all conbin e d in frontal attack on the dual rroblem of iille.e men and idle acres 1 is the task undertaken by the National F~rm Chemurgic Council and the several State Councils which have r e c e ntly been organized.

Briefly stated the purpose of the Council is to unite the three great forces R Agriculture, Industry and Science in a common pnnpos e - to advance the industrial use of American farm products. That is the meaning of Chemurgy - chemistry at work for the farm e r.

As a basis on which to build a logical discussion of the role Chemurgy may play in the development of a self-contained agriculture, it may be v1ell briefly to discuss the fe.rm problem as it appears to a chemical engineer.

The farm e r finds it increasingly difficult to fit his program into the industrial fabric of the NuLion. This difficulty is accentuated by the tendency of the farmer to follow tradition bound polici e s which do not provide the r.u::ans by which to meet ne w aonditions in u world that is being raridly cnanged by the arplications o f scientific discoveries.

Prior to the World VJ::..r the American farm was an independent and usually profitable productive unit in our industriul syst om. Twv~ty years latGr the same form found itself uno~le to make a profit in the same industrial system. What has h a ppen e d tn those years?

THE FARM AS A MANUFACTURING FLA.NT

From the roint of view of the chemical engineer the farmer is essentially a manufacturer, Lideed the sum of the operations by which he converts his raw materials into finished and semi~finishcd products constitutes the largest of all our industties. Like any other well organ~zed businessi his requires certain essentials such as a prnctical process, a rlant with an adequate machine equipm0nt, a ch8ap source of rower, a trained operating personnel:sufficient working capital and a stable market.

His three busic products are:

1. Co.rbohydrntes

A. Starch~s from g rains nnd tubers

B. Suears from su ga r cane and root crops

C. Cellulos e from grass o s, fiber plants and trees

D. 1-!e.nurcs from gro.sses, legumes, straw, etc.

2. Proteins

A. Animal products such as meats, milk, hides, eegs, gelatin, e tc.

B. Animal fibers such as wool, hair

C. Vegetable proteins from whe&t, cottonseed, soybeans, etc.

D. Manures - Animal waste

3. Fats

A. Butter

B. L-rd, tallow, greases, animal oils, ¥cgetable oils, etc.

To produce these products he uses:

1. Land

A. Cultivated acreage

B. P~sture and range

C. Wood and timber lots

2 .. Power

A. Horses

B. Mules

C. Purchased power as motor fuel, electricity, etc.

3. Operating Personnel

Princirally the farmer's family with some hired help/

For several generations the Agricultural Experiment St~tions have cooperated with the farmer in the development of improved methods by which he has been shown how to nake two blades of grass and two ears of corn grow where only one grew btfore. During these years his crops have remained essentially unchanged b~t production methods are now greatly different. The farm production of power has undergone a revolutionary change. As late as 1920 farm power in terms of horses or mules was rroduced by 25,000,000 hay and corn burning units. Today only about half as many such uni ts nre required, for L1ternal combustion engines using rower obtained from crude oil are doing the work. Along with the decrease of more than 10,000,000 farm feed power rlants has gone the demand for the rroducts of the 50,000,000 acres which once furnished the fuel. And while these acres have been taken out of production mechanized farm equipment, such as imrrovcd tools for plowing the land, cult~vuting the crops, and handling the harvest, have greatly increased the rroduction of starches and sugars and cellulose crors the world over. This has opor e ted in two ways; In good crop veers it has riled up huge world surpluses and, coupled with our efforts to maintain prices, it has steadily closed our exrort markets.

NEW FRODUCTS FROM THE FARM

Vie admit also that the chemist has contributed in this dislocation of agricultural rracticc. Cellulose products, cotton and woods, for instance, have rec e ived his rarticular attention .

About 1900 as Arthur D. Little told us in his addr e ss "Che mistry Behind the Dollar" how ho brought back from England the American ri g hts to manufacture viscose, or whet was then known as artificial silk. He tried to find capitalists or industrialists willing to rut up the $55,000 asked for the process. No one at th a t time was so foolish a s to think it pos s ible to make silk thr e ad out of wood pulp.

A few y e ars later Dr. Little showed the world how to make a silk purse out of a sow's oar. And in the me antime other industrialists did secure the rat c nt ri t hts and b e gan the manufacture of rayon. Last year the production of rayon reached almost 300~0 0 0,00 0 lbs., cellophane, 60,000,000 lbs. an d other cellulos e rlastic s 34,000,000 lbs.

Th e cotton farmer thinks of th es e n ew chemical products as direct comre titors of his crop. Thi s is only partly true for an enormous tonna ge o f c•tton g o e s to the r iastic mills for conv e rsion into ray o n, c e lloph a ne a nd th e g reat voriety of new s ynth e tic f i b e r a nd shee t mnterials.

The loss of export trade in cotton is far more serious, for a world market chearly supplied from the new cotton acres in Brazil, India, China, Abyssinia and elsewhere has little present and will undoubtedly have no future need for American cotton exc e pt at a closely comretitive price.

What is true of the cotton crop is to a less degree true of many other crops. The change in the diet of the fGJnily which gathers three times a day aroud the American table hns definitely limited the demand for starches and for meats. While the consumption of sugar has reach~ d and is filaintained on a high level, starch consum~tion in the form of bread is steadily decreasing and there seems to be no probability of putting an additional round of starch into the American dietary. Wheat production has undoubtedly reached its maximum volume e xcept as our slowly increasing population brings us edditional mouths to feed.

CHEMURGY FINDS ITS ROLE

It is all of these changes in the market for farm crors which rromrtod the organization of the Chemurgic movementa movement intended through the emphasis placed on the industrial use of farm crops to offer the farmer, not a ronacea for his tcm~orary ills, but a practical end permanent cure. Instead of continuing to find ways by which to muke two blades of gross or two ears of corn grow where one grew before, it should - be, as indeed it is, the desire of the State Experiment Stations and research workers everywhere to find two new uses for the old crop and two new crops to replace each old and useless one.

The Chomurgic movement as an organized effort is but two years old. Of course, the ideas it is fostering are not new. They are as old as ch e mistry and industry. Two hundred years ago notatoes and corn were b o ing used, not as feed. but for the rroduction of starch with which to stiffen our linens and lac e s. Sugars in the form of molasses from the Sugar Island in tho Wost Ino.ies and fructose in aprle juice went into consumption as New England rum and hard cider • .knd many years ago ingenious Yankees we re making nutmegs from wood and pressing milk casein into buttons.

But when the chemist e nt e red industry he began to draw more heavily year after year upon the starch and rroteins and cellulose and oils in the farmers annual cror-s for his raw mat e rials; he began to break up nature's big molecules and to r e form them for new us e s. But this work is still in its infancy and so it is that the Chemurgic movement very opportunely links together in its nrogram the scientist in his laboratory, the industrailist in his factory and tho farmer in his fields.

The Chcmurgic program Makes no clnim for originality. It gives full credit for every developMent in the Chemurgic field to the men who have carried on the work. It offers only a rromise that the discoveries in the field of pure science, put to practical use, first in pilot ~lant and then in indust~ rial production, will draw upon an increasing percentage of the farmers• annual crors.

Alr e ady definite progress can be reported, for faster than any other science chemistry is extending its boundaries and div e rsifying the products, increasing the ye&rly output and constantly bringing to consuoers new and better goods made from the starch and cellulose and other raw materials for~ed each year by the magic of the sunshine, air and the rain on millions of fertile acres.

Dr. Fri e drich Bergius, the Nob!li prize winner, who visited us l e st summer told us that when the next war comes and when their ports are blocked and food surrlies are curtailed the Germans ar e fOine to oat their trees. That is carrying Chemurgy to its ulitmnte end, so far perhaps that the farmer Chemurgy is trying to h e lp will b e a lmost eliminated from the picture. For when the Germans conv e rt saw mill and forest waste into su g ar and su g ar derivative s and then by feeding the sugar to hogs obtain th e ir fats and by combining · it with yeast and synth e tic amr:i.onia manufacture their ~roteins, the farmer's occupation would seem to be limited to the biological proc~ss of suprlying hogs.

To bring you a report of progress in Chemurgy would ubsorb too much of your time. Perhaps the rractical way is to throw highlights on a few of the Chemurgic developments which are most interesting to the farmer who is seeking new markets and to the manufacturer who is learnine the value of new materials.

NEW INDUSTRIES DEVELOP

I have already referred to the development of the rayon · and cellophane industry. Ten years ago the plastic industry, similar to it in·many ways, aside from certain spec i alities such as Bakelite, was not important. Today it is the most rapid growing of the chemical industries,

It uses a great variety of rsw materials produced on the farm 1 casein and soybeans, cotton or wood pulp and acetic acid which form cellulose acetate, and glycerine, a by-product of the soap or oils and fats industries, which is the basic material in the new Glyptol resins. It is these Glyptol resins which are the lustrous caatings of our automobiles and which are adding in so many ways to the durability and beauty of modern varnishes.

Of all the plastics the most rapidly growing is cellulose acetate which is formed into sheets, rods, tubes and molded products. It was first made in 193~ and in five ye~rs has develop8d a production of more than 12,000,000 lbs. It is the material from which millions of feet of photographic film is made. It is the fllo. : f:L.llCr·for th0 more thnn ?50 acres of plate glass which went into our autonobile windows last year.

The use of plywood is coming rapidly into its place in home construction. With the advent of prefabricated homes, plywood will be a fundamental material. It is easy to hondle. It can be made in convenient and practical sizes for quick assembly. If it is good plywood, it is a sound and l~sting material.,That is where plastics enter the picture, a nd the most successful and lusting plywo od nude today is bonded with a thin resin film which has been pressed unqer heat just ns rlastics are molded into shape for thousands of other purposes. This plywood with its plastic film has become an insepareble mass, resistant to fire, termites, squirrels and other pests or pets, y e t it c nn be sawed, drilled, nailed, or otherwise handled like wood.

A NEW CROP FOR INDUSTRIAL USE

ce.me to the United States in a clipper ship, back frcm trading along th e China Const on e hundred an0 thirty years ago. For more than a century it renaincd an interesting beanlike plant chiefly inportant to us only as the strange focd of the pe o rl e s of East Grn Asi,.

Soybea~-

But with the b-eginning of the present century, the o.gronomists of c ur State Experi~ent Stations started intensive studi e s of th e soybean plant nnd soon found that it was a most valuable farn crcp that could be grown in alnost any state.

Thirty years ago but eight varieties were grown in this country; today hundreds of varieties &re known and mere than sixty ore listed in the seedmen•s catalogues. In 1915 there were less than five hundred thousand acres uf soybeans under cultivation. In 1935, formers harvested more than 5,000,000 acres and increased production from 5,000,000 bushels ten years ago to nearly 50,000,000 bushels. If the interest in this new crop continues to grow · as rapidly in the n~xt two decades as it has in the pest two, soybean-A will rate well up with corn ns our mnjor farm crop.

While the protein content of wheat is about 12%, und of c orn not more than 10%, the average protein content of soybeans is 40%. This figure is far higher than the pr0tein ccntent of any other imrortant feed and places suybenns in a class by themselves if we nre considering its vRlue f0r hunan er animal feeding. But these scybean proteins hnve ether uses than as muscle building foqds. They will play an inpcrtnnt role in the plastic industry. a role depending alm o st entirely upcn the ability of the soybean proteins to cumbine ch e nically with

other plastic fcrning materials. It is probable that · these proteins, extracted ur separated frura the meal in relatively pure fcrm will find meny uses in the chemical and semi-chemical industties. Plants are already in operation in which the protein sepnrated by nprropriate methods is produced in quantity for many industrial uses such as the coating and sizi!1g of paper stock and for the n.anufacture of glues nnd adhesives.

Perhaps nc cutlet for soybeans which is almost wholly noncompetitive with established industries approRches the nossibllities in using these vegetable proteins in the sizing or c oating of paper.

As a result of the work by the Institute cf ·Paper Chem~~try, a new sizing process has been devel<'ped. In all, over two thousand tens of paper were made experimentally at vnricus paper mills during the lnst twc years.

If the po.per industry should generally adept this sizing process and the trnde denand a superior paper, it is esti.r:mted thnt this use in the paper industry alone would require from 14,000 to 15,000 tons of rrotein a year. Even this would involve cnly about cne-tenth of the entire paper industry. In addition to this sizing process there is a very active denand for paper coatingi. The consumpticn of milk casein in 1935 by the coating industry was approximately l?,000 tons. In p 2st yea.rs there h n s b e en a considerable nmc ,unt uf this tonnage im.pcrted. This soybean devolcpnent she,uld make the paper industry in this ccuntry independent cf outside Sl:Urces of casein.

Rapid progress is being node in the development of new types cf adhesives which are surericr in nany waJs to those m~de from imported starches, gl.lr.ls and dextrins. The plywood industry• to which I have already referred, which growing to large proporticns has f0und that soybean proteins ares ·pe1ior ' in their adhesive qualities to the glues f o rmerly used. One such plywood plant in the Northwest is using the soybean crop of 60,.000 acres ..

Artificial lenther ccntains its proportion of soybean oil. Celluloid, glues and cements, glycerine, linoleum, cil cloth, printers ink, rubber substitutes, varnish e s are all in wh0le o r in part made frum scybeun rr~ducts. When · bushels cf scybeans which we re h &rv e sted last year of 960,000,000 lbs., was in the form of protein, or as it is frequontly·culled, casein, becaus e of its close resemblance to nilk c a sein, the r,ossibiliti~s in the industrial utili.,ation of this eno rmous tonnage of a very valuable basic material rroduced directly from the beans instead of milk casein resulting fr um the netnbolic processes o f the cow are very great. When chemists and industrialists study the physical and chenical qualities of soybean Trcteins as thoroughly as they have studied the values inherent in co u l tar we may well find that a scure o f new industries haw been built out of the chemical conponents o f this new crop/,

V/OOD , A FARM CROP

And now we cone to nncther farm crop, the crop which, with the pcssible excerticn of the dairy crop, has brought nore weelth to many of our farmers than nll other crops combined - the wocd \,crop. For it is n fc.rm crop, just o.s much r..s hay or cotton, ·only it isn't an annual crop. It is harvested when ready for the market. No matter what form it takes when it leaves the farm ,~it is a crop of cellulose very similar in comrcsltion to cotton, flax or hemp~· A~ wood pulp it has a market value of about two cents a pound 1 a lot less than the value of cotton or fibrous materials. But it goes to a different market, m0st ot itthe paper market.

· Last year, we produced 10,308 1 000 tons of paper. About 4,017,332 tons er 39% of this v,as rroduced from ioported wood and pulp. In addition to this we imrorted 2 1 389,085 tons of printing paper so that a total of 6,406,417 tons of uur paper was imported or nade of imported wood and pulp. This is over 50% of our totcl paper cornsur,1ption of 12,490,824 tons. Vie paid $161,033,324 for this tJnported paper, wood and pu~.

Our forestry experts ut Washingt\m have no.de a thorough study of this subject. They know where our wood pulp harvest is. They know how large it must be to supply our needs fifteen yenr nheud. 13% of that crop will be taken from New England farms, 30% from Southern fE:rms, 28% from the great forests of the Pacific Coastp It would seem to be sound n g ricult~al rolicy to take ster.s to sulable product a lot of research work has to be done.

PULF AND PAPER MII.J..S MOVE SOUTH

Years ago the only wood thought suitable for pulping was Northern white spruce. New pine nnd poplar in the North, and very recently, since Di. Charles H. Herty, who hus ·brought more wealth to the South than any nan since Eli Whitney, found how to use them, loblolly pine and long leafed :rine i . n many Southern states are an acceptable raw material for the paper rnills.

Today, thirteen new raper plants now under construction in the South represent an investment of ovo r 95 million dollars and will have a combined caracity of about 4,500 tons a day~ .

It is estimated these thirteen new mills will p ive full time emrloyrncnt to fifteen thousand persons working in th e mills, and in addition will furnish rrofituble work thr o ughout tho year for thirj'y thousand others working in the timberland.

Those familiar with the rossiblilities of this new development; the perpetual suprly of rapidly growing pine available; nnd the economy in operation, forecost this is but th e b ~ginning of a new half-billion dollar paper industry that will be established in the South with the present generation. Millions of acres of worn out cotton lands thus will be re-seedod in pine; perrnnnent rrogress w-ill be made toward solving the surplus cotton problem.

This is Chemurgy in action. This great investment, to u very considerable dep,ree due to the research work carried on by Dr. Charles H. Herty in his Savannah lnboro.tories with the funds suprlicd by the Chemical Foundation, is but one of the important Chenurgic devmlopments in the South.

But in New England and in other parts of the country cutover srrude and pine lands now be~r heavy stands of nuplc, beech, birch, hardwoods quite different fron the softer coniferous woods.

What has to be done to open the nnrkets to new nany types of wood products'? Certainly it is high ti me both farners who grow the weed crop and industriulists who will r-mnufncture it knew nore about the p v tentialities in wood cellulose, wood sugnrs, lignin and perhaps other values now unappreciated or looked upon as nuisances to be discarded o.t the pulp nills.

It is these potentialities, and not the values fer box boa.rd and light lunb e r which will give to the fo.rftl vmc,d crop of the next fifty yettrs fo.r mo re milli 0 ns of dclli!rs of value than did the tiP1b e r l0ts r,f bygone years• Where are these values? Hew can they b e ccqui;rod? V/tiat rmst be done to secure them? They lie ih the labornt o ries u f the scientist. They can be had only by patientf continued research. They can be purchased by the investnent of mo ney, brains c::..nd ir-miense effort in the s o luti c n of the prc.:blons of the c0nvers!ic n of wood into better pulr, for po.per, purer cellul o se for ray c n, cellcphane, cellulosic fmlns of infinite variety and use, plastics which con be I:1olded into far better ferns thnn a re new no.de directly frcn lur.1b0r.

NEW INDUSTRIES FROM OLD MATERIALS

For mnny years the pr'oducticn e,f turpentine and res4:'1\'l'1 o.nd rroducts of scuthern rine cbmr.i.unly kn c,wn as naval st o res industry is net prosperous. Its products nre not needed as much as fcrmerly. New materials are reaching its market. The thousands of turpentine stills which wore cnce thickly dotted over large areas o.re rr u ducing less y~ar after year. And yet n new industry bnsed on tha vo.lues o f resin is grcwing into lar~e propcrticns. But it is net a little still in the piney woods; it is & Chomurgic industry created by chemists who hove discovered hew to oxtro.ct riches out c- f pine stunps.

The stump of the first southern pine tree cut d o wn to build o co.bin or cc:ok a neo.l is still cumb e ring the grcund in which it stonds unless it h8s been grubbed o ut by a s e ttler to make room fc,r o. crop cf ccrn or cctton. For the fat content c f resins kept the stunp from decay and indeed the e lder it is the richer its store cf resins. And those resins are s o luble in sclve nts like gasoline. So all that seened necessary t o do was to dig up the o.ge old stur.ips, grind them up int.o fine slivefi's,

put them in co c kcrs to soften under the influcn9e of steam which was itself helnful in distilling uff u porticn cf tho fat, and then to digest the pulpy mass withe. suitable solvent. But th,xe was little prcfit in the business at first. The pr u ducts were still resin and a little turpentine.

And then a few years ago the res8nrch chenists st$pped intc.; the picture o. nd shewed thnt the luburr.tcry cf cld'Muther Na ture had b e en ot work und had synthesized e lot of new rrcducts from the turpentine. The turpentine thQt is prosent in the oleorcsin, which flows fror.1 the live !'ine, does net contnin th e se prcducts at all. It was socn found that fractional distillaticn was all thnt wns required to mnke a fair separation 0f the true turpentine from the new prcducts, and that was a big help in imrroving the quality cf the turpentine. Two new c0.mmercial precesses seen qrpeared which mnde the turpentine o.nd resin cc.•mreti ti ve with the living tree. Besides here was new o third and unanticipated prGduct, scnc thing _ ..lie cld estnblished naval stcros · industry vms unc.bl e to rroduce. This wa.s a renl stroke c 1 f luck, or was it? The pr-..duct acquired the name cf stean distilled pine cil. Whnt wr. s it r;c,,. d fc·r?

In the early days cf the steam und s0lvent rro~ess, this material was f o rtunate in finding a valuable nprlica~iGn in the flct a ti c.. n rrccesses fer recGvery vf ccprer, silver 1 0tc. from l c w grade 0 res, which were developing E,t [tbout the sP.me tiroe. Rubber was cc,sting much nc. re at that time 1 nnd pin8 C'il was fcund tc be an excellent sc:lvent in rcclaining fl<'.ntsr The U.S. Public Hcnlth Service learned cf the cil, nnd published a fcrrmla by which it could be used as n cheep disinf e ctant cf more than ordinary W( rth. For a pcri< d then,, with s, newhnt limited pre duct ion ct•r.1rared to the present, r inc <·il c nj, yed a satisf[lCtcry carket. But o.s the steo.n o.ncl sc 1 vent no.val s t<.,res plants beg~n to expand o.nu·incroase in nUM.ber, in order to produce the ether prc,ducts, the resulting greater pre ductic n changed this f2v0rable situaticn fc,r pine til.

After .r.mch study c,f neth,,cs uf refining the C .\ il to o v s rcome scne ,~bjectionalble features, rapid prc. gross was me.de in introducing special pine Gils in the great textile industryboth the natural and synthetic fiber. It is not certain whether textiles found pine 0il, er the reverse, but the wetting cut, renetrant and sclvcnt pr~porties cf th e se special o ils are widely nade use cf either nlene c r in cc:ncin~1ti c n with other cheraicnls, or with dispersing neents in a great variety of fiber preparing prucesscs and f~brio finishing o por a ti c ns.

Pine c-il hns, frcm the earliest e.oys cf the industry, stimulated a greet deal c,f speculative int(,rest &s a r0tential raw material for chemical precessing. It has been the principal source cf the ::perfuno base, terpineol: fer sc...ne y ea rs. Yc.u find it in ycur sc~nps. It was, o. few years ogo: the frn g rc.nt ingredient of be.th tub gin. And tcdny it is the rm.terial out cf which oamphor is synthesized, the ct:1J.1rhcr which until ~ur chemistsfound 0ut what canphc1 r was l.nnd hew tc put it tceether t -~

co.me tc us fron Fcrr.wsa. And these nre but a f e w c f the valu e s in those pine stunps. Sor.m sixty n(jre are now bmlhng mndc nnd eo.ch me-nth the chemists, intent en o.rplying Cheourg io principl e s,

o.re finding an0ther prcduct fer which the wcrld is waiting.

Another ~xcmrle of Southern Chenurgic possibilities which g0 o s to the sweet p 0 tato for ruw material is the starch f a ct o ry esto.blisheG ot Laurel, Mississippi where.the cheoists 0f the lJ. S. Depc:rtment cf Agriculture, working in cc.,0p e 1·n tion with research workers suprlied by The Chemical Foundati on have d e v e lcped processes for ncking a superior starch, bright in c~lcr, effective in use, frco the sweet rotatu crop which can be readily erown throughcut the South but which heretof o re hos f ound its market only as n food. The South is putentinlly rich in Ch0purgic possibilities. Perhaps because it hus waited so l o ng for industry to come to it.

CORN IN INDUSTRY

In o. goud corn yev.r cur faroers grow scme 2,500,000,000 bushels cf ccrn and every bushel contains nore than thirty pounds of starch. That is a lot cf starch. But m1., st <fit never leaves the farm where it w&s gruwn. It is nanufactur e d in 5,000,000 barnyards into pork er dairy products, ond if there is still a horse abcut the place, into pe:wer with which tc -plcw me-re land to grow mc;re curn. However, s c.Me fift e en i:-e r cent cf the cr9 p goes into a whole series cf nlcch cJ ls, s0ne cf theo pctable, but fer the mcst part only valuabl e· as s c- 1vents, and into a long list cf starches and dextrins, syrups and sugars, lactic and o ther or g anic acids.

C0rnstarch is the busic noteri a l essential1in a great nllr.lber cf industries a nd will become equally impc:rtunt in ethers. More than thirty industries use starch in one form or ancther, and n e w uses ere c o nstantly being f o und. The industrial chemist thinks of cornst n rch a s one c f his must impcrtant raw materials. Frcm it he is mo.king products cf far greater v0lue than corn has ever h n d Ln the farm fLr a great vcriety of industrial needs.

The use c f corn sugar e r dextrcse is increasing rapidly. Chemically, it is as gcod c. f o c,d as ccne c: r beet sugar. Indeed it is quite probably that it is a better feed and n decidedly better sugar thnn o rdinary sucrose. Howeve r, it is not cs swe et a s sucrc-se and therefore d c es net have the same condime ntal value in o ne's cup 0 f coffee. Mixe d with levulLse, the sugar of ortichLkes, its sweetn e ss is enhanced and it nny well bec(1me wholly sutt ::1ble for eve ry d c. r.i e stic need.

This year five hundred millil'n p o unds of tapicca flcur, gr vwn o n the tJther side o f the Wt' rld by cheap lnbor on the rich trouic soils c f mava are being used by our textile mills, by c ur glue makers, by briquette manufacturers, by scores of vther industries wh c in 1.. .ther ye,. rs c c me to the corn belt f o r siaing and adh e sive n nd o ther mot e rinls and uses. This huge v o lume o f cheap st~rch ·will replace 15~000,000 bushels cf c ur corn, th e crop cf 5000,000 acres c f rich land, Need I ask what this neo.ns to the owner o f f o. rn r.io rt u ges in the ccrn belt?

ALCOHOL ~ANEW MOTOR FUEL

And n~w a new use is suggested fer starch, Q use which may well require the diversicn cf a lnrge part of the famers starch ere. p int c new outlets, the pr o ducti Pn cf flt.tor fuel. Alcohol is ooe .._,f the mcst inpcrtont chenicnls. It has innumer&ble uses. -Ne'.!lt to water it is the universal sol vent. It ccn be ccnverted into power in internal c,nbusticn engines just as gasoil.ine is t o day. But cur gnsoline Cl·nes frcm deresits cf crude <il st0red bel0w the surf a ce cf the earth and these depcsits ore nut inexhaustible. Every bnrrel 0f crude cil drawn to the enrth's surf c cc is a debit against the stcred treasures which shculd. rennin in no.tur0's vaults fer the use of future generatic:ns. But cur starch crc..ps ere no such drain en the st0red trensures o f the earth and alcohol made frcm annual farm crcps whon us e d as a nctor fuel to that extent lessens the dena.nd fer crude oil.

We knew we can easily produce ~Ltor fuel frcn our farm products t0 suprlement the gas o line distilled from our crude c.,ils, but we de net yet km.'W whnt fernentable nnterinls can be used mrst ecc.ncnically. We need t o the roughly explcre the possibilities of using c0rnst u rch, the stcrch cf·sorghllI!l grains, the sugar of sugar beets, and sugnr cone, the starches cf the artichc-ke, tf the dahlia and canna bulbs, c.f white and sweet potatoes, nnd perhaps of many c.,ther starch and sugar benring rlnnts.

It may be o f interest to refer to figures in an effort to r.ieasure the p o tential mark e t which will b e c,pen to the farmer as the price c f gasoline rises in step with the steadily decreasing prc..ductic.n c f o ur c il fi e lds. The most u.csiro.blc blend c..f alcch0 l ond gosuline in the productic..n of n c tc..r fuel is ten per cent of alcchcl and ninety per cent c.,f gas(line. One bushel 0f ccrn cun be f e rm e nted into twc and ~ne-half gallcns c f alc c., hc..l. And when c ur· c-il supplies o.enand that we luc k elsewhere fur a part c f o ur m:t0r fuel it will takeen a ten per c e nt blend basis - ?00,000,000 bushels uf corn to yield the necessary alc o h c l. The corn crcp harvested last year, if it we re all c o nve rted into ~ lcchcl w~uld pruduce no more than a twenty p e r cent bl e nd. In any overage year we night, after building the nec e ss a ry cc..nversi c n plants, call up o n the crc. p o f 21,000,000 rich ccrnb c lt a cres tc supply Lne tenth cf the ·meter fuel we a re now drcwing fron the already depleted st c rcs o f crude c il.

Is it too nuch t o hop e th a t sone day th0se whc h a ve assum e d c c. ntr o l of the d e stinies c f c ur farn e rs will realize that the answer to un assured fora rrcsperity will never b e fcund in restcrcd fcreign markets but in the fuel tanks o f the motor driven nutcs and farm equirment which t od a y hnve abs o rbed more than $3,000,000,000 c f farm working cnpitnl nnd subt~ncted os well the mark e t fer the product tf the 30,000,000 nores once requir e d to furnish the h<..rse nnd nule powe:r for form operuti l' ns.

THE DOMESTIC SUGA!{ SUFFLY

It takes nearly one hundred pounds · of sugar to supply the energy food for everyone of our 130,000,000 people. Sugar is a comparatively new food. Until 10• years ago, it was a delicacy, a htghly·rriced article which sweetened the food of the wealthy. Today, it is the cheapest and the purest and the most concentrated form of energy food. We can grow it in every state. It flows from the trees in New England as maple sap; the beet fields scattered from Michigan to California supply it; the sorghum patches on isolated farms all over the Midwest and South furnish sweetening for breakfast cakes; great factories in the cornbelt convert cornstarch into corn sugar, and the juices of sugar cane produce an increasing volume of cane sugar. But in spite of all these sugar sources, about ?5% of the contents of American sugar bowls is foreign suear, produced on cheap land by cheap labor and mmported in enormous volume while we are frantically searching for the reason why the American farmer is unable to make a good living.

What would it mean to our farmers if they were raising the beets and cane and corn from which to extract the millions of tons of sugar, 2,8-92,184 tons to be exact, which v,e import from foreign lands, while our best fields in Michigan and Iowa and Colorado and Utah and California and our canelands in Lou1siana and Florida lie idle?

It may well be that in the years to come our country will be on an entirely self-supporttis sugar basis, and that instead of going to Cuba for sugar we shall grow cane sugar in Louisana and Florida. We whall grow beet sugar in many Statea; we shall rroduce corn sugar wherever corn is grown in excess of its need as food for animals.

Our country could easily absorb the sugar made from beets grown on two million additional acres. These new acres, · taken from acreage now erowing surplus crops, would produce 25,000,000 tons of beets which would increase the farmers• income by more thaa $15,000,000, and surply the Araerican table with 65,000,000 one hundred pound bags of dom e stic sugar. To handle this huge new · industry would require the labor of approximately a million men, on the farm, in building and operating new factories, in producing. hauling and handling 3,000,000 tons of · coal, 1,250,000 tons of lime rock; 125,000 tons of coke, and trainloads of sulphur and cotton, infusional earth and chemicals.

All this discussion except perhaps to Cuban sugar has rel&ted to the development through res e arch of new uses for old crops. There is another Chemurgic interest which is equally valuable. That is the g rowing of new crops which have heretofore been import ~d from other countries but which can be grown on our own lands and with our own labor, These new crops will displace nn product now grown. They have as definite a place in our agricultural practice as the soybeans brought here from China, citrus fruits from Spain and Sicily, alfalfas, clovers and grasses. Durum wh e at, Kaffir corn and sorghums discovered by our a g ricultural explorers in their round the world searches,

NEW CROPS FOR OUR LANDS

One of the most interesting of these new crops is tung oil, the oil ·which is the basie.•;of many superior varnishes and enrunels. It comes to us from China in tank steamers by the · millions of pounds. Last year we imported more than 130,000,000 pounds for which we paid many millions of dollars which in the future vdll all be paid to tung oil farmers of the Gulf Coast. Tung trees have been grown experimentally in Florida and other Southern states for many years and there are now more than 60,000 acres of trees coming into profitable rroduction. This past year some 2,000,000 pounds of domestic oil has been marketed. In the future it will be as important a crop as our crops.

Last year we imported 15,000,000 pounds of pyrethrum flowers at a cost of over two million dollars from Japan, because of its value as an insecticide. The pyrethrum plant is being successfully grown at several state exreriment stations~ Nicotine, the chief source of which is the tobacco plant, has a large and growing use as an insecticide. The nicotine content of tobacco varies with the variety, the climate and the soil. Its concentration in the p~ant is also varied, stems, stalk and leaves having greatly different amounts. The experiment stations of the tobacco growing states have independently devoted some attention to the feasibility of breeding a high nicotine content tobacco which would be a valuable crop, not for use in the tobacco industry, but in the production of nicotine,

In earlier years tannins were derived chiefly from hemlock and chestnut bark. These suprlies are largely exhausted. While modern tanning methods depend to a considerable extent upon the use of chemical age nts. the imrorts of tanning and vegetable dyeing materials amount to about six million dollars annually. It is probably that at least some portion of this imported material might be rroduced in this country.

In a short but busy decade our soybean cror has reached large prorortions. What is be i n~ done with soybeans can be and will b e done with all of our crops which produce fermentable starches and sugars; which contain fibers of cellulose, whether they are cotton or wood or hemp or flax; which are rich in proteins for plastics and oils for paints. And there will remain new crops to be grown on millions of acres, crops which now keep forei g n labor busy while our own workers look for jobs, such as tho tung trees along the Gulf Coast, cork which comes to us from war torn Spain but which s~ould be an important California crop, pyrethrum for insecticides which we can easily grow at home but which we still import from Japan, tannins needed to mnke our leathers which should be a dom e stic instead of an imported crop, flax and hemp fibers which our own farmlands will produce in amrlc volume whenever we 4ecid e to make our own linens and cordage instead of going to Asia for jut e , Mexico for sisal, and Ireland for linens,

All ~rc th e se new crops and a score of others can be profitably grown at home just us soon as the farmert the scientist and the industrialist reali~e th a t they have a common problem which, though easy to understand but less easy oo accomplishment, is still certain to be don e in the years ahead.

I have told you a little about a number of important things which ar e happening in American agriculture. None of the Chemurg ic remedies will cure agricultural ills or effect quick cur e s. None will put the patient on his feet unless he is willing to do his full part in the trinity of Agriculture, Industry and Scienc e

In a short two yenrs, starting with little more than a hope that something might be done to secure for the farmer new markets in industry, for his starch c e llulose and proteins, the gospel of Chemurgy has spread across the country. It is the most vital f a rm news today; it hAs·grirped the imagination of farmers a nd industrialist alike, it is stimulating research in the labora tories of our colleges and industrial plants; it has destroye d the doctrines of defeatism and given agriculture a n e w hope, aroused mnbition and honest promise.

It is our firm belief that as Chemurgy widens the market· for tho fundamental products on which our whole economy rests, it will contribute substantially to tho st~ bility of the social order. It will help to silence the quucks nnd the purveyors of promises. It will operate in the full recognition of the fact that work and sacrifice alone produces wealth. In its scientific and fnctual approach to production and distri~ution rests the triple hope that we may save what we believe to be valuable in our existing institutions; that we may be fair to those whb have not yet shared widely in the wealth of this country; and that we may build an enduring prosperity.

ST.ABCH FROM SOUTHERN SWEET POTATOES

before the

OKLAHOI.IA FA™ CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma City, November 9 & 10, 1937

NOTE: This material by Mr. Richee and the following material by Mr. W. s • .Anderson, Horticulturist, Mississippi Experiment Station, was presented by Dr. L. s. Ellis of Oklahoma A. & M. College.

in 1934 a COJIDllercial plant was established in Laurel Mississippi, to manufacture starch and by-product pulp from sweetpotatoes, using a process formulated by the Bureau of Chemistry & Soils, United States Department of .Agriculture.,

During the past three years of operation the usual difficulties which generally present themselves when adapting a laboratory process to factory scolo operations, have been ironod out and a wholly satisfactory process, both mochanicolly Oll.d chomicolly, wns oporntod during tho 1936 s ocson, producing a product thot ie second to none.

The cost of production hns been reduced to a poi nt whore it is possible to compete in a srno.11 way with other grades of starch, and with the coordination of of agriculture, chomistry and onginGoring, wo havo reasons to believe that tho cost of both fnnn end factory production will be :furthor roducod o.s tho volume incroases. Tho sweetpototo starch businoss like boat sugur nnd olliod industries is a lo,1 priea, largo tonnage business, and to pay dividends it must be hondlod both on the fr rm and in tho factory with "stoam shovel methods."

5WEETPOTATOES ARE BIG YIELDERS

Our southern coastal plains, piney woods soil, with tho long growing season is perfectly adoptablo to t h o culture of S\1oetpototoos. To quote one old gentleman in Mississippi; "If you do not wont plenty of suootpotatoos you should not plant them." Yields up to fiftoon tons per ncro havo boon obtained on land thot could be purchasod for $25.00 per acre . I do not b e liovo we should be ,1illing to accept fittoon tons per noro as tho maximum that can be produced.

Such yields per aero will produco 5000 pounds of commercial storch and approximately 2500 pounds of by-product pulp. Mony nnalyses have boen mode of sweetpotatoes grown in various parts ot tho Unitod Stntos, and indications are that the starch content is largely controlled by the high temperature and longth of growing season prevailing in the South. Howevor this condition moy change by the introduction or dovolopnont of other varioti o s.

Mnny sections of the South today nro loaning towards tho production of moro work anirnnls and dairy cattlo. The by-product pulp, duo to its proporty of absorbing wat e r, and its high line and carbohydrate contont should fill a long folt neod for brood animals, during tho lactation poriod,

Swootpotato starch hna cortnin proportios that are indispensable in mony uses, and tho pcssibility of blonding with domestic manufactured cereei starch, for mnny o thor usos, hos not beon explorod. With coordination in rosonrch, surprising results moy bo obtain~d.

NO LAB.OR PROBLEM

Tho factory lnhor. problem at the Lnurol plant has boen solved by using f~rm nnd surplus labor in tho plnnt during the processing aonson. Our mechanics and operatives aro rocruitod from tho frrm group. This plcm, if cc.ITiod out in a fully dovolopod industry, will greatly reduce tho labor turnover and oliminato tho necessity of carrying koy men during the dormant poriod of tho fnctory. I fool so.fa in assuming thnt a largo number of th osa hore today, liko mysolf, nere roared on tho :farm, c.nd could ilO hnve hod the ndvnntago of working in en industry dUl'ing tho four or five months of oach yenr, procossing and distributing thoso products of our labor grotm on tho fnnn during tho romnindar of the yenr, our spirit of ndventur~ muld bnvo boon more noarly antisfiod.

SWEETPOTATO ST.ARCH HAS BEEN TCSTED

Tho Laurel Storch Plant during the throe sooson's oporntion has produced approximately one million pounds of comm~rcinl starch and enc-half million pcunda of by-product pulp. Most of tho starch hos boon used in tho taxtilo industry for r1nrp sizing and finishing of cotton goods. Tho results have shoun lass shedding, less loom stoppage and bettor fooling cl oth, resulting in looor production costs. Factory scale tests have boon mndo in tho sizing and finishing of pnpor, as nn adhoa1ve in tho manufacture o f paper bogs, laninntod broad and ~ood voneor • .Also, it has boon used in bclting, confectionory, and commercial laundry work with results that were sotisfuctory to the tochnicil'.llB and o.mors of those industries. As a home laundry starch it hos no superior.

From experience gninod by many years sorvico as chemist, enginoor, Ql'l.d oporotor in the manufacture, solo nnd usa ge of starch products, and with a chemical nnd mochanical procoss that is simplicity in itself. I am confident thnt tho sweetpotato starch industry is now ree d y for commorcial expansion.

I do not infer thet thor o aro no other problems to bo solved. Like any other industry thoro will always bo problems in ma nufacturing, uso and distribution, for thore is no o no thing vmich uill produce more problems than progress. For example, variation in ncronge yields, methods of planting, harvesting, fortilizing and transportation r.ill nlways be opon season for tho agricultural investigators. Tho chemists in search of nou usos will find work to do for many years t o come • .Any wet procoss industry will furnish Bntertaimnont for tho bnctoriologist, Woar nnd corrosion uill tnko caro of the onginoor, and no doubt the oporotor, soleE£1en and bankors v1ill have thoir probloms too.

In summing up the industry thus far, swoetpototo starch as produced at L~urol is puro white and of unifom grode. It will furnish c now cash market for southern agriculture with pricoa sufficiontly high to be profitnblo to tho growors. All of tho bhomicnls usod in the process are low in price. The chemical co st for the 1936 soason was only 9/100 cent per pound of commorcial starch. Tl.o by-product pulp has boon proven by three yoors feeding tests to be an excellent animal feod which has hod a ready sale. Aero plots grovm in low flat land that was proporly drained prove thnt profitoblo yields of 200 to 500 bushels per aero can bo I:llldo, on lnnd that is not considored suitable for cotton. The ruol, potrer ond untor consumption are in keeping with othor wot process industries.

REATJY M.ARKET

O:.,o hundred z:.illion pounds of swoetpotnto starch par your will find a ready market in tho U~1ted Statos, in thoso industries where a domestic root starch is bndly no oded. Tc :pi·oduce one hundred million pounds of sweotpototo starch yearly, do~estic industry ,10ul.d profit by fUrnishing, over a period of ton yoors npproximotoly tho following:

Building mctorial

Machinery for fonn & factory

Chemicals

Cotton bo.gs

Factory labor

Swootpototoos

Fortilizer

Farri labor

Freight

Power and ruel

Other supplies

i5,000,000.00

a,000,000.00

100,000.00

1,600,000.00

5,000,000.00

20,000,000.00

5,000,000.00

6-,000,000.00

- 5,000,000.00

5,000,000.00

500,000.00

It will require 50,000 ncros of land producing 200 bushels por aero to produce sufficient s~oetpotatoes for 100,000,000 pounds of storch.

As I look into tho future of the suoetpotato, I soe n groat bonefit to southern agriculture and labor, with factories located in the various southern states from the Carolinas to Tex&s, serving n trade that con be ranched by minimum transpo:t'-4 tntion and employing satisfied agricultural workers in the factory ~nd on t.he fo.rt:1.

Right here it probably is ~ell t o sound a f o~ ~ords of cnution. Storch whether manufactured from grain or suo o tpototoos, in its various stages of ~onufacturo is subject tc time oloments, temporoture changes, nnd othor physical c.nd chomicnl lm-rs. Tho knowledge of manufacturing the various grodos dor.1nnded by the narkot, and being able t o tako advantage of process difficultios, con best be gainod in the school o f oxpcrionce.

It will be necessary to train additional non t o operate this ne~ infnnt industry. Tho lou priced prc duct and tho capitol invostr.tont nocessory to build and opernte o processing plant moy forco tho industry out of the range of sooll business.

To supply most users, it may be necessary to carry over invontories of finished product from season to season. Since sweotpotato starch is a new comr.i.orcial product, it '17111 requiro considornblo sorvico uork and solos off'ort to thoroughly establish a market. It would be considorod good practice \"/hon organizing ony wet process industry to obtain all infonnation nvail~ble, and to use diligent cnre in investigating tho source of row I!!Otcrial, untar supply, sownge disposal, freight rates, tho JrOXimity to no.rkot nnd tho source ot power and fuel. With honost promotion and honest offort, more Mon con bo trained. All othor difficulties can be ovorcome, and tho South wi l l have mi established industry ot uhicb she will be proud . \'lhon that tino arrives uo will haven Cheourgic Queon for King Cotton.

THE RELATION B:m'WEEH SOIL COI!SERV.ATION AlID F.ABM CHEMURGY

The people of the United States have made more rapid progress in the inventions of farm and industrial macninery and equipment than an.y other people on earth, but we have been more woefully negligent of the c onservation of our naturul resources than any other people on record.

~e have encouruged private initiative, selfishness, and individunlism to destroy our nn.tural resources faster than an:r other people. The wnnton destruction with the ax a.~d by fire has reduced our original primevul forests from 820 million acres down to 80 million 1\Cres, and of the present 500 million acres classified as forest land, 100 million n.cres are completely devnstated. 40 million acres of forest land wore burned over, as shown in this picture, in one year - 1927. (Slide showing burned- over forest).

'1e once hn(i. 600 million acres of broad ocr•-; covered und protected pith gr.<1.ss, about half of it \ 1ith the tall g rD.ss o s of big and little bluestem and the oth e r half with the shorter gras ses, includir,g blue grruna, side ont grama, nnd buffalo. (Slide shouing big and little blue stem). Under this protoctior. of prairie gross, there had develop ed throughout a p t1 riod of scverul thousands of . years a dark colored layer of top soil,'vnrying from 5 to 14 inches in depth. This top soil contains most of the soluble plant food for crop production, most of the decay ed orgrui.ic material, ond most of the absorptive power for holding rninfall 0 (Slide showing normal virg in pxoirio soil).

Reckless plowing and cultivation cf t h ese fields up and f oun the slopes, comb i n e d with tho o.nnuo.l burni ng of t h e prai r ie g ross rui.d tho burning of crop r e sidue s, h us destroyed the org anic mnt e rinl n..~d hns helped the run-off water to carry ~n.ny tons of soil p e r acr e each y e ar from our fields and postures off into the cree ks , ,nd the riv e rs. (Slide sho1,7 ing o. prairi e fire).

Of tho 400 milli on acr e s now in cultiva ti o n, 100 ~illion - acres have lost nll of that top soil, uas h ed o.vmy b;\· uncontrolled runoff water. ( Sliae- n g ently sloping Kansas field with most of the to p soil g one ). (Slide shouing a Kansas fi e ld with a 4 % slope, with a f e nce post set 25 years O{;O in conct.·ete level vrith th e top of th e soil. Todey, 12 inc he s of the concrete sho\7 above the present soil surface).

With th<;! rov s running up nnd doun t he slope , uith_the top soil no.shed :wey nnd vegetative prot e cti o n gone, !!:Ulli o s d ev e l op nfter every heavy rain. (Slide sho,1 i ng development o f a eu,lly i n a cultiva t e d field)• Small gullies d e velop into larg e ones, o.nd todey we find 75 nillion acr e s of foroerly rich cultivated fields pro.cticru.ly ruin e d, deva st a ted and definit e ly clnssified as sub-nnr6 inal

land, on Hhich no fnmily, ,;rhite, blacl::, or red nc~ hop0 to eke nut a. decent existence. 400,000 fnr~ fD.11ilies 0n such fro.ms h~ve n standard of living belou the average fussio.n peasr-nt. Todny, in the State of Okltlhona, 2 acres hn.ve lost nll of their top soil, o.nd 6,942,000 ncres arE; reduced to this sub-nnrginol condition. (Slide shouing abandoned, badly eroded Oklohona fnrn).

Throughout the Centrol Gren.t Plains n.ncl the High Flo.ins, 90 nil lion acres nre sufforin6 fror.1 uind. orosion, principally due to th0 la.ck of vegeto.tion mid. the lnck of water consorvo.tion ond utilizntion. (Slide sho'7ing on o.b:mdoned wheat field). This uind erosion has not only destroyed 10 nillion acres of High Plains soils, but the resulting dust storr.1es hDYe clfectod aony hunnn lives and destroyed livestock through disease nnd suffocution. (Slide of n i' ust storo).

Originally ue hrul 50 nillion acres classified as desert. Today ue ho.~e 100 nillion ncres so classified, nnd of the 750 nil lion acres in fnro pastures nnd range lnnd, ue find 165 nillion acres ~evnstnted, gullied, nnd ruined, and fron TT hi ch the rD.infnll runs off like \7o.ter frorJ n duck 1 s bo.ck. ( SJ.icl.e of badly gullied pnsture). This lack of water utilization and '\7ater control '7he re the raindrops fru.l, resulting in incren.sed runoff nnd erosion, has decreased the aoount of vmtcr which soaks in to underground channels, Md \7e find the water table up nnd down the Centro.l Great Plnins is uuny feet loner non thnn it m:i.s thirty years ago. The '\7o.ter to.ble in the rrell on oy oun hone fo.rn in Oklnhonn. io 10 feet louer noTT thn.n it ,;ms whon I .10.s u boy. Mn.r_y sno.11 strcnms tho.t one uere fed by perennial springs fron n.11 u..-i.dereround water supply noTT dry up every su..mer, and the increased runoff froo the cultivated fields above has resulted in the silting up of the streru:1s, the destruction of the old suinr.iing hole, rui.d the destruction of the fish that were o:rce in those streros. The ,rn.nton destruction of vegetati c. n through fire, over f;razillf-:, nnd pri vn.te gre;ed has n.11 but elininnted nilcUifo n.s n result of the destruction of food nnd cover necesso.ry for su.c,1 life.

The increased runoff of ruinunter lw.s r e sultcc1 in noro frequent ::md nore dostructi ve floods in our snaller stroons and in our lnrgor strcor.1s, resulting in a.'1. average o.nnuv.l destruction, since 1903, or 40 nillion dollars north of property along our streous. (Slicle shouing n. bottor.1 fo.rn covered r,,i th flood m1ter). Often after the flood recedes, tho fornerly rich productive n.lluviol field is covered uith unproductive silts and cleys brou~ht doun by the flood uuters. (Sli-de shouing far.:1 covered uith silt ~.nd clay 6 inches to 3 feet deep).

Silting of Reservoirs

Many expe::si ve res0rvoirs have sil tee!. UD in one Generation. The Austin Dnn of Texn.s, built in 1893 uith en.po.city of 18 billion 6 ollons at cost of one r.:iilli on four hundred thousand d.ollo.rs had lost 48 %of its cnpo.ci ty by 1900. It fn.iled April 7 of thnt year. A ncrr dru.1 uas constructed. in 1913 •,1i th co.pn.ci ty of 10½ billion gnllons, by 1926 it hnd lost over 95% of its capo.city o.nd eas conpletely filled in 15 years. At Elk City, Okloho,.1o., the old reservoir ;ms filled up uith silt in 1925, ,':T,d n neu c',an u::i.s built, costi.1r-;- $325,093.00. In 10 yea.rs, 48% of the co.pnci ty ,ms lost by soil and silt washed in frou the TT.:ttershcd above, 85% of rthich wo.s in clenn · cultivntion uith the rows up Qnd dov,n tht1 slopes. Tho flood in the sprillG of 1936 sr,ept out the reGcrvoir.

The Zuni Reservoir at Bln.ck Rock, Nc'l7 1•oxico, which •-:'.lS built in 1907

had l o st by July 1932 over 7~fo of its capo.city by silting, and e~:pcnsive sluicing (' operations have not naterinlly added to the available u~ter stornge sp . .ce.

Lo.ko Tnnoycor:10~ in Taney County, Missouri, '\7ith n.n original cnpncity of 43,980 acre feet of water, lost over 46~ of its cnpo.city in 22.4 yea.rs. The Harding Reservoir near Santa Ann., Clllifornia filled up o.loost coupletoly \7i th silt in one nonth of henvy rP..ins ~hich folloued extensive burning of the vegetative cove r on the vmtorshed above i:n. 1927.

In the Pied,ont Secti , n of the southcnstern part of our country, there ·•.re sc o res o f abnndoned porrer pl.'.mts todcy, representing nnny nil lions of dollars of bud investnent, sto.nding as eo.u.nt reninders of excessive sedinentation of storoee reservoirs ns a result of excessive soil losses froo erosion. (Slide shouing pictures of reservoir filled up in 25 yea.rs.)

Our flood control policy in tho past has not given cor.sidcrati~n to a fully coordinn.tcd progrru:i to inclusc a co~.tbination of upstrean :•nu clo•,1nstreor.i engine erinr:;, rind tho cont:rol nnd utilizn t ion of the ro.indrops bn.ck on the fields nnd farns ,,here they fnll. Cr.J.culations shov, the t o.n n.cre inch of m:i.ter, kept distributed on the field •:1her0 it falls, hn.s a po t entio.l recenu.e of $2.43, but if tho.t acre inch of wa.ter runs off D..nd is caught in r:i. clw.1 do~m the streon for irrigation purposes, the revenue expected uill be about 54¢. The best utilization of both land ond vrn.ter : :ust provide for the use of tho oazioun DIJount, \7ell distribut e d over the field uhero it fclls, for the uroduction of food nnd fiber and the protective vegetation !Igo.inst both r;ind nnd rrater erosion.

Wo sto.rted in 1879 on our flood control progr~.: alo!lf: the Lower }.ii ssi ssippi, ar:d •,•hat uo.s thought o. safe .c · rad.a lino f o r levees ms estn.blishcd fron Cairo to the Gulf. In 1898, the grooe ~as rnisod 5 feet. Follouing the flood of 1912, tho grade uns raised O(;nin in 1914. The flood o f 1927 cov rod 18,000 squnre niles of lnnd, drove 750,000 people fron their h o u e s, destroyed 300 nillion dollars north of property, lll'li.L srruffcd out the precious 1i vos of 246 J)C.:.plc, so the levees uere raised oenin froc 5 to 10 feet at n cost of 300 nillion doll~rs tho.t yenr.

Th o O.'.'.Xinun rending on th e ,saugo n.t i:.: onp his up to 1890 ,ro.s 35.6 feet. In 1916, it rose to 43.4 foet, in 1927 to 45.8 feet, n.nd in 1936, it roso to 50 feet• The fl oo ds of 1936 ucre the uorst on record, ouch of it clue to loss porosity in the soil, feu0r ro ots, steeper tilled slopes, increo.sed erosion. and incr asod silting of t h e river chrumols. In tho.t yen:r, the l-.ierrir.m.c, the Connecticut, the Hudson, the Delermre, the Susquehanna, the Potono.c, the .i:Uleghany, o.nd the Ohio all went wild.

Tho ~reatost r e servoir for water. outside of the ocean itself, is the top 3 feet of soil. At Gut h rie, Okluhc oo., the top 3 feet of the Vernon fine so.ndy loun hns o. water stornc:;e en.po.city of 14.4 inches. The Muskingun silt loon of of Znnesvill e , Ohio rm.s 16 0 2 inches, and the t!n.rshdl silt loan of Clarinda, Io\To. 20.7 inches. Expcrinents of recent y e ars have dcnonstro.ted fully the value of vegetative cove r in erosion control nnd in rcducinc runoff, Md the pnrt this plays in m:i.tcr utilizatbn nnd flood control prO Grnn. Toda.y this principle is rocoivinr..: nore consi d oro.tion by floocl control •.,orkers, includin,; ent.;ineors, foresters, ngrononists, e colop;ists, .ind ot h, rs, thQ.ll it o v o r ho.s before.

It nust not bo inferred tho.t v c t;eto.ti o n o.lono is sufficient to o lininntc flo ods, 1rut it is rocor;niz c d tho.t vc r:; ota.ti ' ;n is supi1lenento.l to other p r :-.ct ices o.ppliod on tho bnd .:md vo.ri ous types of flood control structures n.lonr; Oilr trunk strcaos.

Effect of Lnnd Tron.tnent ,'\lJ.d Fa.mine Methods on Runoff und Soil Losses

Effect of Crop P~tnti . non

Soil and Wo.tor Iossos

Colur.ibio., Uissouri - 14 yea.rs

Tr o p.tnent

Continuous Co rn

Rotation of Corn. Yfuo nt, nnd Clover

Effect of Crop Rotati on on Soil nnd ~ater Lossos - Guthrie, 01'"..1~1 ,no. - 6 yr. v.vornce Trc

?.oto.tion - Cotton

Effect of Crop 3.otati (, n ond Grv.ss Cover on Thmoff c.nd Soil Losses :Be th..'llly, liissouri - 5 yr.

Effect of Orr,nnic Matt e r on Soil nncl Nater Losses - Clarinda., Ioua.

shorrillG tract o r faming on the cont our - Lcv0l). (4)

Vc>.luc of Cont nur Ft.rning

Effect :Jf Cor.t:;ur F'."1,rning on Soil :..md 7utt;r Los sos Guthrie, Oklnh :--,a. Slupe - 6 0 75 percent 4 yr. nveror-:e

Co ntinu ous Cott 0 nCov,)r Crop of ffilcnt TTith

Cotton ns nbove but o n tho contour Vnluo of Contour rarnir.£;

2½ inch rnin i-k,y 3, 1934, Guthrie, Okla..

Trentnent

Flnt pinnted - cotton ro~s up nnG doun the hill

Cotton listed n n the cont,,ur

(Slide shotiill!'; field above just ufter 2 inch rn.in :-'.11 the m:1.ter vms hold on tho field, J1J1othc r fi o ld li st od on th e c o nt o ur TTi th C.0.'1:·;inr: lister)•

Effect of Cont:mr Fo.rni~ on Moisture P o netro.tion and Crop Yields on Ve ry Level Lund

Good,,ell, Oklnhor.10..

Tro nt::1ent

Strai g ht rons listoa:

Contour rows liste1

Inches of Penetration fron 1,79 inches rnin 8. 75

Yi e ld of Lcr~e HQ..y ;pez: Acre

196 lbs.

542 lbs.

On this very level field TTith less thnn six inches fall in a hundred, the strnight listed rous rrhere the uat e r un.s free t o .run to the loqer end of the field, the yield of l erune hey uas 196 -oounds ,;;hile on the cont,:mr listed field ,-,here n.11 the m1t o r t ho. t fell nns h e ld ~ venly distri but u d over the field and sonketl in ,-,hero it f e ll, the yi eltl o f ler:une hey :ul.S 542 ry inf..s p0r ncrc. (Slide shonint: t~-, o fi o ltls o f cott o n on n 4;& slope, one ,,-,ith ro•.-: s up and c.o~m the s lo pe , the other ·.-,ith tho rons on the co nt our), Contour p l.:.U1ted cott on yielded tuic o ,, s Duch fiber pe r ~cro.

Vegetative Strip Crop_ping

Strip cro pp ing, or the use of erosion resistant strips planted on the contour, is a nethod which onny people do not understand. It is on econonical nethod which cnn be ~sed by all fnrners, and can be applied to nll slopes of land a.s n very practical uethod for helping to control runoff wnter, prevent gully formation, nid in the control of gullies, and act as a sieve to take the soil out of any rivulets that nay start down the slope. These strips oo.y be only 20 to 30 feet wide, about the sane as terraces, or they ney be uider on steeper slopes, nnd they ney vary in width to eliainate all point rows on irregular slopes as shown in this airplone photograph. (Slido showing strip crop ped field).

Tyler, Texas 3 Henvy Ro.ins

Trentoeu,t

1:0 treatnent

Five 600d terraces

Cleon, cultivated cotton uith ro\7s up ond doun the slope

Soil Loss Tons Per Acre 55 tons 5 tons 0.34 tons Soil Loss Tons Per Acre fron one rnin 10.66 .48

Treatnent Fallow• undisturbed Berou.da Sod, undisturbed i Ihnoff .00073 .Annual Soil Loss Tons Per Acre .0019

14 Yeo.r Results in Missouri - Shouing the Effect of Bluoernss Cover on Runoff and Soil ]f>ssos.

:fost of the culti vo.tod fields in the State of Oklohooo. tod.oy n.re plowed, prepc..red, planted, o.nd cultivated up and doun the slopes, parallel ~ith the fence lines, re~a.rdless of the topoe,raphy of the lo.nd. Every lister furron or ettltivn.tor shovel furron up Md cloun the slope : clps to carry the ub.ter off fa.st er, ~d the faster it goes, the nore soil 1 t co.rries. The loss of tons ruid tons of rich soil fron every a.ere as o. result of this increo.sed runoff, ond the loss of this soi, uhich is the foundntiC1n of ou.r ao.torio.1 prosperit:,•, r,ill be felt for generations to cone, long after buildings, highunys, bridges, D.nd other property have been destroyed and rebuilt. (Slide sho~ing a good terro.co just freshly constructed). (Slide - first yea:r terrn.ce uns covered ~1th erosion resistond vei-etation a.nd the interval cultivated on the contour). (Slide· showing proper terro.ce nainteno.nce, conbined uith contour faroi~, crop rotnti,n, nnd strip croppin~).

The real vnlue of vecetative cover ns a flood control nensure is brought about by increased infiltration of uater into the soil Md a greater utiliza.ti,m of the soil's storage capacity. The oost inportont unys in uhich vegetn.ti0n assists · in this infiltration include the inproveoent of structure, or particle nrrnngeoent, in fine-textured soils. Saoll roots nnd finely deconposed organic oaterinl help in the reo.rrongenent of theso po.rticles, co.using then t:J eather in sr.mll clUJJps, between ~hich clunps the openings nre rather lo.rr;o. In this condition, the cley soils o.nd lonn soils n.ct ou.ch like sand in their ability to poroit the rapid penetration of water. When unprotected froo tho strildnc force of raindrops the snall openings in the surfo.ce soil a.re cloeged by ouddy uater, nnd ~hen clogged the rainwater runs off ond over the surfoct instead of into the soil. However, if tho soil is protected by litter. loaves, decaying or&nnic natter, or dense sods of Grass or cover crops, the openines into the soil nrc soldoo clogged. The rDindrop does not stir up fine particles to be washed into the ninute soil cho.nnels. Each raindrop is divided into a fine sprey- of clear wn.ter, which percol ,,.,,tes into the soil.

Cover crops on the lond as ouch of the tine o.s possible, in rotnti ; n with cnsh crops, help to provide this ver;eta.tive cover nncl buuus so necessary in ·pn.ter consorvntion o.s \rnll o..s soil conservn.ti in. At the sone tine, it contributes to a better balanced farr1 progron. (Slide showing cover crop of hairy vetch).

At Zanesville• Ohio last January, Severo.l clnys after the s toro started rrh.ich produced the floods on the Ohio River, the soil appeo.red to be sa.turoted. but the soils uhich were covered uith a. dense cover of vegetation continued to absorb water n.t the end of the storr. period o.t about the sane ro.tc n.s at the beginning of the storo. This indicates tho.t there wo.s o. continuous a.omiwnrd r.1ovenent of wo.ter into the lo~er strata nnd eventua.lly into the gr0•.tn 't7ater supply

-7-

·,1here vcGeta.ti vc cov..:::r ti.nd the orr;ru1ic no.ttor su·'.Jp ly kept the soil channels open for the continuous infiltro.ti ·, n of \7f.l.tcr.

Tho use -of lincstonc o,r,.<l fertilizer o.ro o.lso very inp ortnnt in n. soil co n ue rYnti.Jn proc;rru1. The soils o n 11My fams n.ro so lo..-, in :) l : mt !'l.utricnt :'.Ild liilcstono thn.t n.doquate vor.; c t::i.tive ·· rowth of crosi m resistx-. <l. cr cp s. e s p eci r~lly lec"U!"Jos, cx:mot be proclucecl. Often the adrH ti c, n of fertilizer nnd lines tone to the s o il r ie. in socurine n. better cover of vcr;ctnti Jn :,.nc1 o.· noro :vicqunte root d.evol op r.wnt, nhich nill retn.r(l the runoff un.t .:: r, increase its o.bsorpti ·,n into the s~il, nnd help prevent excecsivo soil losses. (Slide - this p icture, TThich is ty-pico.l of n bn.clly c nllicd :,nd eroded po.sture, inclicntes the need for po.sturo ir.1p rovei::cnt to :,>rovide better vcg etati p ; e cover o.s o. 1)rotectir- n D&o.inst erosi •n, n.s nell oz r:r:,os for livestock). In order to reosta.blish o. ,~.;- <1. grn.ss cover, contour ricl-t;ill{.; or fu:rrouini_1 .:rill help ~1.s u noans of holcl:i. nc n.11 th e m:i.ter on the p .:i.sturc. (Slid.e shoninr, co:r:tour ridcinP, of pnsturo, TTith ca.ttlo r;rn.zirw on the ridcos t1hore the r :ro.ss is .<;rouinr;). This tren.tr.icnt results in the ~,rocluction of r.iore ve ,~cto.tLm beco.use :.1ore r,n.tor is hold on the lMd, as :>'OU see in this picture. (Slide shouinr, contour furrouod pnsture follonin g n. hc~vy ra.in).

At Spur, Texa.s, contour listing of t; rass land in 1934, conpn.red with no trontnent I produced three tines o.o nuch r;ro.ss in 1935 D.nd f Jur ti11es ns nuch 1:;rnss in 1936• o.nd o.. study of the ponotro.ti ,, n of · the Scptc::iber ruins, r.m.de lost October 17 • sho,;-red 72 inches ponotro.ti ,m for the treated pasture nnd 30 inches p enetration for tho untrented. This tron.tnent, conbinecl 11th tincly :,owing for tho ·,n of ncocls, o..-f. roto.ti··n crazin:-_; nnd :.,rotecti o n fire, is resulting in very rD..J:) id pasture i np ro,ronent. (S1i c1.e s:io,lin{;; 305& incroo.se in r;ro.ss e;roHtll first yenr l\ftcr contour furr ::.u i11g). Pro tccti ,•,n fror.1 fi .: , is very inpo rtnnt in pnsture ir.1p rovonent, \7nto r conservn.ti ~n, n.nd soil conserva ti c,n on our -;_)o..stures.

The nv c ro.r:e results D.t Guthri -0 , Okln.h--mo., r:i th tuo e;rnss end. tinber tracts side by si-.'"..c, one p rotected fron fire ::mcl t he other burne d over once each roo.r over a p eriod of dx ~•cnrs, nhow 33 ti :1e s ns r.n.ic!l ,mtcr ond 14 tines o.s nuch soil is lost in t~1e runoff fror., th e field uhi c l1 is burned once ea.ch yeo.r

a.s fron the field t1nich is protected fron fire. The e )..1:eri::lo nt!'! in the blueste!:l p astures of southe rn Kn.."'lso.s over n. p e riod of y c.?. rs show tht.•:~ l :'.'0tecti ·,n fron /ire, conpn.red tti th burninr:; o nce ea.ch y en.r, results in the 11rodn ct <,n cf 40~ to 70~o r1orc gro.ss for the li vcstock. (Slictc shonin,; the effect of burnir.g ,; ..>o<ls :-.r..cl p o nture on soil ond eo.ter losses). ( Slide sl1or,ing the dovelopnent of n. f'O J,1. o"l.uesten p asture in t\10 yea.rs .rith protect io n fron fire, fron ovt~r, :ro.zinr, , nnd t h e use of o. no\7ine no.chine).

Okln.honn has a p proxinutely 15 r:iilli o n a.eras in l111 kinds of ) O.Stures, ond non,· of t!:lese p D.sture s durinr; t:-10 l::ist 1:.:i: cno r n ti m hnvo '..J ..-.: en r'l.line e~ o.nd. d e str oy e d, or ha.ve been devo.sto.ted, us tho r e s u lt o f drouths, n.nr.'..l.al burninr; , nnd o,ro r ~ rnzinc; Tho retirer.1o nt of bndly erod ed l nn d fron cro1:::i producti ,n and rededico.tion to the production of Gro.ss or t r ec s ..:, r \7ilcllifo uses is fncili tated by contour ri dg inr, to hole. r.1ore of tho rain that falls. (Slide sho\7int; the cont our ridt;inr, of nn n.bnndo nod field).

The use o f di v e rsion rid.cos nnd the rc nli t:nu o nt of fonces on t ho cont our protects t ho ovorfn lls of gullies, f n cilitntos cont,ur fnroinr,, n.~d is one o f the nost econouico.l stops in {;Ully contro l a.nd tho r c t o.r d o.t ion of runoff \10.t o r. (Slide showing o. ;;ully which wus o. f o rnc r t e rrace ch.::umel ruininc o. g ood cultivated field, Md eriptying TTo.tcr dir e ctly o n t he highuey).

( Slide TTho,1inr; a di version t0rrn.ce and o. fonce on the contour to p rot e ct D. gullied fiolcl below f'n d. roo.li 1; n the cul ti vn.ted field o:bove f o r contou r fo.rninr;) • The C:.ischurc;e of excess wnter fron u terrD.Ce con usuru.ly bo provided by n e : 1 : 0 .s of ,-;ro.ssed uti.ter.mys. (Slic.e s}1ouing planted grussod uatcrney).

Vogotatbn is the chenpest n.nd the nost sensible uothod, n.nd can usunllt be , roviden for takinr- care of the dischnrr, o of e xcess un.tor uhere the concentration of ,,rn.t e r results in rmter disposo.l. (Slide shovrin6 excess un.ter fron a terraced fiold dischnrr,in~ ovo r a dense cover of grn.ss). (Slide s~ouing o. ~ e ll erussed uo.t c rnn;;r of west e rn wheat r;ro.ss, toldn~ nll the surplus uo.ter fr -m o. lo.rt;e terr.leod field.). (Slide shoVTin r; the results of m:i.ter diversion, protection fron fire, con.trolled 1:r112iing \"Ti th n. snn.11 anount of Bcrr.ro.dn plnntinr; in tho c onpleto cure of ~hut uas a bo.d pasture r,ully eating buck touo.rd u 6 0-d cultivated fi e ld). (Sliceoi~.f>lane viou shouine a. lare;e field protected by strip cropping, contour terrace at the loucr side of the cultivated fiold to protect the r;ullies belorr, uhich in turn are rejuvenated by nenas of contour ridf;im; , protocti ,,n froo firo onc1 ovcrgr - zinc, nnd gully control). (Slide shouine the excess unte~ fron fielt conccntr~ted in a farn pond b c lou). (Slide - this faro pond is fenc e d to protect it froo tho trru.1ping of the livestock, oncl \mter is provit~ecl by o.utono.tic v.:,,lve control to a. concrete tonk belou the don). (Slide shouine tTTo fields, on e •;rith ?roductive conse rvo.ti c n fa.n1in G over a period of ton y e n.rs, nn.d the o t h o r a.bn...YJ.doned fron d.estructive p ione e r fo.rning nothod.s). (Slicl.e - .Av e rn{~o yields on protected fields, c oupnred Hi th badly eroc"ted fields)•

h rie, Okl clnr.m 3otha..YJ.y, l.iissouri

( Slide sho,...,ing a. fnrn 'TTi th the 10 point pro r; rm, of soil conservuti on and untor control cs it looks fron o.n airplnne). (Slide - the ten point pror,ran of noil conservation for tho Centrnl Groat Ploins).

~'.. COMPLETE PROGRAM

The esto.blishnent of u so.tisfnctory lnnd. utilizo.ti -;n, ~·,isture c o nservuti:m, nnd erosion-control pror.;rnn should consist of the follouing:

1. Crop P~tnticns to c0ns nrve soil m':.d fertility.

2. Contour Faming on D.11 culti vnto0. fiel cl.s ,,hero p ossible.

3. Terrncin_c cultivntod lo.nds of rensonuble slope uhen prope r unt o r disp o sal is practical.

4. Terrncin~ cultivuted lnnds of r e ns o nuble slope uhen p ro po r ~uter dis p osru is pro.cticoJ..

5. Maxinuo uso of cover crop ~, e ro.ss or ,1oody pluntines for the protecti · .-, n of o rodibla o.rea.s. On the Grco.t Plnins, cro.ss is nuch nor o irrporto.nt thun trees.

6. Protecti ,:m fron fire of \70odhu:ds and Grnsslor.ds. (This olso applied to the destructi~e burninr-; of crop residues).

7. Systonntic po.sture nn.nagenent, incluaing controlled crnzillGt contour furro\7ing or ridc;i-ncr, weed control and protecti,:m fror:i fire.

8. Keep out of cultivati on oll o.roo.s tho.t are subject to sovc..:-e erosion and use such ~reas for pasture, neM.0\7 1 uoodlnnd, nnd TTildlifo purposes.

9. Econonicol cu.lly control oy diversion of uo.ter, foncinc, voe,eto.ti o n, und nech0,..icru. nenns.

10. Loco.ti o n nnd constructi :>n of fo.rn ponds ond reservoirs to inpound surplus uo.ter fron fields, p~stures, roid uoodln.:uds, and serve as the ultir.10.te silting basin for the fo..i:"'1,,

Conpletion of the o.bove outlined progran on every fo.rn should result in the no.xinun conservnti o n of both soil nn~ unter, should inprove the wildlife ho.bi tat, ond should be the first step in ocononicn.l floocl. control., It is hoped that this \7ill raise the tmter to.ble in the ,;round, thus rosultine; in oore sprinc;s and a. nore nearly continuous flo,1 of vrn.tor in our snnller streD.'1S.

At H illm1tor, Oldnhooo., \-,here soil conscrvn.ti n \'!Ork uo.s stn.rted in 1933, we ho.ve tuo rather lnrge n.reus, ~ith several thousand o.cros 0e,ch~ froo TThich we o.re studyi~ runoff o.nd silt losses throuch tho river e;nt; ine stn:~ionr: 'belou tho wntershods. One of these uo.tersheds hn.s o. conplete coordin11ted erosion control prop;ron on a. little ::iore tho.n 50% of its area.. The other hc.s no The di scho.rg e cooputn.tions for the yeo.r ondinG Scptenber 30: 193·3 ! m on o.cr:) bo.si s, show that froo the heaviest ruin, there ;ms 70% nore runof1. n.ntc fiO% uore soil loss through the river goginG station froo the untreated ua.torshed, ':.:his rcco ·:c10d S')il loss, of course, does not truce into considero.tion the t o ns of soil tho.t ,,er•) washed froo tho fields and were deposited on lower slopes, .'.1.~d did.not co out throur,h the {;D(;inr, sta.ti<- n. For the uholo ycn.r, r-ll ra.:i.nfnll 7 30% ooro water was lost the untr ~o.ted ,1atorshet1 than fron the trea.ted one.

I on hnyJY that the lead.ors of our country nnd t~e intellir;ent citizens of this State nre recor,nizin,--; tho fa.ct th.:,.t TT~.ter utilizo.tio"l is closely coordinc.tod with land utilization, nnd thn.t this ~hole coordina.ted ur01 , .~r.i:- ;:,y st bor;in ou.t cm the ondloss stretches of our F.reut un.tershcds ,;rhcr.J th/ r£> im: ·co1, s fr'll and. inclu.d.o o. conbina.ti on of upstreon nnd clownstrenu enr;ir.eerinr; nnd tilo c '.>r.tr:,l 1.,,.d. consorvo.ti ' m of the raindrops back on the fields and fnrns ,

Dnto. shov, that wn.tcrsheds tho.t have never before p ro c1:'.l.ccd seriou c flcods hnve yielde d dana(;inr; floods costinG nillio::is of e..o:J.:xr-s :.'ne. rir: · 1-u.mun live3 with the first henvy ro.in after n. fire hns destroyed tho Vvi;e,;a.ti on ~1°1 tho protective caverning fron tho '17D.torshod. On nillions of fn.rns, the r.;ullior. thut ho.ve forned hnve becoce ne t1 t ributo.ries to the creeks and the ri v a rs, nril t !lOSO e;ulli es quickly conc e ntrate tho un.ter thn.t falls on fa.rn fielc.1s c.nd dischn.rce it into the ne:::i.rost streon.

This pror;rru1 nust be coordinated '7i th streon control, be1_;inning on the uplonds, continuinr; throur,h the snullcst stroans, imd ondinr; rrith the lo.re.est rivers. Our stronns o.rc noTT co.lleduJ on, so on nfter overy heavy rain, to to.lee co.re of on cnornous incroo.sed volunc c;f ,10.tor rus: ~i?lt: nilli ms of D.Cres of r;ulliod nnd erodce. lo.nd o..11c't fron nilli r,ns of new tributo.ries developed o.s n. result of cultµral cho.nr,es o.nd tne inpropor use of land.

The job :iherut of us hn.s boon built up Md nr·:t:ro.vn.ted by the steo.dy nistrcn.tr:ient of ln.nd for tho lo.st 150 yo~s. With n.11 of this bad nistrco.tnent "brour;ht about, ouch of it by selfishness, r;roed, n..'1.d ruer;ed indivi-c1.uo.lisn, there is no n~i c mind by uhich it cn.n be rcotorod to n hcn.lthy condition uithin a fem ::ionths or ever 0. :tou yon.rs. If ue a.re to ;:10into.in our existM~C l\S .'.l. virile nt;ricultural nnti :·, nj uo ClU'-"l.Ot j_)O st p one this job l'lheo.d of us. 'ife cnnnot afford tc delny My lonr,e r beco.use the lonr:;er tho dol~• the nore difficult o.nd ox-pensive the job Thi s coordinl:',tod p ro~r~1.'i uill require the coopcro.tic,n of our No.ti. no.l Govorrn:1ent, the Sto.te Governnonts, the coopcro.tion of fo.rncrs, business i.lcn, o.nd Tihole cor.1.':l'll.nitios on o. uo.tershed bnsis. Huch can be done by o. concerted effort in 5 or 10 yetirs, ::ind a. n0st excellent job should be dono in 30 or 40 yeo.rs~

INDUSTRIAL ALCOHOL

OKLAHOMA FARM CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma City, November 9 and 10. 1937

Mr. Chai:nnan, Ladies, o.nd Gentlemen:

No doubt you have all heard a. great deal about industrial or power a.lcohol since 1931• The idea. however is not new to .America.. It wo.s first proposed in 1909 and a.gain in 1921. At both these times there wns a severe ho.ndi cap in tho.t we did not know how to mnlqe anhydrous or water-free alcohol

Chea.ply. This is absolutely necessury beco.use only anhydrous alcohol will mix re a dily ; with gasoline in all proportions. Since 1921 there wu.s developed

a.n economtcnl method of removing the lo.st 5 per cent of wo.ter from the alcohol and thus the va.st motor fuel murket wns opened to agriculture through the use of a.l cohol ma.de from o.gricul tural products.

Ethyl alcohol ca.n be ma.de from a.ny ma.teria.l thut conta ins either sug~r or sta.rch. A hundred pounds of starch will yield a.bout 8 gallons of wa.tor-free alcohol. The yield of alcohol from o.ny ro.w ma.teria.l is nlwa.ys in proportion to tho suga.r or sta.rch content. All cereals a.nd tubers contnin sta.rch. including gro.in sorghums, ryo, bnrley, onts, wheat. corn, rice, white potutoes, sweet pot~toes. sugnr beets, ~nd Jerusalem nrtichokes. From the standpoint of the nlcohol fnctory there is little to choose between the v a rious typ e s of r o..w mo.terinls o.nd there is pra.cticnlly no difference in wtrntth e pl ~nt c ~n pny for them per pound of dry mntter.

The crop tha t suits th e funner the best will o. lso suit tho alcohol plant the b e st. Bo th a re interest e d in rnising n crop ovory ye~r because the

fu.nner wants something to sell a.nd the alcohol factory wants something to r run on, During the past few years in this middle western country that has ' culled for a crop that is drought resista.nt and immune to atto.cks from insects, We think where we ho.ve these elements to contend with tha.t the gra.i'n sorghwn is~ very desiro.ble crop, It is certo.inly more drought resista.nt tho.n most .other crops o.nd is a.ppa.rently ea.ten by grasshoppers only after all I other crops nre destroyed, At tho power o.lcohol plant locntod o.t Atchison, Knnsa.s, we hnvo used runong 9 other ma.toria.ls a. few carlonds of ka.firs a.nd milos. Wo wore woll si\tisfiod with the ma.toria.l c~nd we hope thnt wo vdll bo o.ble to buy much more of it,

It mo.y bo of interest to you to know just how we get from cereals or tubers to ~lcohol. I will outline tho process v e ry briofly,

In ca.se of cerct'l.ls tho first stop is grinding, with tubers the first opera.tion is wnshing. The ma.teria.l is thon convoyed to pressure cooko rs nnd the right amount of vr..tor is a.dded. Tho cookers uro closed a.nd the mo.torio.l is cooked under 15 lbs. pressure for nbout 20 minutos, Tho storun is then cut off and tho mo.sh is cooked for c.bout 20 minutos longer on stor0d hont. The mush is then cooled to nbout 150° F. and mult is ndded. This mo.y bo oithor sprouted burloy or rye, nnd contains a ma.tericl called dio.stuso which nets upon the cooked sto.rch and converts it into sugar. Tho mnlting op~rc.tion ta.kes about one hour, The mo.teri~l is then cooled too.bout 80° F• und conveyed to la.rg~ fennonting tunks. Hero yonst is o.ddod (very similur to bread yeast) which ucts upon tho augur and orenks it down into ulcohol o.nd cc.rbon dioxide. Tho a.lcohol is, of course, r. liquid nnd romnins in the f o nnenting to.nk. The carbon dioxide 1s o. ~a.s und loo.vos through a pipo in top of the to.nk. It may bo tra.pped nnd c ompressed into to.nks or conve rted into dry ice nnd s o ld in thut wuy.

The fonnentution proc~ss requires a.bout 60 to 70 hours when nll I

t~e suga.r is decomposed• The mnt~ria.l is then convoyod to the distiliation equipment whore the nlcohol is sopnrutod, purified a.nd denatured. Tho wo.ter and ingredients othor tha.n ata.rch a.ro discharged from the distillation equipment nnd conveyed to the feed recovery pla.nt. Here most of tho drying is done with the hea.t from tho sta.ck gases• Tho solid matter is recovered a.s a. dry flaky muteri~l contnining from 32 to 38 per cont protein, depending upon tho rawma.terinl. This protoin is prncticnlly a.ll digestnblo, unlike other protoin concentrates on the market. It may be stored us readily as any of the sta.nda.rd feeds. In ca.so of grain sorghwns and corn, a.bout 17 lbs. of this product is recovered por bushel. Wo thus obtnin throo sa.lea.ble products from the ra.w muteria.l, viz. alcohol, feed, a.nd dry ·ice.

At the Atchison plant we sell the alcohol spocia.lly denr~tured for motor fuel under the trade no.mo of Agrol Fluid to be mixed with gasoline. Wo ha.vo set up sta.ndnrds nnd copyrighted a. trademark tho sh~po of a shield be~ring tho word "Agrol" nnd under it n number designnting the per cent o.lcohol in tho fuol. Three gra.dos uro offered to the trade, Agrol

5, Agrol 10, and Agrol 15. For o. fuol to qunlify us Agrol 5 the a.nti-knock properties must not be lower than Re g ul~r gasoline o.nd the alcohol content must not be less tha.n 3 1/2 and may bo up to 7 l/2 per cent, depending upon the base octane go.solino tho.t is used, Th e finished product must h£1ve a.n o.nti-knock value equiv!l.lent to Rogulo.r go.saline a.s offered to the trade. Agrol 10 rna.y contain from 7 1/2 to 12 1/2 per cent alcohol and the finished product must ho.ve an anti-knock va.lue intermedinte between Regular ~nd

Premium grndes, Agrol 15 must not contain less than 12 1/2 per cent

a.lcohol and h ave nn o.nti-knock affect a.t least 2 octo.ne numbers highor than Premium grndos of gasoline offerod to the trade ~t tho present time,

Alcohol itself has a blending value equivalent to 150 octane.

The question arises why add alcohol to &asoline.

h First of all it is an excellent anti-knock agent. Gasolines before they a.re trea t ed at. the refinery run a.s low as 50 octane. It is necessary to tr e o.t gasoline with an a.nti-knock agent before it can be used in the higher compression engines as supplied in ca.rs built during the lo.st few yea.rs.

2. Alcohol is a.n excellent gum solv e nt. Gum forms in era.eked gasolines especially during the hot summer woo.ther o.nd frequently co.uses sticking valves ~nd rings. Alcohol keeps the mo.torio.l in solution where it otherwise might give considerable trouble.

3• Through the use of nlcohol tho motor is also kept free from carbon which mnkes for longer periods between overho.uls und longer life.

4• Alcohol in ga.soline diminishes the cnrbon mon~xido gas content from the engine exho.ust. Co.rbon monoxido is extremely poisonous nnd its elimin~tion is highly desiro.ble in the interest of public honlth.

Th ~ interest of the power nlcohol ma.nufo.cturer does not conflict with th ~t of th e gasoline r ofino r. I look upon them na natural nllies. The gasoline refino r is interested in gum solve nts. anti-knock agents, decurbonizers. o.nd inhibitors of co.rbon monoxide. Alcohol moets his requirements better th~n cny other mntorinl I know of.

The mnrkot for power ~lcohol is tremendous. Ten per cent alcohol placed in all the gasoline in the u. s. would provide a market for 3/4 billion bushels of corn or gra.in sorghums, or th o oquivnlent in other mnterio.ls • Ruinously low pricos fC?r i'o.nn products would not occur with a. power alcohol in• dustry, which would mo.into.in tho buying power of agriculture without subsidy, which in turn would refl e ct in the buying power of the no.tion.

In closing I wnnt to invite overy one of you to Atchison to see the plant. This pl~nt hns a. rnted capacity of 10,000 gallons of a.nhydrous o.lcohol per duy, which requires 4,000 b ush e ls of grnin per day. Employment is provided for 47 men in this plnnt.

INDUSTRIAL USES OF OORN

before the OKLAHOMA F.ARti Clin.lURGIC CONFER~!CE

Oklahoma Oity, Nov. 9& 10, 1937

WhP,rever the shops and factories of today dot the industrial landscapes of the United States, jOU will find that their work probably includes the use of at least a little bit of corn.

True, you will search in vain for the yellow kernel itsolf, or for anything resembling it. What you seem~ be a white powder, a colorless liquid, or perru..p~ a lumpy substance or a lot of crystals. The workmen will call these things 11 starch11 , 11 lactic acid", 11 sugar 11 or what have you •..•..• they are tho indust ·C'ial products made from corn.

This is the starting point for an wid.orstanding of the industrial uses of corn; that the corn itself is changed beyond recognition befo:e it is ready for use. This is a thing that is not loudly atvertised or well understood. Its import~1ce no doubt is poorly a~preciated. Handled and used by thousands of workme'!l in thousands of pl:,.ccs, !!binding star, h I is the only corn product known to one wc:::-kmen, anot.hor is fo.miliar with 11mo".llding dextrin 11 and v.not.her with 11 tannera 11 sugc.r 11 , and so on.

'l'here are more than three hundred kt n1. s of dcxtrin alone and ovon more of the possibl o modificati0ns of starch. So th e many different articles add up to a ve.ry impressive total if you stop to think of th e m all as products of the corn kernel.

There are so many of these products, and they are so greatly needed, that the busin e ss of maki n.r; them is an industry in its own right. This is the corn refining indu stry, r:hich may be pictured for you roughly as a sort of bottle-n e ck into which flows tho farmers• corn D. nd out of wh~ ~h. comw the hundreds of products that aro needed in other indus tries.

Of cours e , it is not quite that simple. There is more than mere magic in transformi ng the corn into its produ cts. There are sor..e very delicate considerations in keeping th e flow of corn up to its normal level of from seventy to eighty million bushels a year. But for our purposes at the moment, let us pass the se things by and ask the broad questi o n, 11 What is it that m3.kcs corn valuable to indu stry?r

This is a question we all can understand and it has an answer that should be easy for you to remember long after you have for.gotten the rest of this talk: 11 It is the starch in corn that makes it valuable to industry. 11

It is the starch and nothing else.

Starch is th e ore of the corn refining industry; the ore which we shape and change into powder or liquid or crystal of a dozen different kinds according to the needs of the world.

The other products, tho fibre and hulls and gluten and oil are byproducts, valuable only because they are inevitably productcd as tho kernel is broken down during the recovory of its starch.

Starch recovery is the basic opetation in preparing corn for industrial use. The starch th~t is obtained may bo ma.I'koted as a starch or mey be converted into three other so-called basic products: doxtrin, syrup and the S'!l6ar•

We have then, these two main divisions - starch with its dorivitives, , and the by-products.

What Doos Starch Mean to Industry?

I run inclin ed to doubt the value of a mere inventory of tho uses of any product. Rather than list the applications of starch I prefer to look at it as the alert industrialist might. It is a vory complex substo.nce. We do not know its molecular structure. But we do kno w that it is a carbohydrate composed of carbon, oxygon and hydrogen in certain proportions. First of all thorn, it is the outstanding example of the energy foods.

It follows thnt the first use of starch is in the food industries, where its strictly dietary advantagos give it a loading plcce among the manufactures that find their way to our dining room table. Your food manufacturers consider cornstarch as a nutritional necessity in a wide array of edible staples and delicacies.

Shifting our point of view to that of the chemist who thinks in terms of what a material will do rather than how it will digest, we find that starch has a number of qualities fitting it for further applications in the food field and for a great many uses which have nothing to do with food.

Starch As A Material

Starch is a strengthener and a stiffener. Kinlcy, twisted cotton threads when treated with starch become docile and manageable. It is a surfacer, leveling off the unevenness of fabrics or paper to ~ive a smooth, attractive surface. When mixed with aa.ter its particles adhere to each other, making it a natural base for many series of adhesives and pastes. It is also a binder, valuable in plasters and asbestos compounds. It may be used as a carrier to furnish body for minute quantities of medicines, for example, when the dosage is too small to be handled otherwise. Its adhosivenoss makes it suitable for moulds, particularly in tho shaping of pieces of confectionery and other edible products. Its resistance to moisture when in powqored form suggests it as a dryer and as a protection to surfaces like those of rubber goods which have a tendencp to stick or gum. Finally, as a pure carbohydrate, it is an idoal ingredient for a number of chemical products.

This is a sketchy background of the properties which recommend starch to the industrialist. Their vari~ty indicates a point that you moy have guess ed that wo are not by any means fulli acquainted with all of the industrial possibilities of this substance. It goos out to tho far corners of tho oa.rth. Hore and thore is an oxperioontor, a small business m::in or a consulting chemist v,ho oey be trying or o.ctU'.llly using starch in weys tha.t will not be gencr iilly knovm for more ioportant of tho ·probloms ~e have already encountered, trusting that in duo time the unexpected uses will develop to a point where wo cannot help but encounter thoo.

Sto.rch Modifications

On many occasions wo find that starch in its natural state will not porforo a spcci~l job as neatly as we might wish. It may be that it should dissolve moro oasily or that it should resist the effects of a cho:ngo in teopera.ture.

M~rc often than not sooe slight alteration of its physical characteristics will fit it perfectly to this special tusk. Our chonists go to work on this alteration and produce a new r .od.ified starch for one :,.ore special purpose. The list is already long, running., as I suggest e d before, to several hundred distinct variations according to the need of the indiviiua.l usor. But r .odification is still a fertile fieli for adiitional research. We oxpect that there nay be ro on for a few hundre~ oore tYPOS before all tho needs of our civilization are cared for.

The Dextrins

Closely ~,kin to the true starches are the iextrins. These substances, nearly as cooplox as starch itself, were discovered by accidont during tho last century. A starch factory in England burnei iovm and an observant omploye noted that the heat had changed sooe of the starch to a yellowish powder that felt and tasted like soraething now. Investigation showed that roasting resulted in a different substance, with its own characteristics.

Dextrins aro now produced by controlled heating, sooetimes in the presence of a dilute acid or other agent. They have stronger adhesive qualities than starch and are used in the oaking of guos and mucil~os for 1:i.bels, envelope flaps, postage star.-ips, paper boxes and innumerable other articles.

Ono of tho r,:ost faniliar and. interesting uses is in the ma.kins of the type of fireworks cor:-..:.:.only known as 11 oloctric spa.rklersn. Tho dextrin binds the oagnesium powder and other ingredients to the Tiiro center.

Corn Syrup

Tho third of tho four basic products of corn is corn syrup. It is made by heating cornstarch in a closed vessel in the proscnce of a very dilute acid. With the cheoical change that tl.l,k:os place under these coniitione we begin to g et into the roalo of compounds which are loss COLlplcx and which we can analyze with assurance.

Corn syrup is~ re$pected ~ember of the family of sugars. It consists of dextrose, or grape sugar t · . I:lal. tose or malt sugar and the same type of dextrin which w e fini in a baked potato or toasted bread.

The nutritionists have done a ~ost thorough job in tracing the food value of this syrup and pronouncing it one of the best of all sources of food energ y. The doctors on their own initiative discovered that it had exceptional oerit as a food for infants and younger children. The confectioners, bakers and other meobere of the food industries long ago put it on their list of essential oaterials and have continued to use it in increasing aii'l.ounts.

H9nMethods of the Food Industries Are Ohapging

At this point I should like to call your attention to most interesting chaneo that is taking place in the fooi field. The canufacturere a.re rapidly turning away from the old secret recipe and the suspicions with which they usod to regard their neighbor across the street. Tho preparation of food is becooing a real science. Instead of thinkine; of his own business as socething quite apart frora everything else, the sausSGe manufacturer is developing an interest in bakery processes and the r.iaker of breakfast foods is becoming curious a lout the things that aro being done with ice cream and evaporated milk.

Your food technologists are now looking at their processes instead of thoir products. They are thinking in tems of cooking, of drying, of oixing, washing, and of controlling ooistures instead. of in terns of artistic reverence for sooething their grandfather did.

They are thinking in terras of carbob¥drates, proteins, fats and of wey such and such a thing happens when you use a certain oa.terial.

Naturally, this new attitude opens up a world of new possibilities. For exaraplet the confectioner who once used corn syrup because it is sweet or because everybody else used it is now looki n,e- at it as a material that develop~ a certain texture in his product. The oan who puts it in e&ke icing-s does so because it retards the graining or cystallizinz of his suga.r.

To the modern food technolo&ists the starchest syrups and S'l.lt1ars l!lad.e from corn are no longer substances which he uses or rejects according to ~hio or sooebocy else's opinion. Whether he is making macaroni or onion soup he how sees his ingredients as materials which perform definite functions. The softness of the center of a piece of candy is no longer a test of the old-tioor•s skill, but a probleo in c;rystallization. We are sure that the properties of cornstarch and our other products are a guarantee of thoir wider use as the food technologists move forward.

Dextrose

I have discussed cornstarcht dextrin and corn syrup. There is one r.iore basic product of this industry - dextrose. This is a siople sugart obtained by heating starch under cortain controlled conditions somewhat sL~ilar to thosa that are used in making corn syrup.

Dextrose is an unusual Md interesting proiuct. Althoueh it is a sugar it has properties which are distinct fro~ those of any other sugar. It crystallizes oore slowly than ordinary sugar, it is less sweet, it has a quality of Denetration that is i:-:tportant, for instance, in the pickling or curing of r.1eat s. ·

Dietetically it is quite unique because it is identical with the sucar of the blood ond. tissuos of the bod.y. Chemically, it can be ::iroduced in its anhydrous foro in nn unusual do6 rce of purity.

As those properties SU&;est, dextrose probably is destined to play a very ir:iportant part in the civilization of tor:iorrow. It is a cor.-:p3.rativoly new product but it is already in aeavy dooand by the bakinG industry because of its effect on the texture of bread and tho browning of the crust of baked ~oods. It helps to produce a superior ico crear.~. It solves sor.10 of the confectioners• crystallization probleus.

In the r:iedical field its identity with the suear of tho blood has brought it into prooinenco in the treatment of shock and exhaustion, in the prevention of surgical shock, in the treatment of pneUL,onia, diabetes, obesity and r.iany other naladies.

Chemically, the properties of dextrose make it suitable for use in the production of artificial silk, and r:W.nY millions of pounds are used annually to give a better 11 foel 11 and quality to thoeo popular fabrics,

In connection V11th the unusually high purity in which anhydrous dextrose can be produced. I oight rewind you that substa.ncos which aro truly puro on a comparative sea.lo are vory rare in the che1:1ica.l world today.

Scientists have discovered that r:aatorials of very high purity L18.Y have unexpected qualities. Really puro iron, for oxaoplo, will not nust. It appears that freedoo fror.1 supposedly insignificant quantities of forei5n r.1aterial r.1akes a g reat deal of difference to the research chcr.1ist and gives hii:2 nn opporttuni ty to test new coobinations without the interference of a lot of puzzling reactions which r.1ay result froo the influence of obscure ir:1>urities.

For those reasons- the developu ent of this extror.1ely pure dextrose is expected to give us several new fa~ilies of oe.terials. Any attenpt to foresee their nature would be nothing but guesswork, although I aP told that such things as celluloid and the modern plastics CllOO out of the same type of research as is being done on anhydrous dextrose.

:By-Products

Tho corn refining lJl"Occsses yield two oajor by-products: feeds and corn oil. Tho industrial uses of oils as soap stock, in paints and varnishes a.nd for other purposes, aro well known. It see~s to ~e that a glir::psc at the nature of the corn by-products r.,ay bo r.ioro val:uable than a review of today's market.

The corn kernel consists, in addition to its stare~, of fibre or cellulose, ~ luten or protein, oil and a nUC1ber of soluble ~inoral salts. Whan

the kernel is soaked in preparing for reuoval of the starch, the solubles are carried off with the stee:pwater. They have distinct values frou the nutritional standpoint and consequontly at the pres~nt time arc added to the by-product feeds.

We do not know any too ouch about these solubles but we suspect that they~ have nutritional value which will yield a feu products for h'llr.lall use in the future. One conpany is already usin.3 ateepwater in yeast production. We feel that vitamin C may soce day be recovered in carketable for::i a.nd that perhaps some discovery of the near future may show us how to r.18.ke this stoepwater a much greater asset than it is today.

Another point in the processes that is g etting its share of our attention is the disposition of the 6 lutcn that now b oes into the corn gluten feed, One of the constituents of this gluten is a protein lmown as zoin. We have succeeded in extractine; this and usi~ it as a. starting point for the oanufacture of plastics and plastic laquers.

We are now lookil'lci for further values in gluten. Certainly, there ts no need to stop with this one davelop~ent, nor to confine our investigations to tho possibilities of technical use. Corn protein is ~ood, edible protein. We a.re not sure that the ~ luton wo are now sclline,; by the ton as a constituent of cattle feed, cannot be processed for s ulc by the pound as an article for our own tables.

Another_by-product which is a subject of ~resent experiDentation is the hydrol, or corn sugar nolasses, that is produced in the sugar processes. This is rich in carbohydrate ond is an excellent fementation material. At the present tioe ~o do not know whether its best future use lios in the direction of industrial technology or so~cwhcre in hunan or o.nicial diet, but we intend to fin.i out,.

The Road A.head

No sketch of the industrial uses of corn would be cor,:plete without an outline of the size and iraportance of this activity.

The corn refining industry uses from seventy to ei~hty million bushels of corn a year. This is not an i:::pressive SJ~unt in cooparison with the entire cro-p, but I ask you to cons id.er tho nations corn crop as ';7:10.t it really is - not a r.1arketa'blc, co;:.:-c.crcial cro1J but lar.sely a f e ed reservoir like hay and oats. If you set the rt~ount used for these purposes asid e you will find that tho corn refinin?; industry trikes upward of one-fourth of all the corn t hat moves off the farm thro u.},h the J.ari?; e ter:.::.inD.1 r.:!8.rkets.

You wi.11 find that a very sir;nificant acre~e is taken care of by the corn rei'inin~ indnstry and that the industrial uses of corn offer one of the few opportunities for an increased consUl~~tion of our future crops.

In th i L connection it is pertinent to i~-pross upon you that the corn refinil'l{_~ industr y is essen-~iaJ.ly a starch industry. One thing which I have not called to y our attention ii:; the fact that nature was very prolific in he.:- pr0duction of starc:1, n is pre ;1:'"'.'lt in practically every growin1 thing: piJ ta t. oes, wheat, rice, barl e y, s;:oct p,:·.;a i;oes and oany thitl6s which ~ row bot, •.:- --:- i.- ' h-:: tropics than they do in the United States.

Corn si ::;ply happ ens to be one of the cost convenient sources of starch. Our industry has grown up over a lon1 period of tin e and has developed tho :1a.rkets for starch and the technical c:: othods for no.nufacturing it froo corn. Thero is no pa.rt icula.r virt 'J.O in corn to r.1!1ko it tho first choice of the r:ianufo.cturer and there is no special virtue in cornstarch which sl,lal"antccs its continued use in prcforonce to other starches. IndllStrial countries OVdrscas: Gero.any, Groat Britain, Franco - use starch frow other sou.recs. Their lower standards of living uiGht concoivenbly pomit th~~ to onke starch for Aoerican iniustrial use also and to wipe out our ow starch business if it wore not for tho tariff ad.justuonts that wore sot up long ago.

These tariffs operate to adjust the price of iwported potato, rich, whoat o.nd other starches exactly as tho parallel tariffs on potatoes, wheat and other far~ products protect us ot;ainst the dur::piIG of foreign crops.

l should like to hove you look into this r:.attcr further of your own accord~ You oo;y bo surprised to knor, th!lt tho ruon who wrote our ta.riffs thirty or forty years back l ~ft an inconsistency that is no.,, rising to haunt us.

They put a. to.riff on forcit;n starches, but wh.:m. they c~r:ic to tapioca. and B£1GO starchos they found that tapioca anJ i~; o do not grow on .Amoridan soil. They felt that these tv,o starches were of no sienifico.nco • one ~eport says that tapioca was on obscure substance knomi as "Chinese starch" !I.Ild was used only in San Fro.ncisco's Chinatown.

So, after providing for an ruljustr.1ont on tho ir.:.portation of othor starches, they left the gate,open for tapioca and saeo. We don't know just whon our Anerican industrialists discovered that starch is starch, that tapioca and s~o are cher.1ically identical with cornstarch and nu.ch cheaper. We d.o k:1ow that tapioca and s~o a.re no lon[;er obscure substances of no cocmorcial icportance. Tho ir:iportations :ioublod within ten years after the turn of the Then they d.oublod ae;ain until they havo increased oit;htecn tir,:os over sinco the year 1900.

!n these last few years thoy havo threatened to dooinate the entire Ar.lerican r.w.rkot. A foil years a.);o only one pound in six of the starch we used. was foreign tapioca or sago. In 1933 it was one poun-i in four. In 1935 a total of about 226 cillion pounds was iL'J_)ortod. In 1936 the total jurlped to 307 uillion pounds. This year, in the first eight ~onths alone. 338 million po'Wlas of tapioca and 88(.;0 cai~e in. It looks as thoUt~h about 500 Dillion pounds would be i n-porte~ before the eni of tho year and that nearly one pound of iJ:'lpOrts will be usei for every pounl of the dooestic 11ro-:iuct.

I do not wat to be an alarnist, but I c onsider it food for sober thoueht that 500 r.1illion pounds of duty-free foreign starch a.re the equi vo.lent of what would require about 15 oillion bushels of ionestic corn if that starch were t1ade in this country. Tho consi~oration is not trade policy or tariffs, but correction of on inconsistency th3t ad.justs the cost of Gerr.-.an--ma.do potato starch, for instance, and closes its eyes to coolie-uade tapioca and sago fro~ tho lush soil of tho tropics.

I aight reoind you that 15 rlillion bushels of corn represents about 450 thousand acres and that tho processing of this ouch gro.in for starch would add

two ~illion dollars to the payrolls of labor. It would also ~ean a.died faro income, additional fuel, supplies, cheoicals, packing oaterials, ruilroad freight and n general quickening of the pulse of many, cany activities.

You have cone here because you are interested in how ~ore agricultural products can pe used in industry. I havo outlined for you the ~perations of an industry that has been using sii;llifioont aoounts of a fam product for nearly a century. I hope that I have now suggested to you a definite, specific way in which the use of a farm product can be increased - not at a vague future date, but iocediatoly. This, I think, is a oa.tter well worth your thought.

Please accept m;v, deep appreciation for the opportunity of speaking to you and presenting this brief sketch of one industry and its outstanding problem-

FARMERS INTEREST IN FARM CHEMURGY

Oklahoma City, Okla.

November 9-10, 1937

Mr. Chairman, friends: I arypreciate this op~ortunity to speak to you OQ what I consider a most significo.nt occasion, and on a subject of very wide interesi

My business is that of farming. I am an Otlahoma farmer, rnanat;ing 12,000 acres in Oklahoma and many thousands of acres in all the adjoining and other middlewe.stern states. I have tried to visualize this Chemurgic movement from the viewpoint of the farmer as wnll as the other two groups in the Chemurgic Family and the public at large. It seems to me that no movement in tho U. S. so completely embraces the interests of all. There have been times when special interests that deal largely with certain of our natural resources, have felt that our viewpoints differed from theirs. 3asicly this is not true, and never has been, and all have now come to sec eye to eye. If and when such differences do appear, however, the final answer must be the greatest good to the greatest number. I shall touch upon briefly the logical interests of the public, industry o.nd science, but develop more fully what this Chomurgic movement means to Agriculture and tho farmer.

It is my candid opinion, and I wish to emphasise it here, that there is not hope for the success of the Farm Chemurgic movement unless the farmers are definitely tied into it on a basis that is fair and advantageous to them.

Qbjectiw•~

One of tho major objectives of the National Fnrm Chemurgic Council is to increase the use of agricultural products in industry. There are three groups concerned in this endeavor, those who ~re in ~griculturo, industry and science. A fourth group--the people as a whole--havc a right to ask how the accomplish.ment of the objective will affect them.

In answering first, tho question of the last group, we must think of it in terms of public welfare. The bn.sic theory of the ,vhole movement is contained in that answor.

Theory of Farm Chemurgy

Dr. Wm. J. Hnle, :>.uthor of that thought-provoking book, 11 The Farm Chemurgic 11 , develops this line of thinking.

A primitive or b8ginning nation devotes most of its efforts to providing it s essential needs from the products of the soil. Not only did our forefat~ers raise their fo o d, but they also fashioned their shoes, spun their cotton and wool, and built from trees their own homes, wa.gons and other necessary quarters and equipment. In short, under the s e conditions, each ~an 1 s efforts are closely related to annually growing, harvesting, transporting, sellin~ and manufacturing hi» own products. This, Dr. Hal~ says, creates its own national balance. Th is keeps all omployei• This type of society he.s few econoreic booms and depr es si o ns and all tan and must work continually and productively. As long as man's neods are primarily obtained from annual production, from things which grow in the ~oil, the chances for an unbalance c ondition to arise is small.

In countri o s richly endowed with othor natural resources, besides a fertilo soil, such ae oil, coal and minero.ls, a foundation for unbalance exists. Under these conditions man has the choice of drawing from nature's storehouse, or continuing with annual production. If he follows his natural instincts he will, of course, tap the oil fields and operate minee. These products from n ~sc standpoint arc but diffcront forms of our annual crops. They immediately become competitors. It generally costs lesc to draw directly from nature's storehouses than to grow, harvc~t ~nd s tore crops. Further, the arnount of product taken anntta ll y from well s [-1.nd mince is almost wholly within man's control. All of this moans th.~t within our n~tural resources we have not alone the bl c ssinbs we hnvc formerly considered them, but also tho r oots of our own undoing.

The dogroo to which we draw UFOn nature's ctorehousc measures the degree to which wo tend to unbalance man 1 s normal efforts. Tho tank of oil, tho cnr of corl, the logs from tho virgin fornsts, compete with our annually produced corn, cotton and trees. One man as a producer from beneath tho soil is about three times as effective as a producer on the soil, Dr. Hale snys,

Those are the facts on which our unemployment and overproduction difficultues grew. We short cut the processes of annual effort nnd thus threw many persons ·out of employment. We brought stored products from beneath the soil in such quantities th..~t ~nnually produced products could not compote. This generation has and is taking more than its share from Nature's storehouses. This ben efits a few, b'ut it hurts tho work o rs nnd c ompeting producers. This view docs not nssume to say thnt each goner~tion should not draw upon our natural resources. It says they should be used as no e dc,d, to help all, but not hurt all or enrich the few.

The Public's Interest

The degree to which th o Farm Chcmu. rgic objocti vcs c~.n be attnincd will be ono measure of b~lancing agriculturnl production and omploy:nont. Surely tho poopl o arc interested in this. It should help nll eY.ccpt those who ar e the direct beneficiaries of n rich mine, oil woll, or virgin forest.

Industry's Interest

This question was asked two emincr:t chcmic.'.\l engineers: 11 If an industrialist hRd tho choico of obtaining his raw products from fnrm sources or mines or wells, a.nd all other factors were the s:-1.mc, which would he select? 11

:Both replied. "The farm. Annual production from the land is the only source of raw material which is permanent, Its distribution is so broad that locational factors are of secondary importance. The variety of products and byproducts coming from organic farm crop products is almost limiUess. 11

The second reason that industry is interested is because. now as never before this group . recognizes tho close relationship between agricultural income and industrial activity. Their courses are almost identical,

This means that when agricultural income goos up; industrial activity goos up, and conversely. or course. industry follows agriculture in its upward and downward courses. Thus, tho l a tter is the cause and the former, industry, , gets the offect. This industri~l relationship to, Md interest in the Chemurgic movement applies particularly to~ sta~c like Oklnhom~ because at the moment tho state is not honvily or widely industrializod. Industries must have definite reasons for locating at specific and given points. Good reasons not previously applying bccomo abundant when ma..~ufncturing nnd processing are tied or related to agriculture. Herein lies the hope of Oklahoma. Thus, whon industry seeks locations the requirements for ~hich arc essentially steady and dependable farm production, a now nicture of the future comes im.~edi~tely into view. The Chcmurgic industrialization of this state is a logical nnd sound project for future planning.

The Interest of Science

It is a long distnnco from n corn or soybean crop to a commercially successful enterprise resulting from their use.

The scientists. chcmic ~l, physical and mechanicnl all must play importnnt parts. As an ex~mplc, we know there arc over 300 useful products within tho peanut, but it was not known until the chemists gave us the facts. Industry could ~ot use his findings until other group s of scientists plnyed their p~rt. Thus, it is clear that the farmer on the one hand o.nd the industrialist on the other arc groat distances apart, M d in a measure helpless to aid each other until tho sci entists find tho f~cts mid point tho way.

Tho.so arc the reasons these three groups arc interested. The inter e st of the first, ~nd the work of the la~t two nro es s e ntial to the success of the whole mov~~ont. There is a fourth grou~ which ifl a lso necessary to mP-ke the circle ~ompletc. Little can bo accomplished er ~hose I have menti oned un ~il the fc..:--me:- i~ made ~n integral pnrt of the whole.

The easiest way for the farmer t o think of hiz place in the Farm Chemurgic movement is to think of himself a s the seller , ,f' his products t o a new kind of customer--the industl'ialist. In the past P..nd at present th e farmerk 1 customers. for the most part, are those who buy tor consumptive uses. They buy farm products on th e basis of their ve,lu ~ as food or feed for man or beast, or to be worn,

T~e new customers buy thoir farm products on tho basis of thmir processed or manufactured val u e. The important differ ence between the two groups of customers is shown by c o ntrast at four points.

Character of Products

The consumptive market lays little em~hasis on the inherent character of farm products. The old saying that "eggs is eggs", roflGcts this thought. A ton of sweet potatoes from the standpoint of their edible value will never be more than one ton. The manufacturer looking at their starch content finds that pne ton may be three times more valuable than another ton.

The sugar beet with 5 to 7 per cent sugar content is one-third as valuable as the one with 15 to 20 per cent ~ugar content. The grocer who increas e s h.is potato yield from 100 bushels to 300 bushels does so at greater expense for seed, fertilizer, and handling costs. When tho starch content is increased three times by selection and breeding, usually at a very small cost to the individual, ~t represents a possible yield from the industrialists standpoint, throe times greater than would be possible for the consumtivc market.

Tho same thing ~pplies to cotton. At pros~nt producer and user seldom, if ever, meet. Tho latter has not yet told th~ former of his noeds in terms of cotton character such as strength, fineness, and uniformity of st~ple. Specially pred cotton to meet specific and spocia.l needs is still e. product of tho future. Somo of us are now bro ding cotton of special character to meet snecific individual ~oeds, as for tires, airplane fabrics, etc. Thus, a bale of cotton of one character ~ay be many times more valuable thnn a b~le which appears similar but is inherently ~ifferent. We M.vc all ready found that cotton when judged by the one character ~f uniformity, alone is more than twice as valuable as another grown under e imilar ¢onditions and of tho s~mo variety,

The possibilities in multiplying production in terms of yield, times its value in terms of character thus opens for farmers a total possible value two to five times greater tht~n that which is possible for th~ consumptive mnrket alone. It is my considered opinio,1 that tho character factor of cotton whon fully 4evelopcd, may in itself solva our so-cal.led cotton export problc~.

Gr.ndo

of Products

r.hat to do with the low grades? This is the perennial problem of every producer from beef cattle to turnip gre~ns. The tops make a profit and the tails lose it. The consumer market sets ma~ket grades on color, flavor, odor, shape and size. These are all elusive, hard to produce, and reproduce. Low grades are often created through no fault of the producer and result in wrecking a whole yearlE worlc.

When the industrial customer buys the product ho takes the entire lot. Little rough potatoes go with the big smooth ones. At the Atchison alcohol plant we were working on grade specifications for grains we would use in the plant and we said:

"There should be no deductions for cracked or shriveled grains, grain mixtures, foreign sof1d up to 10%, mold or discoloration. 11

Think what that would moan to tho grain producer. All the crop at one grade. What has th~ only little item of rod rice meant to the rice grower? No more rod or coffee bean problems for the rice grower when he produces for his industrial customer. So, from a grade standpoint, we mark up the second major advantage from the farmer-industrialist relationship.

Price

As long as we, as farmers, produce for c onsumptive nee~ ?ione we may expect wide price fluctuations with no as,-urance for a 101own future price. }Aany · great industrial organiza.tions constantly work to lower price--the auto is an instance. Farmers constantly try to raise prices. •·;e have no choice as long as the purchaser s e ts the price on our products as hc ., do o s now. When we start our crops wo have no i d ea what the price ~ill be. Ca n we think of anything wo more ~arncstly desire as farmers than a voice in setting the price? What would it mean to sit down and bargain with the buyer before we plant as to ·mat the price should bo for all the crop? Well, this is exactly what out new customer also desires. He wants a,miform price fixed and agre ed upon aheed of production. This was one other factor we planne d for the alcohol plant--~ fixed agreed upon contract price for all the product. May I add here tho.t this plant finds th,_~t it can pay 27 per cent more th,_~n the average price p~eviously received by ' Kansas fnrmors for the corn they h:we sold. This stntemont is based on records which go back to 1875. I hope this will ruiswcr the criticism thnt industry can use fnrm products at ruinously low prices. The stabilized price then is the third major ~dv~ntago of dealing with our new customers.

The Chomurgic Community

The fourth import n nt consideration from the sto.ndpoint of the farmer is thnt his now industri ~l customer plays ~n imuort~nt part in building tho Chcmurgic Community. In this coITLmunity plnn we build for self containment. The producer-seller is ~lso tho consumer-customer. Tho industrial plo.nt buys the farmer• s products n.nd sells the farmer his feeds, po',70r, breakfast foods, and a long list of other products depending on the charactor of the plant nnd products ~sed. Again referring to tho Alcohol pl~nt nt Atchison, I will quote Dr. Christensen: \

"We could contrn.ct with the farmers of this co~rununi t y for such portions qf their corn, small grains nnd root crops ns they yrish to grow for us. We could ~et a gu::1.ranteod price for n term of years. Vic could tnke g rades b e low pres e nt market stnndards • . When the fn.rmor comes in with his lend of grain or potatoes we ~o.n sell back to him ~t plnnt cost, his high protein food needs nt a gu[l.ro.nteod price below ffi[.l rket, and wc cnn sell him his tro.ctor, truck o.nd nuto fuel nt a. pose?' ~t=tving of n 1 it tle over 10 per cent. 11

. From this wo c:i.n com})letc our picture. The fn.rmer sells to his industrial partner at nn agreed upon price, buys bl'.ck his feed r.md power needs ~.t un agreod upon price, ::md thus ho.uls n lori.d each wny. The money stays in the ~ommunity, all needless h~uling, servicing and advertising is eli minnted, and the farmer gets in addition to production profits a sh,_~ro in industria l profits.

As a farmer, I see a. new d"l.y, not tomorrow of course, but a ne r.r distant day that will c~ll for, nnd pny a good return upon, the best brains ~nd ability we C-"n put into our fa.rmfng opern.tions. '7c t'!ill produce for a customer we can meet and come to know. His ouceoss and ours will oe closely linked. We will gain back a use for the acres formerly growing oats and hny for hor s es and mules and once more produce our own ~oser. We will h:~vc a voice in adjusting our production ,to - the needs of our Chcmurgic Community ~nd sit ~t the tnblc when prices are sot.

The farmer has A big stn.ke in F~rm Chemurgy.

SOY13EANS IN OKLAHOMA

before the

CKLA.HCMA FARM CR~URGIC CCNF~RENCE

Oklahoma City, November 9 & 10, 1937

In the time allotted me, I -wish to review for you something of the history of soybean culture in the United States; also, tell you something of its present importance to farmers and industrialists; and finally, to present to you something of the present status and future importance of the soybean crop to Cklahoma., as revealed by a study of our experimental data.

The s~ybean is a summer leguminous annual with branched and rather woody stems growing from 2 to 3.5 feet or more in height. The plant has a wide adaption and is grown in many sections of the United StPtes, being more acid-tolerant than most of the legume crops grown in the corn belt. In general, it seems to reouire about the same climatlc and soil conditions as corn, end may be harvested with a binder or combine and threshed withe small grain thresher when a few adjustments ha,,e been wide.

The seybean plant ls one of the old e st crops grown, being described in a Chinese book written nearly fifty centuries ago. In China and Japan , the soybean h~s teen Md still is of prime importance and may be considered the outstanding legume grown in these countries. Records show that the bean was introduced intt this country as early AS 1804, but has aecome of importance only in the last twenty years or so. To q~Gte from an article by Prof e ssor Burlis•n 4f the University of Illinois--"Tw• decades ago the soybean was •nly a substitute in American agriculture. Today there are few, if any, crops th~t •utrank: it in intere st and future possibilities. The ne~d, in 1920, was for more legumes in the rotation, mere home-grown, high-protein feeds in the feed bin, and substitutes f•r red clover and oats in the rotation. Fsr these purp•ses, the soybean was then promising. This eP.rly promise has been more thAn fulfilled. The real preminence of the soyaean, however, wast, c•me later with the trend toward the develepment ef industrial uses f•r agricultural products, the finding ef new uses fe~ tld crops, and the ef n e w markets fer the farmer. It is with this new outleok for agriculture that the s•ybean has become the "wonder bean. 11

In •rder to emphasi1e the grewing importance of this crop, we may quote s•me production figures ftr this country as a wh,le; fer the yeArs

1924.. 25 production wa.e 5,190,000 bu.; for 1930-31, 12,217,000 bu,; Md for 1935--36, 39,637,000 bu. Leading states in the production of this crop are Illinois, which produces approxi~tely half of the total, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, North Ca.rolins and Chio.

At the present time, there are many varieties of soybeans and hundreds of types and strains, with wide variations in their adsption to a given locAtion. Experimental work is necessP..ry to select the varieties best ~dapted to any certain area.

An extensive discussion of uses for the soybean pl~nt and its beans would Alone consume far more time than that allotted this subject, so I will only touch upon a few of the more important ui;es tho.t ,rncount for the increased production and interest in this crop.

Assuminr thAt this group is interested chiefly in industrial uses for ~oybeans, little more need be said ~bout the uses of the plant for green manure, forPge And p~sture, than that it is a legume. Where the crop thrives, it is well Adapted to these uses and can be profitably fitted into the general farm rotations. As previously stated, the re.ci.l preeminence of the crop comes from the increasingly important industrial uses that h~ve b~en found for the beAns. The use of soybeans for the production of soybean oil and soybeM oil meal hes increased rApidly in this country ~nd Aeems to be increasing still~ Be~ns e~e processed by one of three procedures; the hydraulic method, which is commonly used for flrucseed ruid cottonseed; the expeller method: Md solvent extraction. This lRst method removes a larger nercentAge of the oil and thus increases the protein cont~nt of the me~l, which ordinarily vA.ries from as low A.S 4°' to 4~ or more. Q,uoting from "Feeds and Feeding," by Morrison,--"SoybeAn oil meal is an excellent protein supplement for all classes of stock. For dairy cows and sheep it is fully equal to linseed meal or cottonseed meal. For use as the only supplement in fattening cattle it is equal to cottonseed meal and is only excelled by linseed meal. For swine f~eding thoroughly cooked soybean oil meA.l is excellent when properly fed." In this connection, mention should be made of the fact th~t when whole beans are fed swine, As occurs when the crop is hogged off, soft pork is produced. The meal is also used to produce a glue which is widely used in the plywood industry and in the manufacture of soybean flour which will be discussed under food products.

Regarding uses for the oil it will probably be of interest to auote some figures showing the factory consumption of this product in 1935. Cf approximr.,te~y 92 million pounds used, 52 million pounds were used in shortenings and compounds, 2 million pounds in oleo~rgarine, 9 million pounds in other edible products, 2,5 million pounds in soap, 13 million pounds in paints and varnishes, 5 million pounds in linoleums and oil cloth. and the remainder in uses of lesser amounts. Little needs to be said about these uses, which are self-explP.natory, unless it is the use in paints. It is pP-r-

haps needless to tecall to mind the use that the Fot4 Motor Compan~ is making of the oil in the IllElnufaeture of enamels for motor cars, As R re~uit of farmer interest in 1935; much research has been done upon the use of soybean oil pa.int a.t the University of Illinois~ It was estimvted thB t one out of every ten farmers in Illinois he.done or more buildings painted with soybean oil paint1 For lny own p~rt, this swmner in redecorating my home, I found thRt one of my interior paints contained a considerable quantity of soybean oil. Quoting pgain from Professor Burlison,-~"Results of the exposure and other tests indicate that s'1'bean oil has a permanent plAce in the IDAnufacture of paint. The condition of the panels supports the findings of other workers to the effect that 30 percent Md more of the oil used in the paint can consist of soybean oil when properly treated Pnd when driers suited to this kind of oil are used. 11

Unquestionfl.bly, the amounts used in the different industries will bef.lr considerable rel11.tion to the price, and, at the present time, November 1, soybean oil is quoted at eight and one•ha.lf cents a pound, cottonseed oil

A.t nine ~nd one-fourth cents A. pound, peAnut oil at seven cents a poundy ~nd linseed oil At a bout eleven and a-half cents A. -pound. The soybeAn oil also contains El vA.lUAble fat-like constituent known as lecithin, And this can be extrRcted and sold as e separate product for use in the medical field and in the manufacture of confections such as fine chocol~tes, and in the baking industry.

Food Uses

T~.king up still another phase of the industrial uses for this plant, I should like to review for you some of the factors that make this truly a wonder plant,-- the 11 meat without bones" as the Chinese sometimes call this plant. The beR.ns hAve been suggested for use as~ green vegetable, but, blocking this use, is the fact that only recently have suitable ~arities been developed in this country for human consumption, Release from Washington indicate that this phase of utilization is receiving attention and we llJAY some dAY look forward to eating soybeans in much the same manner that we now consume lima. bee.ns. The meture or dried beans, while nutritious, are, with the exception of a few varieties such as Easycook, hard to prepare and so it is chiefly in the form of flour or fermented products that we ca.n utilize the whole bean.

From a nutritional standpoint, soybeans offer a most alluring prospect. All are well aware of the value of meA.t, milk and eggs AS foods, and know how nearly indispensible they are in the diet but, do you know that the soybean is the only vegetable that can almost compete on a pro- with these animal products in regards to the ouality of protein? Many oth e r vegetable products such as peas, beans. and the like are high in percenteges of pr otein but they contain what the fo od experts call incomplete proteins, and, as a result, we need proteins from other sources to balance the diet. Much experimental work has demonstrRted that the proteins of soybe~ns quite closely Approach those of me.at anQ milk in ouality. ann that they can be quite easily

Rnd completely digested by our bo~ies. In fact, the Chinese make a milk from soybeans which is widely used in the absence of anima l milk in some perts of China. A kin1 of veget~ble cheese can be made fr om this same milk, and a powder has been produced for use in prep~ring the milk, but its use has never become widespread.

Perh~ps the most important food use for soybeans is in the mPnufacture of flour from the meal. Difficulty was long eXJ?eri~nced in prenRring a flour that would not turn rancid and acquire an unpleasant odor and taste on standing. Research work has eliminated these faults and now acceptable grades of flour are prepared by various companies in this country. qu o ting from a bulletin by McOuire--"Extensive experiments in America e.nd Europe indicate its high value ns e basis of food for diabetics or persons requiring a low starch or sugar diet, and for many years food compAnies have had on the market forms of soybean flour prPp?red for p ~rsons reQuiring a diet of this kind. Soybean flour as a gruel is A m~st valuable fo o d in the diet of infants.

The flour is being successfully used in the m~king of bread, muffins, biscuits, crackers, and gems. About one-fourth soybean flour and threefourths wheat flour is the proper proportion. This addition of soybean flour gives a more nutrutious article of food with a rich, nutlike flavor. In some of the Pastry products as much as one-half flour is used.

More recently a number of baking companies h~ve substituted a portion of a soybean flour for wheat flour .in the making of bread, etc., with excellent results.

Soybean flour should not be regRrded as a com~etitor of wheat flour, but r~ther as an ally; one that is capable of bringing u-p the p~rcentA~e M~ ouality of protein in the finished proQuct, resulti~ in a greater consumption of flour. Just how concentrated this flour is in auantity of protein may be seen by quoting fr om a bulletin of one mAnufActurer. Their product is a white, refined and defatted product c onteining 6'i'i of protein, 2'i, of fat and no sterch. Soybean pancake flour, macaroni, noodles, etc., are also available on the market as well as a number of confectionary goo~s • contRining some of the flour. A product for adding to milk drinks is also available and claims VRlue as a result of its soybean content. Another food product secured fr om the beans is the oil, which is practically neutral Md of a pleasMt taste when fresh. On standing, however, the oil acquires a rancid taste and off-odor unless carefully refined. When the oil is refined, it may be -placed on e. level with refined. cottonseed oil. Refined soybean oil is being used as a substitute f or salad o il, often being blended with other oils. Mayonnaise may als o be m~de from the oil. The oil hRs been used as a f o od by the Chinese for many centuries and from a nutritional standpoint, is digested to the extent of 95 to 100 percent, if used in amounts less than 100 g. daily. The oil is rend e red particul8rly valuable by its high content of unsaturated fat acids that now seem to be essential in the human diet.

Soybeans may be used in the manufacture of sauces such as soy sauce ruin as a b11se f c, r Worchestershire sauce. ·rhey may Also be used as a ooffoe substitute and for tho p roducti op of bean spr outs.

Soybean@ in Cklahoma

Having briefly reviewed for you some nf the reasons exnlflining the phenomenal increase in nAti onal ~roduction of this bean, I ~ieh to discuss the present status of this crop in vklruioma and review our experimf'ntel data.• Durin~ the last ten years, sever~l memb ~rs of the Agr0nomy Deriartment h~ve conducted exoorimental work dealint with the culture of soybeMs in Cklru1oma. Also,·'the DepE1rtment of AgriculturA.l Chemi!'ltry ReaeArch hPs completed A. joint project with the A.gr onomy Den~rtment, extenning over several years, in which the oil and pr o tein content of some fifty varities of beEtlls were determined, and at the same time a study was m~de of the ouality of oil as measured by its negree of unsaturation (i.e., its iodine number). I should like to briefly review this latter work, then tell you something of the pro~uction of soybeans in Ckl~homa during the last ten years n.nd give recommendations regRrding the crop by some of our a.c;ronomists.

These chemical ~ata were secured over a period of five years and represent d~ta from three sections of the state. Takine first the data for Stillwater (Experiment Farm) grown beans, we find that the protein rMge is from 40.4 to 44.5 ~ercent, ~nd the oil content ranges from 13.84 to 20.1 ~ercent, with most of the vPrietiee rruiging under 19 percent. Cn these same samples, the iodine number varies from 112.3 to 130.9 with a mRjority of the samples falling under 120. From these 1ata we see thRt beans grown in central Cklahoma Rre average in protein content, many varieties show a low oil content, an1 as compared to oil from most other sections of the country, they have a very low iodine value And one thRt definitely plPces these srunnles in the semi-drying class. Realizing that Stillwater did not present ideal growth conditions, SA!llples of certain varieties were collected from two other sections,of the stn.te better adauted to the growing of soybeans. Sflmoles over a ~eriod of three years were collected in Craig County in the northeastern corner of the state, and the following are avere.ge analyses of these samples compared with ane.lyses for siiilil~r Sflmples collected at .Stillwater. The varieties compared are Chiquita, Dixie, Virginia and Lnredo.

From th~se data we can see how strikingly environmental fact ors influence the com~osition of the beans.

Data from Heavener, in the ea.st centr~.l portion of the stete, illustrates these differences even more strikingly. Three year aver.q,e;es for six varieties (not all the sAJJle as previously quoted) i;ive the followln~ 1'onroximnte composition~

In swnm? rizing these nata, we finn thet beans from the central anti western sections of the state are, in general, high in protein, low in oil, and the oil has a very low iodine number. Varieties grown in the enstern en~ northern parts of the state yield beans much hi~hP-r in r.il content and much lower in protein content. ThiR high oil content is accom~anied by a slightly better quality of oil, but not enou~h to effect the general statement th:;it low quality oils a.re produced from southern erown plants And thp.t a cool climPte favors em increase in the iodine number of the oil. In Rll ~robability the considerably ~reater rainfall in the eAstern portion of the state is resT)onsi ble for the hi,e:her oil cnntent.

With these data in minn, regrrdin~ the quality of CklP.ho1I1R.-grown benns, I shall nresent some production figures for the state as a whole. These data are taken from the Yearbooks of the United St~tes Deµnrtment of Agriculture, and are from the columns under the heading "Beans Gathered. 11 (Cnly approximate values are quoted).

The same source gives the average yield in Gkl<'thoma as 9.8 bu. per a.ere (1924-32), f'.s c omparen with the United. St-!'>.tes' average for the sAme · perion of 13 bushels. Average prortuction in this stPte for the ~a.me ~eriod was 57000 bushels. The chief center of ~rnduction is in the northeast with sc~ttere1 counties such as Custer and Blaine in the western portions.

It is auite P.PJ)P.rent fr om t hese figures thA.t soybee.ns hA.ve not in the pPst, been ~n imn ortpnt crop in Ckl a..~oma. Regp.rding the future of the crop in Gkl~h oma, I would like to read the following quotntions from vArious ~uthorities in the st~te.

L. W. Osborn in ,..:xtension Circular No. 307, Crop ~rtjustment GklahomR 1 s , 01:portuni ty for _ Snil Impr ovement, seys-- 11 SoybeAns are well R.dl'lnted to ea.stern Ckl~homa. In central Rnri. western CklnhomA. the crop hA.s mat'le a gond showing under reasonPbly fAv orable moisture c ~n~itions, ruin esnecially when successful inncula.tion hF.1.s been obtnined. Freauent failuroa to obtain inoculation under western connitions h~ve proved a hRnrticap, Soybeans make P.n erect ~rowth and

are easily harvested with farm machinery for hflY or grain, ~nn the crop is p0pular on that account in sections where farmers understand gr0win~ the crop successfully. As a rule the adapted varieties of soybeans are the best grain yielders of the legumes, and produce an excellent quality of hay. A grain crop may be hArvested with a binder or with a combine. and threshed with a small grain thresher when a few adjustments have been made."

B. F. Kiltz in Experiment Station Circulru- No. 77, Soybeans for Cklahoma, writes--"In general, soybeans seem to require about the same climatic an~ soil conditions as corn. It is sometimes claimed that soybeans are more drouth resistant than corn. However true this may be, th0se who have w0rked with soybeans in the state seem to think that they will never be an important addition to the agriculture of that pnrt nf the stAte which does not have enoURh rainfall to grow R corn crop. Accorning to eroerimental work up to the present time, the growing of soybeans hRs been very disanpointing over most of the western sections of the state. The drouthy cnnditions that pre•ail duri~ the mid-summer months and the denredations by rabbits unon the ynung pl~~te, with the consequent higher yields ann gre~ter reliability of other crops such RS cowoeas Md rm.mg beans, will ~revent the soybean from extending its rAnge of ilJl"l?ortance.

Progressin~ from west to east soybeans can b e exPected t0 increase in acrel38e very noticeably. This sh ould be especia lly true in the eastern third of the state where acid soils prevent legumes such ~s alfalfa and sweet clover from thrivin~. The dairymen, esnecially, are in need of a le~inous hay crop thAt can be grown on soils deficient in lime. Although not particularly adapted to acid soils, soybeans will thrive on such soils much more readily than will alfalfa which has become so useful in central and western Cklahoma. Soybeans have been ~r own with varying success through the central part of the stAte. Many express a great deal of enthusiasm for the crop~ others have failed. The successes have been numerous enough to lead those interested in the soybean to believe that it has possibilities."

Dr. H.J. Harper, Pr ofessor of s ~ils at the Oklahoma A. & M. College, in a letter to the speaker, eays--"S oybean yields in Cklahoma are Quite variable because of erratic rainfall and high temperatures which occur during the summer time. Seed nroduction is more seriously affected than forage. Experiments which hnve been c onducted recently indicate that additional research is needed in order to determine the adaptation of new varieties which have been produced from crosses between some of the yellow and black soybeans.

The most ~romising area for soybean production occurs in the eastern one-third of the state. Because of a wide variati on in soil fertility, yields of soybeans obtained on different s oil ty-pes will be ouite variBble, Exrieriments have been c onducted which show that phosp horus fertilization will double and sometimes triple the yield of soybean hay.

Sefinite inf ormRti on is not available c oncerning the effect of fertilization on the yield of seed. Soybeans harvested for seed would not be ae harmful as far as the rem oval of plant nutrients are concerned as soybeans harvested for hay. Nitrogen and p hosphorus are the important nutrients removed in the seed.

Cne of the big problems in successful soybean production in Cklahoma. has been the sparse nodule development which occurs during periods of li~ited rainfall. When no~ules are not ~resent on soybeans, no nitrQ1?:en will be added to the s oil. Since the soybean is also planted in rows and oultiv~ted, it cannot be considered a crop which will ~rotect the soil from erosion. Close plenting of the beans does not give very good results as far as forage yields are concerned.

Those individuals who have been interested in the problem of comp2ring cotton seed production with soybean production in Gklehoma believe that the income from soybeans and cotton seed will be quite simil~r. whereas the cotton farmers will hRve in a~dition to his cotton seed the income from the lint. If soybeans can be grown in areas where boll weevil dame.ge is severe and it appears thRt the market will be sttffieiently stable to warrant a change in farming practices, no e;wensive machinery will be needed other than that which is alreany Available on the average row crop farm, consequently a shift to soybeP.ns will be easier than a shift to small grain."

SELECT~D REFERENCES

1. Breedl ove, l. B. The Soy Bean. Reprint. Chicago Journal of Commerce. 1936.

2. Burlison, w. L. The Soybean, A Plant Immigrant Makes Good. Ind. and Eng. Chem. Vol. 28: July, 1936.

3. Stewart, C. L., et al. Supply A,nd Marketing Of Soybeans. And Soybean Products. Ill. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. '386. 1932.

4. Morse, W. J. Soybean Utilization. Farmers Bulletin No. 1617. 1930.

5. Consumers' Guide. Salute To The "Wonder Bean." Vol. 111, April, 1936.

6. McGuire, R. F. Soybean Values. Bulletin. Soybean Pro~ucti0n Advisory Board. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 1934.

7 . Kiltz, F. B. s~ybeans for Oklahoma. Okla. Agr. Exp. Sta., Circular No, 77, 1930.

Laurel, Miss.

before the OKLAHOMA F.A.Ri~ CHEMURGIC CONFERENCE

Oklahoma City, Nov. 9 & 10, 1937

I was very much pleased to recAive the invitation to speak to you about Masonite. We believe that we are carrytng out the principles of .Chemurgy and our raw material is wood, young wood, from ei ght to fifteen years old, which is a cropnot an annual one, to be sure, but by careful reforestation it is a cash croµ which can be gathered at a ny time of the year, grown on marginal lands which are unfit for the usual crops and with ca reful attention to fires, thinning, seeding, and so forth, it can be made a valuaole additional source of income to any farmer.

The Masonite process was started to make commercial use of the waste products from sawmills such as slabs, edgings, and so forth, but for the last six or seven years since the waste from the sawmills was not available, we have been using second growth wood which has no other commercial va;t.ue than as pulp wood. This wood is largely produced by farmers on their marginal lands and delivered to the plant by truck or railroad.

In order to get a picture of this process it is probably as well to go back to the original discoveries or inventions which come under two main headings. First, the method of separating tho wood into fibres by explosion with high Tiressure sterun. Second, the romttking of this fibre into board by activ~ting the ?emonting material which held the original fibres together in the tree.

As to the inception of the idect for ~Aasoni te, I was engaged several years ago in perfecting .:md operating a process for tho extraction of rosin n nd turpentine from sn.wn boards, so as to recover vnlt).able by-products mid nt the same time raise the grade of the lu.mber. In my trnvels from one southern mill to ~nother, I wa.s impressed with the grent waste of raw materio.l in the form of slass, edgings, board ends and st'\wdust whichwere sent into the great trash burners for disposal.

The idea of !indirrg some means of converting this waste wood into wood pulp took form. The mcchanicnl grinding process was considered, but was discarde~ • for tho reason that power costs are high in this operation. 3.!ld the gums of southern pine woods quickly impair the efficiency of the grinding surfaces.

The chemic.,,1 process w~-...s also rejected becnuso of the loss of about onehalf of the raw material in tho digesters, tho high cost of a commercial p lant, R.nd the difficulty of h,'..ndling tho bnrk on the slabs ;:ind edgings, n. difficulty, of course, with which all p~per men are familiar.

The idea was always 1-::ept in mind that in working with a raw material of practically no present value, some process of comparatively inexpensive nature must be evolved in order to ensure commercial success.

The problem then resolved itself into the possibility of separating the fibre without losing the lignins. It occurred to me that wood could be bont when &ubjected to heat and moisture, and this property proba.bly was due to some change in the lignins under those conditions, and as wood is very porous, it might bo possible to soften the lignins and blow tho fibres apart with the sa~e steam that ~ad bec-n used to soften the wood-.

There we!'e four phases of this problem to be considered.

1. Application of temperature 9.nd moisture in such manner as to soften the lignins more tha.n the cellulose fibre.

2. Means of releasing the steam pressure instantly.

3. Apnlication of the tem9eraturc in such manner as not to char or deteriorate the fibers.

4. The degree of pressure th~t would be necessary to disrupt the fibors at the time tho pressure was removed.

In order to prove nnd le~rn under wh~t conditions wood could be separated into fibers, we first made a sm<'.11 gun by boring r.-, shaft arrn.nging for a trip valve on it nnd filling the bore with wood chips ~nd wa~er, then closing it up tight and heating the shnft with gasoline torches. Whon the tomperature in the shaft indicated high steam pressure of the order OT 600 or 700 pounds, the valve ~as tripped and the contents exploded out of the gun. The first test indicated that wood could be exploded into fibers by this method. After making a number of guns and getting a hight pressure boiler, and $0 forth, we lenrned the best method qf exploding wood chips into fioor v.nd then the problem was for rrho.t purpose could this fiber be usod.

In looking over the various types of ,1ood products to which the new raw material might be adapted, insulating board seemed to offer a natural outlet, duo to the fact that the bundles of fibers from the stea~ explosion process give the puffiness, the lose structural characteristics ~nd the minute air cells required for this class of work.

The beater w~s made out of an old gear, using angle iron for~ b e d plate. The fibers was exploded from the experimontnl gun, worked over in this beater, formed into a board by hand, compressed in :mold lotter press, and dried in an~ oven.

We believed there was r. market for a hard, dense, strong board and v1hile experimenting with the insul~ting bo:ird, ,·:e m-?.de up some sheets of well overbeaten stock ~.nd compressed them to over 5000 pounds por square inch, then removed them from the press and dried them. The resultant boa.rd wns fairly hard but nothing extraordinnry so the work of mn..~ing a hard board was temporarily abandoned.

Still continuing the experiments with the insul~ting board, we sent n carload of fiber to the plant of the M~rathon P~por Mills Comp~ny at Rothschild, Wisconsin. Here we constructed a smell homemade fourdrintor, 18 inches by 15 feet long, ~nd used their ben.ters to hn.ndle the mntcrial.. The perfecting of the insulating board proceeded sqtisfactorily.

Meanwhile, the idea of a hard ooard had not been abandoned. We found a stenm heated press which was used for making water-mark dies, put some of the wet insulating felted sheet in it for further compression, and ~hut off the steam. Then we went back to the fourdrinter to continue an experiment there, forgot about the board in the stoa~ press and wont off to dinner.

When We came back we found the press was hot and smoking owing to a leak in the valve. Opening up tho press we were much surprised to find a hard, dense board• stuck to the felts Rnd very imperfect in form but nevertheless possessing qualities that appeared to be unusual.

This opened up another big field for experiment, and delayed for some time the use of the exploded fiber on~ commercial basis. Returning to Laurel, Mississippi, we built a screw press with steam-heated pll"l tens, both top and bottom, and after four months of work finally evolved the right combin~tion of fineness · of the pulp, pressure in the press, and tomper~turc of tho platens, nnd so forth.

We learned that wh,~t really had h<'-ppen"d was thnt this tren.tment activated the original cementing material which had hold the fibers together in the tree and this was the second important discovery in the Masonite process.

One of the most difficult problems was preventing the board from sticking to the hot platen in the presses. We learned cventuAlly that the proper way to make this board v:as to use next to the hot platon ~- surfn.co plate which was polished nnd chrome plated which prnctically eliminn.ted the sticking and gnvo n qard smooth finish to the board.

We than undertook the problem of designing the necossnry machinery for producing a board of this kind nnd also lonrning how to make tho light porous insulating board on hydraulic presses nnd then the first unit of the Nasonitc plant was built consisting of four presses with a supposed capacity of 100,000 square feet of board per day but it took a good many months to got up to cnpacity.

When tho plant was first st~rtod we used s~wmill ~astc such as slabs and e dgings and hogged it into ships, using part of these for fuel :md part for fiber but ne have gro wn [>..way beyond that no w and arc using natural gas for fuel ~nd purchasing our power from the Utility Compnny and are using some 500 cords dn y of round pulp wood which is chipped similar to tho process in paper ~ills and delivered to the guns. There arc nine guns each consisting of vertical cylinders Rbout 20 inches inside diame ter nnd about 3 feet long holding 200 uounds qf groo n chips. Chips are delivered into the gun by g rnvity, the top valve closed, $tonm admitted slowly to raise the pr o ssuro in thirty seconds to about 600 pounds, then the valve is opened and tho pressure almost im.~ed iately raises to 1,000 to i,100 pound s in two to three seconds. Tho discharge valve is opened and the chips nre explodc ·1 into fiber tre.vcling at a voloci ty of something like four or fi vo thous~nd feet per second to tho cyclone which s ou nrntes the steam from the fiber, the latter dropping into wntor in ta~~s. Part of this exhaust steam is used and part wasted to the atmosphere. The fiber in water is passed through refiners ~imilar to paper mill jordnns, screened to take out a ny large pieces and floTTod on to the Fourdrinier wire nnd the water is removed partially by gr~vity and parti~lly by suction boxes under th0 wire. It then goe s b e twe(' n press rolls to remove more ~ater and consolidate the sheet. Tho sheet is then \rim.~ed on the edges continuously and cut into twelve foot leng ths by a n automatic cut-off mnchine. The ,sheets nre then C:\rricd to rncks, stacked twenty sheets one over another . T!le

racks transport these to the hydraulic presses. The sheets are discharged from the racks on to wire mesh conveyors, one sheet delivered between each steam);leated platen and as soon as the press is lo~.ded. the hydraulic pressure is turned on and the press is closed. Part of the remaining water in the sheet is expr e ssed by the pressure of about 500 pounds per square inch, the water flowing down through the felted sheet to the wire mesh convoyor and then flowing out tho side. The heat in the platen completes the drying in the press which on 1/811 board takes about eleven minutes. When the cress is opened the boards are dry and finished a.nd we have a wood board from 1/8 to 3/g of e.n inch thick depending on the amount ,of fibers put in the sho0t, which is of even strength in all diroctions, v e ry dense, in fact it will sink in wator, and very hard. This board is c o mp let e ly dried as it loaves tho press.

We then find it necessary to put the board through a humidifier ci.nd add about 4% moisture. This is done because tho board is of wood substance and all wood substances absorb moisture from the air. Our board will expand and contract slightly due to moisture conditions but exuands evenly in all directions which is not like ordinary wood which expands only in the direction across the fiber. White ordinary wood will expand approximately one-tenth its v;idth across }he grain and practic~ly nothing in l0ngth, on account of the re-o.rtangoment of ~he fibers, our board will expand, from dry to saturated condition about one-five hundredth of its width or length.

We have discovered wo can make this boo.rd still harder, more water resistant and stronger by impregnating it with certain hydrocarsons, one of which is tung oil, and then brudng it Md this is tho precess we call "tomporingtt o.nd a considerable proportion of our hard boo.rd is tempered.

The use of some tung oil in the tempering process is another chemurgic practice which will enable us to absorb some of the product from the tung orchards of Mississippi.

For the last two or three years we have been developing a plastic from wood. This is done by special heat treatment of the chips in the gun. We have just completed a semi-com'llercial plant for carrying on this process.

This process consists of chipping tho wood and placing the chips in the gun just as described before but tho stcn..1J1 trontment given the ·chips is qui to different so that tho resultant fiber is very fine and plastic. This fiber is then put through refiners, washed and run on~ Fourdrinier mo.chine, then over drying rolls nnd it looks like grown paper board, This paper board has the f~cul}' cf molding when subjected to heat and moisture, It becom0s hard, dense and v:i.t-reous and is nlmost unaffected by water. In fact, v1hen '!loldod it resembles Bakelite very closely in all its physical characteristics and it is difficult to realize that is all ,1ood.

In the Masonite PlMt at Laurel, we employ about one thousand men, exclusive of those getting out and tr~ns~orting wood to the Mill. We use approximntcly five hundred cords of wood r-1.nd produce abo,r~ one million square feet of standard board per day, that is ten times the capo.city of the plant when

it was built ton years ~o.

We e stim~t c at tho pres~nt time that about 8C/f, of the wood we purcru-so comes from farmers and it would be very much to the advantage of the farmers and ourselves if they were thoroughly instructed as to the most economical method of handling their wood lots. In order to do this we have employed a full time forester and have had fine cooperation from our State Forestry Department. We started this year a reforestation plan among our wood suppliers supplying to each one about ono thousand seedlings and sent our representative to show how·· these should b e plant e d. This year we have distributed over one quarter million trees and seen that they wore properly planted. We have also tried to give our wood suppliers information as to fire protection, selective cutting and the best utilization of the troes which are cut, that is, cutting the trees as low as possible to the ground and utilizing as much of the top as possible down to two inch ~s.

We arc satisfied thc~t tho spl e ndid cooperation we h<~ve had from the forestry departme nts, both Sta te and Federa l, will be of great benefit to the wood supp liers ~nd ourselve s in handling thes e forests in the most economical .manner.

NEW INDUS'rRI.ttL I.ISE.:3 FOR COTTO~

Before the Oklah0ma Ferm ChemurgLc Conference

I apprecin te t,h is opportunity to dir,cur s new industrid uses for cotton with you today. This is f.:. live toµi.c and one ,.hich ·is likd ly to receive inC'reasing sttention in the future.

The devGlopment of new industri:..J. use::; for cnttor.. is not likely to be a solution to all of th.,, cotton fermc-r's 0r.onPmic p:robhms. But we feel that this work is of great ben e fit not only to cotton pr0dm: er:\ but [. lso to cotton manufacturers, ultimate consume rs, f-n<l the public generally. Finding uses for a commodity as essential to the nationul economic w~lf~re &s cotton is constructive at any timE: but the need is particull:rly emphf.si?ied this y e r:,r because of the large crop in this country &nd abroild and the prospectiv e ,,orld supply of nenrly 51 million bales of cotton.

Industrial uses are 1,mong the most importvnt outlets for Americrn cotton but considerably more than hc:lf of the cotton consumed in the Uni-t:.ed St~tes is used for clothing 1ind household uses. Moreover, most indust,rii::,l user, are not new in the sense that they h&VG been developed ,;;ithin the pc.st yet..r, 5 years, or even 10 years. Most of the principE:.l uses for cotton have been established for a good many yea.rs nnd o.re f,.miliar to r,11 of us.

There are a great mr.,ny things we do not know u bout cotton fibers ond their spinning utility. But we know enough t:) g0t them into user.hle yel"..rs bnd fab:r:ics, 0.nd have knorm this for many ye&rs. There is r.1pparently a grec. t deal we do not know about the chemicr-1 and, possibly, the physic~.. l propc.rt.ies ')f cellulose, which is the bE:.sic constituent of cr:-,tt0n fibers. But we d0 kn o w that aside from the dirt, trash, r-.nd rncisture in the cotton lint, it c onsists of about 98 percent pure ulpha cellul 1.:;se. And we kn0w that cel+ulose a btuined from c0tt0n linters nnd wood pulp c;;n be mr1de into rt,y.m suitlJble for mcny uses vthere cot ton fabrics were and r,re now b•)ing used. As to the uses for cot ton lint, we can account i'or the bulk of them in ordim..ry everydr-,y overalls, shirts, housedresses, sheets, curtnins, ::mtumcbile tin- s, bo. 6 fc,brics b.nd a few hundred other well-knm'ln textiles.

It is true that only a neglibible qm.nt:i.ty d' c·, t ti:m is c ,_;nsumed 0n fr rr.w wi thcut first hbving entered trade t:tnd inciustrii;l chtrnncls. As thi.s r r ·>up kn,:iws, i:,lm ;: st 100 p,::rcent of thG Unit.1d Stl:tt.s (!::,tt : n cr·"J p is c c. nst:med (-!i thE;r in dcme:;tic ,>r f c r1dgn mills b.nd in this scris1:: is c :m~u:ned Lr pr · cessed in i.udustrii:il ch&nnols. 'l'here c.1re Gbout 1,200 mills cng· ged i.n s:,inning y ::.. rns t..nd we«vi:ig cotto n cloth in the Uni tcd Ste te :~ . 'l'hcse mi Us 1;.cctmnt fnr 1i b J ut 95 pP-rccnt of the tot,:l c :i tbu consumed the remaining 5 percent bejng pr-0ee:sscd by th1;: knit £: O')ds, woolen g o vds, ,..,nd by 1:; few uther indastrif. s. C:ctt vn mills &re sp:)k<:n c,f C? llectively as the 11 cutton g :; ods 11 industry. Their princip::.l pr::-duct is w:wen clvth h1,1t they l'lsc: pr::,duc e & substuntiul quantity ">f cottun y&.rn f :,r sr..lc t (; other indust.rios, c -:-t.t,:m vmstf. f(•r use in m6ttresse:;; ~,nd for c,the:r purpo st,s, and Dther misc c. llCi.ne c: us l)r, tducts. Negligible qur, ntitie;;; of lint c-:.•ttt..n bls c are used in mt.ttresscs, b ':.. tting, ptidding, end !,bs lJ rbent C~)tt,)n.

Our studies sh ,v1 th1.,t, m the , ,vE.•ri 5 e, t ,!Ji)rcxi.mi;tely twc-fifths f the tot1ll c r , tto n c -:,nsumed in tr:c United St,; tes i f:. U!;1c, r}. f\:r induGtri0l ;,urp<.:scs.

Aut Jm~ ibil u tires ;:.nd b ;dif: E are ·utstandir.g tm c ng the industri;:;l uses, h[,ving ;;.cc .>untcd for &bc ut 750,000 kles in 1936 -:- r £. little less thu1 the prc;specti,re c .~ tt-:m cro:;) in Okl!.:hGm& f :,r this y (J1..r. In uddi tLn, the t,utcm,;;bilt? industry uses 18 rge quunti ti c s Ji' c ~ tt(ln wt, stf• r,nd G•:i tt,:m linters. Other irnport5nt indust,I'.iAl uses for c u t.t e n urc bt:.gs, c_1 t a i f£.orics, thru:,d, b~.:ltn &nd beltjng, ;;.nd meny )thers of lesser imp.1rt~ -nc~:-,

Th r.? r.::;thAr extensivr, ut.i. lizo.ti(;n ., f <.:(,tton fc,r industrial ~uses in the Unit"e d States &ccounts in· port for the tendency f cotton consumption to fluctuf.>.k v1ith industrial :>roduction. An o thi.r im1;0rtc:.nt f::.ctor in this c ~mnocti'm, hcwever, is the chc.ng e s in pr-,yroll:;;, incor.ws, c.nd purch&sing pom.>r, which a ff(~ct cc,nsumer buying o f te;xtile m1 tE,rh,ls.

In uddi ti , m t::i these cyclicr.,1 5hifts which ccrried per cupitt. c •.:..m.umptLn of c J tt c: n in th8 United St:-.tes down from 28 p :nmds in 19.-.:8-29 to 18 l J' unds in 1932-33, &nd b.:.ck tc: ever 60 pounds in 1966-37, there are impcrtrnt shi.fts in the industry. F-::•r cxbr.1:"lle, the use ~, f increfJSing quantities •.•f cotton in the ::.ut u m.>bile industriJ, i:.nd i1 ,~rhc• iX~ in 0ther industribl uses, got undflr \·:&y "br:ut the timu cerfairi ::0 tyle ch;.mges 1:,.nd rt.y :: n com.)eti ti-.m began t 0 &ffect advers r ly the c ;· nsurnp ti:m Qf c :,tton, In td;.1i til)n, there nrc shifts in :1.,rticulbr uses, aE, f r c-xam;)le, t.n n br, e industry. The use e, f c1:.,rt1,; in kinds uf cottc-n bvgs has incr e: &ic d mt, teriLl.ly d.uring r e cent y0i,r ~;. These increr,s~s, however, hDve betm ( :ffset, .< t leas t in pt rt, by th.-, decrm~sed use C;f t.ho::r types ,o;f br. gc. The: d evcl')1)ment anq imiJro v e ment '>f ;)a pe: r bl.lgs h,,ve bE::e11 r.:Jl import~, nt f1 i ct0r in this cJnnecti ~~ n.

As illustrt:tivr:: :)f this, c0tt( n b l: gs for cer:ient were used f 0 r ne~ r ly 90 p e rc e nt of th e: btr,l t hl. p ments o f CE$ ment in 19~4, "gt,inst c•nly 37 i)Orcent in 1936. Pt: p 0 r bl g 0 u1d bulk s hip:oents h, ve t! isplr, ced lnrge nuinbers ,:if c;: , tt(•n b1..gs for this pur p :i se , ,nd r,ccountcd f or r b : ,ut 4.2 u nd 21 ;>ercent, r e spectively, of the· t ,, te,.l cement s hli·,me nts in 1936. These si,ifts imd chc.ngcs ht ,ve l. b- ut offsF:"t t> ,'.JCh ) ther s,) thrt c ~;tton c ms u mf• ti r,n hr;s b E: en 1.:b-:.,ut mt:intl"!i.nerl exce p t for the de )res si ::m : 1er.i. od, Per ct.pit::. mill c:msum:->ti·Jn in 1036-57 WliS t,bout cs high i,s it hn.d ever ·oee n -~tnd t,:t,, l ar:i.11 c ·:1 nsum 11tion v;as the highest in hist Ty.

In the 12 mrnths ended \dth July 1937, du:,cstic mills ccnsumed ner.;rly 8 :nillion bales c0tt~n ..ir nbcut 10 ;)ercent more than hr,.d b~en ccnsumcd in r,ny other sens,.m. The incre,,se ever the :•revi-.:us selJSl:!1 ·:cf abcut 25 "Crcent r,isui ted lnrgely frc.m im ·,r .Ned busin•:ass c:.mdi ti •~ ns Dnd incrcu,cd c,jnsumcr textile buying. But .stocks ,.:.t' i'iuishecl end unfinished cc tt(,!1 cc,·.cls r.-ccumulr,t1::d in E;ubstonti:,l volume in chi nnc:ls ()-,.' c1.ist.ributi,.,n ind in ;nill m:rE:h•:> llSes rturi.ng the btter :~urt c,f th<-: 1936-<-S? set:.son. Mill :.,ctivity fer the first ;:. ,:r,nths of tht~ currc:;nt set.sen wns abcut the sume r,s tht: rt t,e for the c:.:rr, :::. n-1 ing pcri~:(l le-st scnscn end c:::nsidc1!'i,';:,.ly nb~vc: the t .veru~c f::.r the _.::;:;t oec t !J.e. The V,)lume cf cl:)th vnd yc,.rn .)roducti-.,n, hriwcv<.:r, v,~,s much brg,;,r thun sr..l(S by mills, ond uns,:;ld st1Jcks e:f' cL:Jth ure subskntir, lly l!.:r1~£r th1..n thE:y :·1l:r<:: lJ yGur agi:;, Thus, while c,>ttcn wt.,S c:,nvc-rtccl i.nt,, y:-:.rn t-.nd clc·th r.t L, rec r e:! r(lt€ durint; 1936-37, ultimf.tc· c -.msum_;ti ,;n ~: •~1,.n,1tly did not kec1' p:.,ce ;;i th the mill •::ut;)ut o.f cbth lnd y,,rn. 11.nd c,lth.~u:.,h t.he ,,icture £er C:.:..:nestic mill consum~)tLn _.f c tt• Jn .fr r 1937-:58 is by n :1<ai. m~ t1:::.rk, it is n.;t 1,s bri__;ht r,s it \<ms lc;.st se.:,scn. In 1 .. ny f.::Vent, we c,,1. Ger reel;; hq)c fGr i, \bmestic ccnsum:-itir n , ·,f c ttcn in the current se:,son lcrg,,r thl n l.bout l· ~hir<~ ,:;f' this year's 23-milli n b6l<:: ~l' t ,S_'Ective su:·01JJ.y .;f .!l.mcricun cutt0n.

\~hen we c~u,' lG this ci ,~m1..,3tic situ&tL.n with th1':t in f.,reign ccuntrics, th,:, need .f.'c ,r increusing tha d,r:1cstic utilizcti,n ·f c:)tti..•n is even :-:i0re L;,i1trr>nt. h8ek bef.Jre l&st in \ifoshi:igt - n, I rH.,A. , n :,~).:. rtunity to ottenJ l: meeting ~-n the:: Cc,tt:::,n Outl,)ok for 19:58. This me0.tin€; incluc1ed re;-ru,ent1;,tives frorn fall pr.-rts r_,f the Cotton Belt vnd frcim v.::-ric.us Gcver;nnent 1:.genci1:.s. I gc-therec1 frcm the discussion nt this meeting th,,t t~wre is c·ms-i.·lcr,,b1e diff<-:rence ·f q,i.ni··n ns t .:: whl"tt h0.s c&used the tre~cnd.Jus incrct.sc in f~--r:. :ign c ,1 tt,, n ·irG.ducti0n from 1935, to 1937 but tht~t n :.; 1.:n~ ~ucstiom: the i'bct tkt there ~1;.:s bt',en such 1.;.n incre.s se. Moro•)Ver, n: one 1:.oubts thut this f · reif~n c-:-tt t. n i::: dis1.•l: cl!:& 1'.mE:riCfin in the \Vc:rE mills. I quqtE ,J_iric;ctly from the C,.ttt,n Outl ook Re;:,r rt: 11 A .--1_eclinr. •in the consumption ,)f J.merica1 c~tt,m dur_ing th12· 1956-37" s~L.son tc,ok ;'l, ce in prr.ctically ull f 1)rcit;n cr :untries using sienificr,nt qu. nti ties cf Amer-ice n cotton. On the: :~ther hc.n0. the c<.insumption d' f~,rci15n c 0 tt·.::n shcr,ed u si~nific ::.nt incrt,DSe in most ,.f these c•,untri1;>S, The decline: in the Cr'nsumpti -::- n cf i~mC>ri.c,n cotton r..nc, ine;rec:.sed use l'f f·.:rci:;;11 c tt -n, rc•sultc~d in Amcricc r. cc-tt•:·n rfoclining fr'.)m 1:.n ,: verugc ~,f 41 ;_),:rcfmt d' the totr,l mill ccns1.ti, citi:-r. cf cctt c n ut_.ide the United States in the 5 :/e1.:rs 1928-;::9 t ; 195~~-3:5 tu 2.5 •icrcent in 19:56-07 11 • If there ever ~lti.B u. time ,,hen ioffifl'ic:. n C:-ttcn fr.. rmers needed t ,a inc:rE:l,SC the domestic ut.iliDztLn f c-:ittcn, it is nc,1·1.

The r;uesti ,n f r us here t ':l.:~y is: ·,~h:~ t c~n we d•. t .·, incre: , se the .:Lrnt..stic utiliu, ti.:in uf cc,tt m iii in:..~ustril J. use::,?

It-:i.s m;y rcs:i nsibilit:,r t:;; jirect tbE.. ct:tt,_~n uti.lizuti:-n rese£·rch l..nd irfVe0ti~;~tLms ,,,f the Burer,u c,f J:.gricultun.l Ec ,·w:mics. iie n ·~w htve l vr,ry smE.11 st~_ff pf tl':Chn .·l•... 4'is ts •;n,:: ec·::nomists ·rn,~1..gd i.n thit: wr, rk • Th,;:se a•C·;) 11L r] •. n,. t dev-:•te their full timf" r1irr:ctly t. ,Jeveh: ·_;inf D•·1'/ US1:..S f ··r ~r·tt.-,n but : f; S "i.Gt i..h mr,king Vl:.ri.:1Js r.tur1ic s rt _lf..,tin;; tc-. the utiliz,:.tL: r·, i' c, tt ··n , ,nd c ,.. mr:.etin~, fih:. r :;:.

The Burc•[jll ht s lon~~ b;_,:, n .:if the ,.:, _,ini n th, t rn un(Ji.:,rstln .~ in J ;_.f tho ~c, n mic, l·s 11:c:·ll r.[; the tec;m l• >: ,ic, l tS~)ECts f.' c ttc.r, uti..lizit Lo1 i..: oss t. nti:.l t, , j11t1:ollii;c::nt Jir<:<!ti :-n of ruf.'C0.rc:1 t,nd i.tiv,: sti: ti ..n::. ;jp~i c~ nc , t. 5:-vcl : : nv · indu:.,tri: l USE. s f .~ r c , tt ,., n.

Fr.m the beginning, this work has been c~ntered n n the devcloJmcnt Qf nP-w in-.lustric, l uses r£:. ther thi n in clothing ..:.r h :-,useh Jlc i:, rticles. This course hrs been f0llowed beceuse )relimim- ry investie:r ti 0ns indici:.tcd th;..t f>r o s >ects fc r f ,cc •>m::lishmcnts were gr€t.tor here than elsewhere. The b.::, g field via s (.~ nc of t h e first explored. One ;.f the imr)') rtant uses deve;lc~)ed by research w.:,rkers i.n t '. Li.s Burmiu, cc0_)erotin[; with the lbrth Cc:,rolinn St1.ite Ca lle..;e, WfiS t. c·: mhineti .n ,pen-and c L._;f!e-mesh ft bri.c tc, meet thE. oG.ed f 0 r 11 b~g f-:~•r C'..-nsumer f.ll ·ck.::;blni:; of citrus fruits, p.,tat:,es, oni0ns, und nuts. Btgs made f'r ~-m this fc.bric , re c0til""lP.ting successfully \,ith .) thn· mi:.teris ls t nd Dre now in wide use. The b :-.. 6s nnge in size fr,m 4 to 25 r -:iun<is in c c:. paci ty. They 1:,re c- f o type kn 11 wn c..s duplex b1::gs fe,r which ::, :)[.. tc.nt ht'tS be:on receiv E"~ 1 r.:.nd dr-1dicr,t r. d tu the ,mblic. An ,;, the r bq~ fr, bric f·:,r which the Burt.vu mr y be lt rgcly credited is the mu tcric l used in t,11-::,ver open-mesh bq;s f 0 r ;.n:.ckr.;gin6 fruits and nuts.

Tests i:..re nov, bein~ c 0nductect c- n · ther m,w uses developed by thP Burt:t•U, amon c which is r, cc-tt~,n bee for p1.,ck«Ging t• nd tri nsiJCrting Hr.-waiic.n raw sug:..r. If successful, &fte:r subjecte d t , sh:i.p,1in L te:,ts i:,n<l c u st rec,rds, this m::- teri~l will result in on &dditiz:mt,l ~nmu.l c :-nsumpti o n ,:· f r.bout 10,000 br.-les · f c o tt·..:n. Develo pments of this kind !Ilc,y be criticized ; n the gr ·und that they wiJ 1 be merely disphcements 0f jutC', which h&s long b0-en used f :..'.l r this _;urp ;se, but th~ im;:>~ rtr.nt point is ttwt this &nd m.,ny .- ther new tlxtile uses f.'c•r cott-:in sh. u.Ld be developed in .:>rcler to .-)r •:,vitle t,r "lducts that will de o bette r je,b thrn jut,? or o ther textiles have b<~en d .,in &, o.t rt net c,.,. st bolc-,w that v f tbe cc-m: l e tin g m&terial. V!e know thct cc.•ttc n bi. gs ci re stronccr th&n jute ba[;s e.nd thut they may be used r,ver ,.md over q;uin, wherc;as l&b ,:, r[;. t,., ry tests und E:.ctuv.1 shipments of suger in jute b&~s sh,, w thot their life is cum,;arctively sh,:-rt.

its e&rly cs 1027, the Burcwu , r Agricultural Eccnomics stbrted research and inv{.-:stigctic.ns lc0king towhrd the develo ;1ment of a suitable cott0n fa.bric f o r use in covering c :.>tt o n bales. Such r, fc,bric was developed r.,nd specificati •) ns r,repared, but hE.r.: is en ext,mple in Vlhich the use of the mcst ec,:.,n ::. r.iict•l p:r!.,duct may be prevented by established c ·lmmercir,l customs -~ r r, r&ctices. Here the need for coc;:ier:- ti:m ctncl underst1,nding .)f users is r, :JfJ1,rent. The liGht weight cott,.m mt teri&l develo:,ed by the Bure u t\.ir c-.:v<-:ring ce;tton b[;les Fo .-'i:1l•rently would havG been more ec :-,n ·:micE,1 thl,n jutE'· bc.gging in s:::•r:ie yet,rs, if c o tt ..m we r e sold on the bv sis ·i' net-weig ht, - but f;r ·:·ss-weight trc.dint: is a ; ,r.<:1ctice ::.' f l on g stc-,ndins in the United Stc-tes. F' .' r this re,,son, C\: tton bt,gein1_; w~s never put int o gener~l c : mmercinl use. · RecN1tly, [1 t:ldi tLmul ~vc,rk ht;.~ been dL-116 in this c .-:mnecti .:,n and t,n iMl Jr ivcd f ~ bric cv •1,.ble :;-f l"iithstcnd.ing hif_;h density c -; m·, ression with:mt the use f : .c. tchcs has been ,1evelo_f>ed. This bc.5£:inh wt. s ust' d in r. shi1)me::nt ~if c ,ttr; n fr : ,m I.U::,sissi;:iiJi t(, Liverc1ool und b&ck. Bb les used in this t('st wer1:; Ci) m , JressE:d t •) hit_,h density snd shi1J1~ed in the U:JU.'.:: l ;vr.. y but l'li th,_,ut p otch8s. The :)B&[;,ing c,nd c ,,ntents Jf these bales wer.:0 in c. s&tisfackry C')nd i ti.:,n 1,·hen th e y re1:,ch<1d this c .,untry uftc,r a nmn<l trip t ~ F.urc !)e.

This ye&r, c1rran ~ cme nts hL.ve been medu under the C,:: tt on DiversL•n Pn),.r&m :::; f the .Agriculturr.1 J;djust:nent f.drninistrati ·~n tt., furnish 90,000 yc, rds of this light wei 5 ht bt.gging mntk ricl t l; st . te ,ris e n f r rms for use in ccvcrin 0 c .._,tt:m p r c d uced en their f£.:rms, &ml t ~ Su.t E £.nd F d t:.rtl C;xperimcr1t,,1 stc ti ons. In cdditi -:, n, enoue;h cott_n bt,__ ,bin ~ t ~ ; covl-r 800 b~-les ,: f Se:: Ish.nd c.\tt.:m .>r Qduc t> d in Gc c.., r z i c, and Floridt. ru..s been m&d e r.w,il:. ble t o Skte ExperimGnt;~l st;;,ti -:: ns f )r clistributi,:;n tc Sea Islcn,j c ,;, tton ir _-: ducers. Arron [:;ements l:,n ht: ve been mr d e with the ~")rinci !K: l buy u s : f S e c Isllnd c,, tt ,m tG 11:.., y ::. differentibl

equivl ,lent to the value ;.,f 6 ;xunds :: f C'~tton per ), le. This is a.bout the ~::ver.?.. 5 e difference in wei5 ht betw~en the li1:,ht w~li,.;ht ougc.r-bc:,g cloth o rJin, , rily used for C')Vering Seb. Isl~nd c .: tton and c0tt, n b ... gging. It ls h o i•ed th&t these efforts will be rf1warded by the eventual r.clopti?n of n~t-v.c.it;ht tradinb for c,.::tton end the ust of substantir.l quantities of cotton ba 6 gin.s for cotton.

If n 14 million bale crop were c:;vered with c,.,tton bc· gging, it \nuld require thP equiv~lent of u.pi:iroximately 200,000 bulE:S vf cotton the first yet r ond upward c,f 100,000 bnles ct.ch yeur thereofti:;r. Tw? hundred th-::,u~unc1 btles is equivc.lent tc, ab.)ut one-fourth of this ye!•r 1 Okle.h omr; cotton cro1)• ill th ( ·Ugh 200,000 bales of cotkn mt.y set'.:m smell when compi.rcd with the tc,t1:,l crcp in th0 United States, it is lLrgc when c 0mpored with the ,m~unt uf c~tt.n used for any single industrif,l )Urp ,. se. ,.ut..,mobile tires, f nr example, which is _,rcb~bly the 1,,.rt,:cst industrfo.l use, r.ccount for only r,b,,)Ut 600,000 brles of c ) tton ltnnually. In recent yeurs, cottcin flour ocgs hnve:: [.:Cc-.unted f,r the cquiw:lent of only 130,000 bl:. los r,ncl cement bl.gs U:,ooo. Other im?Jrtr..nt uses, l:l:rnG with approximate qua.ntitir1s of c c ttcn utili:~ed, are r -s :' llows: cott c n bi.:gs f c,r sugnr, 80,000; '.)Verulls nn<l work ,:>&nts, 250,000; b .:-,d ::;heets, 300,000; tJwels and toweling, 180,000. This tendency c,.f the inuivirluol uses for c .., tt 0 n tc, be small, when c,)mparerl with t0tc.l cot ten 1•1roductbn, makes .i. t cl.ifficul t to make a quEintitatively lrrge sh,1wln 5 in nr!w u::::,J s wcrk. It is ti slc.1/1 jol) tn develop a large number of uses which in the nigre1.~c te m£y require a substr.ntiul quantity of c..:ttt;n, but which indivi.-:!uE,lly require c0mpc-.ro.t:Lvely smell nmcunts.

The develo 11mEmt 'Jf r.,. c-:•tton fd)ric for re enf .:, rcini;· bi tumin c us-surf«ced rnr:.ds, if successful, might be f.tn E-:xce()tL:n t c., this 6 enert;l ch: r::,cteristic ,::,f the uses 1'0 r cotton, since the potentialities for this use ~re quite lo.r6 e:. The development t~ f this fa.bric is an exi,mple of the im'>vrtLince d' co•.:,rdine:ted cff ·)rt in new-uses work, as well as in ·: ther f otms c-- f resu... rch. This w•:>rk Wb.S begun by highway eni ineers seeking c,n cc,)ne,mical reenforcement mate.:riel. The Bur1-:uu of Agricultur&l Ec:mo mics studied the requirements for this use and in cco;>t;rutir,n with North Ca-ro linu St;.te College vf Agriculture und En~ineer.ing ,:,f thE. University of North Carolina developed ond desit:ned a new cotton fv.bric. The Cctton Textile Institute 11nd other vgencies did sJ1,10 effP.ctive work in demonstrating its ;;.ossibilities and ;Jotentiali ties. Und er the C~tt.:1n Div<:.,rsi :' n Pr :,grr.m of the Agriculturi:. l .1.djustment ,\dministrnti..m, and with the ussist8.nce j f the Bur e c,u of Public R 1ads, <1 )ro , ;r"m was ,)ro vided w!1e::reby ab-Jut 6,200,000 sque:re yeards of this reenf o rcement muteric, l were us eel by Stet€ hibhway de:)c-.rtments in 24 stf.Jtes, or encu~; h f ~•r huilcint; 578 miles nf roads. Cemplete results of the t e sts c)f this matori0l will not bo evaile.blc f :: r several yc,,rs but rep:rts to date have been in the main ft:vore.ble, cs ,)eCif...lly o n rul,ds .1,::-cE: tecl ,m cert!.i.n types of s ~ ils. The ), ,tentiali ti<..s : f' this use f rt vc,,ry h:rge ~.nd if the f& bric should prove ec(1nomic~:l, £, substantir:,l iddi tLn&l qu.:mtity cf cc-tt:.:n will 6 c intc use for this 1JUr 1:.":\sc es.ch ye:.,,r •

.Another use f0r cotton upc n which the Burum 0.ic. s'.·,me iJi:mecr •;; •:, rk wt:s o c ,.,tt ·m fabric for curi.n 6 c c ncrete, Vlhich hes e..J1 > r 0ximt..tely the same sbs v rbent quality as the jutE- burl,:.p .~encrr,lly us od. This mct<' rlol ht,r> c:.p~r.)~1tely twice the life of burlt.~). These tests served t o incUctite the Ldr,ptr.bility f cotto n materfol for this i_)Urp-:-se c.nd were f C" llowed btJ & series {lf exp.e.riments with cotk•n mets by the Bure(:..U (~ f Public Ro( ds £ind the Tex£,S Stc,te Hi:.,hway De,...,.irtrne nt. Lu ter, 89,500 of these, m!its wer0 distriuutod un:ier the C'.:ltton Diversi o n Program tc., State hibhwuy df;: i. rtmc>nts in 23 st&tcs. This pr ,.,gram was

f o:r t!.e pur 1o sc ,:; f m:,kine: thc rou_;h tests un c.er ac t ual c ; ns-Cruc th,n cc nJ:i thins &nd d nmcnstrcting th a ::irncticl-billty (f their us, he cent r' 'Jcrts indicatE' t h i:,t SE'·ver1:<l stl'te r ;..:. re ,llanninL t o :::-equir o the ase o f t hese rnc:ts f'or curing c oncr,~te 0n Ell stcte 1)rc jects,

Ir1 r.,d J. i ti rm t o the C(..tt ( n Diversi,m Pr c;~rt m f o r t e ::;tir.g : nd de;,i:~nstr r ,tin~~ the usefulnes s G f. c o tto n }re.ducts in rot 1 c .:.- nstructio n l:n;; n s H c r V('r'i..n 6 f :n• t he :L::m ," stic c o tt on cro p, funds h1.:.v0 been madt fJ V&i l G. ble for the distdbu-t i. :.n (: f co tt on f v brics for P'liscell:.;rn ,: us un~s. C-::i tt on fL brics selected ,:r

c.c si~ne c1 to me et syi c:l.sl :rec1uire:ne;mt~; h:..:ve been nu :-ip lL-d to vr r:ir.,us Str tf: .: r

F c (lerv l £, gencies t ,J t \,; st the., t'•ractic... bi l.i ty nf usin 6 c ,) tt on fi brics for the foll o wing uses: (1) A coverin 5 -ir membrtmt'J for use eith ~, r by itself o r ~s r; r e cnf ,, rcing m&te:riHl, f ·)r sides 1.>f irri,;t tir •n, rlr t, in uge , run-r_f.f, ~.>r c, t,ht~r ty:)es o.r ditch e s; ( 2 ) i'i c o vE;r.i.nk,'. o r membr,,ne tc re:.. e n f't• r ce fills or cuts f0r r 1)uds, hie hwvys, ., r ther ,ur tw·ses; (5) .:: > r r; t e cti s n f r) r bee hives; ( J) -:' r rot c ctive c c verini;,: 1\,r fruits ,.:,r ve [::e ti; blcs d urin g c r :)"l'.in c , ri:1enin 6 , c , r curin;;; ( 5 ) El. c~verin g f ~r s ht,din g c, r ,,r n tectj_nt:; tr ,:? e set1c1lin g s o r shruoG ;'l urint ,'urly pe rh>ds ')f gro wth; ( 13 ) n ,·,ortnb le c :)V e rin ::; , h (.)ecl, o r tr,::t in c0nnecticn wlth fur.iigr.ting,sprr-. yin g , -~-r dustin ,\ .fruits, ve i::;c t£t b lcs, .: r ,;•lants; (7) l, ro n f, outside cov\::ring mctcrial, nr insul:.. tL, n -fo r ."ur ri un f' nt e r semi-perm1:,nent bvildin,_;s; E •. nd (0) o. mu nbrr. ne :;r r cc: nf orch !6 mut t ri i. l in ccnnecti::-n ;•:i th t!:i H surf,, cing 0f r, ir::i ~: rt rtm w&.ys, r-::a~s, bridi,;C S, ,mths, o r mtl ks.

The Bure~m .: f 11/riculturi 1 Ec c n 0 mics hE,s c;;;;_ •rH·c, tec. ir. · nncctic-n with Uwse d iver~Lm ;.1r c• ~:r&ms by u ;sistin i; in the selectLn ,Jf sui.k: i)le commercial m , terii ls, c1e vci l o _>in "" n e ·/1 fr•brici;, ;, n<l . 1rt::)l,rin6 s .., t::cific t: ti ,,ns fer v· rL) US c0tt:m tcxti l e s. 'l'his is one t,y.x• ,, f iif•Jrk in wil tel1 th:.: rc,se u rch t.. ncl devslc)menta l ,mrk d:m e sc i'l -r e n c o tt,,n uttlizati:.m han bL<en es 0 ,ech.l ly hel~)f'Ul.

;._s t c. thE· futur e· ·,f ·.vo rk in dcv c lupin<; !HJ\, in :lustrh, l uses, the o bvi us thin~ t o su,:~ge st is 1 n i. ncr E::o s c in fi ~c i li ti.E.s end _} urs ,nnol •.,n d 1.c fc:-el th t·t en ·:·u~h t;:r :·un riw:.:rk h:~G bee n <Lw: t ,. lml:,; l r:, us tc Sl,y th, t t m:lde r te ex 1.1in s j n ::, f this 11uture would be ju:, ti f j_r::d, On t he :::thcr hi.nc!. , mort ;:;;)end in f., :::f m. ne;v is net. •mou g h le· ckw•l < : :> new industri a l uses for c )tt..)n. ~ie must hL v e tn in c d, cep.: ble , an d invE·ntive :.;::rk r.: rs. They sh,,uld n ,i t tll b e tri ined &nd ex·)erit:nced r lon 0 ci n e l in e . In c.d d i ti:jn to t c:xtil r:- t0chn_;l ,) 0 is ts cn ~ l e:c ,;n 'J mists, ;, e neerJ chemists, he me ccn .., rnist s a.n d K,ssibly ,thi-rs. 't'hc w..:- rk sh(,ulc.1 n e t b e co nfint d to ,:me agency vlth ..,ui.; h : n e c e ntrl ·l i; r : up is ;ir .·b:: bly !HH.ded f't,r ler.-<.:ershi., i r.nd coo rrlirn 1tio n. Eff ort sh ~uld be mnd f.: t_, t1. ,r,, in f•v c ry , ssibl e i;;r,y, th e \YE.:t~lth of id e r,,s r o c; urdin 6 n €wls of i n custrir.l t·n::.1 ultim~ tc c : nsura:> rs ,,f c:, tt n ,:11.: t c rids. The c oo , >;;. ri.,ti , n ,)f c c t.t c: n -- tE:; xtilE• mnnufr,cturc~rs ~ml ~: t h r~ sh c uld be s r,u ~ b t c.nd m~intnined in•.: ividurlly, v s well us thr Jui)i their rtt,niu.tLins.

The questic, n n ' em p hc, sis in future rcs E: ~.rcl1 WJ rk is en im.r,rtcnt n e We. hl:ve l f ee lin g thr. t H :,d ,UtLnr.l f ~ cilities sh , ulu be m&0c lvt;.i.fohle, nJ..) rEl 1ork sho uld b e d one r , l o n,; ch emicLl linc.' s. In this c .• nni::.cti0 n I h[ ve in mine~ t'!S pe ci £, lly tr eE: t mcr1ts, fi n ishes, ln<l s : · .!\_1rth , d e si t>nu: t,.: mE, k e c .,tt -:i n f ~ bri c s m::., re ~,de p t ;;ble a nd .sc~ul. ;,:1 r k :, f thP. nntur f · cL n, , by the Bur u. u :: f Ch emistry n n d Soils in d e v o lcp·i. n i; f ire- n si stin i,~ v.n-:1 b::,ctc ri l r,m1 fun'" i-res i stin g c.., tt c n f&brics is t:n e xam ;J l f · in this c ,nne c ti, ,n.

Of' c , urse th·:: ,':·)rk d' the chf;r.iist hL.:J lon1:, been fumilii:,r t. ; tht:. c.:itt • n tPchn.~l·) 0 ist. The sla.stier r~ 0m, the dye wt, th r• bl,.:ochery, 1.ind th ,.. 11erceriziug :") 11.int ECsttl)lished che;:iic•. 1 r.,djunct,s t.- CL tton r.m.nuf:1cturini;.

On the guPstL:n d' rescl' rch lesi( nGcl ·t,-, -'!. evul.'.)1; chP:nic&l uses for Cl)ttcm lint, ;u~ ~till have M1 o;,en mi.mi.. But, frt.nkly, [ t the _.1resent. ti!\,:), the .)0r:.sib.i li tir~s in this res_1ect, si::cm k bB rL-tho:r lil.iitc.:c.l. S:c f1;r t,-: I kn ::w, 1.ndus-trit:il ct:: llulos(; is t~.e :·nly im)c rt1;. nt chemict, 1 ) Utlet fer lint cd,t o n now in si;_,ht.

In;.lustrir.. l cellulose lu,s furnished a su bst1:i.ntiul 0.nd incr< as int,:; market ft)r c-·ttnn lintcrs for t..: c:msic~r-r~bl0 .xTil:,<l r~f years. Cutton lint c-rs, '- S y:-iu doubtlr-.si=; kn,.,;w, r.rc the resid1.t.:.l fibers t:;kcn frvrn e r tt·:,nseed c.t oil mills prior t) crushing. The uvervt;E.: t, nnw:.l i_)r-.YJuct.i ,n of c-.,tt::.n lintc..r::: is a.bcut

900,000 runnin 0 b, les. In 1936 it was <.>:stim&.te1:1 tht:.t c. uout 325,000 b[tles ::-f the lowe::;t e;radt=:s _of 1 inters were usAd for chemic&l 1•urposes c..guinst ·Jnly

140,000 bri.es in J.929. But even 325,000 bHleo i ;J L~ss tbon hEtlf t~v: :ivE;r::-;ge lint~rs cr~1;") ~md, in l<Jditi-:n, c hrt;e qm,ntity .:.f c : ttc,n ws.ste ,nd -::.ther waste materi~ls, such as hull ·fibtJr, w:)uld un(k-ubtcdly be used for ce.lluL:,se befc.rc much raw cotton w· uld go irn.0 this use-. Mm·c•' Ver, wood r,ulp is _ f'f ,·ring stiff1o.r c0m1Jetiti•.n t ~ Linters ':is ti scurce c,f cellulvse each year. The rel s0ns f".>r this t::re primarily ec';n:1mic, r, 1 th0u..~h cert!.in dc.:velopments, such as im:·,r:~vements in raunuft:1cturin ,.; ,.irocE:·sscs inr.l tho rlr:vcl,1pm~'nt of .~rncessc:ci f 1.'r :;ml:-, rJrJducti·.'n fr,:,m chea:1(;,r t:nc"! fr,,_ster :;rcv1ing vo ,c'. ttre J.it{cly t0 be im; ;ort[snt f~ctors in the future •

The ,)resent <::r-cs~xcts fer the use of cutte,n os u source : ,f industric>.l

cdJ.uLC'S<' i,.rE· n ,)t very ori~ht is indicated by current _)ric8s. Purified 111ocd

!1U lj1 w&s Ci'-1<:,ted at 4. 88 cents i)Cr i_)ound in late Oct · . i.it. ,.' , q!l; inst 6 ce:,nts :1er p roud f·J r iurified cott,n linters. The , rice c f Ch :}mic, 1 b rc.10.es ..;i' linters i.n the C,~t k·n Belt, b. wever, is loss th~n i2 C(•nts _)er /r' un:~. Thus the spree:.rl bet .:een the _Ydct: of linters ,.ml the ,;ric<~ 0f c .tt n )Ul:; is ic:b,mt 4 c~,nts )C:r }01md c;r t.) ,rcximr. tely 80 jKrcent ,::.f the ~;rice .:if ;uri.t'icd w,.,<.d 1 ,Ul.J. 1,hef'.her this mE,rgin is to..) m;rr jW or t " o i'1ido, I am not j_n t , 1.1:i si ti ~n t·} srw. But i •t is <".J;mrent thlt alth ,u}:h c :;tt :·)n fact::S keen c .m lCtiti. n frr,m ,., ther tcxtiliss, thf rcssurt: ..: f these w:)uld be c·:1:1:~-rr.:tively mill! &S c ~m:K,red ,dth th1.,t ·Jf w~•)d pulp &nd :; ssibly 0thl:r rt,,·: moter:i.1.,ls, sh,.uld l.D t:ttempt be mo.de t) f'•.:::r~ c ::.,, tkm int.c use b s e.1 scurce Li' inc'lustricl cE:llul •se.

,·d th tt1ese c ~msidert.ti·,ns in mind, the use of the limit e d .ficili ties ::;vuiluble :tn the Bure£iu cf L $ricul turr,l Ee n ·;,mics ht s 1:>er:,n c <..: nfin<::J l~r:;,ely t c reseF.trch :. nd i.nvesti1:1 ticms relGting t.o textile uses f e r c ,, tt ,., n lint. 1~s slKv,11 l:rJ ::,ur stuJi.cs, lin-t c::,ttc,n is usc,d :,riml ri ly f :;r textiles, l,nd the expnnsi::m :·f new in1ustrial use-:, c.vt:r the ~)1:,st tw,:, c:-ecbr1,,is has been c,mfined olm1.)st entirely t .. textile m1:;terir,ls. F -:-:r Jvhese enrl ,'.• thcr r c r.s :, ns, vie believe:: that in thrt ne.::r future, at lec,st, n F- '.'i irl'lustrial uses L:rr- lik<:,ly t .:, he textile fcLdcs.

J,m "nt; the ~J Jtchtit"tl inclustriLl uses for cot!'. ( n lint ~1hich need further rcsei::.rch [ncl dev~l,.'pment nre: (1) multi:)l~) -tri,1 c,•ttr_,n b E: 1:,S l; S ~:;::ckt,;~es for VP.,ri-,us c !lll'n dities, U:) textil<-' v:rap;,in_, m:, tE.ri! Ls, (3) c ,.> tt r,ri m,.11 c vering, (4) brr:ttic€ cloth, (5) r :.:-cf"ln ,c; m[:tcric ls · n d v : ri-:•us ther ff.'.>rics .fer th o builc.inf; industry, ( 6) new end irn:::;•r!:,v1:.c l t:,:inr s, c c r LfJ"; e c.nr,1 \,r::;.i1~,lr. ~ , m[ t r r'i c ls (7) fl.:.: -':i r c ~ v1:-rint; mr t -.' rbls, (8) :'(Jrrn"'ncnt rec . r ·1 ,'a~>er, (9) r e 0r.f,,rcin .., fltbrics fr:,r v: ri ··u,::, kin:1s cf c nt~ inc-rs, wid (.10) im ,r .., ved h . 0 s e und bE, ltin~. mi.t<:;ri t, ls. '.,bny ,:,thi~r uses 1o1 uJ.,1 d : ubtless be.-; rev e i:.ilecl ~y axh ~ustivc techn 0 l '.Ji,;ici l &n d ,:,c:;n. mic invc.-stigi ti: ns (Jf the r•x:uire:!lents •.~f v· r:t .'US iml.ustriE,S.

Varieties, Production Methods, Yields and Storage of Sweot];)Otetoos

Mnny Fedornl and state investigators hnvo studiod sweotpctntoes. They hove conpo.rod v c riotios as t,, thoir odaptabili ty to the porticular section, their di souse resistance, their yielding ability, thoir stcrnge qualities, nnd their palatability uhon cooked. Thoy hnvo investignted culturnl practices including fertilizers, Nono wore interested, homver, in tho vnluo of a vo.ri.,ty for th0 storch it contained. Noithor hnt! n.wono triod to detomine the influence upon starch content of soil typo, fertilizers, or cultural pructicos. until tho starch projeot was initiated at Laurel, Mississippi.

VABIErIES

During the past tuo and half years oxtensive varioty tosts hnvo boon under ~ay at Laurol. A total of 54 varieties hnve boon in tho tests, including vnrioties and strains which roprosent inportntions, selections and aeodlings, introduced or devo lnped by the Depart.mont c f Agriculture. Thora is also undor way n comprehensive study of the dogroo of mutntion in the Triucph, tho variety new being grown in tho Laurel aroa for th0 starch factory. The purposo of this latter study is to isolnto by selection o high yielding and high starch content strain.

Tho nirn of tho work is to fin d uays by which tho production of starch per ocro may bo incroasod. This night bo dona by increasing tonnage of roots per ocro, but such n method would benofi t the grcwors c,nly. Increasing tho starch content of the roots ns ~ell as tonna ge of roots ~ould bonofit both the factory and tho owner.

Ench vnrioty or strain includo d in the trials is subjected to various tosts to determine its starch purpose quolificatfons. The resu1ts of thcso tosts show groat vnriatio ns rulo ng varieties in the p roducti0n of roots nnc in starch content. Tho cho.ractoristics of the starch apparently vacy OI:J.Ong thoso varieties, as indice.to d by viscosity dotominotion of extracted sonplos TTi thout chenical treatment.

Tho tnbl o bolow shows c e rtain ir.lportant d nta secured by tho v ....riety invoatigo.tions at Laurel in 1936:

Southern ~ueen Mameyita

Florida (White)

These data show, first of all, that there exists a considerable variation in production, starch content, and viscosity of the starch among the varieties tested. The yield per acfe varied from 143 to 308 bushels; the starch content varied from 20 to 2~, and the production of starch per acre varied from 1892 to 435? pounds; the viscosity of starch extractod varied from 360 to 1040, ns measured by a Stenner viscosimetor. This is oncouraging to tho extent that it suggests tho possibility of i.mprovemont of tho starch producing quality in tho sweetpotato by breeding and soloction. It is probably a renaonablo prodiction that thore will bo dovolopod or found sollKl variety that will boa distinct contribution to tho starch industry.

Tho data also show that the ton highest yielding variotios includo tho most commonly grown southorn variotios, such as, tho Triumphs, Nancy Hall, Rod Brazil ( Negro Killer), and Porto Rico.

Another interesting observation made on thoso voriotios is thnt thoscwhich produco tho most starch are not considered as tho bost quality table varieties for tho South. Likowiso, those which aro usually considorod the looding to.blo vori3tios, arc significantly low starch varieties. It would soam dasiroblo to some circurnsto.nces to hove a vcrioty that is gro~n only for tho starch businass1 and for this uso a numbor of vnriotiee are very promising. In othor circumsto.ncoa it might bo dosirablo to have a variety that oould moet tho requirements for both tho food markets ruid the starch factory. We are not auro thnt we haven variety in tho list yot that will meet those roquiremonts, but it is not impossible that ono will bo found or dovolopod. With such a variety, n starch industry mi ght bo built up by the use of tho cull roots for starch, ofter tho food grades hod boon placed on tho food markets or stored~

PRODUCTION METHOIS

Various studios are being made at Laurel of th0 methods of production in the effort to holp the grouer do his fnrm job profitably. Without a profitable production there would certainly ne t be satisfacto ry sourco of row mntorial for the starch industry. All of those production method studios aro done m.th the Triumph vnrioty.

Problems of propagntion under investigation include a comparison of large and small soed stock as to plnnt production and yield; n comparison of the effects of handling soed stock on plant production; and a comparison of various plant bed media. No results oro ovniloble yet on the media question as that uork has just beon started this season.

In the work with sood sizo, th~ results indicnto thot the smollor roots make more satisfactory sood stock. A distinct saving to tho grower is indicated by the naod for less ato»nge and bedding space for producing n given quantity of plants.

A study ,.as made of tho influence of bruising on sprouting. The results o~ this work show that "ccrofully" handled (placod directly into tho storage era.tea from the plowod-up row} seed stock decay loss, lose loss weight by shrinkage in storage, and produce about twice as many plo.nts por bushel as that ho.nd1od "commorciclly'' ( thrown intc hoop-rows and thon thrown into stornga crates}• Furthermore, the "corofullt' handled lots sprout oc.rlior, giviag opportunity of setting lnrgor early acrco.g3s than tha 11 001::marcially" handled lots.

Work is under way to determino uhot effects cultural practices on the different soil types may have upon the starch yiold of swoetpotntoos. 'Ibo results thus far { n."ld they arc too immature to warrant defini to recommendations) indicate that, although totnl yield of roots is significantly influenced fovornbly by nitrogen fertilizer npplicetio ns, no offoct hos been found on tho starch content, characteristics of tho starch, or shape o f the ro o ts, by nny fertilizer combination or element.

Length of growing aooson has boen studied t o detormino tho offo~ts upon starch content. The data accumulated thus for soom to indicate that ir, any given field, whore growing conditions are optimum, the starch content gradually increases in the roots as tho soaaon o.dvoncos from enrly August (when the first

somplos hnvo boon token) until grO"rrth is chocked in the autumn by louer tomporaturos, lack of soil ncisturo, oxhaustion of plcnt nutrients in tho soil, or n c ombinati on o f thoso. This is sho'ITTl by tho data in tho tnblo :prese n ted bolow:

Do.to o f Por cant storch Por cent Yi~ld; p o~ : .,era Pounds sampling Frosh Dry Mcisture r,off•: s Starch

YIELDS

In 1934 a systematic survey of 103 cotJmercial growers in the Laurel nren disclosed nn overage totnl yield of exactly 200 bushels por acre. In 1936, rrith on extremely dry gro'i7ing season, 250 grouors ,1hc hnd contracts \"Ti th the stnrch fnctory, - mndo an uvorogo of 131 bushels per acre. Tho yiolds en different forms ranged bet~eon 49 and 492 bushels per acre. Tho fertilizer applicQti0n on those foms rongod betwoon 100 and 1100 pounds nnd averaged 480 pounds por acre. On early planted oxporimental plots uhero perfect stands uore obtninod, yiolds cf neur 500 bushels per aero hnvo boon obtainod in both 1935 and 1936. By tho pr ::ctivo of crop rotation, propor land propornticn ond tillage, the growing cf leguminous covor crops, and tho judicious uso of fortilizor, heavy tonnages aro assured thoso uho plant early. Tho Crop roquires a long growing sooson to produce large yiolds.

STORAGE

Soon after the starch projoct was started no becru;io intorestod in finding sono uay f or storing sueetpototoos so that tho stnrch cont ent ~ould continua tc ror.inin high enouBb to warrant manufacture. Under conventional stLrogo conditions, frequently as much as one third of tho original starch in tho roots is lost in periods ns short ns 60 days. Tho starch is converted into sugar and either held in that form or used by tho roots in their naturnl lifo process cf respiration,

in which cnrbon is lost or givon off as carbon dioxide. This noans that tho roots must be nanufncturod as quickly ns possible nftor harvest, and it requires a factory set-up involving largo cnpital invostnents opornting for short poriods during the harvest sooson only, with n shut-dorm peri o d oxtonding over nore thqn three fou:rths of tho year. This systel:l might not bo n successful one, nnd in fnct might prevent any oxt ended dovel0Pt:1ont of this non industry. However, wo nro grateful f or the gon0rous interest of The ChOIJicnl Foundation which is findncing, nt Laurel, on extensive resonrch progran with storage, by ~hich is being developed a mothod that will enable operators to store tho roots without loss o'f starch.

OFFICERS AND COUNCIL M]MBERS OF THE OKLAHOMA

FAR( CHl!MURGIO OOUNOIL

PRESIDENT .•....•.... , ......•.• HOOH L. HARRELL

1ST VICE-PRESIDENT .

2ND VICE-PRESIDENT.

TREASURER ••••• . . . . . . .

. . . .

GENERA.L MANA.GER AND SECRETARY • . . .

DR. H. G. BENNETT

• CLARENCE ROBERTS

.DAN W. HOGAN

.ERNEST L. LITTLE

OLA.UDE T. ALEXANDER • • .President, Oklahoma Millers Association, Yukon Mill & Grain Compan~,, Yukon.

DR. J. M. ASHTON . . . . . . .

Di:.·f.ctor of Research, Oklahoma State Chamber of G)mme~ce, Oklahoma City.

W. C. BURNHAM ••••••••• Chiof l ~ngi::1.eer, Division of Wat.er Resources, O:C~.t:.homs. Fla.nning &: Resources Board, Okla City,

~.'YT.GLASGOW . ... , ... . rresi:0nt, 0klahoma Cooperative Council, Okloh .>nia. G·ru:.n ~--- Associe.t.ion, Enid

F. B. FRANKLIN •.•••... Presict~nt, Oklahoma Farm Real Estate Association, Oklahoma City.

RALPH lilMPHILL • . . • • • • . Manage1·, Oklahoma State Fair & Exposition, Oklahoma. City •

NED HOIMAN •••••

DR. R. L. HUNTINGTON

L. C, HUTSOj . .

• Liberty National Bank, Oklahoma City

. President, .American Chemical Society, Nonnan.

••. President, Oklahoma Cotton Council; President, Chickasha Cotton Oil Company, Chickasha.

HONJRA:BLE JOE C. SCOTT .•.. President, Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture, Oklahoma. City.

To serve fQ.r. years:

JOHN R. BAKER • • • • • Vice-President and General Manager, Oklahoma National Stockyards Company, Oklahoma City.

R. J. EENZE •......... President, Dual Parking Meter Company, Oklahoma. City.

FRANK BUTTRAM •• , .•.... President, Buttram Petroleum Corporation, Oklahoma City.

TCM W. CHEEK •••••.... President, Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America, Oklahoma State Union, Oklahoma City.

DAN W. HOGAN • . . . . . . . .. President, City National Bank & Trust Oompany, Oklahoma City.

PAUL W. HORTON .•.•. , • , President, Chemists Club of Central Oklahoma; Oklahoma Testing Laboratories, Oklahoma. 91 ty.

W. L, HUTCHESON •••••••. President, Oklaroma Cotton Growers Association; Member, Stat o Board of .Agriculture, Fred,~rick.

C. 0. KING , • • • • • • Po.st President, Oklahor.ui. Grange, Banner.

HARRINGTON WlMBERLY • , , •• ,President, O\de.hom~'I. Pl·•--s.3 As:=1ociation; Edi tor, Al tu:,; T:..1nE;s - !ir.:l·,1os·t.1.i;, A1 tus.

§Orve for throe years:

DR. H. G. :BENNETT • • • • . . ,President, Okla.hc.mn. .Ag:i.·i Jul tur~ and Mechanical Colloe-e; 1:;l!-'1.L'!'lan, Oklahoma Planning and Resoi.:.rccs Boe.:. ·1 , Stillwater.

DR. W. B. BIZZELL • , .• , •• President, The Uni·ver~ity of Oklahoma., Norm&n.

EUGENE P. GlM .•••••••. Secretary, Oklahoma BonkoP.s Association, Oklahoma C5. ty.

VICTOR E. HARI.OW • , •.••• President Harlow Publishing Corp., Oklohoma City

HUGH L. HARRELL •

G. A, NIClDLS •

• .First NatiollD.l Bnnk & Trust Co. , Oklahoma City. , ..• Real Estate, Oklahoma.

HARRY V. KAHLE •• , ..••. Secretary, Associated Industries of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City.

ERNEST L. LITTLE • • • • . . • Manager, Inci.nstrial D:i vision., Oklahoma City Chamber :,f d<.,m''.l<.'r~o.

J. F, OWENS • , , • • • • . • ,President., Ol~lahom... Gus 8: l1.l1octric Co. , Oklahoma <.a ty.

CLARENCE BOBERTS • , , • • • Edi tor, the Oklnhoma. Famcr--Stocknan, Oklahoma City, * • * • * * • • *