920 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



proof spirits. As a gallon of proof spirits weighs seven pounds, a ton 

 of cornstalks would produce about thirty gallons of proof spirits, or 

 fifteen gallons of alcohol. It is remarkable that Indian corn at that 

 period contains as much if not more alcohol than is found in the grain 

 Itself. The stalk of sweetcorn contains more sugar than that of the 

 field corn. If the stalk be utilized for alcohol making it would have 

 to be at a time when the grains are hard and usually before or soon 

 after the advent of frost, it might be possible to devise methods of 

 drying the stalks or preserving them in silos, looking to the subsequent 

 utilization of the products for the manufacture of alcohol. 



It is evident that as natural gas, oil and coal become scarcer some 

 other source must be found for fuel and light. It seems probable from 

 a careful study of all the conditions of agriculture that alcohol is des- 

 tined to be the fael of the future. It is the part of wisdom, therefore, 

 in those connected with the agricultural interests of the country to 

 exploit as far as possible all the various sources of supply. In this 

 country the stalk of Indian corn, the yam, and the sweet and Irish potato 

 are promising sources of alcohol in the future. 



AS A TRANSPORTATION^ POWER. 



The following description of the Union Pacific's new motive power 

 for branch and suburban lines is of especial interest in connection with 

 the use of alcohol as a transportation power. What has been accom- 

 plished with gasoline as a liquid fuel can be accomplished with like 

 results by the use of alcohol. 



"Union Pacific Motor No. 2" is the inscription on the second gasoline 

 motor car which has been completed in the Union Pacific shops in 

 Omaha, at Avhich place it was given a trial trip when it glided over 

 the rails at a speed of fifhy-seven miles an hour with the ease of a bird, 

 and less jar and noise than is experienced in a Pullman car going at 

 half that speed. Car No. 1, built last winter, was an experiment; car 

 No. 2 is a commercial success and has demonstrated that its builder has 

 revolutionized suburban and interurban traffic as well as solved the 

 problem of giving fast and frequent service on branch lines of railroad. 



W. R. McKeen, Jr., superintendent of motive power, is given the 

 credit for the invention. Scientifically and commercially the greatest 

 feature of the invention is the demonstration of the practicability 

 of liquid fuel as a transportation medium. The absence of dust and 

 smoke and the opportunity of inhailing fresh air, makes a ride on this 

 car especially attractive. The field for the motor, to start with, is in 

 branch line service, but its scope is so broad and the requirements so 

 great on many roads that it will no doubt be years before demand for 

 them can be met. 



A number of branch lines that are now operated at a loss could be 

 placed on a dividend basis by the use of gasoline power cars insteaa 

 of steam trains. In place of an engineer, fireman, conductor and brake- 

 man all that is required to operate a gasoline car is one man. Insi.:-- 

 of an engine consuming tons and tons of coal the new motor uses but 

 three quarts of liquid fuel per mile. In cities where electric cars are 



