﻿218 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  countries 
  is 
  derived 
  from 
  water, 
  but 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  highly 
  in- 
  

   dustrialized 
  countries 
  has 
  to 
  come 
  from 
  the 
  combustion 
  of 
  coal. 
  Many 
  

   of 
  the 
  plastics 
  are 
  also 
  derived 
  from 
  coal 
  or 
  petroleum, 
  but 
  being 
  

   organic 
  compounds, 
  there 
  is 
  always 
  the 
  possibility 
  of 
  producing 
  them 
  

   from 
  vegetable 
  matter, 
  as 
  for 
  example 
  through 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  

   alcohol 
  by 
  fermentation 
  and 
  its 
  conversion 
  into 
  more 
  complex 
  com- 
  

   pounds. 
  Such 
  a 
  procedure 
  would 
  be 
  in 
  line 
  with 
  the 
  policy 
  of 
  depend- 
  

   ing 
  on 
  current 
  revenue, 
  derived 
  from 
  plants, 
  rather 
  than 
  drawing 
  un- 
  

   necessarily 
  on 
  mineral 
  capital, 
  which, 
  once 
  exhausted, 
  is 
  not 
  replaced. 
  

   Much 
  might 
  be 
  said 
  of 
  means 
  of 
  economizing 
  metals: 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  

   structures 
  built 
  up 
  by 
  welding, 
  in 
  place 
  of 
  heavy 
  castings 
  ; 
  the 
  com- 
  

   bination 
  of 
  concrete 
  with 
  steel 
  in 
  buildings 
  and 
  bridges; 
  the 
  saving 
  of 
  

   valuable 
  metals 
  by 
  employing 
  them 
  as 
  thin 
  coatings 
  on 
  mild 
  steel 
  in 
  

   chemical 
  plant, 
  and 
  so 
  on; 
  but 
  space 
  does 
  not 
  permit. 
  As 
  new 
  ma- 
  

   terials 
  come 
  into 
  use 
  and 
  new 
  techniques 
  are 
  developed, 
  while 
  at 
  the 
  

   same 
  time 
  the 
  known 
  reserves 
  of 
  some 
  indispensable 
  metals 
  are 
  being 
  

   depleted, 
  it 
  becomes 
  clear 
  that 
  the 
  efficient 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  world's 
  mineral 
  

   resources 
  demands 
  systematic 
  planning. 
  First 
  of 
  all, 
  a 
  far 
  more 
  

   thorough 
  world 
  survey 
  is 
  needed, 
  gathering 
  together 
  the 
  information 
  

   collected 
  by 
  prospectors 
  in 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  large 
  industrial 
  corpora- 
  

   tions 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  by 
  the 
  various 
  national 
  surveys. 
  Such 
  a 
  survey 
  would 
  

   be 
  the 
  essential 
  basis 
  of 
  any 
  system 
  of 
  international 
  control 
  of 
  mineral 
  

   resources. 
  

  

  