29 



TABLE X. Materials worked up in distilleries in Germany during the industrial years 

 (October 1 to September 30} 1904-5 and 1903-4. 



As is shown in Table X, potatoes are by far the most important 

 source of industrial alcohol in Germany where this crop is cultivated 

 with a special view to its alcohol-producing qualities. The retail 

 price of denatured alcohol (95 per cent by volume) is 29.69 cents 

 a gallon, 90 per cent alcohol costing 27 cents,, while gasoline sells 

 for 20.8 cents a gallon and kerosene at 15 cents a gallon. 



In comparing the figures for Germany with those for the United 

 States it must be remembered that the German alcohol is 95 per 

 cent commercial strength, and hence the number of gallons given 

 must be almost doubled to compare with the taxable gallons of 50 

 per cent strength produced in the United States. The total number 

 of taxable gallons produced in the United States during 1905, other 

 than from fruit, was 147,810,794, and from fruit, 5,448,584, making 

 a total of 153,259,378. The figures for Germany show a total of 

 100,053,119 gallons, or about 200,000,000 United States taxable gal- 

 lons. Thus the German output, in round numbers, is 50,000,000 

 taxable gallons greater than that of the United States. With the 

 vast agricultural resources of this country there will be no difficulty 

 in increasing the consumption of industrial alcohol in the United 

 States to equal or exceed that of Germany. This increase, how- 

 ever, must come slowly and probably after many disappointments, 

 both of an agricultural and a technical character. 



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