OTHER CHEMURGIC PROJECTS 



collect from eight hundred to twelve hundred pounds 

 of green leaves and stems in an eight-hour day. 



As for the scrub oaks, Russell pointed out that they 

 are only regular species stunted by adverse environ- 

 ment. Tapping a little pile of yellow-covered pamphlets, 

 his published reports, he added, "The chemical analyses 

 and tanning tests of all the common Southern oaks are 

 all there." 



Again, it is up to the tanning extract people. Later, 

 reading those detailed reports on two hundred and 

 thirteen different specimens all of which contain more 

 or less tannin which makes a more or less satisfactory 

 extract, I thought of the French chemist who years ago 

 made paper in the laboratory out of scores of different 

 forms of cellulose from lawn clippings to oak wood. It 

 can be done, but 



The South's problem of the tannins is universal. Next 

 to the erroneous scarcity philosophy of farmers, the 

 biggest stumbling block in the path of chemurgic proj- 

 ects is the high cost of collecting farm products or by- 

 products in suitable form for industrial use. Paper from 

 cornstalks, for example, is an enticing idea. Cornstalks 

 make good paper and they are available as a waste 

 product in many localities in quantities that add up to 

 vast totals. But in competition with wood, it takes a 

 couple of big truckloads of cornstalks to provide the 

 equivalent quantity of cellulose in a single good log. 

 Cornstalks are expensive to collect and bring to the 



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