OTHER CHEMURGIC PROJECTS 



He burned the burrs and found that the ash con- 

 tained forty-three per cent potash and over three per 

 cent of phosphorus a respectable content of plantfood 

 elements. He learned that the raw burrs contained a lot 

 of glucosides and pentosans, from which furfural might 

 be prepared. He extracted a workable tannin. He dis- 

 covered that after these chemical portions had been 

 removed the remaining fiber could be pressed into board 

 without the addition of any binder or that by treat- 

 ment with a single cheap chemical this fibrous material 

 became a good plastic. In the end he piled up such a 

 store of definite knowledge about this lowest caste of 

 all the cotton crop that Texas Tech and the state 

 clubbed together a joint grant to set him up in the 

 college laboratories with an opportunity to test out his 

 economic analyses on pilot-plant scale. 



Rook has worked out two possible commercial com- 

 binations. From the first he gets furfural, tannin, and 

 wallboard; from the second, tannic acid and a potash 

 fertilizer. For either he figures that one could pay $4 

 a ton for burrs. At this price the ginners reckon that 

 at least he would never have to shut down for lack of 

 raw material. 



Seeking chemurgic opportunities in a test tube fasci- 

 nates exploring scientists, but it is fussy, painstaking 

 work. Hunting them among the wild plants in the wide- 

 open spaces makes quite a different appeal. This, too, 

 is a promising branch of chemurgy. 



207 



