114 



Popular Science Monthly 



Marr, of Norfolk, 

 Virginia, we are 

 nearer to the util- 

 ization of waste 

 areas of swampy- 

 ground than ever 

 before. Colonel 

 Marr has taken 

 out patents on a 

 chemical process 

 for the treatment 

 of sedges and 

 grasses which 

 makes them im- 

 mediately availa- 

 ble for industrial 

 use. There are 

 nearly two million 

 tons of wild 

 growth found 

 within the borders 

 of the United 

 States and two 

 hundred and fifty 

 thousand tons 

 within territory 



Col. R. A. Marr, at left, examining a bundle 

 of oakum made from waste swamp grasses and 

 weeda by his recently patented chemical process 



contiguous to the 

 United States, 

 which can be 

 chemically treat- 

 ed and made into 

 strong paper and 

 cordage. 



There are three 

 hundred thousand 

 tons of an annual 

 growth of fresh 

 and salt w^ater 

 sedges and rushes 

 which can be 

 made into substi- 

 tute textile fibers 

 for jute and other 

 rope materials. 

 This raw material 

 works easily with 

 jute machinery 

 and it can be used 

 in whole or in 

 part for cotton 

 bagging, light 

 oakums, roofing 



Experiments with bear t;rass and banana. At left, indicated by F, appears the grass in its 

 natural slate and in its sliredded or spinning state, after chemical treatment. In KK is shown 

 the hvc steps in the making of banana pulp, from the raw article to the finished product 



