32 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



these lines. Farmers, who are naturally 

 conservative, need very little caution in 

 such matters, but it is important that a 

 full understanding of the difficulties of 

 these problems should be disseminated. 



It is quite certain that if alcohol can 

 be produced in the near future at a cost 

 not exceeding 25 or 30 cents per gallon of 

 95 per cent strength, it will be a most 

 valuable source of power on the faim. 

 Although with the present relative prices 

 of alcohol and gasolene there is no finan- 

 cial advantage in the use of the former, 

 it is highly probable that the price of 

 gasolene will advance and that of alco- 

 hol fall. Thus the farmhouse and the 

 barn may be liberally supplied with water 

 at such an elevation that it can be used 

 with all the facility enjoyed by those 

 who live in the city by means of a safe, 

 cheap, and effective method of pumping 

 made possible by the alcohol motor. The 

 machinery around the barn and the sta- 

 bles which is utilized for chopping food 

 and grinding grain in the preparation of 

 rations for domesticated animals should 

 be of a character which is efficient and 

 at the same time without danger. An 

 alcohol motor placed in a small room 

 separated from the barn at such a dis- 

 tance as not to endanger it in case of an 

 accident would make it possible to sup- 

 ply power of this kind. Although alcohol 

 is far less dangerous in use than gasolene 

 as far as probability of explosion is con- 

 cerned, there should be no misunderstand- 

 ing respecting the fact that it is an ex- 

 plosive substance both when in the form 

 of vapor and when mixed with air. and 

 all the precautions which are used in the 

 case of gasolene should be employed also 

 with alcohol. While the use of these pre- 

 cautions will practically eliminate any 

 source of danger, it is nevertheless ad- 

 visable, even in the case of alcohol, to 

 separate the building in which it is used 

 from the barn, which contains more or 

 less highly combustible matter. The fact 

 that a substance is less dangerous than 

 another is no excuse for omitting any of 

 the precautions to prevent injury as the 

 result of accident. 



Uses >'ot Directly for Farm Operations 



It seems advisable that some of the 

 uses of industrial alcohol not directly 

 connected with farm operations should 

 be known to the farmer, in order that 

 he may be fully informed respecting the 

 industry in which he necessarily takes so 

 important a part. The purposes for 

 which tax-free alcohol can be used in the 

 arts are fully set forth in a public docu- 

 ment entitled "Free Alcohol, Hearings 

 before the Committee on Ways and 

 Means. House of Representatives, Fifty- 

 ninth Congress, First Session, February- 

 March. 1906." A very full discussion of 

 the subject is also found in an English 

 report entitled "Industrial Alcohol Com- 

 mittee, Minutes of Evidence Taken Be- 

 fore the Departmental Committee on In- 

 dustrial Alcohol, with Appendices. Pre- 

 sented to Both Houses of Parliament by 

 Command of His Majesty. Printed for 

 His Majesty's Stationery Office by Wy- 

 man & Sons (Limited), Fetter Lane. Lon- 

 don. E. C, 1905." The evidence submit- 

 ted in the two reports mentioned con- 

 tains practically all that is known con- 

 cerning the uses of denatured alcohol. It 

 is not intended here even to make a res- 

 ume of this evidence: only the most im- 

 portant uses which are benefited by tax- 

 free alcohol can be mentioned. 



Yamishes, Lacqners, Etc. 



One of the most important technical 

 uses of alcohol is in the manufacture of 

 varnishes and lacquers, where the gums 

 which are employed are necessarily dis- 

 solved in alcohol. This use of alcohol is 

 extremely important and affects a great 

 many industries. 



Ether 



The ether of commerce, sometimes 

 called sulfuric ether, is manufactured ex- 

 clusively from alcohol by the action of 

 sulfuric acid and heat. This ether is 

 used in a great many technical operations, 

 since it is one of the best solvents known, 

 especially for fats. It is also extensively 

 used in surgery as an anesthetic. Under 

 the present arrangements ether used for 

 technical purposes can only be made from 

 alcohol on which tax has been paid, and 



