Apkil 26, 1918] 



SCIENCE 



405 



if I attempted a mere enumeration of all 

 the interesting developments connected 

 with the coking of coal. 



As for gasoline, the output last year ex- 

 ceeded two and one half billion gallons. 

 But that is not enough. The current year 

 will probably see this amount increased by 

 possibly 10 per cent., through the extension 

 of the stripping of the condensable mate- 

 rial from natural gas and from the exten- 

 sion of the cracking process, especially the 

 method now developed to such a practical 

 stage by Dr. Burton, of the Standard Oil 

 Company. 



And what about potash? We are told 

 that the production for 1916 was ten times 

 what it was for 1915, but that does not 

 mean much, for we made less than 1,000 

 tons in 1915. The output for the current 

 year will doubtless exceed 40,000 tons, but 

 even that loses much of its significance 

 when we remember that our previous im- 

 portations from Germany amounted to 

 about 275,000 tons per year. But recent, 

 almost monthly developments are exceed- 

 ingly interesting and encouraging. There 

 is first the brines, especially of western 

 Nebraska and southern and southeastern 

 California. This is at present by far the 

 largest source. Then come the Kelps of the 

 Pacific coast, still in the developing stage 

 but moving rapidly and encouragingly — 

 and then come the alunite deposits of 

 Utah, a real producing proposition, but 

 relatively as yet on a limited scale. "We 

 are just beginning to get glimpses of the 

 possibilities from cement furnaces, from the 

 green sand of the Eastern States and from 

 the feldspars in widely distributed locali- 

 ties. At the present rate this problem 

 seems in a fair way of solution. 



And meantime what of the industries 

 using potash, for example in glass manu- 

 facture? Soon after the outbreak of the 

 -war, the chief chemist for one of the largest 



glassmakers of the country was asked what 

 he was going to do for potash. His reply 

 was tliat he had for some years urged upon 

 his firm the advisability of experimenting 

 with soda as a substitute for potash, but 

 they insisted upon "letting well enough 

 alone." But now since they were obliged 

 to try it by force of circumstances they 

 were so well pleased with the results that 

 they would not return to the use of potash 

 even should it become again available. 



Similarly the gold miners were distressed 

 to know where their supply of potassium 

 cyanide was to come from when importa- 

 tions of potash salts ceased. At the Second 

 Chemical Exposition at New York in 1916 

 one of the large chemical concerns had on 

 exhibition some fine-looking sodium cy- 

 anide. The question was asked how it was 

 working out. The reply was that it was 

 proving advantageous over the potassium 

 cyanide in numerous ways. It had a 

 higher percentage of the active principle 

 per unit of weight, was cheaper to manu- 

 facture and they would not return to the 

 use of potassium salt even should the sup- 

 ply of potash again become available. 



Again, take the crucible situation. The 

 manufacture of graphite crucibles is an 

 exceedingly important one to practically 

 all of the metallurgical interests, from steel 

 to gold. The clay used in their manufac- 

 ture must be high grade and possessed of 

 special properties. It all came from a 

 particular locality in Germany. The stock 

 in hand of that material lasted about a 

 year. Jleanwhile a vigorous search for sub- 

 stitutes had been going on. The first of 

 this new material was put out about two 

 years ago, the shipments of these crucibles 

 bearing a tag which constituted a sort of 

 apology, stating that the supply of foreign 

 clays had become exhausted and asking for 

 some care and some indulgence if the 



