342 CORN 



Ion of 95 per cent alcohol is nearly 7 pounds. Hence, i bushel of corn 

 would produce 2.7 gallons. 



"If the average price of Indian corn is placed, in round numbers, 

 at 40 cents a bushel, the cost of the raw material — that is, of the Indian 

 corn — for manufacturing 95 per cent industrial alcohol is about 15 

 cents a gallon. To this must be added the cost of manufacture, stor- 

 age, etc., which is perhaps as much more, making the estimated actual 

 cost of industrial alcohol of 95 per cent strength made from Indian 

 corn about 30 cents per gallon. If to this be added the profits of the 

 manufacturer and dealer, it appears that under the conditions cited, 

 industrial alcohol, untaxed, should be sold for about 40 cents per 

 gallon."* 



Distilled spirits from corn enters into the manufacture of smoke- 

 less powder. Fusel-oil (amyl alcohol) forms a part of Bourbon whis- 

 ky. American perfumes and Cologne are based on corn alcohol as a 

 solvent for the aromatic compounds introduced. 



PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM THE COB** 



About the most valueless thing on the farm, so far as manurial 

 value is concerned, is the corn cob in its cob state. In parts of Iowa, 

 where the corn is shelled on a commercial scale, the cobs are hauled 

 to the fields to be used as a fertilizer and for the addition of humus. 

 Furthermore, it Is claimed that they are valuable as a soil holder and 

 conserver of moisture. The most value may be obtained by burning 

 them as a summer fuel. One ton of corn cobs is worth about one- 

 third as much as a ton of dry, hard, wood. Their cost, of course, 

 depends upon the scarcity of wood and coal and the amount of corn 

 grown. As a manurial product, they are valuable chiefly for the 

 potash and phosphorous they contain. Chemical analyses show corn- 

 cob ash to consist of about 50 per cent of potash (K2O). 



In parts of Missouri, chiefly in the vicinity of St. Louis, there is 

 a great demand for corn cobs to be manufactured into the famous 

 "Missouri Meerschaum" pipes. Near Washington, Missouri a very 

 large type of corn is grown, which has cobs that may be easily utilized 

 by the manufacturing plants. The firm of Hirschel and Bendheim, lo- 

 cated at St. Louis, is probably the largest concern doing that kind oi 

 business in the United States. They pay about $25 per thousand 

 pounds for selected cobs. According to the above firm, the output of 

 cob pipes for one year in the United States amounts to about half a 

 million dollars. The export trade of this product, which is chiefly 

 with England and her possessions, amounts to very little. 



♦Farmers' Bulletin 268. 



*' Hirschel and Bendheim of St. Louis. 



