10 BULLETIN L203, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
IM PRACTICABILITY OF DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF STRAW 
AND SIMILAR MATERIAL ON FARMS. 
Gas produced from straw may Be used successfully for lighting 
and heating and as a motor fuel. The question of the feasibility 
of a straw-gas plant on the farm, then, depends primarily upon the 
cosl of production and case of operation. The estimated cost of the 
gas as produced under the conditions here outlined is prohibitive. 
This cost is dependent upon a number of factors, the most important 
of which are the initial cost of the equipment^ cost of upkeep, 
length of time necessary for carbonizing individual charges, and 
the total quantity of gas required. Any conditions which tend to 
decrease the expense of manufacture or enhance the value of the 
main product and by-products would, of course, increase the attrac- 
tiveness of the proposition, but that such conditions would be of a 
magnitude to make it a financial success is doubtful. On the 
other hand, the use of this gas would afford many advantages and 
conveniences which can not be measured in dollars and cents. 
Considering the proposition impartially from every angle, it ap- 
pears that the destructive distillation of straw and similar material 
for the production of gas on the farm is not practicable. 
