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T H E JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
m a n n e r t h a t t h r e e t o four h a r v e s t s per year m a y b e o b t a i n e d f r o m t h e areas of growing kelp, t h a t t h e kelp p r o m p t l y restores itself a n d can be m a d e r e p e a t e d l y t o yield large q u a n t i t i e s of r a w material without a p p a r e n t i n j u r y t o t h e “ s t a n d s . ” D u r i n g nine m o n t h s of t h e year of 1918,400,000 t o n s of r a w k e l p were h a r vested f r o m t h e kelp groves of S o u t h e r n California. T h i s represented r e p e a t e d c u t t i n g s f r o m t h e s a m e areas. M e t h o d s of harvesting were being improved a n d t h e conservation of t h e groves was being practiced so t h a t recoveries seemed t o be o n t h e increase. Groves subjected t o t h e most severe c u t t i n g show n o signs of damage. It m a y , therefore, b e said with c e r t a i n t y t h a t t h e a m o u n t of kelp i n t h e w a t e r s of S o u t h e r n California, immediately available for t h e purposes of t h e i n d u s t r y , which i t is t h e design of t h i s enterprise t o establish, is 500,ooo t o n s per a n n u m , obtainable w i t h o u t f u r t h e r elaboration i n harvesting methods. T h e kelp of P u g e t S o u n d a n d Alaska h a s n o t been subjected t o s u c h a t e s t . However, t h e a r e a s t h e r e a r e well k n o w n a n d i t is possible t o predict t h e yields t h e r e obtainable. SUMMARY
I-The E x p e r i m e n t a l Kelp-Potash P l a n t of t h e United S t a t e s D e p a r t m e n t of Agriculture, designed for t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e best m e t h o d s of processing
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kelp for t h e extraction of p o t a s h s a l t s a n d t h e simult a n e o u s recovery of o t h e r valuable p r o d u c t s , was erected d u r i n g t h e s u m m e r of 1917 a n d p u t i n t o operation i n t h e early fall of t h a t year. 11-One h u n d r e d t o n s of r a w kelp p e r d a y a r e s u b jected t o a process involving drying, d e s t r u c t i v e distillation, lixiviation, e v a p o r a t i o n , a n d fractional crystallization for t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of high-grade p o t a s s i u m chloride. 111-The by-products, kelp oils, creosote, pitch, a m m o n i a , bleaching carbons, salt, a n d iodine a r e yielded i n commercial q u a n t i t i e s b y t h i s process. T h e m a i n problem n o w i n h a n d is their commercialization. It is confidently believed t h a t t h e y will b e m a d e t o yield sufficient revenue t o enable t h e m a i n p r o d u c t , p o t a s h salts, t o b e m a r k e t e d successfully i n competition w i t h p o t a s h f r o m foreign sources. IV-Complete o p e r a t i n g cost d a t a a r e being t a b u l a t e d covering t h e various details of manufacture. These, t o g e t h e r with full specifications a n d designs, will be m a d e available for t h e use of t h e i n t e r e s t e d public. V-The results o b t a i n e d t o d a t e i n d i c a t e t h a t i t will be possible t o establish o n kelp a s t h e basic r a w material a new American chemical i n d u s t r y of considerable size a n d of i m p o r t a n c e a n d usefulness t o t h e n a t i o n . SUMMERLAND, CALIFORNIA
I
ADDRESSES AND CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY IN BRITISH GUIANA; WITH A REVIEW OF THE WORK OF PROFESSOR J. B. HARRISON By C. A. BROWNE Received July 17, 1919
During a recent visit to the British Colonies of tropical America, it was the writer’s pleasure to observe some of the most interesting applications of chemistry to agriculture and industry which have ever come under his notice. The chemists of the United States, as a rule, have been so occupied in their own special fields that they have had little time to study the work of their English-speaking confr2res farther south. Much of this work deserves to be better known, and in the present paper the writer wishes to describe a few phases of agricultural and industrial chemistry in British Guiana. Although the first European settlements in British Guiana date back nearly three hundred years, the development of the agricultural and industrial resources of this section of South America can be said t o have only begun. An area of over go,ooo square miles, equal to that of the states of New York and Pennsylvania, has a population of only about 300,000. Immense tracts of land are waiting to be cleared for cultivation, large areas of valuable timber remain to be utilized, vast deposits of mineral wealth are still unopened, while back of all these are almost inexhaustible supplies of energy, the water power of the great Kaieteur Falls alone exceeding that of Niagara. The great obstacles in the development of all this latent wealth have been c h i d y two-difficulties of climate and scarcity of labor, the second of these factors depending somewhat upon the first. That the sanitary and other difficulties of a tropical climate need not impair the health or efficiency of labor has been sufficiently demonstrated by the building of the Panama Canal. With the example and results of this undertaking before us it is not
difficult to prophesy that a great industrial awakening in the tropical regions to our south will be an important factor in the newer developments which are to follow the recent European war. The leading exports of British Guiana, in the order of their value, for the year 1917,are as follows:
.............
.............
Sugar by. products (molasses, molascuit, etc.) .
.. . . .
103,535
In addition to the above there are exports of coconuts, coconut oil, coffee, rubber, timber, firewood, charcoal, cattle, hides, and other products with a value of over $ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 . A glance at these products of field, forest, and mine shows that the chief industries of British Guiana are agricultural. Descriptions of a few of these industries in their chemical aspects are given. THE SUGAR INDUSTRY
Since 1664 when Jan Doenson built the first rude horse mill in Essequibo the chief product of British Guiana has been sugar, the value of which with t h a t of spirits and other by-products made up in 1917fully 80 per cent of the income derived from exports. Over one-third of the population of the colony is engaged, one way or another, in the sugar industry. The sugar estates of British Guiana form a fringe along the north coast of the colony and for a short distance up the banks of the Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice, and Courantyne rivers. In 1917there were 36 estates, which produced 114,007 tons Of sugar, 3,415,921 gallons of spirits and rum, 149,940gal!OnS Of
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
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875
molasses, and 2,425 tons of molascuit. According to Professor is the low optical activity’ of the invert$ugar, as shown by the Harrison, the possible annual crop of sugar in those districts of slight difference between the direct polarization and sucrose. British Guiana where sugar cane has been cultivated could, This characteristic, although not generally known, was observed with sufficient labor, capital, progressiveness, and scientific long ago. Professor Francis, formerly government analyst of British Guiana, noticed this peculiarity in the cane juices and enterprise, be increased to upwards of I,OOO,OOO tons. The greater part of the sugar output of the colony consists molasses of this colony in his report for the year 1886; Professor of the “gray” or “dark” crystals (the commercial raw sugar) Harrison gave the writer similar results from his laboratory which are exported to the United States and Canada for refining, note-book of 1890, as for example: Polari- Sucrose Invert and the well-known “yellow” or “Demerara” crystals which are zation (Clerget) Sugar exported to the United Kingdom for direct consumption. On Per cent Per cent account of reciprocal tariff relations about two-thirds OI the First molasses, dark crystals (diffusion process). 43.20 43.39 24.04 Second molasses, dark crystals (milling process). 33.50 34.80 2 9 . 5 5 sugar of British Guiana are sent to Canada. Since much of the cane land of British Guiana is below the First molasses, yellow crystals (milling process). . 50.10 48.50 18.70 I n the manufacture of yellow crystals, according to the method level of high tide a very expensive system of sea dams must be on one estate, the cane maintained. The low juice is first treated character of the land with sulfur dioxide, has also necessitated z1/2 using about the laying out of numpounds of sulfur to erous canals, ditches, 750 gallons of juice, and drains which then neutralized with serve the varying milk of lime, and needs of drainage, heated to boiling. irrigation, and transThe clarified juice is port. The sugar cane run off and the mud is carried from the sent to the settling field to the factory in boxes, where i t is large iron punts on boiled with open canals, the latter in steam and resettled. many cases also serving for the transportaThe clear liquid is tion of the produce of removed and the mud ? the estate. sent to the filter The largest sugar presses, the liquid and factories of British filtrate being added to Guiana have up-tothe main body of date milling facilities juice which is then consisting of crushers evaporated to a sirup. and nine-roller mills. When the latter is The equipment is boiled in the vacuum mostly of British pan a solution of stanmanufacture, although nous chloride of 55’ the difficulty of obtainBe. is added in the ing immediate delivery amount of about one during the war .necesquart to the ton of sitated the purchase sugar. The greatest of some machinery in part of the tin salt is the United States. washed away a t the centrifugals into the In the manufacture of raw sugar or “dark molasses, only a trace being left in the sugar. crystals” the cane juice is limed to alkaThe sulfur dioxide and linity, and heated to stannous chloride exboiling, the precipitate ert a bleaching action of impurities is reupon the dark coloring FIG.I-PROFESSOR JOHN BURCHMORE HARRISON, C.M.G., M.A (CANTAB.) moved in filter presses, matters of the juice, and the clarified juice concentrated in the usual way. The the crystals of sugar thus acquiring a brilliant yellow color. average composition of British Guiana raw sugar, as received at According to some authorities the tin salt also acts as a New Pork, according to analyses made in the New Pork Sugar mordant and fixes the yellow color upon the crystals. Other Trade Laboratory, is authorities, among whom is Professor Harrison, attach greater
. .
.................................... ........................................ ....................... ..................
Sucrose (Clerget) Invert sugar Moisture.. ......................................... Soluble ash ......................................... Insoluble ash (dirt scale etc ). Insoluble organic Aatter’(fibkr etc.). Gums, organic acids, etc. (by difference).
1.40 1.29
0.60
0.03 0.16
.............. 0.73
........................................ Direct polarization.. ................................ TOTAL
Per cent 95.79
100.00 95.72
A distinguishing characteristic of Britkh Guiana raw sugar
1 The cause of the low optical activity of the reducing sugars in the cane products of British Guiana is uncertain. T h e phenomenon is produced when an excess of lime is used in clarification but this would not explain its occurrence in the raw cane juice or in the molasses from yellow crystals. The writer observed the phenomenon in Louisiana in juice from canes of advanced maturity but not overripe, and this physiological condition may perhaps be common in British Guiana, where there are several grinding seasons in the year. Mr. Maurice Bird, chemist of the Port Mourant sugar factory in Berbice, British Guiana, suggests t h a t the low optical activity may be due to the high saline content of the cane juice, which results from the excess of salts in the low alluvial soils.
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weight to its retarding and preventing the action of the oxidase present in cane juice, and possibly retained in minute quantities in the syrup adherent to the crystals, and which would gradually cause a darkening of the coloring matters retained by the yellow sugars. The cost of manufacturing yellow Demerara crystals was said to be from $12 to $15 per ton higher than that of making dark crystals. The present standing of the sugar industry in its cultural aspects in British Guiana is largely due to the appointment in 1889 of Professor J. B. Harrison to the head of the governmental Department of Science and Agriculture. It is doubtful if any appointee ever entered upon such duties with a better preparation. Before, and while a student a t Christ’s College, Cambridge, young Harrison came under the influence of such teachers as Gore of Birmingham and Liveing and Dewar of Cambridge who laid great stress upon the ability of students t o devise their own methods and apparatus according t o the needs of each special case. The system then in force gave an all-round training in several sciences and in that power of correlation as Seen in such men as ~~~~i~ (also of Christ’s college), has been the peculiar endowment of so many Cambridge alumni. After his graduation Harrison worked in 1878 and 1879 upon agricultural chemical research a t the Cambridge University Laboratory and for a short time at the Experiment Station in Rothamstead under Sir John L~~~~ and Sir Joseph Gilbert, after which he entered upon his life work in the tropics by accepting an appointment to the position of professor of Chemistry and Agricultural Science in Barbados. A very important line of agricultural research with which Professor Harrison became identified in Barbados was the development of new varieties of seedling canes. The ancient custom of propagating the sugar cane by germination of the buds upon the stalk had led to a general belief, notwithstanding occasional reports t o the contrary, that the seed, which is borne on a plume a t the end of the cane, was sterile. But all doubts as to the fertility of sugar-cane seed were finally overcome by the independent, and almost simultaneous proof of the fact by Soltwedel in Java in 1887 and by Harrison and Bovell in Barbados in 1888. The discovery of the possibility of developing new seedling canes came a t a most opportune time, for early in the nineties the old Bourbon cane, which for many generations had been the chief source of the world’s sugar supply, began to degenerate. The cane gradually declined in vigor and succumbed to the attack of fungus diseases. Plantations which a t one time made over two tons of sugar to the acre now made less than half of this amount. The sugar industry of British Guiana, threatened with extinction, was fortunately saved by the substitution of the youthful hardier seedlings, which Harrison had developed, to take the place of the old played-out variety. The changes which this development has brought about in British Guiana may be seen a t a glance from the following table: Year 1897 1907 1918
Bourbon Cane Acres 70,000 40 105 81350
Seedling Canes Acres 600 33,665 69,475
Another very important line of experimental work which Professor Harrison has had under way for the past 30 years is the effect of chemical fertilizers upon the yield and cornposition of the sugar cane. Cultivated fields with a long record of uniform manurial treatment are the most valuable assets of any agricultural station and the experimental plots which the writer visited a t the Botanical Garden a t Georgetown have yielded results which have been of the greatest value t o the sugar industry of British Guiana. As regards nitrogen, Professor Harrison’s experiments show that when applied to sugar cane in amounts exceeding 50 to
Vol.
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No. 9
60 pounds per acre, sulfate of ammonia, in quantities of z1j2 to 3 hundred weights, is the most economical and efficient fertilizer
for heavy clay, alluvial soils. Nitrate of soda under heavy applications is a much less certain source of nitrogen and if repeatedly applied may injure the texture and hence the productivity of the soil. The value with the varieties a t present under extensive cultivation in British Guiana, in terms of tons Of sugar cane, of I O pounds of manurial nitrogen in various fertilizers has been estimated by Professor Harrison as follows:
.......................... ................. .................. .. ..................... .. ....................... .. ......................... ............... ............... ...............
Sulfate of ammonia.. Nitrolim (calcium cyanamide). Nitrate of potash. Nitrate of soda.. Dried blood.. Raw chinchas guano..
.........................
Tons 2.00 1.94 1.88 1.84 P.80 1.76 1.70 1.60 1.20 0.70
.
I n connection with the above chemicals it should be mentioned that nitrolim in the hot, moist climate of British Guiana is very unstable and if stored for any length of time will lose the greater part Of its nitrogen. As regards phosphoric acid, the returns are less pronounced than in the case of nitrogen. Superphosphate of lime is the best form of phosphoric acid for long-cultivated fields with alkaline subsoil Water, but On land which has not PreViOUSly been cultivated with sugar cane. or which has been flooded for long periods, slag phosphate will as a rule give the best results. I n case of potassium the normal weathering of the soil constituents is found to set free more potash than is needed for crop requirements in British Guiana and the addition of potassium salts was found to produce little if any increase in the yield of sugar cane. The work of the experimental plots a t Georgetown is controlled by careful meteorological data, such as observations of air and soil temperatures, solar radiation, humidity, sunshine and cloudiness, rate of evaporation, and rainfall. I n connection with this work Professor Harrison has made some interesting observations upon the composition of the various salts which are removed from the air by rain and dew-a line of investigation in which he first became interested at Rothamstead. The salinity of the rain water collected a t Georgetown during the three years 1916-1918was 8.76 mg. per I., the total rainfall during this period being 266.3 in. The percentage compos~t~on of the solids was as follows: Ions Chlorine
................................ ...........................
Ammonium.,
............................
Percentage 32.26 13.99
0.25 99.93
A comparison of this analysis with that of the solids of sea water shows that only about 58 per cent of the saline constituents in the rain a t Georgetown are due t o the so-called cyclic salts derived from the fine spray of the sea, the remaining 42 per cent being due t o terrestrial and cosmic sources. The complexity of the composition of the salts in rain and dew explains its suitability for the growth of the microorganisms which have such a destructive action upon various commodities in the tropics and also how these precipitated salts aid in the nutrition of vegetation upon soils of exceptionally 1oW fertility.
Sept., 1 g 1 9
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
SUGAR BY-PRODUCTS-SPIRITS
AND MOLASCUIT
Next in importance to sugar itself, among the exports of British Guiana, are the sugar by-products, alcoholic spirits and molascuit. British Guiana is the largest producer of rum of all the West Indian Colonies, its production from pot stills alone being 12 per cent higher than that of Jamaica. The distilleries are of three kinds: (I) pot or vat stills, (2) pot stills combined with Coffey or other continuous rectifying stills, ( 3 ) Coffey stills alone. The majority of the stills are of the first kind. There are ten large continuous rectifying stills, such as the Coffey still, which were built locally, the columns being constructed of native lumber. In setting up the wash for fermentation the molasses is diluted to about I .060specific gravity, one pint of concentrated sulfuric acid being added t o every IOO gallons (British) of wash. This quantity of acid is sufficient to liberate more or less of the combined organic acids, without leaving any uncombined sulfuric acid in the wash. A certain degree of acidity is necessary in order t o secure the best conditions for the alcoholic fermentation and to prevent the growth of injurious butyric organisms. I n addition to sulfuric acid some distilleries add one pound of ammonium sulfate to every IOO gallons of wash in order to supply the yeast with readily available nitrogenous food. The fermentation of the wash is completed in 48 hours, except on the first setting up of the season, when about 72 hours are required. This is in marked contrast with the process in Jamaica which employs a fission type of organism in place of yeast and requires from two to three weeks for fermentation of the very acid wash. As a consequence of this difference in process the Demerara rums have an ester content varying from only 63 to 104parts per IOO,OOO of absolute alcohol, while the Jamaica rums vary from 500 to 1500 parts. The specific gravity of the wash a t the end of fermentation is usually about 1.010, which corresponds to an attenuation of 50 degrees (1060 minus IOIO). In case of molasses from the yellow Demerara crystals an attenuation of 55 or more may be secured. Good estates in British Guiana with modern stills are able to produce approximately one gallon of British standard proof spirit for each 5 degrees of attenuation from e v x y roo gallons o f wash obtaining about 90 per cent of the theoretical yield. The distillate from the stills, if made into rum, is taken off a t 47-48 overproof and is diluted to 42-43 overproof with water and caramel. The caramel used for coloring the rum is usually made on the spot: 250 pounds of low grade sugar and 4 pounds of caustic soda melted down in an iron pot is the formula used in one distillery for making color. It was stated that about 17 pounds of sugar were used to make the color for a puncheon of rum (100-105gallons). The addition of the caramel obscures the reading of the Sikes alcoholometer to a slight extent; this obscuration is not permitted, however, to exceed I ’. Molasses being the chief material for fermentation, the distilleries of the colony are for the most part connected with the sugar factories. The yield of final molasses varies usually from 50 to 7 0 gallons per ton of sugar and the yield of 42-43 overproof spirits from 30 to 35 gallons per ton of sugar. The prices received f . 0 . b. Georgetown during 1918were 5 l / 2 cents per pound for sugar and 60 cents per gallon of proof spirits. Since 1904 a certain amount of the molasses of British Guiana has been used for making the cattle food called molascuit, which consists of a mixture of about 80 parts of molasses with 20 parts of the fine spongy tissue obtained from the bagasse of the cane mills. The product consists of a dry, brown-colored material; of a fragant odor and is greatly relished by farm animals. I n the early days of the industry some trouble was experienced from spontaneous combustion of the product and steamers have come into New York with their cargo on fire from this
87 t
cause. The danger. of spontaneous combustion of molascuit has been overcome, just as in the case of the beet molasses and alfalfa hay mixtures in the United States, by boiling the molasses to a density of 48’ to 50’ Be. and mixing it hot with the dry absorbent. I n this way the percentage of moisture in the final product is kept below 12 per cent under which limit there is no danger of heating from fermentation, and no exudation of molasses. A penalty is usually exacted from the seller in case the moisture content of molascuit exceeds 12 per cent. Ira some years the exportation of molascuit from British Guiana has exceeded I 2,000 tons, but war conditions have lately reduced the production of this by-product. BALATA
The collection of balata, the congealed latex of the tree Mimusops balata, is the fourth most important industry of British Guiana. The first sample of bakta was sent to London in 1859. Manufacturers did not a t first have much success with this substitute for gutta-percha, but later experiments were more favorable and since 1890 there has been a steady increase in the exportation. In 1911over one million pounds of balata were shipped and this figure had increased in 1917to 1,595,888 pounds. About 80 per cent of the output goes to the United Kingdom and the remaining 20 per cent to the United States.
FIG 2-METHOD OF BLEEDINGTREES POR BALATA
The balata trees are bled by means of a cutlass, incisions being cut not more than I inches wide, about IO inches apart, in a “feather-stitch” pattern up one side of the trunk. No tree can be bled unless it has a girth of 36 inches, 4 feet from the ground, and no tree can be reworked until all the previous incisions are entirely healed, which is said to take 4 to 5 years. The latex runs zig-zag down the course of the cuts into a calabash a t the base of the tree from which it is collected into gourds or kerosene cans. After carrying to camp, it is poured into shallow trays which hold from.5 to 30 gallons. As the latex congeals it is taken off in successive sheets until only the mother liquor is left in the tray. The sheets of balata after draining are hung up in sheds to dry, and they are then ready for shipment. On their first cutting trees give an average of I gallon
Water Per Location oi Sample cent CouranfynDbtrict. 2 . 6 Supenaam . . . . . . . . . 6 . 0 sipamni . . . . . .
.. .. . .
2.4
Pro- M a t - Min-
Resin Gutta teids t e r ~ eral
Per
Per
cent cent 34.4 4 8 . 1 3 8 . 2 47.1
37.3 4 7 . 0
Berbice River.. . . . 2 . 9
39.7
45.5
Cuyuni River . . . . . 3 . I
35.2
44.9
Pomermn River.. . . 3 i 3 8 . 8 Takatu R i v e r . . . . . . 2 . 8
38.5
Rupununi River ... 2 8 Lo,"uer Wssequibo.. . .? 2
41.6
37.2
Per Per cent cent 4 . 2 9.9 1.8 6 . 3
Per
cent Color and Kcmark?
0 . 8 Dark brown 0 . 6 Lixht mauve. No air cells 4 . 4 8 . 0 0 . 7 ~ , i ~ h,brown. t N*" a/r cells 3 . 4 7 . 8 0 . 7 Lighi c d ~ (brown). i
No air cells
4 . 3 II. 2 I. 3 Dark brown surlare sliphtly mouldy 4 1 . 3 2 . 1 1 0 . 2 0.9 Brown. white c*)ntainr air eel+ 4 2 . 7 2 . 3 12.8 0.9 Light brown in center t o de&
4 2 . 4 5 . 0 11.9 0.7 4 2 . 3 3 . 2 8 . 8 0.1) COLD
:liter balata the next export oi importance in Britisli Guiam is gold. Although expeditions in search of this miueral had
eams. The placer washing is peiformed in small "toms" or in larger boxes called "sluices," the gold which is liberated bring caught by mercury in "riffles" helow the screen of the "tom" or along the length of the "sluice." At the end of the day the riffles are removed, the amalgam of mercury and gold is squeezed in chamois skin to remove the excess of quicksilver and the residue is roasted in a flat, iron dish until the mercury has volatilized. The gold remains behind as a dull yellow mass. A reconnaissance of the gold-bearing formations of the colony has been made by Professor Harrison, who, among other scientific appointments. holds the position of Government Geologist. Iii his presidential address before the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society in 1918, Professor Harrison had this to say about the auriferous deposits of Guiana: At first sight it would appear as though tlic prospects of our country for the future production of gold are gloomy in the extreme. Tliir is not so; and I a m satisfied that sooner or later after the termination of the war the prospects will very greatly improve. There are-there must be-other valleps in the vast
by the deposition from the thick layers of cia1 and of Archaean complex and aided OUtCTODS
owmg to se en dcrtved from hat of the upper
prospect**
Phosphoric anhydnde Manganese oxide
-.
--_
10036
10013
'lhe origiii of thr bauxitic deposxts of British Guldna ii a gco-chemical problem to which Proiessor Harrison has devoted a great deal of attention The principal source of primary femugmous bauxite or laterite, from which the gibbsite and other hydrates of aluminum are derived, appears to be rocks wlth from 48 to 54 per cent silica. such a5 diabase and epidiorite 01 hornblende schist, these latter rocks being metamorphoses of a gabbro or diabase of Archaean formation A study o the composition of these rocks, of the layers of bauxitic laterite upon their surface. and of the seepage waters rxhich flow therefrom, proves that the conversion of the rocks into bauxite is due to the action of carbonated waters, the iron, calcium, mgnesium, sodium, potassmm, and silica being removed in solution and the aluminum being left behind as a hydrate Rlsewhere in the
~~~~~~~ES OF PROFESSOR HARRISON UPON TROPICAL SOILS
The studies of Professor Hamson upon the decomposition of dinbase and other sfiiceous rocks into bauxite are related to and arose from a broader and much more general research, upon which he has worked for nearly 40 years, &e., the formation and composition of tropical soils. In its ultimate phase the study of soils is not simply an agricultural problem, as is sometimes imagined, but involves industrial and economic questions of the greatest signilicance, for the soil, in whatever way we consider it, is that upon which not only manufacturers and commerce, but all the phases of man's social life depend. Probably no other kind of research requires the correlation of 50 many sciences; questions of geology, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, and meteorology are mutually involved as well 8 s those of biology and agriculture.
nm
4--PRO*BSSYR
A I I I X L S O N IN HIF PRI"*TB
LnsoaAronY
The meteorological, hiological, chemical, and physical forces which convert igneous rocks into quartz sand, kaolm, bauxite, limonite, and other residue, remove from these rocks by elutnation the lime, potash, and other elements essential to fertility, these elements after their removal contributing to the richness of the alluvial low land The residual sand, kaolin, bauxite. h arc left on the uplands after this process of leachmg, to a soil of camparatively low agricultural value although it may he covered by a seemingly unexhaustihle growth
880
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D B N G I N I I E R I S G C H E M I S T R Y
of rimlwr. I’rofrssor Ilorrison nrmtioncd tlir fact that great l o ~ i e soi c.npital bad been incurrcd in ctrtaiii tropical coontries by attempting to r3i>c cconmnic products upon latrritic or kaolinic oirl.inda which. from their lxing rovrrcd with thick forest, w e n mndercd to Ix of grwt fertility. A probkn1 no less interesriug than t h a t of thc formation of trupivsl soils i j t h a t of the chcmiclcl chanxes which tirke p l x c within these soils as B result of cultivation L‘ndcr the favorable action of a humid tropical climate the prows%s of oxidation. hydration. a n d nitrification ndvmce with great rapidity, the elenients of plant food king unlwkd and m;de avnilal,le in a much shortrr period than in tcmperiftc zones. Thic would be B decided sdunmge were it nut for thr. lnct that the forcer nhich impair fwtility arc e g u ~ l l yrapid. Uorcovn the soil waters of Briti.,h tiuiana conmiti in solution a high ycrcmtage of the &lorider. sulfntec, and carbonates of sodium, poms~iun~, magc the tup ucium, m d calcium which tend to ~ m ~ m u l a tnear df the subsoil as a resid1 of cJpilhrity and evapomtim; t h e chemical cbangcs which ukL- place within the soil arc therefore as com1,lex as they are rapid. As m e rrsult of thaw changes the o i l s of the hc3vy cliy s u d ~ r - c ~ nI.tnds c m Uritich Guima b e somr msrkcdly alkaline during cuItiv:ctirm orid this 3lh:ilinity mry bvrome v, e x ~ e s u l v tduring dry reasom t h a t the growth of crops i$ a ~ c c t e d . Constant driiwgv ii nccdrd to mmove chi- accumulntion oi alkaline d t s ; yriodic flooding ai the land
also fouiid to lie ixrrcficial. T h e dknlinity uf Chima soils is tiude most exidern to the eye by the sdutiou oi liuinus which colors the drdinagr waters il dark brown, and it is imperative ior rhc n i ~ i n t ~ t ~ofn fertility ~e that the humur thus removed bc tmde good. I’rofe..wr Ihrrison’s experiments show that whrn t h e soil contains much orgnrlic matter undcrduirt,: active IS
170% 1 1 ,
No. 9
oxidation, the surface soil water dwinc it5 concentration remains saturated and its evaporation takes f this gas Under these conditions sail water are retained in solution the toxic action of the poisonous soil, however, is deficient in humus dioxide to keep the lime salts of the toxic action of the magring dry seasons. Professor Harrison found the molecular ratio of calcium to maz-
THE WDaK OF THE GOVBBNMENT LABORATORY IN OEOROETOWN
his kind would not be complete without some A pap reference to the chemical work of the Government Laboratory of which Proiessor Harrison is director. The government c h e m i d work. which in a large country is distributed among many bureaus. mu5t n e c a i l y be concentrated in a small colony under one office. The chemical laboratory a t Georgetown is engaged, therefore, in very diverse lines of work; it i s a Bureau of Standards, a Customs laboratory, a toxicological laboratory, a food and drug inspection laboratory, a mineralogical laboratory, a hygieni , an agricultural and industrial the year 1gr6 the samples tested laboratory, all in on numbered ~ ~ 6 7 whi 0, uded such a miscellany as faods, beverages, waters, drugs, oils. varnishes, medicines, petroleum, canes, Sugars, molasses. soils, fertilizers, minerals, balata, rubber, opium, viscera for poisons, and verifying hydrometers and apparatus For doing miscellaneous work of this description the g ~ ~ t t ~ ~ e n t a
Sept., 1919
T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGTNEERING C H E M I S T R Y
laboratory a t Georgetown is one of the best equipped which the writer has ever visited. A tropical laboratory, being far removed from the manufacturing centers of apparatus, must of necessity be more selfdependent than laboratories which are more fortunately situated, and this is particularly true in the making of repairs. To mend a platinum dish and to blow an absorption bulb are among the lost arts for most ‘chemists, yet they have become by necessity commonplace operations for Professor Harrison and his competent staff of assistants. The overhauling and repairing of balances, polariscopes, and other apparatus which are used a t mines or plantations is also a part of the work of the government laboratory. As regards polariscopes, microscopes, and other optical instruments, the necessity of repairs is not due so much t o breakage as to a tropical mold, the mycelia of which will etch and corrode the calcite prisms or glass lenses unless immediately removed. The growth of this mold is due to the excess of moisture in the air, which, as Professor Harrison pointed out, condenses upon the surfaces of the glass or calcite and carries with it from the air enough of the sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and ammonium salts to act as an excellent nutritive medium for the growth of microorganisms. Manufacturers of apparatus for the tropics have unfortunately not taken into account the peculiar needs of tropical conditions. Polariscopes, spectroscopes, and other apparatus are shipped with their lenses and prisms so encased in protective devices, that the parts which require most attention are made the least accessible. As an example of this Professor Harrison pointed out a German saccharimeter with a specially designed tropical protective equipment of great complexity which was worse than useless, for the compartments which held the analyzer and polarizer became in reality inaccessible moisture chambers, especially suited for the development of fungi. In contrast with this instrument Professor Harrison took from his cabinet two French saccharimeters which had successfully withstood the effects of the tropics for over 35 years. The instruments were so designed that their parts were readily accessible and he dissected one of them completely in a few minutes without removing a screw or using a tool, all the parts slipping or screwing easily into place. With such an instrument it is easy to remove the lenses and prisms for cleaning or for placing in desiccators during periods of non-use; accessibility of parts and the employment of glass which will not devitrify under tropical conditions of heat and humidity are two chief requisites which manufacturers should consider in designing apparatus for tropical use. Professor Harrison spoke of the immense and most attractive field of research which awaits the chemist who cares t o investigate the gums, resins, waxes, alkaloids, glucosides, essential oils, and other organic constituents of the numerous tropical plants that have as yet remained unstudied. But researches of this kind must belong to the future. In his own pioneer investigations Professor Harrison very wisely selected the agricultural, mining, industrial, and hygienic problems which were of most pressing importance t o his colony. For variety, scope, and economic value his 30 years of scientific work in British Guiana form a record without parallel and one of which a general paper of this kind can give but a fragmentary and imperfect picture. Professor Harrison has been a member of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL Socmm for 25 years and it is a satisfaction to its members t o know that he has accomplished so considerable a part OS his scientific work during the time of this connection. His American confrQes extend t o him on the occasion of this twenty-fifth anniversary their heartiest congratulations and best wishes. NEWYORKSUGAR TRADE LABORATORY, INC. 80 SOUTX STREET, N E W YORKCITY
881
CHEMICAL LITERATURE’ By HARVEY F. MACK
Chemical literature made its first appearance in Easton about thirty years ago, when Dr. Edward Hart brought out his first issue of the Journal of Analytical and Applied Chemistry. This journal, while small in number of pages-about 32 pages per issue-immediately gained favor and was readily sold. To-day unbound issues of it are unobtainable. The present journal of the SOCIETY was printed in New York in 1892 and prior thereto, but in 1893 the printing and distribution of our journal, then a comparatively small affair, was undertaken by Dr. Hart, and his Journal of Analytical and Applied Chemistry was discontinued a few months later. Its continuous issue a t this postoffice has been uninterrupted ever since. With the appearance of two chemical journals, Easton became a center for chemical literature. Easton had no other chemical journals until 1895,when Dr. Hart secured the printing of Dr. Ira Remsen’s American Chemical Journal. While manufactured in Easton and essentially one of our products of chemical Iiterature, it was not mailed a t this postoffice, but was shipped by express to Baltimore and mailed from Johns Hopkins University. It was produced in Easton continuously until merged with the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 1914. While it deserved and enjoyed a place of merit in the family of chemical journals, it never gained a large circulation, but did have a small and select one. The largest edition printed did not exceed 750 copies with an average of IOO pages per issue.
F r o I-Above: Vehicle required to transport one month’s issue of chemical literature in 1893. Below: Motor trucks required to transport one month’s issue in 1919
7897 brought the Journal of Physical Chemistry here. It was then and is still printed here but shipped t o Cornel1 University for distribution. It has an average of 500 copies of 90 pages for g numbers per volume. The next journal t o come to town was the Journal of tke American Leather Chemists’ Association. This, compared with our journal, is an infant, but yet occupies a necessary piace in its chosen field. The monthly average is 650 copies of about 50 pages. In I907 the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY started the first volume of Chemical Abstracts, issued semi-monthly. We, of course, know that this is the largest journal of its kind in the world. The year 1909 saw the first issue of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Ckemisky. This journal, issued monthly, is a peer in chemical literature. One of the latest arrivals in Easton is the JoumaZ of the Amem’can Pharmaceutical Association. The first issue of this journal was published here in 1917. This is the official organ of the 1 Address before the Lehigh Valley Section of the American Chemical Society, at Easton, Pa.,April 18, 1919.
