FORTUNES FROM WASTE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 569, 21 May 1913, Page 7

FORTUNES FROM WASTE.

One of the wonders of modern science is the manner in which prolucts hitherto regarded as worthless lave been turned to such good ac:ount that they have earned fortunes for manufacturers and provided employment for thousands of workers. It is not so many years ago that gas makers were glad to away coal-tar in order to get rid of it. It was regarded merely is waste, and of no value. Then science discovered its use for making lyes, how it could be turned into a valuable antiseptic, such as carbolic icid, and ultimately it proved an mportant factor in the invention of r.he smokeless powders and powerful Explosives which have made modern Warfare so terrible.

About the same time that tin value of coal-tar was discovered an effort was being made to utilize a ;hick,, evil-smelling liquid, a byproduct of the soap-boiling industry, which had been thrown away as useless. Ultimately this substance was collected and refined, the result being glycerine and a fortune.

VALUE OF GRIME. Perhaps one of the most astonishing discoveries was that by which the grime washed from the sheep s fleece was made to yield many thousands of pounds. Some observant individual discovered that a certain amount of potash was absorbed by ?heep as they chewed the meadow •i'rass. This potash circulates through the system, and eventually Dxudes through the skin and adheres to the wool. In cleaning the wool, this mixture of dirt and potash was recklessly thrown away. Nowadays, however, wool-cleaning establishmeuts retain the water and employ chemists to remove the potash for further chemical use. It is estimated that no fewer than 2,200,00003. of potassium carbonate is made from the potash thus saved in "the mills and scouring establishments of Prance and Belgium. Little is wasted nowadays in the cotton and silk industries, although at one -time the outside and inside husks of cocoons were regarded as mere refuse. Now, however; the working up of waste fibres has been so perfected that very little of the raw material is thrown away. Velvets and plushes are' now made from short fibres, which were at oqe time regarded as mere waste. ROMANCE OF ALPACA.

The same story could be told 1 of cotton. Nearly all cotton rags, as well as linen rags, are respun. Although much cotton waste finds its way to the paper-maker, the time i§, not far distant when, like flock and shoddy, even short cotton fibres will be worked over again for textiles. As it is, the waste of cotton mills is employed for the making of matting and wadding and of carpet linings.

By the way, How many people are aware that it was quite by accident that the late Titus Salt, who made an enormous fortune out of manufacturing alpaca, founded his wealth on waste ! He bought up a lot of nondescript hair-wool which was regarded as mere rubbish, for it was practically useless for spinning. Sir Titus bought the material for a mere song, and after numerous experiments produced alpaca from what had hitherto been regarded as waste material.

Talking of cotton-spinning, reminds one that at first the cotton masters used to fling away the steel spindles when they were worn out, afterwards selling them by the ton for old iron. One day, however, someone hit upon the idea of grinding one end down into a" wedge, and thus it came about that the waste spindles, which used to be sold for next to nothing, now fetch a good price from manufacturers of tools, who make screwdrivers and other tools out of them. —"Tit-Bits."