Show No End to Wonders Dehydration Packs Tasteful Dinner Into Vest Pocket Field Crops Are Source of Plastics Drying Removes Water ater and Air From froni Produce While tile Retaining Nutritional Values i Milk Now Turned Turned nto Into Kitchen Curtains Cull Potatoes Into Fuel Alcohol American agriculture will emerge from the war with a anew anew anew new pattern of crop production that will not only give us everything we eat and wear but provide much of the raw materials used in industry During World War Var I the emphasis was on the production of cereal crops Today although cereals are essentially necessary necessary necessary essary heavier emphasis is being placed on dairy products meats vegetables eggs and oils If the present trend continues continues continues con con- American milk goals in the reconstruction period will be double our present output of billion pounds a year The nations nation's farms will be permanently producing more meat and eggs more vegetables and more yielding oil-yielding crops such as soybeans Two developments are credited with adding impetus to the new farm production trend Both have been spurred by scientific research and the necessity of meeting wartime problems One is dehydration or the dry preservation of food The other is or the science of transforming farm crops into industrial products Dehydration is ois not new In fact It Is as ancient as the sun that has been drying the water out of things for ages But to the old dehydration tion processes have been added new techniques th that t have so revolutionized revolution revolution- its future possibilities that some economists predict that food dehydration plants may become as common In agricultural areas as canneries and are to to- day An idle dream you say Not so EO idle perhaps when it is considered considered considered consid consid- ered that tha t there are more than dehydration plants In the United St States tes today compared with only five In 1940 19 J. J B. B Wyckoff of the Agricultural Marketing administration recently estimated that the United States will dehydrate vegetables at the rate of to million pounds In 1943 1933 as compared with million pounds in 1942 Yet last years year's totals were seven times the 1940 19 volume To meet the 44 1943 dehydrated food tood requirements as presently known mown he added will require every every every ev ev- ery third egg and one out of every 12 pounds of whole milk produced Requirements for dehydrated meat practically non-existent non a year ago will be approximately 60 GO million pounds in 1943 Dehydration Saves aves Shipping The remarkable impetus given dehydration dehydration de- de hydration grew out of shortage a of shipping space cans and and containers containers to meet meet lend lease demands and and the food tood requirements of our fighting Allies One ship loaded with dehydrated dehydrated dehydrated de de- hydrated food can carry upward of 10 times as much food as a ship loaded with bulk food Improvements in dehydration technique have followed two major trends One has hns been to compress the food Into an Incredibly small smail space The other has been to preserve preserve preserve pre pre- serve the foods food's palatability and nutritional nutritional nutritional nu nu- nu- nu value J l Many my foods norm normally average 90 per cent water Dehydration as originally practiced me meant nt removing removIng removing ing most of the water Now the food tood Is not only dehydrated but de bulked as well by having the air pressed out of it The result is food compressed into blocks or bri bri- Thus it is possible to have havea a vest-pocket vest serving servin serving of meat carrots carrots car car- rots cabbage milk Ilk and eggs that would provide all the elements of a hearty meal and y yet yet t take up no nomore nomore nomore more shipping room room than a package of Df cigarettes Typical food volume reductions as a result of dehydration and com- com 1 t H 83 7 I k 0 b J fi The scientist teams up with the farmer in usher ushering ins ins- in new era of agricultural production are sauer kraut 90 per percent percent percent cent cabbage 80 per cent potatoes potatoes potatoes pota pota- toes 75 per cent onion beets and carrots 65 per cent egg powder 50 per cent hamburger 50 per cent dehydrated soups 50 per cent One pound of potato bricks yields 24 i helpings A gallon five-gallon container of dried tomatoes swells to a quarter of a ton when water is added Dehydrated Foods roods Flavorful As contrasted with their crude predecessors of World War I I. I to today's days day's dehydrated foods are flavor flavor- ful Dunked and cooked in water these foods emerge with almost no sacrifice of flavor and with practically practically cally cany no loss of proteins carbohydrates carbohydrates drates and minerals They suffer no greater loss o of vitamins than when occurs when fresh vegetables stand for a time in a store Hence it is no surprise that American American American Amer Amer- ican soldiers can relish scrambled eggs made from a dehydrated pow pow- der Or that Englishmen eat cat and like meat loaves and stews that crossed the Atlantic as tiny shreds of dried meat Thus milk butter citrus juices as well as potatoes peas spinach and a host of other food products are being successfully dehydrated The extent to which dehydration has already caught hold with the civili ci civilian ci- ci vili vilian n population here in America is indicated by the fact that housewives housewives housewives house house- wives are buying dehydrated soups at the rate of million packages a year If U dehydration offers challenging possibilities for future farm markets then its Industrial coun- coun v L Corn from the field eld Is Is manufactured Into a 1 substitute for lor tinfoil a quick drying printing Ink or a wallpaper coating under the transforming magic of Or thanks to the new science of Dehydration it is compressed to only a fr fraction of its weight weicht and shipped overseas o to feed our armed forces offers even more interesting I opportunities as os a contributor to future future future fu fu- fu- fu ture farm prosperity Already the products of 40 million acres of American farm fann land are going going going go go- ing into our Industrial plants And this is but the beginning Already chemical engineers have come to think of all America as an on industrial industrial industrial indus indus- trial farm and of farm products as the raw m materials for factories Perhaps the classic example of effort to turn farm crops into vitally needed industrial products lies in the field of synthetic synthetic synthetic syn syn- rubber It took the world a century to raise the production of crude rubber to a billion tons a n year The United States now expects expects expects ex ex- to develop a like capacity for synthetic rubber rubber much much of it Is made from corn and other farm products within products within the next year ear and anda a half The chemurgic scientist busy among his test tubes performs such miracles as turning milk into kitchen kitch kitch- en curtains corn into a tinfoil substitute substitute substitute sub sub- sunflowers into paper sorghum sorghum sorghum sor sor- Into insulating board barley and sweet potatoes into ethyl alco alco- hol Furfural made from oat hulls Is Isnow isnow isnow now being used in oil refining and andin andin andin in the processing of wood resin freeze Anti fluids and fuel alcohol come from cull potatoes Glycerol from animal fats is being used inthe inthe in inthe the production of ot dynamite for forwar forwar forwar war purposes Then there is Zein a protein product of corn starch which lends itself itsel to the manufacture manufacture manufacture ture of yarn yam buttons wall paper coating and quick drying ink Soybean Source of Plastics In the field of plastics gluten a residue of corn is being effectively used as is casein a product by-product of milk But perhaps the biggest contribution contribution contribution con con- to plastics Is being made by soybeans Thanks to soybeans the automobile of the future may be grown from the soil Already gear gearshift gearshift gearshift shift handles steering wheels window window win window win win- dow frames distributors and a considerable considerable con con- on- on variety of other parts are made of soybeans The basic molding molding molding mold mold- ing material for numerous plastics is a soybean compound Thus radio cabinets and plumbing fixtures in postwar America may Ilay a amold amold amold mold of soybean cakes Yes farms can be made the source of our future prosperity Scientists Scientists Scientists and industrialists can ean get farm materials from which to make new commodities and promote increased increased in increased in- in creased factory production from which prosperity springs In this era of definitely new agricultural agricultural agricultural agri agri- cultural development one factor will loom big in determining success or failure That factor is productivity of the soil For the extent to which our farms can continue to yield crops for the new dehydration Industry industry industry indus indus- try for chemurgic utilization into industrial industrial in industrial in- in products or to help feed the world In the critical postwar period period pe pe- will depend on the fertility of the soil that produces those crops Vincent agricultural research research re rc re- re search expert of Baltimore Md inan inan in inan an address before a Farm Chemurgic Chemurgic Chemurgic Chem- Chem conference once said sold Chem Chom C em- em can succeed only on farm land and where plant foods are returned to the soil in the form of commercial fertilizer at a rate which at least balances the amount removed each year by growing crops and livestock live live- stock One of of- the of-the the significant st steps ps forward forward forward for for- ward he added is that which helps the farmer learn more about his particular soil and its plant food needs State agricultural experiment experiment experiment ment stations are prepared to assist assist assist as as- farmers not only In soil tests to determine the proper fertilizer analyses for various crops but also Inform them on the placement to Insure best results The importance of Mr observations is evident when it is considered that after the war America America Amer Amer- ica lea will be faced with the greatest soil rehabilitation job in its history This is because vast wartime farm production demands are arc drawing fertility resources on an unprecedented unprecedented dented scale and because fertilizer applications at present cannot balance balance balance bal bal- ance the depletion rate Growing crops to win the war is is of course the farmers' farmers No 1 job said a statement of the Middle huddle West Soil SoU Improvement Committee A heavy draft on the farmers farmer's savings savings sav say sayings ings account of at plant food elements is a relatively small contribution to victory If it proper steps are made to repay the borrowed soil wealth when the war is over |