REVOLUTION IN FOOD SUPPLY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1931, 13 December 1913, Page 7

REVOLUTION IN FOOD SUPPLY.

'CHEMIST CI,AIMS TO GROW 5 WHEAT INDOORS. - PLAN TO SHAKE WORLD'S '< ' MARKETS. '•'High'' lip> iisup room C-l 1 LM.im.sion .I. louse Chambers','"E.C., J aH'.idea is being inatiired (says.a'n'-Jingiish paper) which-, if all that 'l!i6..,origiualor'^cl;ui)!s' , . , for it be it rue, will'reyol'utioiiiso our daily iifc; .

'■•' Tho.man-''W'ith'"tho>idea is Mr. Alfred A\ ilhanis.y.ThoVidoa.! is. to- grow 1 wheat ill )aotork's,i4liercJ)y rodiicing'.tho .cost of tho loal';to: : 'at'q'uartcr;..of ■ its' present price. v«v ■ •■!'".

Mr. Williams Vis ' anifunemotional chemist, born in- Wales.";'and possessed (>i' J a profound I .belief-in'" liis own invention —that is to he I 'expected when ho tells you that lie has eaten his factorygrown wheal—and ho contemplates tho prospective of .■ society with perfect l eijuaiiiniity.' ; - ■>' .f

'.Vcailtcr ami Wheat. .. " ■Explaining.; the, .why and tho "wherefore'of his' -idea; to-a "Daily News" representative,'!'ho;-bogan by pointing out how- at-presentith-o.'world is dependent for whatever-,,it''grows' 011. geographical and weather conditions. "I'ut a seed in the, ground," he said, ."and even after tho absorption of tho moisture you havo to wait for a reasonable temperature condition before tho wheat- will sprout. I havo been ail through Siberia. If they had three Hecks' more sunshine there'a year they would reap far liner-crops. "I point to another natural limitation—the - limitation of sunshine. . I havo travelled all through Ohio, and have seen thousands of acres of splendid 'wheatlands inundated with water. The water has frozen, and tli-c crop has been destroyed. . Home-made Sunshine.

"Then, again," Mr. Williams proceeded, "there is tho great waste in nitration under prese )t methods. Of the nitrates put into the ground only a .small proportion ever gets taken up by the roots of tho eror> tlfat is sown.",

Sir. 'Williams hones to riso superior to nil those limitations of nature. in the first place, lie says 'that the soil is responsible for verv little of the weight of a plant: it is tho carbon from t-lic atmosphere which gives it its weight. On this point. Air. Williams assorts that he has discovered a method of using cieetricity its a. combination of discharge and radiation. This, he savs, takes the place of light waves, and facilitates the <breaking-tip '•of the carbonic, dioxide in tho air,, thtiS sotting free the carbon to feed the. wheat,

"That 'means." says Mr. Wiliiams, "that the.cereals I plant toceivc all the sunshine they want-."

Under present methods of growth, the soil, of.course, is essential for nitration. But Mr. Williams does without soil. Ho claims to obtain a sufficient nitration by means of a certain solution which is Jits owst secret, 'and he iurf'her claims that by tills method there is none of that loss .in nitration to which, reference has already been made. .. .

Tstipanso a Bttshsl. ' Here is this remarkable chemist's plan of cultivation. Expensive wheat, lands are banished as unnecessary. Instead, lie builds a rough structure of several floors—a sort of factory. Upon each floor ho puts some soil—in reality, he points out, it'docs not matter whether you place sand or fine gravel there, the only object being that It should act as a support for tho stalks and provide the necessary amount of dampness. Lien the sand or the gravel is impregnated with the nitrate solution, and tho seed ifi planted. The rudiation is supplied li t \ wires and tubes, anil in two months there'is a bountiful crop! "Yes, six crops a year, and teiipenco or a shilling a bushel to cover all the cost/' says Mr.."Williams,'"as compared with a present average of about four shillings." . The World of the Future. . "What'will become of tho ■ great wheat-growing countries?" "TiicDaily News" representative asked. •• ■ "They," Mr. Williams replied cheerfully, "would bo ruined at a stroke." The' discussion, turned on the effect on the world of corn grown indoors. The ruined •wheat countries, said 31r. 'Williams, might take to stock raising. But such a largo addition to the cattle supply would bring down the. prico ol meat. Indeed, so far "as the food of tho people is concerned tho golden ago wouki havo dawned. The cheap loaf would become an ■ electioneering anachronism, and tho..waving cornfields, only a poetic survival. .. 1; " ■■ . ' ■'But'ithero'"is another swe. ■■ "heat corners"- would ■ no.-longer be possible, and in this country we could no longer bo. starved out by a foreign ioe. . J hat fact',jin its..turn., would mean that the Naval' Kstimates?s]muld..comc down with a run.-'. 'v.-'"'' : . : The Obstinate Cucumber. . All^Vhese 1 possibilities did . not- move Mi:? Williams'K He lias actually grown wheat bv'.bis'iiicthod, to say. nothing ot flii'ts;'--- lettiiciy-and ■ mustard . and. .cress. So! only thai, but he has cai'eirsonic ot his owii'.wheat,'-'-and ho affirms it does not.''differ'oVf'taste/ 1 from • tho ordinary •i'rticio, orj for that- matter,; in nutritive i< -," encumbers ': alone "have oil crecl