PRODUCTION OF OIL FROM PLANT MATERIAL.

SCIENCE is the official organ of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Information regarding membership in the Association may be secured from the office of the permanent secretary in the Smithsonian INTERESTING information is given about the oil situation in this country in the excellent article by Dr. P. K. Frolich,1 past president of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Frolich states that the time is not far off when oil products should be obtained from sources other than natural oil, for example, by the hydrogenation of coal or carbon monoxide produced from coal or from natural gas or from oil shales. Not all experts in this field agree with statements about the coming scarcity of oil within the boundaries of the United States.2 In previous communications to SCIENCE,3 I have stated that carbohydrates which are contained in farm products, wood, algae, etc., and which are formed by nature in enormous amounts and with greatest ease (see Table 1) can be converted into liquid fuel.4