To the majority of persons alcohol denotes liquor. That it is used to some extent in the arts, that it is a fuel, is also common knowledge, but alcohol as a source of power, as a substitute for gasoline, petroleum, and kindred hydrocarbons was hardly known to the generality of Americans until the passage of the "De-naturing Act" by Congress in 1906.
The Practical Handbook on the Distillation of Alcohol from Farm Products, published in 1922 during Prohibition, includes the process of malting, mashing and macerating, fermenting and distilling alcohol from grain, beets, potatoes, molasses, etc. with chapters on alcoholometry and the de-naturing of alcohol for use in farm engines, automobiles, launch motors, and in heating and lighting, with a synopsis of the New Free Alcohol Law and its Amendment and the Government regulations.
