Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1855-02-24
PAPER.

Lincoln, Of Boston, (says the Scientific
American and will contain great va
lriety Of useful and scientific matter
loving win extract Of an article on paper
making in the United States, a subject
Of very great Importance at the pres
ent moment:--
!. The enormously increased consump;
ton Of rags and other materials ma ;, used $,
in tbe manufacture Of paper, with the
consequent CO ls increased scarcity Of the
raw material, and the enhancement Of
attention at to be given to this subject,
both in England and the United 1l.. States,
during tho past season. Efforts have
accordingly been made To- to introduce
now materials to serve as paper stock,
to improve the method Of working old
materials, and to diminish the g, cost OF
the mechanical operations. The cause
Of the scarcity Of paper stock, in spite
an increased demand, would appear to
depend on the circumstance that the
raw material of paper-making is, in re-
ality, the product Of the wear and tear
Of q a. substance Of very advanced manu-
tfacture, and depending for its quantity
on the collateral causes which produce
a greater or less activity in the latter.
Hence, the stoppagc or partial suspen-
sion Of cotton and other textile manu-
factures is sufficient to account for oc-
casional, and especially for local, scar
city. .,,,'-.,trs,
We find that there are, in the United
States, 750 paper-mills in actual oper-
alton. Allowing 4engines to each mill, Il,
and calculating that each engine will
make 800 pounds of paper a day, the
quantity of paper made in the year
will be as follows: 'f'ia'' ''n''
Number Of mills, 75O; number OF
engines, 5000; number Of pounds Of
paper per day, 100000; number OF
pounds of paper in the. year, allowing
800 days to tho year., 270,0O0,O 900;
value Of this'paperat 10 cents apound
s27, 100000. y'dsaaIq u.r ,-'a
It is estimated that one and a-half
pounds of rags are required to make
one pound of paper. Adopting these
data, we find that 4O5, 100000 pounds
Of rags are consumed in one year {;
their value, at 4 cents pound, being
S16,2 OO,OOO: f.. .,,.
The cost Of labor is one and a-fourth
cts. upon each pound Of paper manu-.
factured, and is, therefore, S5,575, 900
year; and tile cost of labor and rags
united is S19,575,OOO a year.
The cost of manufacturing, aside
from rags and labor, estimated from
adding together the cost of felts, wire
cloth, bleaching powders, fuel, machine
ry, interest, and fixed capital, insur-
ance expenses, &c., we find to be S4:-
O5O,OO6. Adding this to the. cost of
rags and labor, We find that $685.
600 is the total cost of manufacturing
paper worth S27,OOO,OOO, a measure
Of profit by no means unreasonable,und
which might even be considered small,
were not the manufacture comparative.
Ily free from those sudden changes that
affect the manufacture of cloth and
metals.
Light as wo may esteem it, there
are few branches of business Of more
importance than the rag trade. No
other country in the world, strange to
say, is more dependent upon rags than
tho United States; and this is, in a
great measure, attributable to tho i'm
mcnsc consumption ofpaper in the epub-
lication of newspapers, magazines, and
works Of all kinds, besides what is used
for commercial and MERCANTILE pur-
poses.
For the four years, tS5O, 81, 80,
'5S, tho quantity of rags Imported into
the United States amountcdto 50, 3,2G2,-
600 or about one and a-third cents per
pound.
In 1850 We imported rags from 10
countries; in 1852 from thirty-two ;
which increment seems to have arrived
near the Ultimate limit.
Italy seems to be the great source Of
supply. In 1850 We obtained nearly
halfas many pounds from there as from
all other places, while the amount paid
exccededhalf the whole sum. In 1851
the quantity and price of Italian rags
only exceeded one-third Of the amount
by a triae. nv
In 1858, there were 3O4 paper-mills
at work in England, 4S in Scotland,
and 2S in Ireland. The duty (tllrec
half.pence per pountD amounted to up.
wards of 1926, 900, so that the annual