New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-11-04
THE RIG AND PAPER BUSINESS.

and newspapers have any idea of the quantities Of
paper used in this country FOR these purposes. 1t
would be well nigh impossible to arrive at all thief facts
connected with the paper business, but we can OBJ
tain enough to give our intelligent readers some idea
of ia extent and importance.
OF al forlorn locking places it has been our for
time TO visit, commend us to rag wareroom in this
CITY or the rag room of a paper mill. One finds
il very difficult to believe that the dirty stuff in
,boserooDs CAL be converted into the beautiful paper
which the American Bible Society, Tract Society, or
spy the leading publishers are using their books.
Take for instance the fine paper used by the Bible
society-and which is furnished principally BY II.
Butler & Co. of Paterson, \. j. We are as.
sured that these manufacturers use large quantities
of rope ends and cotton refuse in making this ex-
cellent paper. The cotton bales, as prepared for
market on the Southern plantations, are tied with
hemp ropes The bales when brought to New
Orleans or Mobile are repressed by steam, and are
thus brought into smaller compass, 80 that the
ropes are too long. The ends are cut of, put In
bales. and sent North TO be converted into paper.
In the cotton factories of the North there is great
deal of refuse cotton, such ss ends OF threads,
pieces of unstable cloth, wisps OF cotton used IN
cleaning machinery, &c. This unpromising stuff
full of dirt grease, or tar, is put in bales for the
paper manufacturers These two kinds OF material
enter largely into the manufacture of the Bible So
cety paper Some of the cotton presses at New
Orleans and Mobile turn out some 800 or 400 tuns
of these rope ends year, and they have become
quite large item OF merchandise. Three or four
larger mills in this country use these rope ends and
refuse cotton for the manufacture OF paper.
The beautiful paper used in Motley's History OF
the Dutch Republic. and in Bancrofts and PrescOtts
Histories, is made from what are called number one
and two foreign linen rags, mixed with the best "hite
bleached cotton rags, domestic The second grade
Of printing paper is made of number three linen
rags. with number two domestic cotton-that is
unbleached cotton, OF colored muslin rags.
In these two kinds of paper it requires about five
uns of rags to make four tuns of paper.
The paper used for our newspapers ID made from
number four foreign rags, worth about four cents
pound and all descriptions of cotton colors, which
have been washed and worn, and costing about two
or three cents pound. Ii takes about three tuns
Of these rags to make two tuns of paper.
The best quality of writing paper is made of the
best number one foreign linen rags and the best
number one domestic cotton. The second grade OF
writing paper is made of number two foreign linen
and number two domestic cotton rags.
With these general statements let US now look
little more particularly at the rag business. The
rags imported into NewYork from foreign coun-
tries include about three quarters of all the
foreign importation 10 this country. The most OF
the balance comes to Boston. The Custom House
book show that the rags come from Alexandra,
shy rna, Trieste, Leghorn, Genoa, Ancona, Paler'
no, Messira, Catania, Hamburg, Bremen, Great
Britain, Madeira, and Havana 1t is within very
short time that rags have come from the Nile, and
now il is quite business. About two and quar-
ter millions of pounds came to New-fork from
Alexandria last year. From 1884 to l-ii the aver
age total mportations from all foreign ports INTO
NewYork were 1900 bales per annum, of winch
COCO were from Trieste, 1900 from Leghorn' and
the remaining 4, 600 from sundry places. In l7oo
tie importation OF foreign rags into New lorh had
run up from 1900 Gas it was in lsi4) TO some
o.. eco bales. In 1888 il amounted to some '5,ooo
bales. In lc55 the importation amounted % ON!
about 10000 bales, which duinution caused
great panic among the paper manufacturers ana
led TO many experiments designed to find a SUD-
.ti,ute for the rag. Straw and various fbrou'
banks. such as the bark Of the locust and bass
weed trees were tried, aud with some success
In Ssyrna the sorting, washing aud drying o
the rags is done by government contract anu 'n'
bales thus made I'd OF assorted articles are 50
naked that the manufacturers know the quality OIL
The arti lies IS numbers one, two and three FROM
Legloru, in l-44, 1900 bales were imported; su'
that trade has so increased that IN 800 nearly
u, 600 bales were brought TO New-fork from Ioa'
port. 1t is said that about every iour'n vi NUN
store in Leghorn is rag.store. Inc suiaii s'oio'
sort aud wash the rags and then sen 'neiH 70 1''
jobbers who press them into bales aud orana Tue
for exportaticp. In 1853 there were not less than
some 1900 600 pounds Of foreign rags inpof'eN
into New.York. but in 1855 the amount was only
about "a, GOO, coo.
We are told BY a gentleman who has had inc
bes, means of proving bis OPINIONS 'na' Inc 'of'
eisn rags in prosperous year-say i'oo-afe ABOUT
one tenth of the whole amount converter m'o
paper in this country every year. lhat 49, some
$50 COG, 900 pounds of rags or 7o,Vo tuh'' are
annually converted into paper in the United states
According to this it appears, if We reckon mat h'e
,uns Of rags will make nearly four tun' OF paper,
that some 80 900 OcO pounds Of paper are made in
this country in a year This Is an extraordinary
item, making the astonishing sum total OF f2o,oVo
Inn. , xea, which would load $500 large canal