The Shasta courier., 1864-11-26
New Material--Paper Ships and Paper
Guns.

The London Observer describes new pre
paration of paper ofa remarkable character.
The uses to which it may be applied were ex-
planned on ne 18th of August, at the Phoe
nix Works, Battersea, as follows:
There were tubes made of paper which had
been te-ted in the most satisfactory manner
as rocket tubes. Being made Of paper they
are of course, very much lighter than the or.
dinary iron tubes, and they stand the test of
rocket firing equally as well as those made Of
metal. Not less remarkable were the thick
slabs and boards made of paper. These
boards, of one inch in thickness, had been
tested by bullet and ball, and the results
showed that their power of resistance was
equal n ten -aches of solid oak. The hs,lst,
which had passed SO far through the paper
board as to cause projecting surface at the
rear, would have gone clean through the oak,
fracturing and tearing it in all directions,
while in the paper board the perforation was
a small, clean, round hole. These paper
boards are admirably adapted for the sides of
ships; their specific gravity is somewhat less
than that of oak, and they are easily fixed to
the framework of vessels. They have, how
ever, this additional advantage over timber
they do not require copper sheathing to pre-
ther animal nor vegetable life fiourishes upon
their surface, as is the case with timber and
iron. They have also this further advantage
that they are incombustible No amount of
heat will set them in blaze. The appGca.
tion of great heat will produce combustion in
the immediate neighborhood of the flame, but
anything Ike ordinary burning is quite out
OF the vues ton. In addition, however, to all
these good qualities, paper has positively the
advantage over timber and iron in the matter
of cost.
NJ. SzeAemy the inventor, we'll known for
the successful manner in which be has arres
ted the decay of certain portions of the exte-
rior of the houses Of Parliament, has discoy-
cred fibre which grows in the southern por-
tions of Germany, and which may be conyer-
ted into rough kind of paper at a cost so
trif1lng as to enable him to compete with the
builder of timber and iron ships Not content
however, with forming the sides of ships of
paper, the inventor is now engaged in the
construction of light field pieces, specially
adapted for mountain warfare, and these,
Judging from the results already obtained by
experiments with paper tubes, will be found
to answer the purpose admirably. Tubes
have already been formed Of this prepared
paper, and they have stood the test against
iron in the most satisfactory manner.
So far as we were enabled to ascertain the
process of manufacture, it consists of lapping
sheets or rolls of paper, moistened with So
luton of which zopissa is the principle in
gredicnt, one over the other, until the requis-
lite degree of thickness or strength is attained,
and exposing the material for short time
until it becomes thoroughly hardened. The
zupissa Is OF the nature of gum, and is found
in considerable quantities in Egypt 1t has
the peculiaIty of giving extraordinary hard
ness to any surface upon which it is placed,
and it was very extensively used in the pre-
paration employed for preserving the stone
in the exterior of the House of Commons. 1t
has also been used for the exterior of the
Bank of England. the interior of the dome
of St. Paul's, on which Mr.. Penrose has paint
ed his frescoes, and it has just been applied
with extraordinary success to the arches of
the London, Chatham and Dover railway, at
the Elephant and Castle station, which has
lately suffered considerably from damp and
the infltration of water from the roadway
There appears to be no limit to the appli-
cation of this useful material. In addition I
to the preservation of paper, linen, stone,
brick, plaster, and other material, another
almost as useful application of this article
was shown in the perfection of material re-
sembling flock paper. and suitable for carpets,
which can be prepared of any color and with
endless variety of pattern. A slight altera-
ton in the mode of treatment converts canvas
into description of oicloth which will stand
any amount of wear, as may be seen from
some pieces which have been for several
months laid down in the workshops at Batter
sea. The materials of honse are now in
course Of construction, for the purpose of
showing the adaptability of the paper boards
to the construction of emigrant houses, tenn
porary churches and barracks. Already
large quantities of amaterial known as Pan
onia, or leather cloth. is manufactured by
the use of this extraordinary substance, and
made up into boots and shoes. which rival in
their durable qualities the best kinds of leath-
er.