The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-06-30

81 How much wood do you burn In dayf"
my mother asked him.
'sNota great deal, only four cords, two
cords in twelve hours" said he.
"Now come this way, and you will see
where the straw goes next, through this
cylinder, where it was washed by con-
tinual stream of water. Those bent teeth
force it through as the cylinder revelyes.
"Next the straw is pitched into these two
watts. where for six hours 1T is grouad till re-
duced to pulp"
"Whereis the machinery that reduces it
to pulp7" asked mothex-
The man went to q wooden cover shaped
like half cylinder; it was three
or four feet wide and painted green; it was
in the center of the vat and extended half
way across 1t. The watts were painted green,
too, and were about three feet high, ten feet
long and seven feet wide, or pretty nearly
that. He lifted some Stats at the bottom of
the cover, and showed us what looked like
roller with knives set in all around it; they
were about three feet long, should think,
bat we couldn't see it very well because of
the fine straw and the cover.
The straw being forced between these
rollers and plates Of steel bars, over and
over, for six hours, gets so fine you could not
tell what it was made of if you did not know
beforehand. The straw in this vat has been
in only three hours, but it has been in the
other one the full time"
We went to the other vat full Of pulp,
which looked to me like hasty pudding when
itjust begins to thicken, only it was not so
yellow, but just as fine.
"This is now ready to make paper" said
he, "and to make room for more straw here
it is conveyed to the basement, where it is
continually stirred until we want to draw it
up to supply the machine. Would you like
to go DOWN."
So down stairs we went, and there was the
other great redwood tank; it was so high we
had to go up some steps at its side to look
over the top. And there at last was the gil
ants pudding! Oh, such an immense pud-
ding, nothing but giant could ever make
way with it Over it was a long cross-bar
revolving horizontally with paddles pud-
ding-sticks, l should call them-fastened in
it SO as 10 keep the mush stirring all the
time.
'This pulp" said the man, ''can now be
drawn up at any time and emptied into a
trough under circular cylinder made of
wire cloth. 1 will show you"
Then we went up into the room we first
entered, and there was the pulp or straw pud-
ding the giant was going to eat in the trough
under the cylinder.
"This cylinder is thirty.six inches in d.
ameter. As it revolves its lower side goes
into the pulp, which clings to it as you see;
there are suction pipes inside which carry
off all surplus water" the man explained.
"Rolling above this cylinder, so as to come
in contact with it, is this thick flannel cloth,
over forty inches wide, which catches the
pulp evenly on its surface, comes up over
this roller, passes between these pressing
rollers, and begins to look like wet brown
paper.
"Next it comes to these six drying cylin-
ders, each three feet in diameter, and all
heated to different degrees of temperature.
When it has passed around all these cylin-
ders it is dry enough to leave the cloth and
come out by itself web of brown paper. 1t
passes between these small calender rolls,
and then on through these larger calender,
or finishing rolls, which gives it a smooth
and somewhat glossy appearance"
The calender rolls were about foot in d.
ameter, smooth hard and shiny as my
mothers fiat-irous; and the paper looked
about as nice as her aprons do when they are
freshly starched and ironed.
From these rolls, !" continued the man, "the
paper is drawn over this reel, and from that
meets these scissors on each side, which trim
it perfectly straight and even, then it comes
to this revolving knife or shears, which cuts
it off, as you see.'
watched it little while, and every time
the paper had rolled through thirty inches,
down would come the blade and cut it off,
while almost in the same instant another
blade cut it through the center and it fell in
two sheets thirty inches long and twenty
wide.
SHOW long does it take for the pulp out
there to go through the machine and come
out at this end finished paper2" asked my
mother.
about two minutes"
"Why, that is as quick as Aladdin's lamp
could do itl' 1 said, and l did think it was
as wonderful as fairy story at last.
"Unhitch the horses and off we 60" 1
said; and off we went, but the Giant is there
yet, eating his straw pudding all day long