The Baltimore County union., 1881-10-15
INTERESTING FACTS CoNCERNINo
wOOD-PULP.

Until recent years only few varieties Of wood
were used in making wood. pulp. The poplar was
early liked for this purpose account VI It's clear
white ibre aud the ease with which IL could be
converted into pulp. Spruce has been eonsidcra-
bly, used Of late, and hemlock makes good uality
Of pulp. large number Of factories have been
established for the making Of wood pulp alone.
and there are good reasons why its manufacture
should be often carried on separate from the other
processes Of paper making. Less capital 10 need.
cd for makii < pulp only. The cost Of q modern
wood pulp mill. with n capacity of Eve tons day,
is about $4,000, while n paper. mill Of the same
capacity would cost not less than 100000. More.
over, since pulp. as a commercial commodity, Is
easily transported, pulp making. unlike the paper
making process. which can often best be carried
on in or near some city, can be advantagcousiy
conducted In an out of the way place, where
abundance Of timber is at hand aud water power.
the cheapest Of motive powers, and often found in
connection with the clear, puie water necessary
for pulp. making. 10 abundant. Formerly tho
wood designed for pulp. making. after havia been
reduced TO chips By powerful machinery, ~as boil.
ell with strong chemicals In . generator, under
great pressure, until the mass was digssted into
pulp but recently many mills have introduced
the grinding process. The wood, AFTER being
steamed soft, 10 ground BY powerful machinery.
which almost entirely dispenses with the eaustie
acid before 90 largely used. aud thereby saves
much expense. or late experiments have been
made In Canada with view to utilizing the vast
accumulations Of sawdust at the lumber mills for
the purpose paper making, and some Of the pulp
made from sawdust has been sent TO England 20
be tested. The idea Of making paper from saw
dust 10 not new. In 1859. Wilkinson. in England,
patented process Of making paper from sawdust.
and man named johnson also secured similar
patent in England In 1855. Although Il IL very
evident that sawdust could be much moro easily
made into pulp than solid logs Of wood. there are
several serious obstacles that prevent the produc
ton Of proper quality Of this pulp. One is
this In making paper from wood Il 10 necessary
20 remove all the bark and also the knotty por-
tions. before attempting 10 reduce tho wood to
pulp but In the process Of saving lumber, por-
lions Of the bark and also Of the knots are cut
away and mixed with the sawdust. Thea, too, all
kinds Of wood are being constantly cut at the saw.
mills, and the sawdust made Of them all mingles
aud includes much pine pitch, which renders the
whole mass Of sawdust ever Questionable for pa
pei. making purposes. To remove these obstacles
aud some others 10 the problem and II has not yet
been satisfactorily solved. wood-pup is soiargsly
In demand that factories for making it can be
established with the certainly Of doing . good
business. So scarce was wood pulp In the United
States during the past season, that some Of the
mills. unable 10 obtain enough, were obliged 10
shut down on certain grades Of paper.