Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-04-07
Making Paper from Peat.

ty of materials for making paper has
existed in every civilized country in the
world. At one time nearly all the white
! paper, such as is required in writing or
for making books and newspapers. was
| made from waste cotton or flax. Rags
furnished the largest proportions of
paper stock. At present the demand
for white paper is so great that COM
| paratively little of it can be made of
| cotton and linen garments. For making
coarse paper, such as is needed for
wrapping up goods pemp. tow and
other substances u were used for
making ropes and cofdage were chiefly
em2loy ed. At present cotton, flax and
hemp are regarded as quite too costlyto
employ bythemselves for making paper.
They are chiefly used to give strength
to other and much cheaper materials.
| While the demand for paper increases
| the supply of the materials of which it
was formerly made diminishes. Pro-
%portionately more silk and wooden goods
are worn than formerly, while wire is
being used in the place of rope. Paper,
or paper pulp, is now used for making
collars, cuffs, boxes, various kinds OF
dishes and ornaments as well us small
Irvine.
On the continent of Europe consider.
able difficulty is experienced in peocur-
ing materials for making papes. The
supply of rags and other similar mate
rial is insufficient to meet the wants Of
the trade. Many vegetable substances
which are wasted in this country are
there fed to stock. Straw, beet leaves,
and even the leaves and small branches
OF g%rapeyines are carefully saced and
used as food for domestic animals. In
some countries hop vines and coarse
grasses are manufactured into paper.
In Sweden and Norway horse manureis
washed and the portions that are but
partially dige.ted are saved for paper
manufacture. They are found to an
swer the purposes very well. They ne
partially bleached in passing through
the stomach, and their fiber is disinte-
grated to q considerable extent. AS q
consequence they require but little
bleaching and but q small amount of
boiling in an alkali solution 10 convert
them into good paper pulp. Straw is
there too valuable to use in paper
making. Soft wood suitable fur making
paper is plenty, but it is NIT used to
any great extent. OF late considerable
attention has been given to thu employ
ment of the moses that grow in boys
and forests in the manufacture, VI paper.
The bark of some trees is used for the
same purpose.
A very large amount of material for
making paper is required in Great
Britain, and the home supply is very
limited. A vast amount of espar,o grass,
wood pulp, rags and other material
are imported. Manufacturers have en-
deasored to find some native material
that would answer for making paper.
1t was reported that such a substance
has been found in the peat boys, which
are both numerous and extensive. Some
inventors have perfected a plan for
using a portion of the peat as it is found
in the boys, which is very simple. 1t is
thought that the discovery will not only
cheaper the production OF paper, but
will lead to retaining much land that
is now useless. 1t is noticed that when
a deep section is made into Doggy land
three well-defned beds or strata
of peat are cut through. The surface
stratum consists of moss, lichens, and
other forms of vegetable life either grow
ing Or in the earlier stages of decay;
the second is composed of the same sub
stances which have become fibrous or
tissue-like and are in a compressed con-
dition; the third is darker in color, less
fbrous in composition, more closely
compacted, and in fact approximates,
more or less, to Ignite in appearance
and general properties. The last
named is the peat used for fuel,
and is the only portion of the beds that
now possess q commercial value. The
stratum utilized by the inventors is the
second, Or fibrous bed, which has been
considered worthless. This peat con-
tains from seventy to eighty per cent.
of its weight of water when it is cut
from the beds, and thus it would not
pay to carry it long distances in its raw
state. The plan is to erect cheap and
easily movable machinery at the bog
side by which the peat shall be cut,
"deviled" Cor torn to shreds), pressed
dry, and packed in bales. In this con-
dition it is q marketable article to makers
of photographers, and it will command
a price which, with economic manage
ment OF the process, ought to pay both
the capitalist and the laborer engaged
in its preparation. The "deyiling"
operation to which it has been subjected
has shaken it free from soil and foreign
matters generally, and it presents the
appearance Of bundles OF tibers of vary
ing length. Arrived at the mills the
peat fiber is washed in such a manner
as to secure the complete removal of
earthly and other impurities, and it is
further treated with u hot solution of
soda in order to dissolve and extract the
gummy and resinous matters in the
peat. The alkali is then washed out,
and the fiber is left of a beautifully soft
and pliable consistency. 1t is now ready
for mixing with the hemp fiber obtained
from rope and bags for the production
of pulp, and, M means having been
taken to deprive it of its rich brown
color, the fannie acid which it contains
serves the purpose Of the minerals COM
monty used.
Paper made of this material has con.
siderable power to resist the action of
moisture. This is due to the large
amount of ~macilaginous matter it con-
tains. This matter is rendered insolu-
hlo IN tho ont;nnc ~ @l,o @.-