The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1884-01-10
PAPER LUMBER.
Initiating All Sorts Of Natural Wood
in Grain, Color and SolIdity.


in Grain, Color and Solidity.
New York Sun.
A tall, elderly man, with round,
pleasant face, took from the marble
mantel of room overlooking Printing
House Square, yesterday afternoon. a
section OF what appeared to be walnut
board
"That is paper lumber" he said.
"You may not be aware that a process
has been invented for utilizing paper
pulp in the manufa :ture of substitute
for natural wood. A mill has been cree.
ted in Western town for the purpose
of manufacturing artificial lumber, and a
number of capitalists have taken hold
of tn matter. We are thorou ghly con
WINGED of the perfect practicability oil
paper lumber in the manufacture of all
articles at present made from wood. 1t
is only question of a very short time
when paper lumber will come into gen.
eral use. l feel confident that it will
prove much cheaper than wood, equally
as durable, and fully as good for fine
WORK"
Attention was directed to several arti-
cles of cabinetware made of the M terial
Two Of these were ordinary parlor tables,
one of which resembled the peculiar
notified appearance seen in some choice
hard woods. The surface Of the table
was vanished and high polished. The
other table was finished in exact imlta-
ton of rosewood. A panel door was al
SO shown, the finish resembling NAH og-
any. A couple oil ladies' work boxes,
made after an elegant p tern and high
lv finished, were also exhibited.
"The paper board" continued the gem
tleman, lis susceptible of the finest pol
ish, and will take any tint or color. The
lumber is made principally of the pulp
of wheat, rye and oat straw, and other
vegetable fibers, combined with chemica!
ingredients and cements. 1t is formed
in layers about one quarter OF an inch In
thickness, and these are pressed together
by powerful machinery, and thus rem
hered as hard as the hardest wood, be-
sides being much more dense. The
boards are also rendered waterproof in
varying degrees, according to the pur-
pose for which they are to be used. The
material is as durable as time, and car
be sold at a good profit for almost hall
lie IS than ordinary pine lumber. 1t will
AXE any finish, and in this respect alone
is EQUAL to the finest hard wood. More.
over, it can be marbleized in imitat on
OF any kind of marble both In respect to
a high degree of polish and an exact imi.
,ation of grain. 1t will not warp, and
can be rendered perfectly waterproof il
desired, thus making it suitable for the
construction of burial caskets. 1t makes
Just as solid surface as any wood, and
NAV be made of the hardness of stone
AS a substitute for wood in the con
struction Of buildings it possesses quail
ties OF per ect adaptation. 1t will make
the finest material in the world for roof
ing, not excepting slate or iron. 1t car
be sawed, split or pianed, and boards
made of it arc perfectly smooth and fiat
from end to end on both sides, without
any knots. cracks or blemishes of any
kind commonly met with in wood"
"Do you think that the supply of paper
stock is suffici mt to permit the general
use Of paper lumber as substitute fol
wood?"
"Why not? The production OF straw
alone is sufficient. 1t takes ne hundred
years to grow 10000 feet of natural lum
Der on an acre of ground. This is accord
ing to official statistics. On the othel
hand, an acre of ground will produces
every year straw enough to make 2,0O(
teet Of artificial lumber, and hence in I,
hundred years it will produce 100000
feet-ten times as much as the quantity
of natural lumber"