The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-02-21
Paper Lumber Production.

A tall, elderly man, with round,
pleasant face, took from the markle man.
tel shelf of room overlooking Printing
House square yesterday afternoon sec-
tion Of what appeared TO be walnut
board. That is paper lumber" he said.
| You may not be awarR that process has
| been invented for utilizing paper pulp in
| the manufacture Of substitute for natu
! raj lumber. A mill has been erected in
a western town for the purpose Of manu-
| fncturing artificial lumber from nane-
stock, aud d number Of capitalists have
taken hold Of the matter. We are
thoroughly convinced Of tue perfect
practicabilty Of paper lumber in the
manufacture Of all articles at present
from wood. II is only question Of
very short time when paper lumber will
come into general use. feel confident
that it will provo much cheaper than
wood, equally ss durable, and fully as
good al article for fine work"
Attention was directed 10 several ar
ticles Of cabincnt ware made Of the ma
terial. Two Of these were ordinary par.
lor tables, one OF which was finished IN
the natural grain OF the lumber, reaem.
bling somewhat the peculiar mOttlcd APP
pearance seen in tonlc choice hard wood.
The surface Of the table was vanished
and highly polished. presenting q smooth.
ness equal 10 fine plate glass The other
| table was finished in exact imitation OF
rosewood. y panel door was also shown
the finish resembling mahogany 4
couple of jewelry or ladies work boxes,
made after an elegant pattern and highly
hnIshcd, were also produced, showing the
adsptabili!y Of paper lumber in the con
| etruction Of ornamental aT,ic!c.
The paper board" continued the
gentleman alluded to, sis susceptible of
taking the finest polish az well as any
tint, shade, or color. The lumber ID
made principally of The pulp nf wheat,
| rye, oat straw. and other vegetable iibrcs,
! combined with chemical ingredients and
cemcnts. 1t is formed Of layers about
one-quarter of an iucb in thickness and
these layers are pressed together by pow
erful machinery, and thus rendered as
hard az Tie hardest wood, besides much
more dense. The boards are also rem
dered waterproof in varying degrees, ac-
cording TO the purpose for which they
are To be used. The material il as dura-
BILE "a time, aud can be cold q; /, good
price for almost half the price Of orfiina.
~ pine lumber. 1t will take any finish,
and in this reapect alone 10 equal TO the
finent hard woods. Moreover, it can be
marbleized in imitation OF any kind of
marble, both in respect to high degree
OF polish and an exact imitation of grain.
1t will not warp and eau be rendered
perfectly waterproof, if desired, thus
making il suitable for the construction
OF burial caskeis. II ngkes just rs solid
surface as any wood, and may be made
oil the hardness of atone. AS o substi-
tute for wood 10 the construction Of
building it poBsesueS qualities OF perfect
adaptation. 1t will make the finest ma.
terial i'll the world for roofing, not e1cep-
ting olate or iron. II can be sawed. split.
or plauod, and boardo made OF it are
perfectly smooth and fiat from end to
end on both aides, without any knots,
crncko or blemishes Of any kind com.
monty met with in wood"
"Do yout * that the supply of pa.
per stock is -ubicient to permit the gen.
eral use Of paper lumber 40 substitute
for wood 2"
"Why not! The production Of straw
alone is sufficient. 1t takes 100 years to
grow 10000 feet OF natutal timber on au
acre Of ground. This is according TO
official statistics. On the other hand an
acre Of ground will produce every year
atraw enough to make 1000 feet OF arti.
ficihl lumber, and hence in hundred
vcs,s it will produce 100000 feet, ten
tImes the quantity Of natural lumber.
What do We propose to do? 1t 10 our
purpose besides entering into the manu-
facture of paper lumber on an extended
Bcalo, TO lease machinery to other parties
desiring to embark in the industry"-
Correspondence Chicago Tribue.