Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-10-08
PAPER MAKING LORE.
EGYPTIANS WERE FIRST TO DISCOVER
 THE GREAT ART.

V From Verbal Message Bearers to Inscrip-
 tions Upon Stones and Then Upon Metals.
 Making Egyptian Paper-The Ingenuity
 of the Chinese.
 In all ages people have been compelled to communicate with each other At very early period of the world s existence some material on which to inseribe any information which they wished toeonvey to others was found necessary. Verbal messages, though often employed by an- cient nations us means of communica- tion, were not always possible to use. Secrets had often to be transmitted, and it was a severe trial of bearers fidelity to intrust him with private affairs Many tales are related in history and iii legends of trusty messengers who yield ed up their lives rather than make known the secret, which no torture could drag from their lips. Still failures were not uneommon, and human ingenuity set to work to invent some material on which to inscribe signs which could bo understood at distance
 As people grew more civilized, Q de- mand arose for some material on which records and histories might be written and handed down to posterity. Stones were probably the earliest form of writ ing material. Even at the present day ill many parts of tho world stones are found bearing inscriptions It would seem that among the earlier races of mankind any record of great importance was generally engraved upon stone, as being the more likely to be permanent. The same feeling may be traced in the present generation, tho inscriptions on tombs, foundation stones of public build ings and monuments. a4
 Stones not being convenient for the transmission of long messages. though admirably adapted for receiving inserip- tions intended to outlast dynasties, oth- CT materialsw tried. Lead, brass and bricks were all found to resemble stone too much iii its property of not being portable. Lead was found to be the best, as it could be beaten out into thin sheets and written upon with iron or steel instruments. It's weight, however, was against it. Tablets of wood, wax and ivory, skins of fishes, intestines of serpents, were all employed as substi- tutes and were found to combine the requirements of portability, durability and facility of receiving writing. s
 The bark of trees when once tried was found to be superior to most of the other materials, and it was employed largely till the introduction of paper There are but few kinds of plants or trees which have not been used i'll the manufacture of books and paper, and the various terms employed by the classic authors denote the several parts which were written on, such as biblos, eodex, fiber, tabula and others.
 Of paper proper itself, it is perhaps needless to remind our readers that the name is derived from the papyrus, Though Egypt is generally supposed to be the source whence came the idea of making paper, evidence is not wanting i'll favor of the theory that the Chinese were acquainted with the art at a very early period The Chinese process is more ingenious than that of the ancient Egyptians, being more of manufac- ture, properly speaking, than the other.
 The Egyptian paper made from the papyrus was made by laying thin plates of tissue, taken from the middle of the paper rush, side by side, but close to- gether, on a hard, smooth table. Other pieces were then laid across the first at right angles The whole was moistened with the water of the Nile, which was supposed to have some agglutinating property (though this probably resided i'll the plant itselfl and pressure was then applied for a certain number of hours Thus a sheet of paper was formed which required no other finish ing than rubbing and polishing with smooth stone or with solid glass hem- isphere and drying ill the sun.
 This simple process was rather prep aration of natural paper than manu- facture The process adopted by the Chinese comes, as already remarked more legitimately under that head.
 The small branches of a tree resem- bling mulberry tree are cut by them in lengths of about feet and boiled ill an alkaline lye for the sake of loosening the inner rind of bark which is then peeled off and dried for use When sufficient quantity of bark has been thus laid up, it is again softened i'll water for three or four days, and the outer parts are seraped off as useless. The rest is boiled ill clear lye, which is kept strongly agitated all the time until the bark has become tender and separated into distinct fibers. It is then placed in pan or sieve and washed in running stream, being at the same time worked with the hands until it becomes deli cate and soft pulp.
 For the finer serts of paper the pulp receives a second washing ill linen bag It is then spread out on smooth table and beaten with wooden mallet until it is extremely fine. So far the manufacture is very much like what is carried on by the paper makers of the present day, they having the advantage of better materials than the bark of trees, and machinery now performs all the laborious washing and pulping proc esses. The ingenuity of the Chinese in inventing so complicated process is far superior to that of the Egyptians. - Paper Makers Journal
 Did Her Best.
 This is the message the telepranh mes.