Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-04-10
STICKY FLY PAPER.
Most of the Worlds Supply Manufactured
In Secret In n Michigan Town.

Most Of the Worlds Supply Manufactured
In Secret In n Michigan Town.
The worlds supply Of sticky fly paper
comes from Grand Rapids, Mich. There
are three or four other small factories
scattered about the country, but none Of
them makes enough to cat much Of
figure in the market. The great producer
is the single factory in this city, big
concern employing 400 to 600 hands all
the year round, and its product is ship
ped to every land.
The factory is surrounded by high
board picket fence, and guards are on
watch day and night TO keep out intru-
ders. The best friends of the proprietors
meet with as cold a reception when the
matter Of going into the factory is men
toned as any stranger The sticky prep.
aration with which it is expected the
flies will form entangling alliances is
prepared by the proprietors personally,
and they alone know tib exact formula.
The preparation is not patented or
copyrighted, as to gain the protection Of
the government it would be necessary TO
reveal the materials that 60 into it and
thus make the formula known 10 the
world and give trade pirates a chance to
operate. The secret is protected by not
letting it out, and it has been kept sue
cessfully for nearly 90 years. The ma.
chiDery used in the factory is guarded
in the same manner against infringe
ment instead of being patented. Most Of
the machinery was designed for the spe
cial purpose TO which it is put, and the
four brothers engaged in the business
made the designs for it themselves and
had different parts Of it constructed at
different machine shops. The fly paper
factory occupies four large two story
brick buildings, and the employees in
one department are not allowed under
any circumstances to visit any other de-
partment. None but trustworthy men
is employed, and, once engaged, they
have substantially life job. But even
the most trusted is not allowed to know
more than one branch Of the business
The fly paper is made by spreading
certain balsams and gums on a sheet of
sized MANILA paper. The sheet has a
narrow border of wax to prevent the
sticky stuff from oozing out. The border
of wax is put on, the sticky preparation !
is spread, and the sheet is folded ready |
for inspection and shipment by one ma
chine, and this machine has a capacity |
of about 80, 900 sheets a day. From the
machine the sheets pass to inspectors,
who see that the stuff is Of the right
consistency, and then TO the packers, to
be put into boxes for shipment. The pa
per goes to Africa, Asia, Europe, Aus
tralia and South America, besides all
parts of this country.
The manufacturers Of the sticky paper
began business about 90 years ago on a
small scale, occupying lean to in con-
nection with suburban drug store
which the brothers had established as a
branch Of their city business. One of
the brothers carried ON the fly paper
as a side issue. and az
FIRST only enough was manufactured to
supply limited local demand. The de-
mand gradually grew, and the factory is
now one Of the big institutions Of the
city, and the four brothers all devote to
It their entire time. New York Sun.