Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-04-22
IS IT THE PAPER. AGE?.
SINCE PULP CAME INTO USE THERE
 HAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES.

and Iron-It Is Now Made Absolutely
 Fireproof Shirt Bosoms That Don's
 Have to De Washed.
 Without steam and railways modern society would undoubtedly exist, But what state of intellectual darkness would be that of civilized mankind without paper and the secret of it's man. ufaeturel For many years the rag met all demands of the paper industry. The increasing diversity of uses to which paper and paper pulp have been put in the last decade have made 1t necessary for manufacturers to cast about for more effective elementary substances. Boots, money, boats, gas pigs, impermeabls casks, toys, bottles, pipes, floors, doors. ceilings, architectural ornaments, roof. ing, ehimneys and even complete fire. proof houses are now made of paper Many claim that it will eventually sup: plant wood, for it will neither crack TOT warp. It be triturated, put un. der great pressure and subjected to cer- tain chemical treatment and will then take high polish and will resist the ef fects of fire better than any other ma. terial known. Paper Is gradually sup. planting metal in certain lines Loco motive wheels have been made of it for several years, and even rails for rail- roads. The next progressive step will be to use it for the manufacture of ord. nance, which is not by any means a re. moto possibility. Paper has largely talk. en the place of linen. We have paper collars and cuffs and blankets An i'll. genious inventor has devised paper shirt bosoms, which can De torn off like the pages from a calendar, thus enabling the wearer to have a clean shirt front as often as he desires. It is only a mat ter of time before cloths, dressing gowns and entire suits of clothes will be made from paper The soldiers of the Japanese army wore paper trousers and jerseys during their famous winter campaign.
 Wood pulp is the most effective sub stitpte for rags ill the manufacture of paper Nearly every species of wood can be used. Some kinds yield more than others. Mora pulp can be got from will low and chestnut than from walnut. Different woods give various qualities and effects. Aspen will yield very white paper, but defective in solidity, and is therefore mixed with fir This latter wood is most generally used. It was first imported from the Black forest. in Germany. The chief supply is now obtained in Norway and Finland, in the form of blanks Or poles, never exceeding feet or inches.
 For the last half century the world S production of paper has increased ten fold. In 1850 it was 221. 000 metric tons. The latest recent estimate was 2,000, eco metric tons. The European manufacturers are suffering from a gIut in production. The price of paper has fallen one. third, while wages have dou-
 led. The European plants are not SC progressive as those in this country They depend too much upon manual Ia. bor In the United States the manufae- turers have substituted machinery for hand work, and as a result of the de. crease in the number of their employees are enabled to pay high wages.
 Attention has recently been called to the utility of little known species of paper called the boabab, or Ansonia. 1t is made from the wood of the boabab tree, which is I native of west Africa, and is known there as the monkey bread tree " It is found in Abyssinia, Senegal and south of Coyo river. It is of low growth and has 6 very thick trunk. While il rarely attains a height oftl , = ,t- ' A 4r q feet in diameter. The branches are pen dulous and bear an edible fruit. The in- ner bark of this tree is very fbrous. It is used for making superior wrapper. pa pefs, which have great tenaoity When the inner bark is stripped from the tree, a fresh growth snpplants that taken away, and ill couple of years the tree is again ip normal condition. The bark is peeled off huI once in four years
 The latest addition to the paper in dustry Is a sanitary note paper which is claimed to be germproof. It has long been known that letters frequently spread infectious diseases by means of the germs that contalninate the paper An English firm has produced paper which is impregnated with an antiseptic substance which kills all germs that may come ill contact with the paper. If this paper proves to be what the proprie- tors claim, it is certainly meritorious invention and will become generally used by hospitals anl daring the rage of future epidemics.
 Chinese and Japanese papers have long been noted for their quality. It has recently been asoertained, however, that even finer grades are produced in Korea. One eminent authority states that the Korean paper excels the very best that is made in China and Japan, It is manufactured entirely by manual labor No machinery whatever is employed. For the better grades the bark of the Broussonetia papyrifera is used. This is