Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-06-04
ss ssTTTHE EPAPER AGEY9
,ee PULP CAME INTO USE THERE '' LAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES.

s.oer Is Taking the Place of Wood. Stone
 aA 1ron-It Is Now Made Absolutely
 r,reprooS Shirt Bosoms That Don't
 uave to Be Washed.
 Without steam and railways modern
 .,oiety would undoubtedly exist. But
 -sat 7. state of intellectual darkness
 eorld bs that of civilized mankind
 sitbout paper and the secret of it's man.
 .faoturel For many years the rag met
 .Jl demands of tne paper industry. The
 ;ncreasjng diversity of uses to which
 naner and paper rulp have been put in
 ,he lost decade have made it necessary
 sor manufacturers to cast about for more
 .aeetiye elementary substances. Boots,
 money, boats, gas pifos, impermeabls casks, toys, bottles, pipes, floors, doors,
 oailiugs architectural ornaments, roof
 ino ehimneys and even complete fire nrsof houses are now made of paper M6ny claim that it will eventually sup. nlant wood, for it will neither crack nor warp. It can be triturated, put un, der great pressure and subjected to cer. tain chemical treatment and will then take high polish and will resist the of feots of fire better than any other ma. tarial 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 re. mote possibility. Paper has largely talk. en the place of linen We have paper collars and cuffs and blankets. An in eenious inventor has devised paper shirt bosome. which can be torn off like the pages from calendar, thEs enabling the wearer to have a clean shirt front sSoften as lie desires. 1t is oaly 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 thei7 famous winter campaign.
 Wood pulp is the most effective sub- stitute for rags in the manufacture of paper. Nearly every species of wood can be used Some kinds yield more than others. No paIp 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. 1t 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 3 feet or inches.
 For the last half century the worlds production of paper has increased ten fold Tn 1850 1t WAS 22I. GOO metris tons. The latest recent estimate was 3, 000,0 900 metric tons. The European manufacturers are suffering from a glut in production. The price of paper has allen 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 manufac- turers have substituted machinery for hand work, and as a result of the de. crease in the number of their employees gre enabled to pay high wages.
 Attention has recently been called to she utility of little known species of paper called the boabab, or Ansonia. It is made from the wood of the boaba6 tree, which is 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 very thick trunk. While 1t rarely attains height of 25 feet, the trunk is usually 20 to % feet in diameter The branches are pen dulous and bear an edible fruit. The in- ner bark of this tree is very flbrous IL is used for making superior wrapper pa pers, which have great tenacity. When the inner bark is stripped from the tree, a fresh growth supplants that taken sway, and ill couple of years the tree is again ID normal condition. The bark is peeled eff bus once in four years
 The latest addition to the paper ill dustry is Q 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 contaminste the paper. An English firm has produced a paper which is impregnated with all antiseptic substance which kills all germs that may come in contact with the paper. If this paper proves to be what the proprie- tors claim, it is certainly a meritorious Invention and will become generally nsed by hospitals anl during the rage of future epidemics.
 Chinese and Japanese papers have long been noted for their quality. It has recently been ascertained, however, that even finer grades are produced in Korea One eminent authority states that "the Korean paper oxcels the very best that AS made ill China and Japan. It IS manufactured entirely by manual labor. No machinery whatever is employed.