Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-07-07
IS 1.-THE PAPER AGE?
SINCE PUt- CAME INTO USE THERE
 HAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES.

Fireproof Shirt geson@ That Da~,,
 Have to Ise WasAei.
 Without steam ard railways modern society would undoubtedly exist. But what q state of intellectual darkness would be that of civilized mankind without paper and the secret of it's man. ufaoture! 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 piFcs, 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 1t will neither crack nor warp. 1t can be triturated, put un- der great pressure and subjected to cer- tain chemical treatment and will then take a high polish and will resist the ef- fects of fire better than any other ma teria known. Paper Is gradually snp- planting metal i'll 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 tlie manufacture of ord. nance, which is not by any means re. mote possibility. Paper has largely talk ell the place of linen. We have paper collars and cuffs and blankets. An in. genious inventor has devised paper shirt bosoms which can be torn off like the pages from a calendar. thus enabling the wearer to have clean shirt front as often as he desires It is only 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 stitute for rags ill the manufacture of paper. Nearly every species of wood can be used. Some kinds yield more than others More 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 ill solidity. and is therefore mixed with fir. This latter wood is most generally used. It was first imported from the Black forest, i'll Germany The chief supply is now obtained i'll Norway and Finland, in the l 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 In 1850 1t was 221, 900 metric tons. The latest recent estimate was 3, GOO, GOO metric tons. The European manufacturers are suffering from glut f in production. The price of paper has
 allen one-third, while wages have dou-
 led. The European plants are not SC progressive as taose in this country. r They depend too much upon manual Ia. bor. In the United States the manufac- tnrers 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. It is made from the wood of the boabah | tree, which is native of west Africa, | and IS known there as the "monkey | bread tree. 1t is found in Abyssinia, Senegal and south of Coyo river It is of low growth and has very thick l trunk. While it rarely attains q height l of 25 feet, the trunk is usually 20 to 25 | feet in diameter. The branches are pen sa;sleus and bear an edible fruit. Tie in ner bark of this tree is very tibrous. It Is used for making superior wrapper pa pers. which have great tenacity. When the inner bark is stripped from the tree, a fresh growth suppiants that taken away, and ill T couple of years the tree | is again ip normal condition. The bark [ is peeled of tut once ill four years
 The latest addition to the paper in dugtry is a sanitary note paper which is claimed to be germproof. It has long been known that letters frequently 1 spread infectious diseases by means of | the germs that contaninste the paper. | An English firm has produced paper l which is impregnated with an antiseptic | substance which kills all germs that | may come ln contact with the paper. ii | this paper proves to be what the proprie- 1 tors claim. it is certainly meritorious invention and will become generally 1 used by hospitals ana daring tho rage oi future epidemics.
 Chinese and Japanese pasers have long been noted for their quality. It has recently been ascertained, however, that oven finer grades are produced in Korea One eminent authority states that '.the Korean paper excels the very best that is made ial China and Japan. It Is manufactured entirely by manual labor. No machinery whatever is employed For the better grades the bark of the Broussonetie papyrifera is used. This is gathered in the spring of the year. It IS