Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-01-23
rs IS::;TiITTHEPAPER AGE?
SINCE PULP CAME INTO Use THERE
HAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES.

Without steam and railways lAou0AN
society would undoubtedly exist. But
what a state Of intellectual darkness
would be that of civilized mankind
without paper and the secret of its man
nfaoturel 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
fhe last decade have made it necessary
for manufacturers to cast about for more
effective elementary substances. Boots,
money, boats, gas pipes, impermeapie
casks toys, bottles, pipes, floors, doors'
ceilings. architectural ornaments, roof
ing. chimneys and even complete fire.
nranf houses are now made OF paper
MANY claim that it will eventually sup
nlanb wood, for it will neither crack
nor warp. 1t can be triturated, put IN
der great pressure and subjected TO GER
tain chemical treatment and will then
take a 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-
mote possibility. Paper has largely tax
en- the place eff linen. We have paper
collars and cuffs and blankets An in
genious inventor has devised paper
shirt bosons, which can be torn of like
the pages from a calendar, thus enabling
the wearer to have "a clean shirt front
as often as he desires. Tt is only mat
terof time before cloths, dressing gowns
and entire suits Of clothes vail 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
stituto for rags in the manufacture OF
paper. Nearly every species Of wood can
be used. Some kinds yield more than
others. More pulp can be got from viii
low and chestnut than from walnut
Different woods give various qualities
and effects. Aspen viii 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 planks or poles, never exceeding
feet or inches.
For the last hall century the world s
production Of paper has increased ten
fold TIA 1850 it was 221, GOO metric
tons. The latest recent estimate was
1900, 600 metric tons. The European
manufacturers are suffering from glut
in production. The price of paper has
fallen one-third, while wages have dou-
bled The European plants are not so
progressive as those in this country.
They depend too much upon manual la.
boz. Ia the United States the manufac-
turers have substituted machinery for
hand work. and as 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
III is made from tao wood Of the boabab
tree, which is q native Of west Africa,
ana is known there as the monkey
bread tree I5 is found in Abyssinia,
Senegal and south of Coyo river. It is
Of low growth and has a very thick
trunk. While ii rarely attains height
of % feot, taa 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 fbrous. It
is used fer making superior wrapper pa
pers, which have great tonaoity. When
the inner bark is stripped from the tree,
a fresh growth supplants that taken
away, and in a couple OF years the tree
is again in normal condition. The bark
is peeled eff but once in four years.
Tie latest addition 60 tho paper in
dustry is a sanitary note paper which
IS claimed to be germproof. 1t has long
been known that letters frequently
spread infectious diseases by means Of
the germs that ooHtaminate the paper.
An English firm has produced a paper
which is impregnated with an antiseptio
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 viii become generally
used by hospitals ana during the rage Of
future epidemics.
Chinese and Japanese papers have
long been noted for their quality 1t ha.
recently been ascertained, however, that
even finer grades are produced in Korea.
One eminent authority states that stbe
Korean paper excels the very best that
is made IN China and Japan. " 1t is
manufactured entirely by manual labor.
No machinery whatever is employed.
For the better grades the bark Of the
Broussonetia papyrifora is used. This is
gathered IN the spring Of the year. 1t is
placed II water, mixed with wood ash
es and is then beaten until il is reduced
to thick pulp, which is dipped cut in
good sized ladies and spread out in thin
sheets upon bamboo frames. A different
grade OF paper is made from fragments
OF bark, which are trodden under foot
IN manner similar to that EMPLOYED in
the grape presses in some countries.
TINS process Of making the pulp is very
tedious, but 1t possesses the great merit
OF preserving the fibers intact and not
breaking them, as is done when ma.
ehlneTy is used. The pulp is then meta
morphesed into paper, and the sheets
etc nN-r II -