Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-06-16
HE P APER AGE?
SINCE PULP CAME INTO USE THERE
 HAVE SEEN MANY CHANGES.

and Iron-It Is Now Made AnsoAu'e'y
 r4reproof Shirt B0soms That Don's
 Have to Be washed.
 Without steam and railways modern sooietv would undoubtedly exist But what state of intellectual darkness wonId be that of civilized mankind without paper and the secret of it's man. ufacturel For many years the rag met all demands of the paper industry. The Increasing diversity of uses to which ,,aper and paper pulp have been put ID the list decade have made It necessary flor manufacturers to cast about for mora C Eectige elementary substances. Boots, nIoney, boats, gas pjFos, impermeabis cjsks toys, bottles, pipes, floors, doors, ceilings. architectural ornaments, roof ing, ehinlneya and even complete hre' uyoof houses are now made of paper. Many claim that it will eventually sup plant wood, for it will neither crack ilor warp. It can be triturated, pat un- der Qrea t pressure and subjected to cer. tain chemical treatment and will then take high polish and willresist the ef- feets of fire better than fany other ma terial known Paper isS gradually sup planting metal in certain lines. Loco- motive wheels have been made of 1t for several years, and even rails for rall- roads. The nextprogressive step will be to use it for the manufacture of ord. nance, whichis not by any means Tes mote possibility. Paper has largely tfsk- en the place of linen. We have paper collars and cuffs and blankets. An in- genious inventor has devised paper shirt bosomq. 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 gowus and entire suits of clothes will he made from pager. Tine soldiers of the Japanese army woto paper trousers and jerseys during tbeie famous winter campaign.
 Wood pulp is the most effective sub stitufe for saes in the manufacture of paper. Nearly every species of wood can be used Some kinds yield moro than others. Mal pulp can be got from will low and chestnut than from walnut. Different woods give various qualities and effects Aspenswill yield . very white paper, but defective ill solidity, and is therefore mixed with fir. This latter wood ia 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 3 feet T 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 9, 900, 900 metric tons. The European manufact rs are suffering from a glut in produ |. The price of paper has
 allen ono-third, while wages have dou-
 led Tho European plants are not so progressive as those in this country. They depend too much upon manual la 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 are enabled to pay high wages
 Attention has recently been oelled tC 1 the utility of little known species oi paper called the boabab, or Ansonia. l It is made from the wood of the boabaL l tree, which is a 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 a very thick trunk While it rarely attains q height of 26 feet, the trunk is usually 20 to 25 feet in diameter. The branches gre pen dulous and bear an edible fruit. The in. ner bark of this tree is very Abrous. Il is used for making superior wrapper pa. pers, which have great tenaoity. When the inner bark is stripped from the tree, 8 fresh growth supplants that taken away and in couple of years the tree is again in normal condition The bark is peeled off hut once in four years.
 The latest addition to the paper ill dustry is q sanitary note. paper whicI Is claimed to bo germproof. It has long been known that letters frequently spread infectious diseases by means oi she germs that contaminate the paper. An English firm has produced a paper which is impregnated with an 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 used by hospitals and during the rage of future epidemies,
 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 tho very best that As made in China and Japan. It is manufactured entirely by manual labor No machinery whatever is employed. Tor the better grades the bark of the Broussonetia papyrifera is used This is gathered ill the spring of the year. It is placed in water, mixed with wood ash. IS and is then beaten until it is reduced 10 thick pulp, which is dipped out in good sized ladies and spread out in thin sheets upon bamboo frames. A different grade of paper is made from fragments Ot bark, which are trodden under foot In manner similar to that employed in the grape presses in some countries. This process of making the pulp is very tedious, but it possesses the great merit of preserving the fibers intact and not breaking them, as Is done when ma. ehinery is ;ssaa. The pulp is then meta. mOrphosed into nanar and tha sboo4,