Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-01-08
EES TT THE PAPER AGE !?
SINCE PULP CAME INTO USE THERE
 HAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES.

Paper Is Taking the Place of Wood, Stone
 aud Eon-It Is Now Made Absolutely
 Flr6prooF - shirt Bosoms That Don't
 Have to Be Washed.
 Without steam and railways modern sQoiety would undoubtedly exist But What a state of intellectual darkness would be that of civilized mankind without paper and the secret of its man. ufacture For many years the rag met all demands of the paper industry. The increasing diversity of uses to which paper aud 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, impermeable casks, toys, bottles, pipes, floors, doors, ceilings, architectural ornaments, roof ing, chimneys and even complete fire nrobf houses are now made of paper Many claim that it will eventually sup plant 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 a high polish and will resist the ef- feets of fire better than any other ma terial known. Paper is gradually SUD- 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 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- 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 thei" famous winter campaign.
 Wood pulp Is the most effective sub stitute for rags i'll the manufacture of paper. Nearly every species of wood can be used Some kinds yield more than others Nor pulp can be got from will low and chestnut than from walnut. Different woods give various qualities and effects. Aspen will yield a very white paper, but defective i'll 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 feet or inches.
 For the last half century the worlds production of paper has increased ten fold In 1850 it was 291, 900 metric tons. The latest recent estimate was 2, 000, 900 metric tons The European manufacturers are suffering from a glut i'll production. The price of paper has fallen one.third, while wages have dou- bled. Tho European plants are not so progressive as those i'll 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 result of tho 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 boabab 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 ii rarely attains a height of D feet, the trunk is usually 20 to % feet ill diameter. Tho branches are pen dulous and bear an edible fruit. The in- ner bark of this tree is very fibrous. It is used for making superior wrapper pa pers, which have great tenacity. When the inner bark is stripped from the tree, fresh growth supplants that taken away, and ill couple of years the tree is again in normal condition. The bark is peeled off but once in four years,
 The latest addition to the paper in- dustry is q sanitary note paper which is claimed to be germproof. It has long been known that letters frequently Sp1SHU lntNOiiOus hiSGesSGS Oy 1t{CAAlS Ol the germs that contamin9te the paper An English firm has produced q paper which is impregnated with an antiseptic substance which kills all germs that may come i'll 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 anl during the rage of future epidemies.
 Chinese and Japanese papers have long been noted for their quality. It has recently been ascertained, however, that even finer grades are produced ill Korea One eminent authority states that 'Hthe 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 gathered in the spring of the year, It is 1lapn1 ii, Xvatnr Naixad with wood aeh