The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-05-13
NEW SOURCES eoa PAPER:
The Strain Upon the Forests May u
Considerably Relieved.

COneiderably Hefeved.
The development of various new
sources of supply for paper-making
material promises to relieve very con
siderably the strain upon the forests
caused by the continued cutting off of
enormous acreages Of spruce, poplar
and other trees for the production OF
wood pulp. The demand in this respect
has been so far in excess Of the visible
supply that 1t has become a serious
question, not only as to the results OF
such extensive forest devastation but
where the material for paper making
was eventually to come from.
Fortunately, the tendency appears
to be to look for pulp-maklng material
TO vegetation of rapid growth, and
which Is therefore correspondingly
easy to reproduce, rather than to trees
which represent many years of de.
velopment. The utilization of waste
materials also promises to afford no
little relief. and also to present i'm
portant new means of wealth produc-
lion. In the latter respect great results
are looked for from the utilization Of
wood pulp. This has been thoroughly
accomplished with yellow pine refuse
at a paper mill established for the
purpose at Orange, Tex, where four
sawmills supply material sufficient for
wood-pulp mill of 100 tons daily
capacity. With paper in the neighbor.
hood of $40 a ton this means an enor.
nous source Of new wealth in turning
to valuable account materials which
hitherto have been burned to get them
out of the way. This means much not
only for the South. where there ara
many hundreds of such sawmils, but
for all the lumber-producing parts OF
the country rs well. 1t is predicted
that every saw and planning mill OF
any account will soon have its pulp.
making attachment. Many thousands
Of tons of wood-pulp may therefore
be expected from the utilization of
shavings and chips from such mills.
Other sources for paper making in
the way of waste materials in the
South are rice straw and bagasse, the
latter the refuse Of the sugar cane after
it has gone through the MILL With
bagasse thus utilized in Cuba and in
the other islands of the West Indies,
the value Of the product may turn out
to go very far in equalizing the con.
ditions between the manufacture of
cane sugar and beet sugar and per.
haps even carry over to the former the
economic advantage that has lately
rested with the latter.
Another new source for paper max.
Ing that is coming into prominence
promises to be of immense value for
tropical countries-that is, the utiliZa.
tion of bamboo for the purpose. Bam'
boo, which is a gigantic grass, grows
very rapidly, and produces an enor'
nous quantity of paper-making fibre
upon n given area. In addition to the
abundant supplies growing wild, it is
proposed in various countries to cult.
vate the bamboo especially for paper
making. When cut down, the bamboo,
like any other grass, will spring up
from the roots and soon develop an
other crop. In Jamaica various parties
are now going into the systematic
utilization OF the bamboo for producing
wood pulp, and the colonial govern.
ment promises to encourage the in
dustry by admitting the requisite
machinery duty free and remitting
taxes. Since the island abounds il
mountain streams of clear water, ii
should invite not only the manufacture
Of wood pulp from the bamboo, but
perhaps the establishment of mills for
the entire process Of paper making on
the spot. Our own tropical possessions
Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philip
pnes-should offer excellent opportuni.
ties for the development of this i'm
portant resource.-Boston Herald.