The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1904-03-31
CORN STALK PAPER.
The Fiber Used as Substitute for
Wood Pulp-Farmer Has His Corn
Shocked for One Dollar an Acre In
the Field.

SnuCkeo LOT One OOtIaT an ACre III
the Field.
Kankakee, ILL.,, Dispatch to Chicago Record
Herald.
A Maine paper mill is making pa
per from Illinois corn stalks that sells
as high as s cents a pound, the result
OF a new farm operation that prom
Uses great results. It 10 farm mat
ter in that use of stalks for paper re-
suits in the farmer having his corn
husked for ST. an acre instead Of B
cents bushel and in having gathered
into his barn all of the fodder that is
really desirable for feeding purposes.
For years the paper manufacturers
have known that the corn stalk pro-
duces fiber that is valuable for pa
per-making purposes, but up to a
year or so ago they were at loss to
know how to cook it to advantage.
To cook the shell of the corn stalk to
the proper consistency would over
cook the pith. Neither could the
leaves or husks be cooked with the
stalk without spelling some compo-
nent part.
About eight years ago George R.
Sherwood, of Kearney, Neb., began
giving the subject of utilizing corn
stalks considerable thought. From
his seat in a railroad car he looked
out over the great wastes OF corn
stalks and tried to figure out the
solution of putting them to valuable
use. Later he consulted a Chicago
chemist named William Hoskins, and
the two set to work to devise plan
by which the shell of the corn stalk
and the pith could be prepared for
paper making separately. To do this
it would be necessary to separate the
pith from the shell, and it would have
to be done by machinery. A score or
more of such machines were expert
mented with.
Abouta year ago a piece of mechan-
ism was completed and set to work,
with the result that nearly 100 tons
of the finest grades Of paper have been
made from stalks that grew in Kanka-
kee county. Ill. The quality of this
paper is such as to make it available
for nearly all of the purposes of a
printer or bookmaker. The character
of the pith production is slightly diff
ferent from that of the shell. One
grade of it has been found desirable
for grocers' use in covering lard OF
butter A large proportion of the
paper that has been made came from
the 1908 crop of corn stalks.
1t was first thought best to induce
the farmer to haul his corn fodder tC
the plant in Kankakee, have the corr
husked and then hauling the leaves
and the husks back to the farm fol
feeding purposes. Superintendent
Miller of the factory, however, be
lieved there was q much better plan
one that was calculated to enlist thu
cooperation of the farmers. He per
fected a machine the province of which
is to be hauled to the farm, set VI
near the barn and then haul thu
shocks of fodder to the machine, just
as the thrashing people haul oats Oh
other grain. The fodder is fed into
the machine, swiftly driven by steam
power.
The first act of the contrivances il
. to snap off the ears of the corn stall
and to drop them into q double con
veyor, which carries the ears along
endways, skinning off the husks al
they pass along. Scarcely shred j.
left on an ear, the great bulk of thu
yellow ears coming out without &
! vestige of their former covering
What little Smelling is done in the OPP
{ Grafton the machine saves the grain.
J and deposits them in a box at thu
/ side. The ears are run by machinery
into a wagon box, in which they ar.
hauled away.
After having clipped off the ears thu
machine runs the stalks to the rear
depositing them side by side on {
: table. Automatically the machine
e rolls them into a bundle that is pushed
into binder operated on the same
, principle as that of the binding
e machinery of harvester. The bundl'
! of stalks, as clean as fish poles, il
E tied with a hemp cord and dropped
Ito the side of the machine.
The leaves and husks of the fodde
are dropped on an endless belt tina
carries them to the mouth of q blow
pipe, the function Of which is to blow
this material into the barn Of tn
5 farmer, who finds in it some of tn
e finest feed stuff that his farm pro
duces.
, For thus husking his corn AM
e blowing thepart fit forcattle feed int
L the barn the farmer pays ne machin
: man 81 an acre and turn, over til
S stalks to the latter free OF charge
n The machine will clean up six acre
of about $50 shocks OF corn day.
The stalks, which have now becom
the property of the husker. are haule
g or shipped to the plant at kankake
# and are conveyed to an upper room
h where they are fed into a machin
a that separates the pith from the she
t of the stalk. Two knives that al
e. driven at great speed saw the pit
e. from the stalk that has been role
fat, SO that every particle of the pit
lie has been taken out. The pith
dropped into one bin and the she
into another.
he They are baled separately and shil
'r ped to the paper factory in Main
'r where each is treated according to
re particular process in making pape
er At first the husker and depithin
ne machines were combined in one, Il
ne first idea being to bring all OF the TO
ID der to the plant. Then it was four
as to be more desirable to do the hus
r ing on the farm and the depithing
the plant, and they were separate
1t is believed that one of the huske
may be perfected to strip and hu.
as fifteen acres a day and will turn q
nj in a single autum 600 tons OF pr
oc pared corn stalks. A paper mill wi
e. a daily capacity of 100 tons OF fl
Sc ished paper will require 10000 to
ss of corn stalks annually. 1t is es