Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-29

name of a paper-makng plant, so the word
library has similar derivation from
the bark Qiber) of trees, because books
were once made on sheets of bark, just as
the paper-thn bark of the birch. Book
comes from Anglo-Saxon boo or beech.
since early Teutonc tribes used the bark
of that tree for writing material.
The eastern nations have used paper for
a long time, the Chinese and Japanese have
made paper from cotton, from straw and
wood tibers and from the pith Of various
plants. Japan now uses number Of flbers,
including bamboo and many grasses; the
Polynesian Islands make use Of tapa cloth
and paper, made from the paper mulberry.
When the Arabs captured the wonderful
city of Samarkand, 704 A. D., they found
people skilled in the manufacture of paper
from cotton, and they in turn disseminated
the art throughout their empire. Their
product became known as 'charta which
has given name to card and to charter
The making of paper from cotton was COM
mon throughout Europe; later linen rags
and fax were used Still the demand grew
and 1t became necessary to search new
fields and new materials. Esparto Span
ish grass, was finally decided on as the
proper material and for many years it was
used, and still is used. About 200 600 tons
are annually imported into Great Britain
for paper-making purposes. though there is
no present tendency to increase the impor-
tation. Palm leaves, cane, hop stalks net
ties, thistles, ramie peat and a great many
other things have been used, but paper
made from it is not good for printing be-
cause of hard particles that quickly destroy
type.
In 1915 the first important steps were
taken in the manufacture of paper from
wood In that year Keller of Saxony took
out patent 'for making paper from wood
pulp. His success led others to investigate.
until two methods of obtaining paper MAX
ing material from wood were devised. the
mechanical and the chemical processes.
Mechanical and Chemical Processes.
Both are used in the United States. The
mechanical process is a simple one and
consists merely of grinding the wood with
water until it is reduced to a PUPPY mass.
The pulp mills are situated near to the
place where the wood grows, and generally
on a good water-power site. The product
of the mechanical pulp mills is not held
to be as high grade as the chemical pulp,
which is produced by a quite different pro-
cess, giving a longer and tougher fiber.
For most cheap papers the mechanical pulp
is used as a basis, with about one-third of
chemical pulp added to give strength and
toughneSS.
The chemical processes are two; one of
them uses caustic soda and the other sui
phurous acid, to separate the useless matter
from the fiber. The caustic soda process.
which gives its name to soda pulp is used
mainly for poplar
The plant of a typical sulphite pulp mill,
situated near its source of supply, con-
sists of a saw for cutting the logs into a
size easily handled. a wood preparing or
rossing room. in which the bark is stripped
off and a clipper to reduce the wood to
small pieces for the acid in the digester.
The digester plant has a tower in which
sulphur is burned at the base, and the
fumes pass up through cooling pipes to
meet water which percolates through lime
stone from the top This forms sulphurous
acid, which is drawn off into the dgester
filled with chips Steam is turned on under
pressure, and the whole mass is cooked