Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-06-05
Friday, June 9Th, 1908.
Wood Pulp Report .

"A preliminary lSReAS "a NAS WI"
sumption Of pulpwood and the
amount of pulp manufactured last
year has just been issued by the
Bureau of Census. The advance
statement is made from the stat
istions collected by the Census
Bureau in cooperation with the
United States Forest Service in
cooperation with the United
States Forest Service.
Many of the figures being out
interesting facts which show the
rapid growth OF the paper making
and allied industries during the
last decade. Nearly tour million
cords of wood, in exact numbers
1902, 600 cords. were used in the
United States in the manufacture
of paper pulp last year, just twice
as much as was used in 1899, the
first year tor which detailed fig
Nres were available. More than
two and one, half million tons of
pulp were produced. The pulp
mills used 100000 more cords of
wood in 1907 than in the previous
year.
The amount Of spruce used was
6S per cent of the total consump-
ton of pulp wood, or 2, 100000
cords. The increased price of
spruce has turned the attention of
paper manufacturers to number
of other woods, hemlock ranking
next, with $4,000 cords, or II
per cent of the total consumption.
More than 9 per cent was poplar,
and the remainder consisting Of
relatively small amounts of pine,
cottonwood. balsam and other
woods. There was a marked in
crease last year in the importation
of spruce. which has always been
the most popular wood for pulp.
For a number ofyears pulp manu-,
facturers of this county have been
hetvly importing spruce from
Canada, since the available supply
OF this wood in the-north central
and New England states, where
most Of the pulp mills are locate d,
is not equal to the demand. Fig
ures show that the amount of this
valuable pulp wood brought into
this county was more than two
and one-haIf times as great in 1907
as in 1899. In 1907 the importa.
tons were larger than ever before,
being IS per cent greater than IN
1906 The imports last year am.
ounted to more than one third Of
the consumption of spruce pulp
wood. Only a slightly greater
amount of domestic spruce was
used than in 1906. Large quant1'
ties of hemlock were used by the
Wisconsin pulp mills, and the re-
port shows that the Beaver State
now ranks third in pulp production
New York and Maine ranking
first and second, respectively. Pop.
lar has been used for a long time
in the manufacture of high grade
paper but the surplus of this
wood is limited and the consump.
ton of it has not increased rapidly
Wood pulp is usually made by
either one of two general process.
SEES, m echanical or chemical OF
chemical. In the mechanical pro.
cess the wood, after being cut in,
to suitable sizes and barked, is
held against revolving grindstone:
IN a stream of water and thus re.
duced TO pulp. In the chemica
process the barked wood is re
duced to chips and cooked il
large digesters with chemical:
which destroy the cementing ma
terial of the fbers and leave prac
tlcally pure cellulose. This i:
then washed and screened to rem
der it suitable for paper making
The chemicals ordinarily used are
either bi-sulphite of lime or caus
tic soda. A little over half of the