The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1908-07-03
SUBSTITUTE FOR WOOD
THOUGHT PRACTICABLE
Officials Confident That Present
Cost Of Process VIII
Be Overcome


a hetter quality than that now used in
The making of print stock has been Sc.
cured from cotton stalks was the i'm
portant announcement semiofficially
made at the department Of agriculture
and. While Il was said that the present
cost of the process is rather zoe high
TO admit Of its immediate adoption. Il
was declared that there Is strong rea-
son to believe that this difficulty viii
be overcome in the near future. The
discovery was made by a Chicago man
named Sherwood, who has been eX-
'Derlmentng for years with cornstalks
and cotton stalks. u is understood thar
Sherwood notified the department
some days ago that his experiments
had finally been crowned with sue
cess The department at once sent a
representative to his laboratory.
Expert Goes to Chicago.
One of the department scientists
admitted that a representative of the
department had gone TO Chicago to
Investigate and report upon the prog
ress made by Mr.. Sherwood He said
chat the department did not know
whether Sherwood had reference sole
~ TO cornstalks when he announced
that he had been successful in produc.
ng fine quality paper
However" said the official men.
toned III he has hit upon a process
Of making paper from corstalks at a
cost which will make its manufacture
profitable, as he claims, we have no
fear about his being able to make il
from Gotten stalks also. since the
structure of the two for the purposes
of the paper-maker are practically the
same"
The chief difficulty encountered in
the manufacture Of paper from stalks
OF corn and cotton plant has been the
comparatively large amount OF non-fib-
rous tissue which each contains, and
the black outer bark Of The cotton
stalk which discolored the product
But the unqualified statement was
made at the department that this oh.
stacle had been overcome and chat pa
per OF better quality than that used
IN the printing OF newspapers had been
secured from cotton stalks But the
cost was ratksr too high to admit OF
the manufacture in competition with
other fibers.
VIII Use Appropriation.
The $4,000 appropriated by con
gress at the last session TO be expend-
ed In Investigations for a material
which would prove a substitute for
wood in the manufacture OF print pa
per became available and the depart.
ment viii employ IL in part in aiding
experiments designed To show meth.
cd OF getting rid of the dark outer bari,
Of the cotton stalk
Il believe tlis problem will be
solved, said an attache of the depart
ment who has been associated with
Investigators of the subject In fact
we know It's solution Is in sight"
The department has no knowledge
as to the weight of cotton stalks which
will be required 10 make a ton of pa
per nor is taere much definite infor.
nation as 10 the cost of the stalks to
the Manufacture.
Price Of Cotton Stalks.
Not long ago a Philadelphia firm
announced I'm a prospectus that ID
would undertake The manufacture OF
Wrapping paper from cotton stalks and
in iigurng the cost OF production esti-
mated ihe stalks az y253 per ton de-
liYered az the factory The depart
ment believes this figure far TOO low.
The wrapping paper made from cotton
stalks is OF good quality. and the de-
partMent believes that tbe cost of pro.
ductlcn vii. eventually be greatly re.
duced
To Extract Diseeioring.
The department is confident of the
full solution of the problem OF getting
rid OF the discoloring matter IN the
stalks. The solution was suggested
first by obses sation OF the fact that
when the stalks are soaked with rain
the outer bark slips off without diff
ficulty when rubbed. and a triturative
process Is expected 70 solve the prob.
lem entirely.
While the department believes that
lie solution of the problems attend
ing efforts 10 make print paper oui
cf cotton and cornstalks has been
reached on is measurably near. no def
mate statement viii be made on thf
subject until IFS representatives have
inYestigated and reported