The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1911-02-24
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
STARTS WOOD PULP MILL


STARTS WOOD PULP MILL
Washington, Feb. 1S.-Offcials OF
the United States department of agri-
culture have received with satisfac-
ton announcement from the expert
mental ground wood pulp mill which
the department has been equipping
at Wausau, Wis, in cooperation
with the American Pulp and Paper
Association, that the mill has begun
to grind. The carrying on of the
tests now announced as under way
was provided for by a special ap-
preparation, placed at the disposal of
the secretary of agriculture by con-
gress last winter, to conduct tests of
the suitability for paper making of
plants and woods which seem likely
to become valuable sources of supply
of new material.
Secretary Wilson considered that
the best use which could be made of
this money would be to conduct ex-
periments on a commercial scale,
with various kinds of wood. Some
of these have already been studied in
the laboratory, and found to be in
trinsically suitable for pulp manu-
facture. Indeed, the forest service
has actually made paper by one OF
the chemical processes from several
of them. But in order to know
whether they can profitably be util-
lied, under present conditions, it is
necessary to test them under meth
DDS of manufacture comparable to
those employed in actual business OPP
erations. In particular, it is desired
to find out to what extent new woods
can be used fro ground pulp, the
cost of which is usually less than
that of chemical pulp.
The Wausau mill has been built
especially for the use of the govern
ment for as long as the experiments
may require. Its inside dimensions
are 40 by 400 feet, and it is equip
ped with electrical machinery and all
necessary apparatus Of the most up
to-date type. Part Of the equipment
is contributed by the American
Pulp and Paper Association, and
part is furnished by the government
The association will also furnish the
wood for the thesis. The wood now
on hand includes carload lots OF
jack pine, spruce, hemlock and tam
arack. The jack pine is to be the
first wood tested.
While the experiments are intend
ed to cover woods from all parts of
the country which, from the stand
point of physical properties and
available supplies, promise to fur
nlsh new material for the paper
making industry, special point will
be made of tests of Western woods
which are abundant in the national
forests. There are enormous supplies
of various softwoods in these for.
ests for which there now exists lit
tie demand, and this fact constitutes
one of the serious problems Of man
agement of the national forests. In
order to have forests produce tim.
Der steadily they must be cut; but
IL there is a market only for timber
from the most valuable kinds OF
trees the result of cutting is likely
to be disappearance Of these trees
and their replacement in the forest
growth by species which are not in
demand. Since the pulp mills take
material too small for the lumbe,
mills, species suitable for paper
making can be cut to low timber
diameter, and thus the balance may
be turned In favor of the reproduc
ton of the more valuable kinds Of
trees.
In addition to the benefit which
the public will derive from the ad
vancement Of forest conservation II
consequence of the wood pulp expert
ments Of the government, there is thu
further benefit of cheaper paper
which it is believed these expert
ments should make possible. TIT
price of paper Of the cheaper grades
including news paper, has been ad
vancing rapidly Of recent years q
the supply Of spruce has dwindled
ina American mills are now drawill