el a ie PR lees Be 
446 
per cent, respectively. The resulting pulps were of a light-gray color 
and devoid of the harsh feel which comes from insufficient cooking. 
For purposes of comparison, two specimens of old Manila rope, 
representing the extremes of quality of such material for paper manu- 
facture, were examined. 
Preliminary treatment.—The pieces of rope were cut down and thoroughly 
cleaned and dusted as is the practice in mills where such material is used. 
Specimen No. 1.—A good grade of l-inch rope but badly frayed and worn; lost 
21 per cent in cleaning. 
Experiment No, 1,—Strength of liquor, 34 per cent; 25 per cent caustic soda 
calculated on weight of material digested; boiled 5 hours at 6-8 atmospheres ; 
yield, 61 per cent, equal to 48.7 per cent calculated on the original weight of 
rope. r 
Specimen No, 2.—A very dirty one-half inch rope of native manufacture, con- 
taining some unstripped strands of abacé; lost 21.82 per cent in cleaning. 
Experiment No. 2.—All conditions of digestion same as above; yield, 43.89 
per cent, equal to 34.31 per cent pulp, calculated on original weight of the rope. 
Depletion of the land by removing abacd waste.—It is a fundamental 
principle of modern agriculture that all straw grown on a farm should 
be returned to the soil, and this applies to such by-products as cornstalks 
and sugar cane as well. The following analysis shows the comparatively 
low fertilizing value of abacdé waste, so that its removal from the land 
in a dry state would not effect any appreciable loss of plant foods: 
Per cent. 
Total nitrogen 0.52 
Total phosphoric acid (P,O;) 0.046 
Potash as K,O 0.661 
Lime (CaO) 0.238 
It was shown on page 444 that 90 per cent of the green weight of an 
abaca stalk is represented by juice. This, on evaporation, was found to 
contain 2.62 per cent of solids or 275 grams from 15.876 kilos of stalk. 
A fertilizer analysis of this solid matter, obtained by evaporating the 
expressed liquid, was made by Mariano Vivencio, of this Bureau: 
Per cent. 
Total nitrogen 0.40 
Total phosphoric acid (P,O;) 1.86 
Potash as K,O 30.56 
The presence of nearly 1 per cent of available potash in the juice is 
noteworthy because it shows the inorganic constituent needed by the 
growing plant and indicates the proper treatment for depleted abaca 
lands. Good wood ashes, the cheapest and best of potash fertilizers, 
contain on an average only 5 per cent of available potash. The juice 
from the stalks should therefore be returned to the land. 
BLEACHING, 
The operation of bleaching paper pulp as it is practiced under factory 
conditions, where time is the important factor, is difficult to approximate 
ee oe 
