RAW MATERIALS PAPER 235 



relatively little friction. After all, who is going to 

 decide between the claims of John Bull and a new 

 work from the pen of Mr. G. B. Shaw? 



To meet the shortage there are three measures 

 available: (i) Economy in use; (2) the more com- 

 plete organization of existing home sources, especially 

 in the collection and conversion of waste paper; (3) 

 the opening up of home sources at present not utilized. 



It is this third category alone that interests a botanist, 

 and which will be considered here. 



Offhand it might be expected that the paper-maker 

 would be running around everywhere, in a state 

 bordering on frenzy, to discover new sources of mate- 

 rials ; such an anticipation is, however, contrary to the 

 facts. In common with all producers of commodities, 

 which though not to be reckoned as munitions of war 

 are yet in universal demand, we see that the paper- 

 maker, in spite of his reduced supplies and depleted 

 staff, is still able to meet his wage bill and to pay a 

 sufficient, and sometimes an increased, interest on the 

 capital invested in his business. 



So long as a declining output is rewarded on a 

 scale which equals or even exceeds that of normal 

 times, it is contrary to average human nature to exert 

 itself strenuously to raise that output. In other words, 

 up to the present time the compelling inducement 

 has been lacking to discover new sources, and more 

 particularly such as lend themselves to conversion 

 into paper without drastic modification of existing 

 plants. 



Moreover, change is resented, and nowhere more 

 than in the paper trade with its high sense of crafts- 

 manship and good technique. Anything which pre- 

 vents the gratification of this sense is hateful. 



Nevertheless, paper is altering, as may be seen in 

 the qualities used for the same purposes now and in 



