RAW MATERIALS PAPER 243 



summer (2|- to 3 feet), though the seed does not ripen 

 till November. The grass turns yellow in winter, 

 and remains standing till April or May, when it 

 comes away from the stools, which in due course 

 push the next year's crop. 



Since 1916 several samples of this grass have been 

 tried for paper-making purposes, and there is no 

 doubt it possesses capacities in this direction, though 

 it is, of course, premature to specify them in detail. 

 The fibre felts well, and the yield averages 28 per cent 

 on the dry weight of the grass. The nature of the 

 habitat tidal mud flats is a novelty in the harvesting 

 of a paper-making material. The mud is so soft that 

 the reapers have to wear mud-boards on their feet, 

 and the application of a mechanical harvester seems 

 to be excluded by the nature of the ground, unless 

 something could be attached to a flat-bottomed punt, 

 and the cutting done at high water. The pulp is 

 liable to contamination by mud adhering to the bases 

 of the grass haulms, but, as this defect shows marked 

 diminution when a second cut is made from an area 

 previously mown, it seems likely that it will become 

 negligible as the conditions are more fully mastered. 

 The pulp hydrates readily and tends to " run wet", 

 but here again experience will show how best it should 

 be treated. 



The grass grows very densely, producing, at a con- 

 servative estimate, 2 tons dry grass per acre. The 

 total yield in sight in these waters would, if properly 

 organized, suffice to feed a mill in the locality with 

 over 200 tons of material a week, and this could be 

 transported in barges. From an economic point of 

 view the erection of a special mill to deal with the 

 Spartina products would seem to be the best plan. 



It is worth noting that an American species, S. 

 michauxiana, the slough grass, which grows every- 



