484 ANNUAL KECOKD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



of bleaching it, it has not been employed in so many applica- 

 tions as its strength and other qualities warrant. The prin- 

 cipal difficulty in making a profitable use of it has been from 

 the tenacity of the gum which envelops the fibres. This, ac- 

 cording to a late writer, consists 01 three distinct substances: 

 First, an actual gum, found only on the upper leaves and 

 near their bases, and readily dissolved by boiling water, or 

 removable by mechanical means ; second, a bitter principle, 

 which, it is suggested, may be used as a dye or stain for 

 wood,. and a mucilage, both easily extracted; and, third, a 

 kind of cement, only to be removed by boiling water and al- 

 kali, and upon the .retention of which the strength of the 

 fibres depends. 3 A, April 7, 62. 



BAOBAB BARK AS A NEW FIBRE. 



It is well known that cn-eat efforts are bein^ made all over 

 the world to increase the supply of material for the manu- 

 facture of paper and textile fabrics, by calling into play sub- 

 stances previously unthought of in this connection. Among 

 the later additions to the series may be mentioned the 

 fibrous bark of the baobab-tree (Ada?iso?iia digitatd). This 

 is said to be worth in England from $70 to $75 per ton. It 

 furnishes also an almost indestructible cordage. 3 A, 1871, 

 505. 



cattell's method of preparing vegetable fibre. 



A system of utilizing vegetable fibres that does not involve 

 the practice of rotting has lately been devised by Dr. Cattell, 

 and is said to be coming rapidly into use. The special su- 

 periority of the fibre prepared by this system is said to be 

 that it possesses a greater degree of strength, estimated at 

 twenty per cent, over the rotted article. The yield of fibre 

 is also considerably greater from the same weight of mate- 

 rial, while its divisibility can be carried to much more than 

 .the ordinary degree, and the whole labor accomplished in 

 much shorter time. 3 A, December 23, 1870, 459. 



TREATMENT OF WOOD FOR PAPER PULP. 



Mr. Mane informs us that the proper method of treating 

 wood to make it a surtable material for the manufacture of 

 paper consists iu first reducing it to a state of shavings or 



