1 84 On the Preparation of 



plant, after it has been converted into cloth and worn for 

 year$. 



In its natural state, it is true the refuse of hemp and flax 

 is generally of a brown and somewhat dark colour. But 

 what of that ? Bv the application of muriatic acid, oil of 

 vitriol, or other cheap ingredient, well known to ihe che- 

 mist, as well as to every bleacher, such refuse, without 

 being i?i the least injured for making paper, can, in a few 

 hours, if necessary, be made as white as the fiiv;st cambric. 



There are, at a medium, published in London, every 

 morning, 16,000 newspapers, and every evening about 

 14,000. Of those published every other day there are about 

 J 0,000. The Sunday newspapers amount to about 25,000, 

 and there are nearly 20,000 other weekly papers, making 

 in all the enormous sum of 245,000 per week. At a me- 

 dium 20 newspapers are equal to one pound — hence the 

 whole amount to about 3 tons per week, or 260 tons per 

 annum. But though this, perhaps, is not one-half of the 

 paper expended in London on periodical pubHcations, and 

 what may be called fugacious literature, and not one-fourth 

 part of what is otherwise consumed in printing-houses in 

 the country at large, yet there are materials enough in the 

 refuse of the hemp and flax raised in Britain and Ireland for 

 all this and much more. 



Nor is this all : for as the bine or straw of hops, a cir- 

 cumstance well known to the Society, contains an excellent 

 hemp for making many articles, so also will it prove a most 

 excellent material for making all kinds of paper. i\nd,it is 

 a fact, that were even the one-half of the bine of hops raised 

 in the counties of Kent Sussex, and Worcester, instead of 

 being thrown away, or burnt, after the hops are picked, as; 

 is commonlv done, steeped for ten or twelve davs in water, 

 and beat in the same way as is done with hemp and flax, in- 

 dependent of what might be got from bean- hemp, and a 

 variety of articles well-known to the Society, there would 

 be found annually materials enough for three times the quan- 

 tity of paper used in the British dominions. 

 I have the honour to be, 

 with much respect. 

 Sir, 

 Your most humble servant, 



James Hall. 



Strcatham, Jan. 9, 1809. 



To C. TAYLORi M. D. Sec. 



-^- Certificates 



