Vol. IX. No. 216. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



8*7 



THE MANQPAOraRE OF PAPER 

 FROM MEGA.SS. 



In view of suggestions that have been made recent- 

 ly, in connexion with the inannfactiye. of pnpi'r from 

 sugar-cane fibre, the following e.Ktracts from an article 

 by William liaitt. Chemical Engineer and Fibre Expert, 

 Bangalore, in the Trop'wal A(jrlctdfarist, V(j|. XXXIV, 

 No. 1, p. II, are of interest: — 



Bagasse or megass, the refuse crushed sugar-canes or chips 

 from the diffusion batteries, has come into souie degree of pro- 

 minence of late as a possible raw material for paper. It may 

 therefore be useful to consider, from the collective experience 

 available, modified or confirmed by o-.-.r own, how far the 

 hopes heldout regarding it in some quarters are likely to be 

 justified. The growing scarcity of wood pulp in Eumpe and 

 America is giving occasion for a great aniount of research and 

 experiment with the object of finding a suitable substitute, 

 and while several have been suggested which combine all the 

 advantages necessary to a commercial as well as a technical 

 success, it is to be feared that an insutticient acquaintance 

 with the scientific and economic prnblems evolved, h:is 

 resulted in others being brought forward wh'ch hold out very 

 little prospect of practical usefulness. 



It may be as well, first to enquire a.-i to what grade or 

 class of raw material is wante<l in sup|ilement of, or in sub- 

 stitution for, wood-pulp. For this purpose, paper may In- 

 broadly divided into three main grades, corresiionding fairly 

 accurately with the principal divisions of the raw material 

 market: — 



(1) The best qualities of writing paper- -manufactured 

 almost wholly from linen and cotton rag. 



("2) Inferior writing paper, book printir.g and news 

 paper — manufactured mainly from wood-pulp. 



(•3) Coarse unbleached paper, wrajiping and packing 

 paper manufactured from textile wastes, old sacking and 

 such like materials. 



Now the growing demand for a new material arises 

 solely from No. 2, since rag is now reserved almost exclusively 

 for No. 1: the supply is ipiito adequate to the demand, and, 

 apart from this, no other material is likely to be found which, 

 at the .same cost, combines the necessary requirements of 

 strength and colour. For No. .'?, where strength only is required, 

 the market is also fully supplied, and the steady development 

 of textile industries, with the resultant continual increase in 

 the output of wastes, seems likely to keep it so. 



The stage at which sugar-cane holds its maximum 

 saccharine contents appears to coincide with a state of partial 

 and irregular maturity of the fibre. While the fibres on the 

 outside, or just under the skin of the cane are firm, long and 

 of good strength, though somewhat harsh, tho.se from the 

 interior are short and weak. It therefore presents the most 

 difficult of problems to the i)aper maker. Since the chemical 

 treatment must be uniform, it follows that it must be severe 

 enough to reduce the outer fibres completely, thereby largely 

 destroying the inner ones, or it must be mild enough to con- 

 serve the latter and leave the former only partially resolved 

 into pulp. In the first ca.se, the yield is largely reduced, 

 and what remains is expensive to bleach, because the 

 severitj- of the treatment has degraded the weaker fibres 

 into insoluble brown compounds, which stain the pulp. In 

 the latter case, the yield is good, but the product is almost 

 equally ditticult to bleach satisfactorily, because of the 

 admixture of partially digested outer fibre. The pulp is 

 consequently full of specks and blotches, unfit for anything 

 but the commonest bleached paper, and that only in conjunc- 

 tion with some better and more uniform material. 



We do not think, then, that bagasse can be seriously 

 considered as a candidate for class 2, but there are localities 

 it which it may find a very profitable entrance into class 3. 



Cane-sugar factories are usually situated in localities 

 where all manufactured goods have to be imported at 

 a considerable cost for freight, and, probably, import 

 duties also. Where such circumstances exist, together with 

 a sufficient local demand for unbleached wrapping and packing 

 papers, or even for the thin unbleached paper so largely used 

 by the natives of India and elsewhere for correspondence 

 and accounts, it is quite possible to show that a paper mill 

 may prove a very profitable auxiliary to a sugar factory, and 

 that the bagasse may be worth considerably more for this 

 purpose than its present fuel value. 



A paper mill suitable for this class of paper, to produce 

 40 to 50 tons per week, would cost roughly, £20,000. 

 A conservative estimate of the cost of production, under 

 average conditions, exclusive of the fuel value of the bagasse 

 but including repair.s, depreciation and 50 per cent, interest 

 on cost of plant, amounts to £10 10s. per ton. Under the 

 conditions above referred to, the product should be worth £15, 

 leaving £4 10s. as the paper-making value of the 2] tons of 

 bagasse required to produce it, or say £2 per ton. The cost 

 of steam coal to replace it in the sugar factory furnaces would 

 be at the outside, £1 lOs. per ton. In calorific effect, a ton of 

 good steam coal is usually assumed to be equal to 4 tons of 

 baga.sse, so that the full value of the latter cannot exceed 

 Is. fir/, per ton. Deducting this, there remains an estimated 

 profit of £1 12.9. C)d. per ton of bagasse converted into paper. 



THE TICKS OF JAMAICA. 



The AnnaU of Troijical Medicine and Parasitology, 

 Vol. Ill, p. 21, contains an account of the ticks and other 

 blood-sucking Arthropoda of Jamaica, by Professor R. 

 Newstead. From an abstract of this, which is given in the 

 Eijienmenl Station Jiecord, for May 1910, it appears that 

 six species of ticks which occur in Jamaica are considered, 

 all of which, except the fowl tick {Argas pemicus miniatus) 

 were found by the writer. The cattle tick {Margaropus 

 anniilatiis aitstralis) was found to compose 90 to 95 percent, 

 of the ticks found, so that it is by far the most abundant in 

 Jamaica. Particulars are given concerning H/tipicep/ialus 

 sftngtiineus, which attacks dogs, and of the tropical horse tick 

 {Dermacentor nileiis). The second position as regards abund- 

 ance in the island is taken by Amhlyoiama rajennense, which 

 is a great pest to man. Another species of this, A. maculatiim, 

 was collected also, as well as A. dissimile, which was obtained 

 fi-om the so-called bull frog (Jiufo marinus). Even lizards 

 were fomd to be attacked by ticks, a specimen of Apo- 

 nonima sp. having been taken from one of these animals 

 (Anolis sp.). A fact of particular interest is that Mysore 

 cattle show an almost complete immunity from attacks by 

 ticks; these parasites seem to prefer as hosts, cattle containing 

 little or no Indian or Spani.sh blood. 



The natural enemies of ticks which are found in .Jamaica 

 are stated to be the savannah blackbird (Quiscalus crassi- 

 rostris), which is closely related to the Barbados blackbird 

 (V- fortirosiris); the savannah or parrot-billed blackbird 

 {Crotophaga ani), which is also found in some of the Lesser 

 Antilles; the domestic fowl, li/.ards and the bull frog. A 

 discussion of remedial measures is given, which include the 

 burning of pastures and the uses of cattle washes and dip.s. 

 As has been stated, information is also given concerning other 

 blood-sucking Arthropoda than ticks. 



