178 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



lie against paper of such quality, and 

 the competition of new sources of raw 

 material which will satisfy these condi- 

 tions better. 



The art of paper making- lies along 

 two lines, including both mechanical 

 and chemical details : raw materials for 

 coarse products and fine products. A 

 coarse raw material may be given a 

 thorough, exhaustive treatment to make 

 the highest grade product possible. In 

 so doing there will be a consequent 

 large shrinkage in yield and economic 

 waste, and at a high cost ; or the same 

 material may be given a slight and in- 

 expensive treatment to adapt it to a 

 coarse product, which by nature it is 

 best suited for. The product in this 

 case will not be so hiofh priced, but the 

 cost and shrinkage will be low and the 

 yield correspondingly large. The value 

 of any raw material should not be dis- 

 sipated through failure to make the 

 most appropriate use of it. 



Closely allied to the lack of such dis- 

 criminating judgment in determining 

 raw materials and products therefrom, is 

 the failure to get the most out of the 

 process. The sulphite process is often 

 misapplied in the making of wrapping 

 paper, and often badly managed in the 

 yield of pulp. For such papers, only a 

 sufficient softening treatment is neces- 

 sary to make the stock pliable and 

 workable, thus preserving strength and 

 yield. This is practically illustrated in 

 the process of boiling with water and 

 weak chemicals for leather board and 

 kraft paper. 



If the cornstalk should ever come to 

 be used for making a medium grade of 

 white paper, its use for such purpose 

 would be misapplied. Its normal place, 

 if it has any in the paper business, will 

 be found in connection with other suit- 

 able material to make boxboard, where- 

 in the bulk of its solid contents could 

 be made available at a slight cost for 

 reduction. Failure to recognize its true 

 place will result as in the past. From 

 a practical as well as an economic stand- 

 point the attempt to make out of paper 

 stock a sanitary milk bottle to be used 

 only once is such a perversion that 



nothing serious need be expected 

 from it. 



It is often the practise to reduce stock 

 to one level base and build up special- 

 ties from this. The skilful paper maker 

 will select his raw materials with a view 

 to close adaptation, avoiding the double 

 cost of reducing to a base and building 

 up from it. It often happens that ef- 

 fects can be gotten in this way that 

 would be impossible in any other. This 

 is shown in the manufacture of many 

 very attractive cover papers. 



Raw materials should be selected and 

 processed with discriminating care and 

 judgment so that there shall be as little 

 degradation from one product to an- 

 other as possible. In this way economy 

 of production and conservation of re- 

 sources will be promoted. It is to the 

 credit of the industry that we have in 

 abundance the attractive gray news 

 board, though its coming was purely 

 accidental. If old news could be so 

 treated as to be used over again for the 

 same grade of paper how great would 

 be the economic gain ! This is done to 

 some extent in the case of printed book 

 papers. 



In the manufacture of heavy papers 

 and particularly boards for a great va- 

 riety of uses, I do not believe the use 

 of the cylinder machine has been ap- 

 plied to anything like the limit of its 

 possibilities. With properly prepared 

 stock for lining, this machine is capable 

 of using very inferior grades of stock 

 for the middle, and producing a product 

 of great attractiveness and growing use- 

 fulness. Such a product has a great 

 market before it in furnishing material 

 for small packages for which wood has 

 been used, but is becoming too costly. 



Up to the present time there has been, 

 in the main, only one object in view in 

 treating raw materials, namely, the ob 

 taining of paper stock ; and I regret to 

 say this work has been done largely by 

 the use of drastic agents in a single 

 operation. Henceforth more selective 

 processes will be discovered, resulting 

 in economy of chemicals, recovery of 

 useful products and larger yield of 

 paper stock. 



