Vol. X. No. 245. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



299 



MATERIALS FOR PAPER-MAKING. 



The following is adapted from the conclusions 

 reached in an article entitled The Utilization of Crop 

 Plants in Paper-making, which appears in the Year- 

 hook of the United States Department of Agriculture 

 for 1910:— 



There are numerous crop materials now. going to waste 

 that deserve utilization for the making of paper. Hitherto, 

 the price of wood has been so low that they could not enter 

 into competition with it. This condition appears to be 

 changing, and a point may soon be reached where crop by-pro- 

 ducts can be made into pulp and paper at a profit to both the 

 farmer and the manufacturer. There does not seem to be any 

 reasonable hope at the present time of producing paper stock 

 from crop wastes that will be cheap enough to use for print- 

 ing newspapers. This is due chiefly to two causes — the low 

 cost at which such paper can be produced from ground wood, 

 and the striking adaptability of ground wood pulp to the 

 newspaper-printing industry. 



Not only is the grinding process the cheapest method of 

 obtaining print paper of any character, but it also produces 

 the highest proportion of pulp to raw material. While the 

 chief chemical processes produce on an average only about 

 1,000 lb. of pulp per cord of wood, the yield of ground wood 

 pulp per cord is considerably over 2,000 Bb. Although 

 lacking in durability, ground wood fibre, with the addition of 

 a small proportion of stronger and better chemical fibres, 

 answers its intended purpose admirably. It is light, reduc- 

 ing freight cost on the unprinted paper and postage on the 

 printed. It is opaque, printing readily on both sides of 

 moderately thin sheets, and, finally, it has excellent ink- 

 absorbing qualities, fitting it unusually well for use on the 

 high-speed presses of the present day. 



Wood will probably be used for making news paper 

 long after other materials have acquired importance in many 

 branches of the chemical pulp industry. It should be added 

 that chemical pulp papers, such as books and magazines are 

 printed upon, consume over 1,000,000 cords more wood each 

 year than that con.sumed by the ground-wood industry. 



There is some scepticism as to the failure of the pulp- 

 wood supplies, but this is certainly poorly grounded. During 

 1909 the quantity of spruce used in the United States was 

 less by 40,000 cords than in 1907, but the cost was 

 .f2,000,000 greater. Present efforts in connexion with the 

 reafforestation of spruce and poplar are not extensive enough 

 to produce any noteworthy effect upon the available supply 

 within a generation. At the present rate of increase in 

 consumption, it will require between 15,000,000 and 

 20,000,000 cords of wood to satisfy the demand for pulp and 

 paper fibre in 1950. It will certainly be impos.sible to 

 furnish this from the forests. If every acre cut over each 

 year were reafforested it would be twenty-five or thirty years, 

 or possibly even longer, before the trees could attain suffi- 

 cient size to warrant cutting. The fort-sis cannot recover 

 from the overdrafts continually being made upon them; 

 hence it is only a question of a limited number of years until 

 paper fibre must be grown as a crop, as are practically all 

 other plant materials entering into the economy of man. 

 While the conservation of only a few of the by-products of 

 the farms yielding paper fibre can be accomplished profitably 

 in the near future and only a few plants promise to be 

 money-makers immediately if grown solely for paper produc- 

 tion, it seems very probable that raw products now scarcely 

 <;onsidered may in a few years play an important part in the 

 paper and pulp industry. 



THE TONKIN RUBBER TREE. 



This rubber-producing plant, which is of special interest 

 because its natural habitat is between the tropical and 

 temperate zones, has received attention in the Agricultural 

 Xeu's, Vols. VIII, p. .377; and IX, p. IG.j. Further informa- 

 tion concerning it is available in the rndia-Rubber World 

 for August 1, 1911, which presents an abstract of an article 

 in the Bidlelin Economique of the Government of Indo- 

 China. 



In regard to the coagulation of the latex from the 

 Tonkin rubber tree (Bleehvdea tonJ.hunsis), sulphuric acid 

 has given the best results so far, being better for the purpose 

 than acetic acid, which appears to act on the globules of 

 the rubber in such a way as to prevent their cohesion, while 

 hydrochloric acid is not suitable owing to its reduction of the 

 elasticity of the rubber obtained. 



Samples of the rubber have been submitted to com- 

 mercial experts for valuation. One, which had been treated 

 with ether and freed from all foreign substances, was valued 

 at 72 to 75c. per ft. The other sample was of native origin, 

 the latex having been gathered without care and coagulated 

 without using acid, so that the rubber contained a large 

 quantity of impurities; this was valued at 49Jc. per lb. 

 Both of these valuations were made at the time when Para 

 was quoted at less than ."jl'DO. 



An estimate of the value of the rubber well treated 

 and well prepared, with Para at about !?2-25 per tt). (the 

 price current at the time when the article was written), gives 

 thisat !?l-62 to $1-80 per Bj. 



TRADE AND COMMERCE OP THE 

 CANARY ISLANDS, 1910. 



Diplomatic and Consular Reports, No. 4658 Annual 

 Series, shows that the export of bananas from the Canaries 

 during 1910 was 2,700,352 crates, as compared with 

 2,782,299 in the previous year. Of the other agricultural 

 exports, the amounts in the case of tomatoes and potatoes 

 were 1,013,806 bundles and 384,703 boxes; in 1909, the 

 similar figures were 739,174 and 399,203, respectively. 



In commenting on the.se matters, the report states that 

 the scarcity and resulting dearness of other fruits have had the 

 effect of increasing the demand for bananas in Italy, France 

 and Germany, so that a regular trade has been established 

 and is likely to grow in importance. The rapid increa.se in 

 this demand has caused the competition among the buyers in 

 the islands to become very keen, and contracts for fruit have 

 been made at relatively high prices. Growers have also been 

 able to dispose of their produce at advanced rates because of 

 the shortage during the early part of the winter, which caused 

 sellers to find difficulty in executing their contracts and thus 

 compelled them to give high prices. The industry has been 

 most successful for growers and proprietors, and enhanced 

 prices are being obtained for land. 



The matter is different in the case of tomatoes, and up 

 to May, in 1910, most of the shippers suffered severe losses; 

 this was also the case at the beginning of the season 1909-10, 

 but later prospects are more hopeful. Among the causes of 

 the untoward conditions have been the poor quality of the 

 fruit and the lack of demand in England and on the contin- 

 ent. In the latter case, the inquiry is increasing on the whole, 

 but the considerable fluctuations in price make shippers chary 

 of sending large or regular quantities. As regards the potato- 

 growing industry, the trade is becoming less important 

 year by year. 



