MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 98 



recommend our metal-workers to look into so important a matter, 

 — Mechanics^ Magazine. 



THE USES OF PAPER. 



There are very few articles applied to so many useful and or- 

 namental purposes as paper, and although it may be remarked 

 that we are behind some of the Oriental Nations, China and 

 Japan, for instance, in such application, yet, judging by the prog- 

 ress we have made within a few years, we may be expected soon 

 to be in advance of those semi-civilized people whom we seem to 

 be copying after. The opinion has been expressed that, at no 

 very distant period, houses, and even large ships, ma}' be made in. 

 greater part or wholly of paper. Japan produces excellent water- 

 proof clothing from paper, and with proper treatment this mate- 

 rial may be rendered suflSciently tenacious, and, imbued with 

 water-proof qualities, may be a better covering for naval pur- 

 poses than the wooden planks or iron sheets now used. 



In looking over the uses which the Orientals have made of 

 paper, we find that, besides serving for books and writing mate- 

 rial, it is employed in the fabrication of screens and partition walls, 

 for trunks, boxes, cases, clothing, handkerchiefs, twine, etc. It is 

 fabricated to resemble leather, and is so used for saddles. 



We have imitated those nations in some of our applications ; for 

 instance, since the price of leather has been so much enhanced, 

 paper has become to some extent a substitute in the manufacture 

 of travelling trunks, and forms so good an imitation that the de- 

 ception is almost complete. 



An establishment in Massachusetts is now engaged in the man- 

 ufacture of paper belting as a substitute for the leather machine 

 belts formerly used, and it is stated that one paper belt, 75 feet 

 long and 8 inches wide, has been in use for several months, and 

 shows good service. As substitutes for wood we find that paper 

 has been for some time used in roofing, for boxes, and table-tojDS ; 

 and more recently for pails, buckets, and barrels, which are 

 claimed to be superior in many, if not in all respects, to the mate- 

 rial they displace, and are represented as resisting wear and tear, 

 and the action of the elements, better than wood or iron. 



The high price and also scarcity of cotton, not long ago, in- 

 duced us to follow out an Oriental idea, and we had quite a passa- 

 ble twine, with which to tie up parcels contained in paper wrap- 

 pers, made of the same material as the wrapper itself. A chemical 

 preparation gives us a paper that takes the place of parchment, 

 which it so strongly resembles that it takes the name of " parch- 

 ment paper." 



In lieu of cloth, we have used ornamental paper for tapestry and 

 carpets, for curtains, and in our clothing we employ it in cuffs, 

 collars, bosoms, and buttons, hats and bonnets, and it has been 

 gravely proposed to substitute it in the manufacture of shirts, 

 skirts, hosiery, and other under-clothing. It has also entered into 

 the manufacture of boots and shoes. 



