NATURE'S FIRST PAPER MAKERS. 429 



pointed out to us by my friend and landlord Mr. 

 Howard, altliougli that might be new, and certainly 

 would be interesting to many. It will suffice that 

 the mode consists substantially in reducing vegetable 

 fibre of wood, straw, cotton, hemp or flax into pulp, 

 from which the moisture is excluded and the residium 

 exposed to a pressure that reduces it to flat sheets. 

 The quality, surface condition and size of sheets are 

 matters quite apart from this essential process. 



Somewhat thus I briefly stated the results of our 

 visit to the mill, at our conversation. "Have I put 

 it correctly, Mr. Howard?" I asked, for that gentle- 

 man, hearing what subject was to come before us, had 

 asked leave to attend. 



" Yes, that is about the substance of paper-making," 

 was the reply. "It seems a very simple one, as you 

 put it, sir ; but — there's a whole sea of trouble between 

 that brief statement and even such a result as this " — 

 laying his hand upon our manilla illustration paper. 

 " However, you have hit the fundamental principle of 

 the thing pat enough." 



"Very well, that is all I care to do. Now, here is 

 a wasp's nest (Fig. 137.) It was collected from the 

 premises of the old Springfield Central school, where 

 our friend. Miss Abby, is now engaged. The plain, 

 square, two-story building, as you know, stands in an 

 open, flanked by a grove of more than a score of tall 

 oak-trees. The branches of these oaks are thickly 

 colonized by ringed wasps — "Tailor wasps," I find 

 they are called by the country-side people. On one 



