364 
recovered and used over again. The actual cost of chemicals for 
boiling is therefore a matter of the cost of recovery plus the cost of 
making good the soda lost during the process.” 
Messrs. Clayton Beadle and Stevens remark that the paper-maker 
wants some assurance upon the subject of adequate supplies before 
he is disposed to try a material of this sort on an extensive scale, for 
he knows perfectly well that there are many fibres from which he 
could make paper provided they can be obtained in sufficient 
quantity to make the enterprise a financial success. The paper- 
maker therefore is naturally not disposed to exploit any particular 
material until he sees a chance of getting large and regular supplies 
of it at a low cost. 
Marram grass occurs on most of the sandy shores of the British 
coast-line. In some places it is limited to occasional tufts but as a 
rule it is distributed irregularly over a considerable area. Patches 
of from a few plants to stretches 20 or 30 yards across are found 
with moderately wide, bare intervals, the smaller patches being often 
buried to a considerable depth in loose sand. This would appear to 
make economical harvesting almost impossible and if steps are to be 
. ° * = be 
able to divide up sufficient plants, and plant the area with clumps 
three feet apart. : 
Providing it proved to bea paying crop, Marram grass might be 
planted on any sandy area along the coast. Suitable sites are to be 
found in Dorsetshire, Kent, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, 
South Wales, Scotland and elsewhere. 
ere is no reason to doubt the ability of the plant te withstand 
Wa ae Baron von Mueller, together with a detailed description 
of its culture and behaviour in that country, is given in K, B., 1897, 
pp. 211-217. From this article we Jearn that although originally 
introduced for the purpose of binding sand, it had by 1893 become 
acknowledged as an important fodder grass, cattle being turned into 
Marram grass enclosures during the early rains of April and allowed 
to remain there until the advent of the dry season. 
Marram grass is also grown largely on the west coast of France 
for the purpose of fixing the sand prior to afforestation and if it 
were planted in dense masses it would be possible to obtain a large 
yield from that region alone. Similar possibilities are afforded by 
