MANUFACTURE OF PAPER. 201 



country is covered for many miles witli the spontaneous growth of a 

 reed or cane. This cane is a hollow tube about twelve feet high, 

 nearly white and apparently composed of tough, strong fibre. 



The territory covered with it is so vast and unlit for any other 

 useful growth that the sui)ply of cane seems to be nearly inexhausti- 

 ble, especially if it is considered that a new crop can be cut every 

 three yeai-s. The dried fibres have a strong resemblance to oakum 

 and make a strong spongy paper. 



The woods give a good per centage of pulp and are most easily 

 obtained in large quantity. 



The per centage of fibre obtained from the woods runs from 26 to 

 38, the least being from walnut and the greatest from horse-chestnut. 



All the grasses ai-e reduced to a very small proportion of their 

 original bulk by the time they leave the pulpmill and nothing but 

 the clean fibres are contained. 



Out of 1001b of flax or hemp, as it comes fi-om the soil, only about 

 two and a half pounds of good white linen can be obtained. Paper- 

 makers unanimously agree that " Rags are King " over everything 

 for making the best qualities of paprj. 



The everchanging prices and dt lands of the markets, and the 

 diff'erence of raw materials, together with keen competition, tempt 

 the makers to their utmost skill to use inferior stuff for good papers. 



The great bulk of the news and cheap bookpapers is now made 

 of woodpulp, and after the dissipao r of many supposed and 

 imaginary obstacles as to the propriety of using such paper, it has 

 come to be preferred. Printers' ink is an oily, little fluent substance 

 which does not spread beyond the limits given by the type on any 

 common paper, so that a better impression is made by a fast running 

 printing press on woodpulp paper. 



Whatever products are used, the art of paper making consists in 

 the reduction of all into their primitive fibres and forming them into 

 felted sheets, and the less the fibi-es are cut or broken the stronger 

 and better will the paper be. 



There ai-e some 1,500 trade definitions and commercial classific- 

 ations relating to papers, such as sizes, qualities, materials, clays, 

 chemicals, coloring stuffs, etc., too numerous to be retained in the 

 meiuory, so that q>iite a reference pamphlet has to be consulted. 

 The essayist then gave a minute and detailed description of paper- 



