? 



PAPER MAT K IMA I. 



nig requirements of the paper trade as ' Bamboo,' both as r< 

 y and economy ol production, as well as the quality of the ' paper- 

 ' which can be manufactured therefrom ; grown under favourable 

 of climate and soil, there is no plant which will give so heavy 

 a crop of available fibre to the acre, no plant which requires so little care 

 s cultivation and continuous production." These are the opening 

 noes of Mr. Routledge's most useful and interesting pamphlet on 

 '">o as a Paper- Making Material, published in 1875 (also Bamboo and 

 'dtment, 1879). I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Routledge during 

 bo India. There seemed then a possibility of doing something 

 with Itamboo. He spared no pains to test his theories and expectations. 

 Unfortunately he died shortly after having learned that there were prac- 

 al as well as physical and chemical difficulties that seriously opposed 

 e growth of a trade in this new paper material. These may be briefly 

 nmurised as follows : 



1. The young shoots only being serviceable for paper-making, three 

 rious difficulties arise : (a) the bamboo shoots appear from June to 

 ul v and are in condition during August and September, but by the end of 

 ( K-tober are too old ; (b) the stock suffers severely from the removal of the 

 shoots ; (c) each clump can yield only about three or four shoots a year. 

 2. Experiment seems to have failed to induce the bamboo to 

 uce a continuous supply of shoots throughout the year. 

 3. A large percentage of the old stems requires to be left on the stools, 

 erwise the plants are killed, and this same danger exists in complete 

 moval of the young shoots. Hence methodical working of the jungles 

 unes essential, thus considerably increasing the charges of collection 

 d transport. Sir George King demonstrated that if all the shoots be 

 imoved for three successive years the plant is killed. This danger may 

 however, be averted for a time by systematic working of the clumps, 

 but it appears to be ultimately certain to ensue. 



4. During the mouths in which the bamboo shoots appear, the climate 

 f the most important bamboo tracts is such that labour could not be 

 Stained. In fact, bamboo forests occupy, as a rule, uninhabited districts 

 rendering the labour question, apart from the dangers to human life, one 

 of the most serious difficulties. 



5. The freight and transport charges incidental to all raw products 

 which have to be conveyed for long distances are very considerable, 

 fact, owing to the scattered nature of the clumps which form bamboo 

 igles, human labour would be the only means of collecting the material 

 centres from which it could be conveyed to the factory. 

 6. A most unexpected difficulty, which in itself almost renders the 

 mboo unsuitable for paper-making, exists also in the hard adpressed hairs 

 which cover the scales and young stems. It has been found impossible to 

 remove these, and they are not only dangerous to the men employed, but 

 injure the paper seriously. [In passing it may be added that in Java 

 these hairs are reputed to be used as a criminal poison. Gamble points 

 out, however, that the difficulty in the hairs does not exist in Melocftmia.] 

 7. As demonstrated in Travancore with perhaps the most likely 

 bamboo (OcMandra trm-am-in-ica), the amount of chemicals required 

 is prohibitive. 



Mr. M. Hill (Ann. Rept. Board Scien. Adv. Ind., 1905-6, 92-3) gives a 

 inure hopeful view of the prospects of bamboo as a paper material. He 



109 



BAMBOOS 



Paper 



Objections and 

 Difficulties. 



Continuous 

 Supply. 



Death of the 

 Clumps. 



Unfavourable 

 Season. 



Freight Charges. 



Poisonous Hairs. 



High Percentage 



of L'hetuioaLj. 



