H PAPER VAXtTFACTORE AKD TRADE. 



PAPIER MACHE. 



3,' 



r - of forger*. Tht selection of a 



far bank-Do4M.eheqiMa.fte. the mod* of engraving, the ... -I. 

 itinc. and the kind of ink. all bear immediately on this sul.j. > t 

 rteoTpU is thia-to apply to UM paper <*'-^ 1 . ** 

 i the ink be tamper*! with, the paper shall broume discoloured 

 aad the attempt U fraud revealed. Mr. Stone, Mr. Barclay, Mr. 

 OUfsneon, Mr. Berapalh. and other persona, have directed thmr 

 attention to this matter; and UM ehemioals suggested f.-r application 

 are pruaaate of potash, iodide and ferrocyanide of the saiue alkali, 

 ah. of eoprer. salt* of manganeae, starch, to. One recipe i.. for a 

 ream of poet. 1 as. of iodide of potoah. } ot of ferrooyanlde of |tash 

 and 1 Ib. of eUnh. Any attempt to remove writing l.v > ! 

 ,-,,11 (rota r*p** thoa treated would damafe the colour of the paiwr 

 iteelf A paper has been read and a discussion ha. taken place on this 

 subject before the Suciety of Art. during the proeent year (I860). 



Of the practical appUoaiioM of paper liule need be said : these are 

 for the moat part sufficiently obvious. The amateur art) of papyro- 

 rraphv, papyro-plastica, potiohomanie, Ac., are little more than inge- 

 nious mode, of cutting out sheets of paper. We may mention, 

 fciHuTeT, the UCiiininised paper tubes mule by M. Jaloureau Hu 

 lad. that when bitumen is mixed with chalk, and iper tubes are 

 ejlmiatert with it, they become remarkably strong and durable, and 

 are available as water pipe*. 



tlulmolt for Paper A little attention must now be paid to the 

 subject of the matrnalt for paper, concerning which the manufacturers 

 have lately had many discussions. Repeated attempts have been made 

 to manufacture paper from straw, but it in only recently that any 

 BIIMIISS has been obtained. One mill in the United States now makes 

 M tons of this paper weekly. Wheat-straw is put into a large 

 spherical boiler, and there boiled for 24 hour* at 320 Fahr., a 

 temperature obtained under great pressure. The straw becomes con- 

 verted into a glutinous mass, which by further processes is available 

 as pulp for paper. Dr Collyer, in April, I860, communicated to the 

 Society of Arts the result of an elaborate series of experiments on 

 the manufacture uf paper from straw. He was led by his researches 

 the followii 



to TT~"TtT*~ l the following processes : The straw is first paused 

 between two rollers rotating with ililleient velocities ; this produces a 

 tnturatory action, which rubs out the knots and ears, and at the same 

 time opens the straw out to a partially fibrous state. The straw is 

 then exposed to the action of water heated by steam, and containing 

 3 oca. of caustic alkali to the gallon. The apparatus is so arranged 

 that the alkaline liquor can act over and over again upon the straw ; 

 and by repeated workings after this steeping, nearly all the gluten and 

 silica are removed from the straw. The bleaching is effected by 

 chloride of lime, with superheated steam. The making into pulp then 

 cnsaes, and the manufacture proceeds as with rags. These operations, 

 however, are quite tentative. All the straw paper hitherto made is 

 unpleasantly crisp and brittle ; and it has been found that the price of 

 straw goes up considerably whenever the paper- makers create a demand 

 for it. Nevertheless, two or three of the penny daily newspapers are 

 printed on straw paper, and the experiment is felt to be worthy of 

 further investigation. 



Another kind of paper is Schlesinger's, manufactured of wood. 

 Timber U cut by machinery into logs about eight inches in length. 

 These logs an nude to press against a rotating grindstone made of very 

 rough stone, and well moistened with water. The wood U rubbed off 

 in a state of fibrous pulp, which, either used by itself, or mixed in 

 Certain proportions with rags, U converted into paper. A mill for the 

 manufacture of paper of this kind was opened at Bradford in 1854, the 

 paper produced being chiefly wrapping, packing, cartridge, and other 

 coarse kinds. The wood pulp is said to be obtainable at about Irf. 

 per pound. 



The increasing importance of obtaining a supply of rags for paper- 

 making, and the restrictions placed by foreign governments on the sale 

 of such rags to England, have lately recalled attention to projects long 

 so entertained. It is said that no less than 45,000 tons of linen rags, 

 all collected by the rkifunirrt, or itinerant ragmen, were used in France 

 in 1WV in paper-making ; and the paper-manufacturers of that country 

 trenuoualy oppose any plan which might lead to an increased sale to 

 1 id. Nearly all vegetable fibrous substances, as was observed in a 

 paragraph, can be converted into paper; but the problem is, 

 V such papar would be fine enough, strong enough, and cheap 

 i to compete with rag- p<per. The so called Chinese rice-paper 

 st of torn films cut spirally from the branches of a (Articular 

 tree, the (Ktckynumm* palmdota. There is in the British Museum 

 a curious book, prepared by Jacob Christian Schaffer. a native of 

 "'on, about the year 1775. It describes the manufacture of 

 from di&rent substances, and the sixty leaves of which the 

 is oompneed are made of sixty different kinds of paper. The 

 .bark of the willow, beech, ..pen. hawthorn, linden, and mulberry ; 

 the down of the caUins of the black poplar, and the silky down of the 

 aclepia. ; the tendrils of the vine, thn stalk* of nettle, mugwort and 

 dyers-weed ; v.r.nu* kindt of leaf, fibre, und (talk ; ns well as straw, 

 reeds, noes, l.cl.otis, w.wd shavings, sawdust, potatoes, and fir-cones 

 U wen. employed. Tbe ||.-r i in all the specimens of wry inferior 

 qualm-, buth in colour and teiture; but unquestionably the same 

 materials would yield better results. If treated with modem skill and 

 i.. Jo ia*the proprietors of one of our great newspapers 



ottered a pruce of 1000L to the discoverer or inventor of any new 

 kind of paper which, at a certain wholesale price, should possess a 

 certain list of good qualities ; but the desired standard has, we believe, 

 never yet bean reached. In the same year, the Treasury drew the 

 atttnmm of the Board of Trade to the scarcity in the materials for 

 per; and suggested that, in conjunction with the Foreign Office, the 

 arl might possibly be able to obtain from British consuls abroad, 

 useful information concerning vegetable fibre which would be available 

 for this manufacture. It was mentioned that 'id. or .J</. per pound 

 might perhaps be the price which paper manufacturers would be willing 

 t give for such materials. r. Lyon Playfair, on the part of the 

 Board of Trade, stated that, after conferring with miny eminent 

 manufacturers, he had arrived at a conclusion that any new material 

 must be obtainable at I'/, or 1 Jc/. per pound, in order fairly to meet 

 all the requirement*. Much valuable information has since been 

 obtained from British consuls abroad, and especially from Dr. Forbes 

 Koyle and Dr. Hooker, concerning fibrous plants in various parts of 

 the world; and there U reason to hope that these researches will 

 ultimately lead to beneficial results. In 1859 an attempt was made 

 to establish a manufacture of paper from flax-straw and flax refuse, by 

 means of a joint stock company, on the basis of a patent obtained 

 by Mr. Houghton. Whether or not the process is a good one, the, 

 company itself has, we believe, not yet actually been formed. 



Paper trade and duty. Until 1837 the duty on paper was charged 

 in two classes. That made whole out of old tarred rope, without 

 extracting the pitch or tar, was considered as second-class paper, and 

 paid only a duty of 1 4</. per Ib. ; while paper mode of any other materials 

 was considered as first-class paper, and was charged with a duty of 

 'Ad. per Ib. In the year above mentioned this distinction was abolished, 

 and the duty on all kinds of paper was fixed at IJt/. per Ib., which 

 gave an immediate impulse to the trade. The effect of this change 

 in augmenting the quantity used was soon shown. In round numbers, 

 the quantity made in 1835 and 1836 averaged 78 million Ibs. a year, 

 whereas in 1837 and 1838 it averaged 91 million Ibs. Foreign paper 

 had not hitherto competed largely with home-made, because a Customs' 

 duty had interfered with it. In 1357 and the two following years, the 

 quantity of paper made in the United Kingdom was about 198, 193, 

 and 'J18 million Ibs. respectively; of which about one-twehth was 

 exported, and eleven-twelfths used at home. The average quantity 

 mode at each mill may be inferred from the following table, applicable 

 to the year 1859 : 



70 



843 



27 



414 



were at work 

 in 1859. 



Kent is the head-quarters of the manufacture ; after which Hertford- 

 shire and the neighbouring counties, Lancashire, and Devonshire. In 

 Scotland, Lanark, Midlothian, and Aberdeen are the chief paper-making 

 counties. 



Few public subjects have been more discussed within the last few 

 years than the propriety of removing the excUe duty on pa|r. This 

 duty, of 14<i. per Ib. plus 5 per cent., after a few drawbacks for 

 exportation, &e. , yielded about a million and a quarter sterling of net 

 revenue annually to thu state; and Chancellors of the Exchequer, 

 however favourable to the diffusion of cheap literature, have been 

 unwilling to part with this easily collected tax. In 1853, the Society 

 of Arts drew up a list of queries, and sent them to paper-manufacturers, 

 wholesale stationers, manufacturers of paper articles, publishers, news- 

 paper proprietors, and authors, soliciting opinions as to the modes in 

 which the paper duty affected various branches of the public. Some 

 of these queries were Does the mode in which the duty is collected 

 interfere injuriously with the process of manufacture, and in what way ? 

 Does it atlect the quality and variety of the article manufactured 

 Does it limit materially thu quantity of the supply ? Do the excise 

 regulations interfere with the rapid execution of orders ? Does the 

 mode of collection prevent the use of new materials I Does it place 

 the manufacturer at a disadvantage in the market? Much valuable 

 information was obtained in response to these queries. During the 

 subsequent period of seven years (1854 to 1860 inclusive) great 

 activity had been shown in the advocacy of the abolition of the duty, 

 by various bodies, and through thu medium of various publications. 

 It is not now necessary to adduce the arguments used ; fur the tax is 

 on nearly all sides admitted to be a bad one. In the session of I860, 

 Mr. Gladstone, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, moved the abolition 

 of the duty, in connection with a very extensive financial scheme, 

 including a commercial treaty with France, and a removal of Customs' 

 duties from many minor articles. The bill for the abolition of the 

 paper duty was passed by the House of Commons, but rejected by the 

 House of Lords. The Customs' duty on foreign paper of 2J</ per Ib., 

 with 5 per cent, additional, has, however, been reduced to ] Jrf. 

 per 11). with fl per cent, additional, the same rate as the exci-c 

 duty on the home manufacture, so that the importation is now 

 unimpeded. 



I'.U'lKH-MACHfi. the French term for a preparation of moistened 



paper, of which many articles are manufactured in England, France, 



nnd Germany. Such article* have been made, in France for more than 



iry. In 1740 one Martin, a German varnishcr, went to I'arin 



