PAPER-MAKING MATERIALS 219 



Chemical Wood Pulp, Wei 



Tons. 



Sweden . . . 10,347 37,3 1 8 



Norway . . . 5,054 !5,34O 



Other Countries 2,758 11,238 



Total . . 18,159 63,896 



The relative value of the different kinds of wood 

 pulp is shown by the following prices which were 

 quoted in the London market in July, 1914: 

 Mechanical Wood Pulp : 



Dry, 4-4 55. per ton. 



Wet, i 195. 6d-2 per ton. 

 Chemical Wood Pulp : 



Sulphite, bleached, 11 i5s.-^i 2 55. per ton. 



Sulphite, unbleached, 7 ios.-^8 125. 6d. per ton. 



Soda, unbleached, 6 175. bd-f^ 155. per ton. 

 Esparto. This product is a grass, Stipa tenacis- 

 sima, which grows wild over large areas in Spain, and 

 in Algeria and other parts of North Africa. It 

 flourishes on sandy, ferruginous soils in dry, sunny 

 situations on the coast. The plants attain a height 

 of 3 or 4 feet, and have cylindrical, wiry stem-like 

 leaves coated with short hairs ; they usually grow 

 in patches varying from i to 3 feet in diameter. The 

 leaves are gathered during the dry, summer weather 

 by grasping them with the hand and exerting a firm, 

 steady pull. They are tied into bundles and packed 

 tightly in bales by hydraulic pressure. 



Esparto is converted into a pulp for paper-making 

 by heating it with solution of caustic soda under 

 pressure. The average yield of dry pulp is about 

 45 per cent, of the weight of the raw material. The 

 ultimate fibres of which the pulp is composed vary in 

 length from 0-5 to 3 mm. (0-02-0-12 inch) and have 

 a fairly uniform diameter of average about 0-012 mm. 

 (0-0005 inch). 



The approximate quantity and value of the esparto 



