82 LETTEES OF BEKZELIUS 



1. However long it is exposed to the action of 

 water it retains its coherence, which, moreover, is 

 so much increased by my process that the paper has 

 a texture like that of parchment. 



2. Also, acid and alkaline solutions, as, for example, 

 water containing hydrochloric acid or potash, have 

 no destructive action on the prepared paper ; and so 

 ordinary and printing ink can be removed from it 

 without injury to its durability. 



3. Thin and extremely brittle paper acquires, by 

 my process, a firmness and toughness equal to that 

 of much thicker ordinary paper of the toughest 

 texture. 



4. No size or starch is required to make it avail- 

 able for printing and writing. It takes ordinary and 

 also lithographic printing with great ease. 



5. The detrimental action of bleaching powder is 

 done away with by my process. 



These properties are of such a kind, I think, as to 

 ensure that my paper will be very much used ; and, 

 moreover, my process has the advantage that it 

 allows of a much larger number of sheets being 

 made from the same quantity of rags than in the 

 ordinary method of paper-making; for, as I have 

 already said, my paper is decidedly stronger and 

 tougher than much thicker paper of the usual kind. 

 I have not yet ascertained how much thinner the 

 waterproof paper may be than ordinary unprepared 



