152 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



apple, and paper was shortly produced extremely 

 strong and serviceable, and fit for use as a wrapping- 

 paper. 



The stalks of the mallow, which grows in such 

 profusion on the sides of hedges, having an upright 

 herbaceous stalk, round leaves, and purple flowers, 

 have been found by more than one individual to be 

 well adapted to the production of paper. A few 

 years back, M. De L'Isle presented to the Academic 

 de Sciences a volume printed on paper made of this 

 material. The celebrated chemists, Messrs. Lavoi- 

 sier, Sage, and Berthollet, gave their testimony in its 

 favour, considering it likely to prove of great utility 

 as hangings for apartments ; it having a natural hue 

 much more solid than can be given by colouring mat- 

 ter, which might with advantage serve as a ground- 

 work for other drawings. 



Many attempts have been made from time to time 

 to convert straw into a useful material for the manu- 

 facture of paper, and several persons have endea- 

 voured to secure to themselves by patent the advan- 

 tages which they considered likely to accrue from 

 the discovery of a new process. So late as 1825 a 

 patent was taken out for manufacturing paper from 

 straw, but the plan pursued was extremely similar to 

 those which had been previously adopted and which 

 had failed. The paper hitherto produced from straw 

 has always been extremely harsh, coarse, easily torn, 

 arid but little fitted for any useful purpose. 



Judging from all the trials which have hitherto 

 been made, there is little question that linen rags 

 form the very best material for paper ; those of cotton 

 can indeed now be applied to the same purpose with 

 nearly equal advantage : the vast quantity of these 

 rags of all descriptions which are now available to 

 the purpose, renders the adoption of any other ma- 

 terial of little moment ; but should any unforeseen 



