(Uuuidan Forcslrn Journal, May, lifl. 



iio;3 



Strange Ways of Using Wood Pulp 



Paper Lamps, Chimneys, Paper Umbrellas, Boots, Boats, Wheels 



— a Few New Uses for the Tree 



There are probably no commodities 

 in established use which have so 

 greatly extended their sphere of utility 

 as wood-pulp fibres and paper, and 

 within recent years the novel uses to 

 which they have been, and are still 

 being placed, have enormously in- 

 creased in number. Mr. Gladstone 

 is our authority for the statement 

 that even (30 years ago the uses of 

 l^aper were varied and numerous. 

 In the speech to wdiich we have just 

 referred he stated that he had a list 

 of 09 trades in which it was used. 

 "For example," he said, "it is largely 

 used by anatomical machinists to 

 make artificial limbs; by telescope 

 makers, by boot and shoe makers, by 

 cap manufacturers, for the foundation 

 of caps and hats, forming all the 

 peaks and many of the tops wdiich 

 look like leather; by china and porce- 

 lain manufacturers; by doll makers, 

 and by shipbuilders; and again in 

 making optical instruments, in pic- 

 tures and looking-glasses, in portman- 

 teaus, in Sheffield goods and tea- 

 pots." "One manufacturer writes," 

 Mr. Gladstone continued, "that he 

 has made panels for doors from paper, 

 and above all he looks forward to 

 making carriages of paper when the 

 duty shall have been taken off. An- 

 other manufacturer, who is asked 

 into what combinations paper may 

 be made to enter writes to me: 'Who 

 can fix the limit to ingenious com- 

 binations when we see India rubber 

 being made into strong and durable 

 combs and other articles of that sort? 

 Only this morning I was informed 

 that paper pipes are actually made 

 prepared with bitumen and capable 

 of standing a pressure of 300 pounds 

 of water to the inch.' " This was 

 nearly two generations ago, and dur- 

 ing the intervening years it has be- 

 come increasingly recognized that not 

 only may paper be found useful for 



other than printing, writing, and 

 packing purposes, but that wood- 

 pulp is capable of being advantageous- 

 ly used in the manufacture of other 

 goods than paper and cardboard. 

 Pulp and paper, says the British 

 Paper Trade Journal, have furnished 

 a rich field for exploitation, and in 

 altogether new spheres of usefulness 

 have arrived at a stage which may 

 be said to guarantee their permanent 

 serviceability. Nowadays, the pub- 

 lic are familiar with artificial silk, 

 coarse cloth, and fabrics closely re- 

 sembling mercerized cotton produced 

 from wood-pulp fibres, and it is stat- 

 ing nothing new to say that ties and 

 waist-coats are being made from pulp 

 and paper. As a matter of fact, both 

 pulp and paper can now be formed 

 into solid substances capable of com- 

 peting with wood or iron in point 

 of durability and elasticity, and for 

 some years past, treated by special 

 methods, they have been converted 

 into such articles as paper bottles, 

 figures, ornaments, furniture, etc. 

 Waterproof coverings for walls and 

 ceilings, parchment slates, flanges 

 and manhole rings, paper wheels, 

 roofing and boats, paper barrels, gas 

 pipes, boxes and horse-shoes are also 

 no longer novelties. Probably one 

 of the most valuable by-products of 

 the manufacture of sulphite pulp is 

 that of spi-rit from the waste, and 

 particularly in Sweden, the distilla- 

 tion of alcohol from cellulose bids 

 fair to become an industry of con- 

 siderable importance. Then it is but 

 a few years since the chairman of the 

 tanning section of the Toronto Board 

 of Trade declared that paper inven- 

 tions had gradually entered into com- 

 petition with leather, and that hides 

 had advanced in price to such a de- 

 gree that the output had dropped 50 

 per cent, in Canada, a condition of 

 affairs wdiich had compelled the use 



