EUROPE: UNITED KINGDOM. 297 



I am able to say on good authority that the output of all kinds is 

 not far from 100 tons per week. 



In most of the mills, especially those devoted to the making of print- 

 ing and writing papers, the methods of manufacture are thoroughly 

 modern. No handmade paper is produced here. The mills, with 

 few exceptions, are equipped with up-to-date machinery, nearly all 

 of which is made in Edinburgh by a company quite celebrated for 

 work in this line. Certain parts of the paper-making machines 

 turned out by this company are purchased from manufacturers in 

 the United States the chi-lled rollers, which are used for calender- 

 ing the paper, and friction clutches. 



The power used in every large mill is steam. For minor pur- 

 poses, water is here and there employed as power for a paper mill; 

 but it is an unimportant factor. This part of Scotland has practi- 

 cally no water power, either developed or undeveloped. Fuel is a 

 rather expensive item for the paper mills. Scotland produces an 

 enormous quantity of coal; but the demand for home consumption 

 and for export is very great, and, as a consequence, the price of the 

 common bituminous coal to the mills most favorably situated exceeds 

 $2.50 per ton. The average price paid by the mills in this district 

 is about $3.15, delivered. Owing to pollution questions, great in- 

 genuity has been exercised in perfecting the process of paper mak- 

 ing, and remarkable strides have been made during the last twenty 

 years; but the cost has been considerable. And, moreover, on 

 account of the smallness of the streams and the number of mills 

 and towns along the banks, most mills are still under the necessity 

 of purifying the water before using it. In this respect, natural ad- 

 vantages are unevenly distributed; and some mills find themselves 

 handicapped in the keen competition, wherein every item of expense 

 has a serious impon. 



For many years, up to the end of 1897, production had been 

 steadily increasing. It remained practically stationary in 1898. At 

 the present time, there is no indication of an increase. The trade 

 is active; but paper makers complain of the depressed prices, and 

 the effect of foreign competition is becoming more palpable. 



MATERIALS. 



The raw materials are rags, esparto (Spanish and African), wood 

 pulp, and waste of all sorts. From rags, the yield of paper is 90 per 

 cent; from Spanish esparto, 55 per cent; and from African esparto 

 or "Oran grass, "as it is generally termed, 50 per cent. News print 

 is largely made out of mechanical wood pulp, though there is a 

 tendency to improve the quality by the addition of a small propor- 

 tion of common rags. The materials here entering into the several 



