AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 46 1 



stone, which was unusually light, hard, and so tough that it was im- 

 possible to break it by hand when struck on sharp iron corners. 

 Further, these blocks could be readily sawed and worked like wood. 



The favorable outcome of this experiment led Professor Schubert 

 to utilize other waste in the wood-pulp factory. He took portions 

 of dirty pulp sweepings, sawdust, and bark and added to these a 

 portion of the waste pulp taken from the water, and lastly an admix- 

 ture of clay. These ingredients he had evenly ground in edge roll- 

 ers, then moistened with water and well mixed. From this stiff 

 substance he framed bricks, which he dried in the manner employed 

 in the first process. The form of this brick was more regular and more 

 sharply defined than that made from water refuse alone, and was not so 

 tough, but the weight was greater, although much less than that of 

 an ordinary clay brick. A brick of the first variety weighed about 

 i pound 3 ounces, and a brick of the different ingredients weighed 

 a trifle over 2 pounds. Subjected to furnace heat, it burned only 

 slightly and that after long contact with the flames. Thousands of 

 these blocks were made and put to practical test by a builder, who 

 reported that he had used them in a number of houses, where they 

 were especially to be recommended in constructing light, warm 

 walls. Plaster on walls made of these blocks dried quickly and 

 adhered well. He wondered at their toughness and endurance. 



When the Scandinavian Wood Pulp Union, in Christiania, offered 

 prizes, open to all countries, for the best method of keeping back 

 the waste fibers from the water leaving the factories and of utilizing 

 this waste pulp, Professor Schubert submitted his process and re- 

 ceived one of the four rewards. He has also had his brick blocks 

 patented in Germany. 



Another use to which wood pulp is put in this country is in a pat- 

 ented composition used for flooring and called xylolith (papyrolith 

 and stone wood). In the circulars issued by the manufacturers of 

 this flooring in Vienna, the preparation is described as highly satis- 

 factory. Some 60,000 square yards have been laid in Austria- 

 Hungary in various offices, hospitals, schools, factories, hotels, and 

 in other much-frequented buildings. This flooring is put on a wood 

 or a cement foundation, in a thickness of from 12 to 15 millimeters 

 (about half an inch). Yellow is the usual color, although the mate- 

 rial can be prepared in red, brown, or white, and also in variegated 

 designs. The makers say that the flooring can be laid only by their 

 trained craftsmen, and recommend that in damp or much-used rooms 

 there should be a basis of beton, preferably of Portland cement, 

 from 5 to 12 centimeters (2 to 2^ inches) thick. This basis must be 

 hard and free from dust, perfectly level, but roughly finished, so 

 that the wood-pulp composition may adhere more firmly. The xylo- 

 lith hardens under ordinary circumstances in twenty-four hours, 



