470 USES OF WOOD PULP. 



Mr. Arnoult, and I forward herewith two of the letters received, 

 with translations. 



The following is a summary of the information I have been able 

 to obtain: 



There has been no book published upon the subject in France. 



The manufacture of the "bois durci " is not very important for 

 the following reasons: 



(1) On account of the great expense of the outfit. 



(2) The difficulty of having the wood entirely uniform in hard- 

 ness, grain, and age at time of use, which is necessary to produce 

 proper results. 



(3) The difficulty of procuring suitable workmen. 



Chairs, Mr. Arnoult says, can not be made of wood pulp, and he 

 is of the opinion that the chairs made in Austria and Hungary are 

 made from bent wood. No manufacture similar to the Austrian 

 product exists in France. 



Pails are made from wood fiber and some sticky substance of 

 which he does not know the nature, but they are not made in France. 



The nearest approach to the bois durci is the "caoutchouc 

 durci," and names are given of two houses in France engaged in 

 this manufacture. The product is probably the same as the vulcan- 

 ized rubber of the United States. 



I have made many inquiries, and have written for information 

 from other sources, but as yet have failed to receive anything addi- 

 tional upon the subject. 



WM. A. PRICKITT, 



RHEIMS, December 13, 1898. Consul. 



TRANSLATIONS OF LETTERS FROM MR. ARNOULT TO MR. PRICKITT. 



SEZANNE, December i, 1898. 



The manufacture of the " bois durci" is not so important as many persons seem 

 to think. I am, I believe, the sole manufacturer. I do not know of another house, 

 even in foreign countries, which really manufactures bois durci. 



The production is limited, because it needs a very extensive outfit, requiring 

 much capital, and on that account greatly diminishing the profits; also because of 

 the different results obtained from the analysis of the same wood at different times, 

 on account of the matter becoming naturally chemically disorganized, either by 

 desiccation, evaporation, or fermentation of the resinous parts, acids, etc.; and the 

 success of the bois durci becomes a matter of chance under these analyses. 



The mechanical outfit is not large. Certain persons have tried to establish this 

 manufacture in different countries in London, in Germany, in Brazil, and, if I am 

 well informed, in the United States. None, I believe, have succeeded. 



I have unsuccessfully tried to introduce my goods into Brazil, the United States, 

 and England. 



The necessary workmen are difficult to procure. It is only after one year's 



