demand, and even if this were possible their price was 

 prohibitive for ordinary papers. Substitutes were 

 eagerly sought, therefore, and presently it was dis- 

 covered that the fiber of certain kinds of woods, spruce 

 and poplar in particular, was admirably adapted to 

 making the coarser grades of paper. It was shown, in- 

 deed, that any but the very finest grades of paper could 

 be produced from these fibers, particularly if "flavored" 

 with a dash of the finer rag pulp. The result of this 

 discovery was completely revolutionary in the paper 

 industry; the sites for some of the great paper-making 

 establishments, instead of being in the centers of popu- 

 lation as formerly, were now removed to the wildernesses 

 of the great spruce forests, where the material for 

 making the pulp was at most only a few rods away. 



For some time after the discovery that wood pulp 

 could be used for paper-making, there was great diffi- 

 culty in preparing the fibers economically. Machines for 

 sawing and chopping the wood were tried, but they were 

 not satisfactory; and when treated chemically the fibers 

 in the wood resisted the action to such a degree that a 

 great amount of time was required. Finally it was 

 discovered in Germany that by grinding the wood with 

 an ordinary grindstone, the fibers could be separated and 

 turned into pulp rapidly and cheaply. It was this dis- 

 covery that gave the great impetus to the wood-pulp 

 industry; and it was this, perhaps more than any other 

 single thing, that made possible the "penny newspaper." 



It should not be understood, however, that only a news- 

 paper quality of paper is made from wood pulp. All 

 wrapping papers, most book papers, and even some 



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