250 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



portation of the raw material. It was proposed to undertake the manu- 

 facturing of the maize paper in a locality where maize is raited in sufficient 

 quantities, and to take a middle course, by erecting-, in an experimental 

 way, a factory for half-stuff. The projected half-stuff factory was erected 

 at Roman-sz-Mihaly, near Temesvar, where the maize cultivation is exten- 

 sive, and on the 6th day of March, 1860, it commenced to operate, under 

 Diamant's provisional direction. The length of time fixed for experiments 

 was one year. Diamant promised to manufacture in this period 500 cwts. 

 half-stuff out of maize straw, a quantum which was not half reached. The 

 produced half-stufif was, in addition to this, so poor that farther experi- 

 ments and the working of the factory were suspended, in consequence of 

 Diamant's own suggestion, before the granted time had expired. 



"The exertions of the direction of the Schlogelmiihle paper mill, under 

 whose superintendence the experiments were continued, aimed principally 

 at two things: first, to reduce the cost of production through rational 

 improvements in the mode of manufacturing paper; secondly, to investigate 

 how the expenses would be, if, instead of the whole straw, only the fiber 

 stuff of the shucks, (the leaves enclosing the corn ear), containing the fibers 

 of the best and finest quality, would be used for manufacturing paper. If 

 these industriously continued experiments did hot lead directly to the 

 desired results — i. e., to make paper as cheap out of maize straw as out of 

 rags — they led at least indirectly to it, and, what is of greater weight, to 

 a very important result: the discoverij of a new fiber, capable of being spun 

 or woven, which (the fiber) furnishes us, in a waste, with a cheap paper. 

 The genesis of this discovery is as follows: The basis of all paper is 

 vegetable fiber. The rags are but the fibers produced out of the flax, 

 hemp or cotton plant, and used up by wearing. If these fibers would be 

 used for paper before they would be converted into textures, the paper 

 would be certainly better, but also incomparatively more costly. Paper of 

 maize straw is paper of unworn plant fibers. 



"After the ideas had once run into this direction, the question was 

 brought very near: Cannot the fibers of the maize plant, before they are 

 delivered to the paper machine, just as well be worn as the fibers of flax 

 and hemp are worn first? In other words: Cannot the maize fiber be 

 spun and woven ? All that was necessary was a trial. It was made and 

 succeeded. 



" It appeared that the maize fiber could be extracted out of the plant in a 

 form like flax, by a procedure very simple, and at the same time requiring 

 but little apparatus and auxiliary means; that it could be spun like flax, 

 and be woven like the flax thread. 



"The cultivation of this plant constitutes one of the most profitable 

 branches of agriculture known. The plant, not taking the corn ear into 

 consideration, which pays for itself already, the cultivation can be made 

 useful in many different ways. Through the process applied for producing 

 the maize fiber, the components of the plant are separated into three differ- 

 ent parts, to wit: fibers, flour dough and gluten. The fibers are spun and 

 woven; the nutritive substance (flour dough), which has the peculiarity to 

 remain fresh for months in the open air — consequently to resist, unlike 

 other unorganic substances, putrefaction — gives a pleasant tasting, nutri- 



