204 PROCEEDINaS OF THE 



Messrs. Patrick Eyan and Maxwell K. Stone were balloted for 

 and duly elected members of the Club. Five nominations were 

 lead for the first time. 



Tbe Secretary announced that ther« would be a Gossip Meeting 

 'on May 25th, and that the next Ordinary Meeting would be held on 

 June 8th, when Mr. R. Paulson would read a paper on " The Micro- 

 scopic Structure of Lichens." The next excursion would be on 

 May 29th to Greenford and Hanwell. The President announced 

 that a copy of the third edition of Dr. Spitta's book. Micro- 

 scopy, had been received from the publisher, Mr. John Murray. 

 The Secretary said that he had many sympathetic replies from 

 the various people to whom copies of the resolution protesting 

 against the proposal to enclose part of Epping Forest had been 

 sent. If the scheme is persisted with, the County Council will 

 oppose it, and there will be so much opposition that it is very 

 unlikely that anything will come of the attempt. 



The President then called upon Mr. S. R. Wycherley to read his 

 paper on " The Microscopic Examination of Paper Fibres." 



Mr. Wycherley began by briefly describing the process of paper- 

 making. Paper consists almost entirely of vegetable fibres pulped 

 and shaken together so as to form a network, and the length and 

 strength of the fibres, combined with variety of sizing and finish, 

 give the distinctive features to the paper produced. The first 

 process is the removal of all parts of the plant that are not cellu- 

 lose, and for this reason rags are largely used as the basis of paper- 

 making, as this has already been done. In making rag-paper 

 the rags are first sorted into colours and qualities. They then 

 pass through the rag-cutter and the duster, where they are cut 

 into smaller pieces. They may then be washed and boiled in 

 caustic soda. The material is then well washed, and still further 

 broken up in the breaker or hoUander. It is now bleached with 

 chloride of lime, the coloured rag pulp requiring more bleaching, 

 •and the fibre being weakened in consequence. The material is 

 then passed into the beaters, where it is still further separated. 

 The sharpness of the knives in these machines affects the character 

 of the paper considerably, blunt knives giving long fibres, used 

 for strong paper, and sharp knives short-cut fibres, suitable for 

 blotting and other soft papers. Here, also, the body and surface 

 are modified by loading with China clay, calcium sulphate, barium 

 sulphate, or starch, and dyes are also added. In the making of 



