TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 1838 
to the muzzle. The cartridge used was also made with a perforation, through 
which the loading-rod passes. The loading-rod was quickly attached to the base 
of the projectile at the muzzle of the gun. Both rod and charge were quickly 
drawn into the chamber of the piece, disconnected in readiness for loading, and 
the breech was then closed by a small apparatus, such as a revolving disk. 
On the Paper-Manufactures of Northumberland and Durham. 
By W. H. Ricwarpson. 
The author stated that the principal improvements that have been made in the 
manufacture of paper in late years are in the details and general efficiency of the 
machinery, whereby a much larger quantity of paper is made with the same appa- 
ratus than formerly; and in the superior management of the chemical processes. The 
introduction of Esparto grass, the importation of which has been steadily increas- 
ing, was also noticed: 10,000 tons of this were imported in the year 1862 into the 
ort of Newcastle alone, the greater part of which was forwarded into Scotland, 
ancashire, and elsewhere. Hsparto, or adfa, as it is called on the African coast, 
is a coarse grass which grows in sandy places in almost all the countries bordering 
on the Mediterranean, and has been used from time immemorial for making: mats, 
ropes, &c., and has been extensively used for paper-making since 1860, mainly by 
the exertions of Mr. Thomas Routledge, the patentee of the only successful process. 
No material alteration in the machinery or apparatus is required for working esparto 
by this process, and very much less power 1s required. The successful working 
of this fibre depends on the careful and proper adjustment of the quantity and 
strength of the chemicals employed. The quantity of soda ash required for 
neutralizing the gummo-resinous matters in the fibre, so as to admit of its being 
made into a pulp, is very large, thou h not so great as is required for straw; and 
the fibre, unlike rags, never having before been subjected to bleaching or other 
chemical treatment, also requires yery much more bleach-powder to bring it to a 
colour suitable for printing-paper. The quantities required are from five to six 
times as much as for cleansing and bleaching the coarsest rags. Nearly all news- 
paper, not excepting that on which the Zimes is printed, contains a portion of 
esparto ; and some of the penny daily papers published in Edinburgh contain only 
one-fourth of rag material. The large supply of paper-making material from this 
source has been most opportune. Rags are becoming gradually scarcer; coloured 
rags, suitable for making common printing-paper, were worth 4s. to 6s, per ewt. in 
1848, and are now worth 9s. to 12s. per ewt., and this notwithstanding the relief 
roduced by the importation of esparto. The scarcity, the existence of which the 
jurors’ report of the Exhibition of 1862 most unaccountably denies, has been aggra- 
vated by the almost total cessation of the supply of waste and tares from the cotton- 
mills; and, even with the assistance of esparto grass and cheaper chemicals and 
fuels, the paper-makers in this country have been placed by recent legislation in a 
most disadvantageous position in respect of the supply of material in comparison 
with their continental rivals. 
Note.—Importation of esparto in 1863 into the United Kingdom, 25,161 tons 
Sewt. 1 qr. 12 Ibs. 
On an Improved Manufacture of Biscuits. By J. Rosrxson. 
Reports and Sections relating to Captain B. Pim’s projected Transit Route 
through Central America, showing the modus operandi of Surveying in the 
Forests of that Country. By E. Satmon, CE. 
This report detailed the writer’s proceedings in the primeval forests, while 
making a preliminary survey to prove the practicability of the Interoceanic Rail- 
way through Nicaragua. It was accompanied by drawings and sections. Much 
of the document was occupied with a description of the difficulties successfully 
encountered by the surveying party, the nature of the country, and their con- 
trivances for obtaining food, water, shelter, Xc. The nature of the soil and the 
plants of the district were described at length. In a second expedition, subse- 
quently undertaken, the party encountered great obstacles from the advanced 
