62 BULLETIN 343, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



ticular composition. To make this handicap greater, it was necessary to constantly 

 run two rolls of wholly different component materials at the same time, so that the 

 press data was inevitably mixed and breaks in the running couldn't be traced with 

 the same satisfactory certainty that would have followed if only one kind of a paper at 

 a time had been running on a press. The weight of the paper was also extremely 

 variable, and tension set for a roll running heavy would, of course, have to be set 

 differently for another roll running much lighter in weight. Despite these handicaps 

 the demonstration was notably satisfactory in respect to running strength in more 

 than one instance. 



The conventional standard of the paper mills, in the matter of weight, is 32 pounds 

 for 500 sheets measuring 24 by 36 in size, yet one roll of the experimental paper, which 

 weighed only 26.74 pounds, had but one break. This particular paper was made from 

 balsam fir and was of unmistakably good quality apart from its quite surprising 

 strength. Another roll of the same composition ran without a single break, and the 

 trials apparently gave conclusive proof that balsam fir is good paper-making material. 

 The red-fir paper also showed good results, but the weight being 33.22 pounds, the 

 demonstration was not quits so conclusive. 



SUCCESS WITH NEW MATERIALS. 



Taking all factors into consideration, strength, color, and finish, the paper made 

 from balsam and spruce ground wood in equal proportions, roll No. 10, stock number, 

 was the most completely satisfactory. This paper weighed only 29.24 pounds, and 

 the five breaks that occurred in running it were attributed entirely to improper winding. 

 The paper made from •white spruce ground wood showed unexpected lack of strength, 

 speaking relatively, but, as might be assumed, was comparatively good in color. The 

 matter of color is the point on which the most serious criticism can be made, but there 

 is good reason for believing that this fault can be remedied. Consumers of paper 

 always count on more or less difficulty at the start in getting the color established at a 

 satisfactory standard, so this experimental paper can not be fairly condemned on that 

 ground. 



But one kind of chemical pulp was used in the manufacture of these rolls, as the list 

 already given indicates. It was hemlock sulphite in every instance. One roll, stock 

 No. 2, was made entirely from hemlock, both ground wood and chemical pulp. This 

 paper was somewhat dark, but it showed good strength. The press report shows five 

 breaks, but they are attributed to winding rather than to the weakness of the paper 

 notwithstanding it averaged only 29.24 pounds. Paper manufacturers have used 

 hemlock pulp for years to more or less extent, but usually mixed with spruce, and it 

 has never been ranked in the same class as spruce in the matter of quality. Ground 

 wood made from hemlock has a tendency to develop unfelted fiber that stands up like 

 whiskers on the surface of the paper, but the paper made from the Wausau laboratory 

 pulp was notably free from this particular bad quality. 



The last five experimental paper stocks were tested on the presses 

 of the New York Herald, New York City. A 66-inch roll of each 

 paper, weighing approximately 1,200 pounds, was used. This 

 amount was sufficient for only a part of one city edition. It was 

 impossible, moreover, to run each stock over the same press, and 

 the five rolls were divided among three Goss sextuple presses. In 

 all cases the sheet was printed at the rate of 400 eight-page papers 

 per minute, or 24,000 per hour, equal to a speed through the press 

 of 760 linear feet per minute. As in the case of the tests at St. 

 Louis, the pressmen did not depart from their ordinary practice 

 except for slight adjustment of tension upon the sheet and impression 



