HEMP HUEDS AS PAPEE-MAKIN-G MATERIAL. 21 



of the company, and pumped to the stock chest. Stock from cooks 

 Nos. 319 and 320 was treated in exactly the same manner except 

 that the stock was bleached with 12.1 per cent of bleach and pumped 

 to the stock chest to mix with the former furnish. The stock acted 

 very well on the machine, which was speeded to 75 feet per minute, 

 with the Jordan refiner set at a medium brush. The sheet is as good, 

 if not better, than that of run No. 143, and it is also a good illustra- 

 tion of the extent to which proper tinting will enhance the general 

 appearance of a paper. The poor appearance of the samples of 

 previous runs is due largely to lack of proper tinting. Various 

 degrees of whiteness, however, are demanded by the trade. 



COMPARISON OF THE TESTS AND COMMERCIAL PRACTICE. 



In work of this nature and on this scale it is practically impossible 

 to arrive at a cost figure which would be susceptible of commercial 

 interpretation, and in this preliminary publication nothing will be 

 attempted beyond a comparison of the process used with the hurds 

 with that process commercially applied to poplar wood. The process 

 last used with the hurds should not be regarded as final, satisfactory, 

 or most suitable, as it has been shown that progress was being made 

 up to the conclusion of the work. 



In comparing the method of using hurds with the method of han- 

 dling poplar wood, a difference is apparent on the delivery of raw 

 material at the miU. Ordinarily, poplar is received at the mill in 

 the form of logs about 4 feet in length, which may be stored in piles 

 in the open. Hurds very hkely would be received baled, and it would 

 seem advisable to store them under cover for the following reasons: 

 (a) Baled hurds would probably absorb and retain more water 

 during wet weather than logs of wood, thereby causing excessive 

 dilution of the caustic liquor; (b) prolonged excessive dampness 

 might create heating and deterioration unless the hemp were properly 

 retted; (c) wet hurds could not be sieved free from sand and chaff. 

 Should further work show that the first two reasons need not be 

 taken into consideration, the third objection might be overcome by 

 sieving the hurds before baling. Even then, it is probable that 

 baled hurds stored in the open would accumulate and retain con- 

 siderable dirt from factory chimneys, locomotives, and wind. 

 Checked pulp wood exposed in the open invariably suffers from 

 these caases. 



In the preparation of the raw material for the digesters there is 

 likewise considerable difference between hurds and poplar wood. 

 The former apparently requires only a moderate sieving to remove 

 sand and chaff, which operation doubtless would rccpiire only a 

 small amount of labor and the installation of some simple machinery 

 of low power consumption. In preparing poplar for digestion, the 



