OTHER USES OE THE MAIZE CROP 793 



much cheaper gas was to be the result. Soon after they were CHAP, 

 started they were forced to mix oil with their straw. I just XV1L 

 phoned to the Company, and they tell me that now they use 

 coke and steam." 



764. Maize Charcoal.— A fine quality of charcoal is manu- 

 factured in the United States, from maize cobs, by the following 

 process : A hole, 5 feet deep, 1 foot in diameter at the bottom 

 and 5 feet at the top, is dug in the ground for a charcoal pit. 

 A fire is started at the bottom of the pit with a few dry maize 

 cobs ; these are added to until the flame is gradually drawn to 

 the top of the pit, which is then full of cobs. A sheet-iron 

 cover, shaped like the lid of a kaffir pot, sufficiently large to 

 cover the 5 -feet hole and close up the burning mass, is placed 

 over the aperture and sealed down at the edges with earth or 

 cow-dung to keep out the air. It requires twelve hours to 

 complete the burning. This method may perhaps require 

 slight alteration to adapt it to local conditions. 



765. Paper Material. — The increasing scarcity and cost of 

 wood are leading manufacturers to inquire for other materials 

 for the manufacture of paper. The cost of paper is a particu- 

 larly important question in South Africa, where it is claimed 

 that some 43 per cent of the cost of the paper on which news- 

 papers are printed goes to pay for transport from Europe, or, 

 in other words, that for every ,£100 spent in London for the 

 paper, another £75 is spent to transport it to the Transvaal. 

 If the paper were manufactured in South Africa, that extra 

 43 per cent would either be saved to the publishers and go 

 towards a reduction in the cost of the threepenny dailies, 

 or it would, at least, be expended in South Africa (Burtt- 



Davy, 5). 



Much has been said and written from time to time in 

 favour of growing a special fibre crop in South Africa for the 

 local manufacture of paper. But before attempting the pro- 

 duction of special crops for the purpose, it is worth while to 

 consider whether it would not be cheaper to make use of 

 material already being grown in the country. 



In 1906 the writer went carefully into the question of the 

 utilization of maize stalks and husks as paper material and, 

 after correspondence with the Imperial Institute and the United 



