506 



PAPER PLANTS 



PAPER PLANTS 



like nature, is that the cellulose which they con- 

 tain is present in two or more forms having widely 

 different physical properties, and these forms do 

 not behave alike when treated with paper-making 

 chemicals. Thus, the pith, fibrovascular bundles 

 and rind (the latter consisting of highly lignified 

 fiber) of bagasse will be attacked in the order given 

 by chemical treatment, and a treatment sufficient 



Fig. 729. Paper bamboo. Japan. 



to soften the rind is rather too severe for the fibro- 

 vascular bundles, and entirely too severe for the 

 pith. Such treatment, therefore, results in low 

 yields, and the resulting pulp is not homogeneous, 

 consisting of long, coarse fibers and of the short 

 pith cells, the latter of which impart parchment- 

 like and objectionable characteristics to the paper. 



A material which is suitable for making papers 

 of all grades is the fiber of flax grown for seed. 

 The straw contains 20 to 25 per cent of flax fiber 

 suitable for making the strongest and best paper. 

 Here, again, there are three forms of cellulose 

 present, and it is difficult to separate cheaply the 

 wood of the straw from the true bast fibers. 

 Difficulty, too, has been encountered in removing 

 the seed left in the straw, the oil from which, if it 

 is not removed, appears in the finished paper, giv- 

 ing it a greasy, spotty appearance and spoiling it 

 for any but common papers. 



Looking to the time when the cost of wood will 

 encourage a larger use of other raw materials, but 

 little consideration need be given to materials suita- 

 ble for common papers, such as strawboard, box and 

 cardboard, common wrapping paper, and the like, as 

 it is not probable that the supply of straw, bagasse, 

 corn-stalks, and other low-grade material which, 

 under these conditions will be available, will be 

 reduced in the near future. For the better papers, 



such as newspapers, strong wrapping, book, writ- 

 ing and record papers, we may expect the demand 

 to be met more largely than at present, under the 

 stimulus of increased prices, by a larger. collection 

 of rags, scutching and spinning waste of the 

 textile industries, old rope, paper trimmings and 

 old papers; utilization of other kinds of wood and 

 of the waste woods of other wood-using industries; 

 recovery of the fiber now wasted in fiax-straw, of 

 which the product of about three million acres is 

 annually wasted in this country; substitution of the 

 cereal straws, bagasse, corn-stalks, bamboo and 

 many other materials; and, finally, when it becomes 

 necessary, the production of a material primarily 

 for the making of paper. 



DESCRIPTIVE NOTES 



Adansonia (Adansonia digitata). 



Adansonia is the inner bark of the baobab or 

 monkey bread tree. It is obtained from the tropical 

 regions of the western coast of- Africa, and is 

 suitable for making a strong wrapping paper 

 having a high finish. 



Balsam {Abies balsamea.) Coniferm. 



Balsam is used in Maine, Pennsylvania, New 

 York, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Wisconsin 

 for sulfite pulp, yielding a pulp of the same general 

 character as spruce. 



Bamboo {Bamhusm species). Gramineoe. Fig. 121, 

 Vol. I, and Fig. 729. 

 These are giant grasses which have long been 

 known as suitable for making paper, but have 

 never been used extensively for this purpose, 

 probably owing to the greater ease of securing 

 wood. Recent experiments have again demon- 

 strated the value of the dwarf bamboos, particu- 

 larly, for paper-making. Bamboo is native in 

 tropical and subtropical countries, and is used 

 extensively industrially in southern Asia and the 

 Philippines. It has been introduced successfully 

 into the United States. It is the chief paper-making 

 material of China, and owing to the rapidity with 

 which it grows (a yield of six tons of paper stock 

 per season has been estimated), it is a promising 

 material of the future. It makes a soft, white 

 paper, possessing some of the characteristics of 

 paper made from straws, and is suitable for 

 wrapping, newspaper and book papers. The fiber 

 is 1 to 10 mm. long and .015 mm. in diameter. 

 The yield of paper is about 40 per cent. 



Corn-stalk (Zea Mays) and Sugar-cane bagasse 

 (Saeeharum qffleinarum). Graminex. 



The former is grown extensively in the United 

 States, the latter in the United States, West 

 Indies, East Indie? and Hawaii. They have both 

 attracted considerable attention, as have also cot- 

 ton-stalks, as paper-making materials. Samples of 

 very acceptable paper have been prepared, and 

 bagasse has been used for some years by several 

 mills in preparing a low-grade wrapping paper. 

 [See Maize and Sugar-cane.] 



