THE WOMBAT. 7l 



wao about three pounds, and it took about 24 hours to com- 

 plete the operation. An improvement on the stamper was 

 made with metal plates with V-shaped teeth and two stamps 

 rising and falling alternately, thereby making the operation 

 more rapid and uniform. 



The pulp having been thus prepared was diffused in a 

 large quantity of water in a vat, and kept uniform by 

 agitation. From the vat the pulp was lifted on to a series of 

 moulds, each of which represented a sheet of paper of some 

 definite size, and duly christened with some antique name, 

 such as "crown," "foolscap," "post," "pot," and so on. 

 Man} 7 of these names and watermarks are in use at the 

 present day. The moulds were dipped in the vat and filled 

 to the top of the frame or " docked," as it is called, and by a 

 dexterous shake the fibres settled, uniformly and closely 

 interlaced, over the entire surface of the mould, while the 

 water passed off through the meshes. From the mould the 

 paper was placed between layers of felt, sheet after sheet 

 with felts between being piled up into what was called a 

 post ; when the post was completed it was put into a screw- 

 press and as much as possible of the moisture pressed out ; 

 it was then hung up to dry, sized, again dried and calendered. 



Such was the primitive paper manufacture of the past, 

 and so it continued until about the middle of last century, 

 when the first stride was made by the invention of the 

 " Beating Engine." It is to Holland that we are indebted 

 for this most important improvement, and it was known by 

 the name of " The Hollander " for many years. The beating 

 engine may be briefly described as an oblong cistern with a 

 partition running lengthwise ; to regulate the flow, a row of 

 knives is placed at the bottom of one side of the partition 

 with the edges upwards, and over these revolves a drum or 

 roller in which another set of knives is fixed. The rags, 

 which are immersed in the water with which the engine is 

 filled, are drawn between the two sets of knives, and as 

 the roller rapidly revolves, their disintegration is rapid. 



Until about forty years ago no improvement on the 

 beating engine had been introduced, but now their name is 

 legion, though the action of disintegration remains unchanged. 

 The chemicals which now play so important a part in the 

 process of paper making, had no place in the paper mill of 

 the past ; bleaching-powder was yet to be discovered, and 

 caustic soda was only known as a chemical curiosity. Boiling 

 seems to have been practised to some extent previous to the 

 introduction of chemical agents ; this was done in open boilers 

 with direct fire, but the rags suffered much damage in this 

 process, those nearest to the fire getting burnt and singed. 

 To prevent this steam was introduced, first by a simple pipe, 

 afterwards by what are called " vomiting tubes." 



