The WoMbat. 73 



endless felt to which the paper is transferred, the wire at one 

 end receiving a constant flow of pulp. For the first few 

 years the machine simply made the paper and rolled it on a 

 reel, from which it had to be unrolled and hung in a loft to 

 dry. The first attempt at drying paper by means of heated 

 cylinders was made at a calico printing factory near Stepney 

 (England). The experiment was tried in the presence of the 

 patentees, and as it proved highly satisfactory, cylinders 

 were added to the machine. 



Engine sizing, so called, had been introduced previous to 

 the invention of the machine, and this was of great benefit, 

 for by it all printing papers could be made and finished in 

 one operation. At this period publications of every kind 

 began to multiply, especially newspapers. The growth of 

 these has caused a great stimulus to the paper trade, for as 

 the demand increased, additions and improvements were 

 made to the machine to enable manufacturers to keep pace 

 with that demand. So great was the consumption that 

 sufficient raw material could not be procured, and in 1850 

 ^"1,000 was offered to anyone who could find a substitute for 

 rags. The first substitute of any use was ground wood, or 

 what is now known as " machinical wood," to distinguish it 

 from "chemical wood," which is pure glucose. It took many 

 years to complete a system whereby it could be made cheap 

 enough to take its place in the making of paper. Fortunes 

 were spent in experiments, and only within the last twenty 

 years have they been successful. Although many fibrous 

 materials were experimented on, esparto grass was the only 

 one that clearly established its claim as an abundant and 

 practical source of fibre until 1850, and within ten years of 

 its introduction more paper was made from esparto than 

 from rags. 



To classify all the different papers now produced would 

 be an endless task, and the variety of purposes to which 

 paper is now applied involves the production of a material 

 differing widely in colour, texture and strength. For bank- 

 notes and deeds we must have paper that will stand much 

 wear and tear, while for newspapers, which are considered 

 old twenty-four hours after publication, a paper indifferent as 

 to strength and colour will be quite suitable. Ground wood 

 is much used for these, and as there is little or no fibre in it 

 the paper is very tender. Ground wood contains a great 

 deal of lignine, so that the paper soon loses its colour and 

 becomes yellow and aged in appearance. We must have 

 Manila paper for wrappers, light, airy tissues for jewellery, 

 cream laid note for writing, and bibulous paper for blotting 

 and filtering. 



All these papers are made as well as all sorts of imit- 

 ations of the better qualities of paper, and the appliances for 

 finishing off inferior papers are so good that they can be made 



