13 



ALFA FIBRE FOR PAPER-MANUFACTURERS. 



(Macrochloa tenacissima. — Esparto; Sparte; Spartum.) 

 by james watt. 



Several species of this grass grow wild on both shores of the Mediter- 

 ranean for about five degrees of longitude, and are particularly abundant 

 in some of the seaboard provinces of Algeria. They are found upon arid, 

 rocky soils, having a basis of silica and iron. In Spain the herbaceous 

 stalks of esparto have been used as a textile for centuries, for ropes, 

 mats, sandals, baskets, &c. ; also in the manufacture of a coarse paper. 

 Lygeum spartum, Stipa gigantea, S. barbata, and other species, are also 

 employed. 



The attention of the French Government has for years past been 

 directed to this plant as a substitute for rags ; and in the London Exhibi- 

 tion of 1851, samples of alfa, as well as paper made from it, were shown 

 in the Algerian section of French products. In consequence, however, 

 of the difficulty of transport, and the imperfect methods then employed 

 in its preparation, little progress was made ; but the recent legislative 

 enactments in England respecting paper, and the increasing prices of 

 rags abroad, have caused the manufacturers here to pay more attention to 

 this plant, and experience has proved not only its superiority to straw, 

 but its perfect adaptability to making paper, either by itself, or when 

 mixed with straw or rags. 



The efforts which have been made to utilise more generally the herba- 

 ceous stalks of this grass have been attended with the most beneficial 

 results, and for paper puip it has been found exceedingly valuable, pro- 

 ducing paper of great strength and tenacity. A large paper-mill has been 

 established at Arba, near Algiers, and the ' Akhbar ' daily paper, one of the 

 oldest journals of Algeria, is now printed on paper of African origin, made of 

 the fibres of alfa, diss (Arundo festucoides), and of the dwarf palm (Chamcerops 

 humilis), all wild plants, met with in abundance. 



The prosecution of an export trade in these fibres was long retarded by 

 the stringent Customs regulations of France. 



M Michel Chevalier, some years ago, pointed out that the business- 

 man of enterprise and capital in Algeria was placed in the same tantalising 

 situation as Sancho Panza in the Island of Barataria : in the presence of a 

 table covered with dainty viands, he was continually arrested by the com- 

 mand of the doctor, who prohibited his touching the various delicacies 

 which tempted his appetite. 



" The plains of Algeria," wrote M. Chevalier, " offer, without culture, a 

 plant excellently adapted for making paper of the first quality : this is alfa, 

 or esparto. The importation into France is permitted in the rough state — 

 that is, with the stalks or stems tied up in bundles, like forage — which, 

 from their excessive bulk, it is scarcely possible to transport profitably 



