ON MAIZE PAPER. 357 



paper mill could not recommend the manufacture of maize paper on a 

 large scale. 



As the bulk of the expenditure arose from the great distance of tran- 

 sport of the raw material, it was proposed to undertake the manufacture 

 in a locality where maize was raised in sufficient quantity to have the 

 straw at hand available. It was further resolved to erect an experi- 

 mental factory for reducing it into half stuff, so that instead of the 

 bulky straw only the compressed substance adapted for manufacturing 

 paper should be delivered at the paper mills. 



The half-stuff factory was erected at Roman Szt-Mitaaly, near Te- 

 mesvar, where the maize cultivation is extensive, and on the 6th March, 

 1860, it commenced to work under Diamant's provisional direction. The 

 restricted time lor experiments was one year. Diamant promised to 

 manufacture in that period 4,500 cwt. of half stuff out of maize straw, 

 but not the seventh part of this quantity was reached. 



The half stuff made was also so poor that further experiments, and 

 the working of the factory were suspended at Diamant's own suggestion 

 before the stipulated time had expired. Diamant was then released 

 from his position, absented himself, and left the question unsettled. The 

 experiments cost more than 30,000 florins, which had been advanced by 

 the Imperial paper mill, according to orders from the late Baron Brack. 

 With this, the past operations of maize straw paper were closed as far as 

 the experiments were conducted under Diamant's direction. Diamant 

 did not participate in subsequent experiments. 



The Imperial paper mill had now to rely on itself. The exertions of 

 the direction under whose superintendence the experiments were con- 

 tinued, aimed principally at two things ; first, to reduce the cost of pro- 

 duction by improvements in the mode of manufacture — secondly, to 

 ascertain what the expenses would be, if, instead of the whole straw, 

 only the envelope of the grain cob (the sheathing leaves enclosing the 

 corn head), containing fibres of the best and fiuest quality were used for 

 making paper. 



If these industriously continued experiments did not lead directly to 

 the desired result, that of making paper as cheap out of maize straw as 

 out of rags, they led at least indirectly to improvements, and what is of 

 greater weight, to a very important result — the discovery of a new fibre 

 capable of being spun and woven, and the waste of which fibre fur- 

 nishes a cheap paper. 



The origin of this discovery was somewhat as follows : — 



It was known that the basis of all paper is vegetable fibre. The rags 

 are but the fibres, produced out of the flax, hemp, or cotton plants, and 

 used up by wearing. If those fibres were used for making paper before 

 they were converted into textures, the paper would be certainly better, 

 but at the same time more costly. 



Paper of maize straw is paper of unworn plant fibres. After the idea 

 had once run in this direction, the question arose — cannot the fibres of 



