bb ON THE APPLICATION OF ALFA OR ESPARTO 



engine to laminate the alia rather than to bruise it : well-formed fibre, a 

 good reaction with chlorine gas, a perfect elimination of the red colour- 

 ing matter, then a final chlorided and acidulated washing ; such are the 

 practical means for the transformation of new fibrous plants into paper , 

 pulp. 



Are these means sufficiently economical, so that paper, similar in 

 quality, may not cost more, when made from alfa than from rags, taken 

 at the average prices for the last five years ? Before giving in figures a 

 reply on this point, I must be allowed to record my opinion on certain 

 ideas that prevail with regard to textile plants. It is said, that alfa, diss, 

 &c, instead of being sent to the manufacturer in the raw state, should be 

 dealt with where collected, and made into pulp or half- stuff. The waste 

 it is asserted, is thus got rid of, and the useful material alone forwarded, 

 therefore we should turn our attention to the organisation of such works. 

 Certain individuals, even hope to be able to reduce the price of paper, 

 by making pulp in France from plants brought from Algeria or Spain, 

 and supplying the paper -makers with this pulp. 



My experiments have convinced me that alfa is more bulky in pulp 

 than in the fibrous state. We can compress, as is done by M. Ouzel, 800 

 kilog. of the alfa plant into a cubic spare of lm. 44, the maritime ton. 

 We can compress 500 to COO kilog. of pulp into the same volume, 

 when in a humid state, until the mass is like a sheet of cardboard. But, 

 if the pulp is humid, the water which it retains, will augment its weight 

 at least in equal quantity, perhaps more, to the loss that the raw plant 

 gives ; if the pulp is dry, it is unacceptable to the paper-maker, because 

 it cannot be reconverted from the condition of cardboard to that of pulp, 

 without special machinery and expensive manipulation. 



Allow this first objection to be ill founded, although it is seriously 

 felt by certain eminent paper- makers, who have been willing to use pulp, 

 prepared elsewhere than in their mills ; I may yet dare to affirm, and 

 herein in perfect accord with many master manufacturers, that if on the 

 one hand white pulp is used, such as is got from the washing engine, 

 and allowed to flow direct into the beating engine, then into the vats, 

 then on to the machine, and lastly in the state of dry paper ; the 

 operation will be better and more economical than if, on the 

 other hand, this same pulp as it comes from the washing engine, 

 is allowed to flow into draining pans, then dried, either by pressure 

 or otherwise, then suitably packed to protect it from damage, and 

 lastly remade at a new mill. In the first case, the paper is finished, it 

 is delivered into the warehouse ; in the second case, the pulp has got to 

 the rag-store, nothing more. It must again be torn to pieces, and 

 washed and, perhaps one-third or a quarter bleached, before it can be 

 given over to the beaters. I therefore consider it a faulty proceeding, 

 in principle, to separate a paper mill in two ; the general expenses and 

 packing charges, interest on capital, transport and cartage cost are doubled, 

 and we merely offer to the manufacturer an article that may possibly 



