Marcj 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



SUITED FOR THE PAPER-MAKER. 379 



the domestic manufacture of half-stuff into India is not likely to take 

 root for many reasons."* 



Now, I differ to some extent from this opinion of Dr. Watson, and 

 the fact of the general manufacture of half-stuff even under difficulties, 

 and the quality of the paper made therefrom tell against him. 



Among the papers in the East India Museum, London, to which 

 attention may he directed, are the following — the detailed particulars of 

 which we gather from the ' Descriptive Catalogue of the Indian Depart- 

 ment ' in the International Exhibition, from Dr. Forbes Boyle, and 

 other authorities. 



Red j ute, white j ute, and bleached jute prepared as paper stuff. The 

 jute "gunny bags," as they are termed, which are so largely imported 

 as sacks and wrappers for Indian produce from Bengal, are now very 

 generally collected as a paper material — about 70,000 or 80,000 pieces of 

 these gunnies are annually received in the United Kingdom. 



There must also be a good deal of waste available from the 50,000 

 tons of jute and other fibrous substances now annually imported from 

 India, and worked up in Dundee and other places. That p.nti n of the 

 hank of fibre next the root, or where it has been held in the h md in 

 steeping — being always more or less contaminated with bark and im- 

 purities —is cut off for about nine inches. These j ute cuttings are sold in 

 Bengal to the paper-makers, and for making up various thick coarse 

 fabrics for bagging. They have only lately been imported here, and 

 could be had to almost any extent, as large quantities are destroyed in 

 India. The present price here is from 121. to 14/. per ton, with a large 

 stock on hand. Gunny bagging can be had at 101. to 121. a ton. The 

 import of jute from Bengal for spinning, this year, will probably reach 

 100,000 tons. 



Owing to the great cheapness of the gunny, the bags are rarely used 

 more than once before they fall into the hands of the rag-merchants and 

 paper-makers. In this condition, they constitute the cheapest paper 

 stock to be found in the market. The demand for it, however, has not 

 been extensive, even at low prices, as, hitherto, it was found impossible 

 to bleach the fibres sufficiently to render them serviceable for the manu- 

 facture of white paper. This is owing to the fact, that the bark of the 

 plant producing the jute contains a large quantity of humic and crenic 

 acids, together with some mineral bases and tannin. These substances 

 rapidly neutralise and destroy almost any bleaching agent that can be 

 applied. The use of gunny or jute- ends has been, therefore, hitherto 

 restricted to the manufacture of brown wrapping and envelope papers. 

 Mr. Jeffery's numerous specimens of bleached pulp and paper show that 

 the difficulty can be overcome. 



Writing and packing-paper made from plantain fibre at Cliingleput, 



* Lecture " On the chief fibre-yielding plants of India," before the Society 

 of Arts, 1860. 



