93 



tained by some chemists arises to a great extent from the fact that 

 their experiments have probably been conducted on over-boiled pulp. 

 So far as megass is concerned, the information gained from the results 

 of the experiments described in this publication clearly tends to 

 confirm the idea that high pressure treatment in the boilers breaks 

 down the lesser cellulosis with the formation of substances which 

 are specially obstinate of removal by ordinary methods of bleaching. 

 Under these circumstances special attention has been devoted towards 

 the question of finding out the best means of bleaching the fibre. In 

 the normal operation of bleaching with chlorine obtained from 

 bleaching powder or hypochlorite of soda, the consumption of bleach 

 has regularly, as for as this work is concerned, been found too great 

 for consideration on a commercial scale— consequently many experi- 

 ments have been carried out on the various modifications of existing 

 methods usually employed, both with the pulp in question and other 

 fibres of this class, with the result th^t an effective means has been 

 successfully evolved by which the most resistant pulp may be readily 

 bleached. [This is evidenced by a sample of paper submitted by the 

 authors for our inspection.] Although the chemical reaction in thi> 

 mode of procedure is somewhat complex, the series of operations in 

 practice may be simply and conveniently carried out at a very much 

 smaller cost with the ultimate saving of a relatively large amount of 

 bleaching materials. The results of the quantitative tests also 

 indicate,, as has been previously mentioned, that the product derived 

 from a low pressure boil must be taken for a successful application 

 of this principle. 



Mr. Bert de Lamarre in his mill seemingly makes no attempt to 

 bleach the pulp, which as far as can be gathered from information to 

 hand, is conveyed direct from the boilers to the receiving tank in a 

 state ready to run off on the machine. Yet it would seem to be well 

 worth the introduction of a completely equipped bleaching plant of a 

 moderate capacity with the additional advantage of securing a more 

 profitable and far-reaching utilisation of megass for papermaking 

 purposes. 



In view of the fact of the interesting and attractive description 

 given in the Trinidad Mirror of Mr. Bert de Lamarre's paper mill, it 

 is not proposed to enter into any detailed account of the actual 

 making of the papers except perhaps as a pardonable digression to 

 mention that these specimen samples have been run off a Marshall 

 Miniature Machine," the smallest working model in existence. 



Some considerable attention has been devoted to testing the 

 effects produced on papers obtained by the admixture of other kinds 

 of furnish with this material, which might be applicable for other 

 purposes, such as printing or writing papers, where the megass alone 

 is unsuitable. Some of the most useful examples, each accompained 

 by ani account of their composition and properties, together with the 



