Fibres. 



110 



[August, 1910- 



manufacturers the world over, the cost 

 of this by either hand process, or 

 machine, not showing the majority of 

 planters at the present time profits 

 which satisfy them, and the difficulties 

 attending the former making the crop, 

 in India especially, not popular ; his 

 process for the production of wool from 

 ramie is however exceedingly simple, 

 the operation on the canes of the same 

 not presenting anything like the same 

 difficulties or trouble attending the 

 production of China grass, ribbons, or 

 machine decorticated fibre for degum- 

 ming and weaving into ramie linen ; 

 notwithstanding these latter, however, 

 a new mill for the degumming and 

 wearing of ramie linen has been erected 

 at Kirkstall, near Leeds, Yorkshite, by 

 Messrs. P. A. Aykroyd & Co., which 

 brings the number of English ramie 

 mills up to five. The new mill produces 

 a good strong yarn from the fibre, and 

 their quotations are slightly lower than 

 those asked by other firms for the same 

 counts of yarn. 



Prospects in India. 



It is quite possible that Mr. Orr's 

 invention will enable many planters in 

 India and elsewhere, who are disposed 

 to grow ramie as a field crop to do so 

 with satisfactory profit, and be easily 

 able to find a market for all the fibre 

 which they grow and process. It would, 

 of course, be necessary for them in order 

 to produce this processed material for 

 the purpose of selling to woollen manu- 

 facturers to card and spin, to make use 

 of Mr. Orr's machine on their plant- 

 ations ; at any rate the manufacture of 

 wool from ramie is altogether a new and 

 novel departure in connection Avith the 

 fibre, and it has not been attempted by 

 any persons up to the present time. Mr. 

 Orr's London offices are at 708, Salisbury 

 House, Finsbury Circus. Those who 

 have carded and spun his processed 

 ramie on their woollen machinery say 

 that it works satisfactorily in these 

 operations, meantime, however, various 

 woollen manufacturers in England are 

 making larger carding and spinning 

 tests of this wool, and considering the 

 markets in which they can employ it 

 with most profit, and if those tests 

 prove completely satisfactory they will 

 endeavour to get planters in different 

 parts of the world to increase the 

 culture of the fibre by making them 

 defiuite firm offers for supplies of this 

 processed material. 



PAPERMAKING FIBRE, Etc. 

 By A. D. Little, 



(From the Paper Trade Review, Vol. 

 LIII., 11, March, 1910). 



Mr. Arthur D. Little, Official Chemist 

 to the American Paper and Pulp Asso- 

 ciation, read the following paper at the 

 recent annua) meeting : — 



Bamboo as a Raw Material. 

 Two years ago 1 called the attention 

 of the Association to the suitability and 

 importance of bamboo as a source of 

 paper stock, and referred to the initial 

 suggestion for its utilisation in this 

 direction made thirty -five years ago by 

 Thomas Routledge as well as to the 

 recent investigations of Richmond in 

 the Philippines, Raitt in Burma, and 

 Sindall in India. 



The subject has commanded consider- 

 able further attention during the year 

 just past, and among the several articles 

 which have appeared with reference to 

 it special mention should be made of the 

 monograph by Sindall. entitled " Bamboo 

 for Papermaking" which is printed on 

 an excellent quality of book paper made 

 from bamboo. There appears to be no 

 room for doubt that bamboo is one of 

 the most promising, if not in fact 

 actually the most attractive of the new 

 sources of paper stock available at this 

 time. It has no bark, it is much easier 

 to treat than wood on account of its 

 capillary sap tubes, and although Raitt 

 advises otherwise, it is not, according to 

 Richmond, even necessary to separate 

 the nodes, which are perfectly reduced, 

 provided the stem is first put through 

 crushing rolls. The yield on the com- 

 mercial scale is about 45% of bleached 

 fibre, while the average yield per acre is 

 5 tons of bamboo. 



Bamboo stems are commonly cut at a 

 standard length of 20 ft. The large 

 bamboos have an average diameter of 2£ 

 inches, small bamboos of 1| inches. The 

 number of 20 ft. stems required for 1 ton 

 of bamboo pulp is 440 in case of large 

 bamboos, and 720 in case of the small 

 varieties. Seven hours' treatment at 60 

 lbs. pressm^e with caustic soda having a 

 specific gravity of 1*075 is sufficient for 

 its reduction, and the product reduced 

 to good colour with 6% of bleaching 

 powder. The fibre is reported to work 

 exceedingly well upon the paper machine. 



Even at the present time, when no 

 systematic exploitation of the production 

 of bamboo is in vogue, the large stems 

 selected and intended for building pur- 

 poses cost only 6s, 6d, per 100, and the 



