Fibres. 



210 



[September, 1911. 



a source of paper stock. Its superlative 

 value for this purpose was urged, it 

 will be recalled, by Routledge in 1875. 

 The very favourable conclusions as to 

 bamboo, reached by R. W.Sindall, in his 

 report to the British Government on 

 available sources of Paper Stock in 

 British Colonies, are now amply con- 

 firmed by Raitt." 



In the bamboo Paper-makers have 

 found a really 



Inexhaustible Raw Material, 

 and Mr. William Raitt, of Bangalore, 

 recommends the establishment of 

 Bamboo Plantations so arranged, that 

 one-third of the whole plantation shall 

 be cut over every year. This will secure 

 absclute permanence of growth, and in 

 fact such systematic cropping will in- 

 crease productions. 



Mr. R. W. Sindall in his booklet 

 Bamboo for Paper-making (the book is 

 printed on Bamboo-paper, a copy of 

 which the author was kind enough to 

 send me) has the following : — 



" In the summer of 1908 the Govern- 

 ment of Burma supplied several tons of 

 bamboo, and this was converted into 

 paper by Messrs. Thomas and Green, 

 Soho Mills, Woodburn, Berks, who 

 found that the material yielded readily 



to treatment This firm reports 



that the material 



Worked Exceedingly Well 



on the Paper Machine and produced a 

 very good sheet of paper. 



The manager of the North of Ireland 

 Paper Mill Co., who tried this stuff, 

 says ; — 



'* We found no difficulty whatever in 



working the stuff The paper 



was put through the mill just the same 

 as if we had been treating wood pulp, 

 and came on the machine in the usual 

 way. We had no difficulty whatever, 

 nor had we to alter anything on the 

 machine." 



The extreme rapidity with which the 

 bamboo grows and the easier treatment 

 it requires in comparison with wood, 

 makes it very valuable. According to 

 Mr. Raitt the yield is 45 per cent, as 

 such, to make a ton of paper 2\ tons of 

 bamboo are required. I think from the 

 results (which were satisfactory and 

 encouraging) of the experiments I have 

 been carrying on, while I was in charge 

 of the Lunmi Paper Mills, the yield 

 should be a little more than 45 per cent. 

 — very near 50 per cent. 



I HAVE MADE PAPER OUT OP REEDS, 



Beesha Travancorica, a sort of plant 

 belonging to the same family as the 



bamboo, and the yield was much higher, 

 about 66 per cent. This reedj paper^has 

 been very, well commented Jon by* ex- 

 perts both in India andi England. A 

 beautiful cream coloured paper which 

 looks like parchment is produced from 

 the reed. 



I am afraid I am digressing from the 

 main point. If I have said too much 

 about the bamboo, it is because this 

 would be the main raw material, 

 If ever Ceylon had a Paper Mill. 

 The beautiful forests of Ceylon have 

 an inexhaustible supply of this wood, 

 specially the kind known as " Bata," 

 Ochlanda stridula, which is found in 

 profusion in the low lands. There are 

 rivers that would form splendid water 

 courses, allowing easy transport over 

 long distances. It is my belief that 

 "there are many localities capable of 

 providing for ever for a paper mill 

 making about ten thousand tons of 

 paper per annum." 



In addition to the bamboo there are 

 other kinds of fibrous plants in our 

 forests that could be advantageously 

 utilized for the manufacture of paper. 

 The particular kind of 



Sugar Cane 

 known as Rambuk would be an excellent 

 paper stock, and I believe this could be 

 had in any quantity. The fibre of this, 

 I understand, is now used for twine. 

 Murukku (Moringa pterygosperma), Kat 

 Amanakku (Jalropha curcas), Tiruku- 

 kalli (Euphorbia tirucalli), Elakalli 

 (Euphorbia nerifolia). Plantain fibre 

 and many of the aloes would be excellent 

 paper-stocks, and I have experimented 

 on most of these. As I said at the begin- 

 ning of this article, we have to select 

 only those that would give profitable 

 results. 



Jute fibre is an excellent material for 

 brown-paper, and this is got by collecting 

 old and torn gunny-bags. I have been 

 getting the whole stock of this required 

 for the Lumni Paper Mills from Ceylon 

 through a contractor. 



So much for the raw materials. I think 

 that a paper mill in Ceylon would never 

 fail for want of "paper-stock," which is 

 the most important factor. In short, all 

 refuses and all that now goes to waste 

 could be profitably used in a paper mill. 



The other Conditions 

 that have to be considered are (1) Source 

 of power— either steam or water. (2) 

 Labour. (3) Water for manufacturing 

 purposes. 



If water power could be had, it would 

 certainly be a very great advantage, but 



