62. BULLETIN 343, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ticular composition. To make this handicap greater, it was necessary to constantly 
run two rolls of wholly different component materials at the same time, so that the 
press data was inevitably mixed and breaks in the running couldn’t be traced with 
the same satisfactory certainty that would have followed if only one kind of a paper at 
a time had been running on a press. The weight of the paper was also extremely 
variable, and tension set for a roll running heavy would, of course, have to be set 
differently for another roll running much lighter in weight. Despite these handicaps 
the demonstration was notably satisfactory in respect to running strength in more 
than one instance. 
The conventional standard of the paper mills, in the matter of weight, is 32 pounds 
for 500 sheets measuring 24 by 36 in size, yet one roll of the experimental paper, which 
- weighed only 26.74 pounds, had but one break. This particular paper was made from 
balsam fir and was of unmistakably good quality apart from its quite surprising 
strength. Another roll of the same composition ran without a single break, and the 
trials apparently gave conclusive proof that balsam fir is good paper-making material. 
The red-fir paper also showed good results, but the weight being 33.22 pounds, the 
demonstration was not quite so conclusive. 
SUCCESS WITH NEW MATERIALS. 
Taking all factors into consideration, strength, color, and finish, the paper made 
from balsam and spruce ground wood in equal proportions, roll No. 10, stock number, 
was the most completely satisfactory. This paper weighed only 29.24 pounds, and 
the five breaks that occurred in running it were attributed entirely to improper winding. 
The paper made from white spruce ground wood showed unexpected lack of strength, 
speaking relatively, but, as might be assumed, was comparatively good in color. The 
matter of color is the point on which the most serious criticism can be made, but there 
is good reason for believing that this fault can be remedied. Consumers of paper 
always count on more or less difficulty at the start in getting the color established at a 
satisfactory standard, so this experimental paper can not be fairly condemned on that 
ground. 
But one kind of chemical pulp was used in the manufacture of these rolls, as the list 
already given indicates. It was hemlock sulphite in every instance. One roll, stock 
No. 2, was made entirely from hemlock, both ground wood and chemical pulp. This 
paper was somewhat dark, but it showed good strength. The press report shows five 
breaks, but they are attributed to winding rather than to the weakness of the paper 
notwithstanding it averaged only 29.24 pounds. Paper manufacturers have used 
hemlock pulp for years to more or less extent, but usually mixed with spruce, and it 
has never been ranked in the same class as spruce in the matter of quality. Ground 
wood made from hemlock has a tendency to develop unfelted fiber that stands up like 
whiskers on the surface of the paper, but the paper made from the Wausau ea ) 
pulp was notably free from this particular bad quality. 
The last five experimental paper stocks were tested on the presses 
of the New York Herald, New York City. A 66-inch roll of each 
paper, weighing approximately 1,200 pounds, was used. This 
amount was sufficient for only a part of one city edition. It was 
impossible, moreover, to run each stock over the same press, and 
the five rolls were divided among three Goss sextuple presses. In 
all cases the sheet was printed at the rate of 400 eight-page papers 
per minute, or 24,000 per hour, equal to a speed through the press 
of 760 linear feet per minute. As in the case of the tests at St. 
Louis, the pressmen did not depart from their ordinary practice 
except for slight adjustment of tension upon the sheet and impression 
