WOOD PULP FOR PAPER. 121 
No 1. No 2. No 3. 
Linden, aspen, 5| Thalers 4 \ Thalers 3^ Thalers 
and pine stuff. or about 16s. or about 13s. or about 10s. 
Scotch fir 4J Thalers 3f Thalers 3 Thalers 
stuff. or about 13s. or about lis. or about 9s. 
The samples of paper made from mixtures of rags with different pro- 
portions of these pulps are excellent, and show a decided progress in 
wood paper manufacture since 1862. Among them may be specially- 
mentioned a good writing paper, containing 45 per cent, of Scotch fir 
stuff ; an excellent tough lapping paper, containing 65 per cent, of the 
same material ; and a coloured lapping tissue paper, which is ex- 
ceedingly strong, containing 50 per cent, of wood pulp. 
The Hobart Town ' Mercury ' draws attention to the bark of the 
" Tea-tree" (the broad-leaved is a Leptospermum, and the narrow-leaved 
a Melaleuca), which abounds in the forests of Tasmania, as admirably 
adapted for the manufacture of paper. Nature manufactures paper from 
it " of her own accord." " Daring the summer months, when the trees 
shed their leaves and bark, these accumulate in the gullies and dry 
creeks. So soon as they are brought into contact with the water they 
form of themselves a thick pulp, which spreads itself over the uneven 
surface of the water-courses, and which, after it has been deserted by 
the water, remains spread out into a huge sheet of stiff brown paper. 
The supply is inexhaustible. The rough bark peels off in numerous 
thin membranous folds. 
A species of Eucalyptus, the Stringy-bark tree (E. obliqua or E. 
fabrorum), constitutes, in very extensive mountain districts of Yictoria, 
the principal part of the forests. Hence it is not improbable that its 
bark, which is readily separable, thick, and fibrous, although not tena- 
cious, will not merely continue to supply the roof for the first rustic 
dwellings of the settlers, but may eventually be drawn into use for the 
manufacture of a coarse paper, although neither this nor other native 
products, (Jsolepis nodosa, Stipa crenata, Leptospermea? and Lavatera 
plebia) are likely to yield a paper comparable to the available maize 
leaves and stalks in Australia. 
The bark of the large-leaved Nettle- tree of Australia (Urticu gigas),a, 
tree very plentiful in the cedar brushes upon the banks of the Clarence, 
in New South Wales, might be utilized. The bark is from £ to 1 inch 
thick, and consists of a large proportion of fibre, the interstices of 
which are filled with a watery juice and soft vegetable matter, both of 
which are easily removed by crushing or beating the bark until it 
becomes nearly dry. Steeping in water will not succeed : the whole of 
the bark rots together. Should this material be found suitable for 
making ropes, bags, or paper, a large quantity might be procured at 
from 3d. to 4d. per pound, provided some cheap and portable machine 
could be found to prepare it readily. 
M 2 
