WOOD PULP FOR PAPER. 125 
The efforts which have been made to utilize more generally the her- 
baceous stalks of this grass have been attended with the most beneficial 
results, and for paper pulp it has been found exceedingly valuable pro- 
ducing paper of great strength and tenacity. A large paper-mill has 
been established at Arba, near Algiers, and the AkJibar daily paper, one 
of the oldest journals of Algeria, is now printed on paper of African 
origin, made of the fibres of alfa, diss (Arundo festucoides), and of the 
dwarf palm (Chamcerops humilis), all wild plants, met with in abun- 
dance. 
The prosecution of an export trade in these fibres was long retarded 
by the stringent customs regulations of France. 
M. Michel Chevalier, some years ago, pointed out that the man of 
business-enterprise and capital in Algeria was placed in the same tanta- 
lizing situation as Sancho Panza in the island of Barataria : in the pre- 
sence of a table covered with dainty viands, he was continually arrested 
by the command of the doctor, who prohibited his touching the various- 
delicacies which tempted his appetite. 
" The plains of Algeria," wrote M. Chevalier, " offer, without cul- 
ture, a plant excellently adapted for making paper of the first quality : 
this is alfa, or esparto. The importation into France is permitted in the 
rough state — that is, with the stalks or stems tied up in bundles, like 
forage. From their excessive bulk, it is scarcely possible to transport 
them profitably any great distance, or to ship them ; but when, by 
maceration, it is made into a pulp, and greatly diminished in weight 
and bulk, so as to be conveniently transportable, it is prohibited in 
France. The time is coming^ however, when France will be open with- 
out duties to all Algerian productions." 
Recent measures, taken by the Minister for Algeria, have greatly 
modified the customs regulations for French colonies. All its natural 
products, and a great many of its industrial and manufactured products^ 
are now freely admitted. 
The alfa, in its wild state, grows in a tuft or clump^ of which only 
such stalks as have come to maturity and are full of sap ought to be 
gathered. If gathered too green, it produces a transparent fibre, with 
immense waste ; if, on the other hand, too ripe, the constituent ele- 
ments of silica and iron are with difficulty removed. The proper 
months for the harvest in Africa are, therefore, April to June. It must 
be gathered by hand, and left to dry for a week or ten clays, before 
being removed for packing. From the green to the dry state it loses 40 
per cent, of its weight ; but even in this latter condition it is so cum- 
bersome that when shipped in loose bundles, one ton weight occupies 
from four to five tons space. When placed under a hydraulic press, 
however, it can be packed into bales, with iron hoops, which reduce it 
to half the above volume, as far as space is concerned, each bale averag- 
ing about 2| cwt., and 10 bales weighing 1^ ton. When thus com- 
pressed, the alfa fibre can be transported not only with greater facility, 
