PAPER-MAKING MATERIALS IN RUSSIA. 309 
expense of bringing stalks to Odessa would be nearly 9?. sterling per 
ton, without counting their cost price, while the charges of shipping 
them to England would be from 6?. to 11. sterling more, thus making 
the total cost of the article in England between 15?. and 16?. sterling 
per ton, while the best rags in London are worth only from 12?. to 13?. 
sterling per ton. 
Flax is very extensively grown in Southern Russia for the seed 
alone. After the seed is collected the plants are either burned or are 
used for thatching. The idea that flax might be profitably employed 
as an article of commerce has been entertained for some years by mer- 
chants residing here, and attempts have been made to export it, but 
without success. The expense of carting it to a seaport, and the heavy 
freight charged for its conveyance to England or France, have proved 
obstacles which rendered its sale impossible, and no further trials 
appear necessary to confirm a fact which has been already established 
at heavy cost. It is clear that -flax cannot be usefully exported from 
here without previous preparation, to reduce its bulk, and lessen very 
materially the cost of transport. 
A process appears to have been discovered by which the useful por- 
tion of the flax plant could be easily extracted, and profitably exported. 
M. Pitancier, an experimental chemist, is the inventor. He is a gentle- 
man of someflocal importance, who gained. a medal at the London Exhi- 
bition in 1851, and two medals in the Exhibition of 1862, for chemical 
products of his manufacture. During several years he has given his 
attention to the subject of employing flax in the manufacture of paper. 
He found that the stems could not be profitably exported in their crude 
state, for the following reasons : — Firstly, because the plant is too light 
and too bulky. Secondly, because it cannot be easily reduced by pres- 
sure. Thirdly, because the material applicable to the purposes of the 
manufacturer is small in proportion to the refuse matter, amounting, 
indeed, only to sixteen per cent. 
Appreciating the value of flax to papermakers, M. Pitancier studied 
the possibility of separating the fibre from the woody matter, and then 
exporting the fibre. To do this cheaply, however, in a country where 
good workmen are rare, and water is scarce, was the great difficulty. At 
length he discovered a method which did all he desired without water, 
and he now finds that he can reduce the expense of freight and carriage 
on flax by eighty-four per cent., or five-sixths, through this process. 
M. Pitancier further advocates the reduction of the fibre into pulp 
previous to its exportation. This can be done by another process of his 
own in less than seven hours, and at a very small cost. He calculates 
that the pulp so produced could be sold to papermakers in England or 
France at about half the price now paid for raw material. 
M. Pitancier has obtained a patent from the Russian government for 
his method of treating paper-producing plants, and he is now construct- 
ing a paper manufactory in Odessa, to supply local demands, whir* 1 »*•« 
