116 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
WOOD PAPER. 
In the making of books there is said to be no 
end; their rapid increase during the last few 
years, has led to the discovery that the cotton 
and linen rags of the world are altogether in¬ 
sufficient to meet even the present demand— 
the daily press of our large cities alone would 
almost exhaust them. One of our city dailies, 
we see, demands for its ordinary use, nearly 
twice as much paper as the whole of the im¬ 
mense annual issues of the American Tract So¬ 
ciety. Under such circumstance, the following 
article from the London Gardeners' Chronicle , 
contains suggestions at once timely and impor¬ 
tant for American readers. 
The small market value of soft-wooded 
trees is such as to render them scarcely worth 
attention among planters, except under very 
peculiar circumstances. When Willows, or 
Limes, or Poplars, or Sycamores, or any such 
species are felled, they are in so little demand, 
that after a small quantity of the best has been 
taken for the turner, toyman, or butcher, the 
rest may go as firewood. There is now, how¬ 
ever, some prospect of their coming into con¬ 
sumption on a very large scale in an unexpected 
manner, for which, if anticipations are realized, 
we shall have to thank the Great Exhibition of 
1851. 
It appears that at a late meeting of the French 
Society for the Encouragement of National In¬ 
dustry, a paper was read explaining how such 
wood may be converted into paper. The bark 
is taken off, and the wood is reduced into shav¬ 
ings ; the shavings are then cut very thin; they 
are next placed in water for six or eight days, 
dried, and afterwards reduced to the finest pow¬ 
der possible by a corn-mill. This powder is 
mixed with rags, which serve to prepare the 
pulp of paper, and the ordinary operation of 
paper-making is proceeded with. All white 
woods, such as the Poplar, the Lime, and the 
Willow, are suitable for the purpose, but the 
discoverer ascribes a good deal of his success to 
the quality of the water he employed—that of 
the little river Doller, which runs near Mulhau- 
sen. For the first experiment he employed the 
wood of the Aspen. Specimens of the paper 
so obtained were laid before the meeting, but we 
are not informed of its quality. 
No doubt can exist that wood may be made 
into paper, provided it can be reduced into 
threads or particles fine enough for the purpose. 
For what is Flax or Hemp except wood, whose 
fibres are readily separable? There is no dif¬ 
ference between the wood: of Hemp and of Wil¬ 
low, or other soft trees, than such as arises 
from the greater cohesiveness of the threads of 
the latter, or from greater toughness, which is 
not a difference of importance in paper-making, 
for the weakest wood in the world is stronger 
than cotton dross, now so largely used in all 
paper-mills. The only question is, can the co¬ 
hesiveness of fibres be overcome, or does the 
substance produced by grinding into pulp, 
either when used alone or mixed with other 
pulp, present a material fit for paper? We ap¬ 
prehend that it does. 
The Mulhausen experiment is reported to 
have been made with timber. Suppose that 
the newly cut branches of Poplars, Limes, and 
Willows had been macerated for a fortnight, 
cut into suitable lengths, and then put into a 
tearing (not grinding) mill, where they could be 
worked with water, we suspect that good pulp 
(or at least “half stuff”) would have been ob¬ 
tained without a preliminary reduction of the 
wood into shavings, and an after process of 
grinding. 
That the present enormous demand for paper 
will lead to the discovery of some new source 
of fibre is certain. In fact it has already re¬ 
sulted in the manufacture of paper from straw, 
both here and in the United States, and a very 
good article, though not of a high class, is thus 
obtained. Our West Indian colonies indeed 
might keep our market amply supplied, with 
no small profit to themselves; but they do so 
little except cry for aid to Hercules, and wring 
in despair their feeble hands, that we expect 
nothing from them unless the British Govern¬ 
ment will take taxes in kind, and allow the in¬ 
habitants to pay their imposts with trusses of 
dry Plantain stems; if indeed it should prove 
that West Indians would not also, in such an 
event, expect Government officers to reap and 
pack their Plantains for them. 
It appears from a return just issued by the 
Board of Indian Revenue that, notwithstanding 
the excise duty on paper, the quantity of that 
substance manufactured in the United King¬ 
dom has risen from 150,903,543 lbs. in 1851, 
to 177,633,009 lbs. in 1853, showing an in¬ 
crease of manufacture to the extent of nearly 
27 millions of pounds weight in three years. 
In 1844, the gross receipt for paper duties 
amounted to 709,320 lbs., and in 1853 to 1,049,- 
662 lbs.; showing an increase of about 340,- 
000 lbs. in the course of nine years. But of 
that increase above 190,000 lbs. apply to the 
last five years, or about 38,000 lbs. a year, re¬ 
presenting, we believe, an annual increase of 
raw material exceeding six millions of pounds 
weight. 
Let us ask whence these six million pounds 
annually added to the wants of the paper mar¬ 
ket are to be supplied. Materials are already 
becoming scarce; the price of paper is rising, 
and must continue to advance unless an enor¬ 
mous quantity of matter convertible into paper 
is furnished to the manufacturers. The effect 
will be something much worse than even an ex¬ 
cise duty; the cost of books, newspapers, and 
every thing else made of paper, must inevitably 
be enhanced, and a natural permanent tax upon 
knowledge, as it is the fashion to call the paper 
duties, will be added to whatever artificial tax 
the financial necessities of the. country may call 
for. 
The remedy probably lies at our doors ; it is 
certainly within our reach. Fibrous plants not 
strong enough for linen, but amply sufficient 
for paper, may be brought into profitable culti¬ 
vation ; as, for instance, the Hemp Nettle, 
(Urtica canned)ina,) the Marsh Mallow, or even 
common Mallows, and the Hemp Mallow, ( Lava - 
tera cannabina ,) to all which our climate is per¬ 
fectly adapted. In the meanwhile, without 
awaiting the issue of experiments with such 
plants, our paper makers and country gentle¬ 
men would do well to ascertain what can be 
made of their soft woods. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
WHY SHOULD WE COMPOST MANURE? 
This is an important question to the fanner, 
and ought to be answered in accordance with 
the principles of science, or the unsuspecting 
will be misled. The first thing necessary to 
know is, what is manure composed of? I an¬ 
swer, mainly of various gases, intimately mixed 
with a small proportion of mineral ingredients. 
This may not be readily assented to by some, 
but the facts in the case are these, all farm-yard 
manure, until composted, is made entirely from 
vegetables, and all vegetable substances, as soon 
as they reach a state of perfection, begin to de¬ 
cay. This decay may not show itself immedi¬ 
ately, but still it is actually going on. The mel¬ 
lowing of an apple is just as much decomposi¬ 
tion, as it is after it, in common phrase, begins 
to rot. 
While this rotting process is going on, the 
substance is resolved into its original elements. 
Unless manure is composted, there is nothing 
to absorb the escaping gases. It will decom¬ 
pose, and there is no preventing it, unless we 
exclude the air. Short manure should be com¬ 
posted to prevent its wasting. Another reason 
we should compost is to save the liquid manure, 
which, unless this is done, is nearly all lost, and 
by many competent to judge, it is considered 
equal to the solid droppings. 
And least, it should be done to increase the 
quantity of manure. Manure, composted with 
twice its own bulk of swamp muck, in such a 
manner as to save the liquid droppings, will be 
found to be worth as much, if housed, as the 
same bulk of manure thrown into the yard with¬ 
out composting, as is the practice with many. If 
there are persons disposed to doubt any of the 
above statements, all I have to say is, give the 
thing an impartial trial and satisfy yourselves. 
S. Tenney. 
E. Raymond , Cumb. Co., Me. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
DEEP PLOWING. 
So much has already been said about deep 
plowing, that it may be thought superfluous to 
add any thing further. But it is a subject wor¬ 
thy of much thought, and articles will be writ¬ 
ten, and experiments made till the matter is 
settled beyond a question. 
The little experience I have had, dates back 
only two years. At that time I went upon a 
farm that had been left in the hands and to the 
mercy of tenants, for about a dozen years, the 
owner having removed to a distance. During 
that time, as many who are observing of such 
matters would suppose, the tenants gave as lit¬ 
tle to the farm, both in work and manure, as 
possible, and took as much as they could (ex¬ 
cepting stones) from it. The work on my first 
field was a trial. I had read all the agricultural 
papers I could get hold of for years before, and 
I wished to plow my ground deep. But the 
stones were so thick and firmly embedded, as to 
defy a novice in plowdng, and the harrowing of 
course could not be done w r ell. As a. conse¬ 
quence, a resolution was formed that in after 
cultivation, no field should be cultivated till it 
was sufficiently clear of stone to be well plowed 
and harrowed. Now, that piece of ground, the 
crop of which did not pay for the labor that 
year, has a fine crop of growing rye, the 
ground having been plowed and pulverized to a 
good depth. All other fields in use are plowed 
deeper than they used to be, and better crops 
arc raised. 
I am aware that all soils cannot be treated 
alike. Some may be deepened at once to advan¬ 
tage; in some this must be done by degrees and 
carefully, while others for various reasons, can¬ 
not, with benefit, be deepened at all. I practised 
upon the system of plowing deeper by degrees, 
taking care that so much sub-soil should not be 
brought up as to detract from the value of the 
coming crop, and though so short a time has 
elapsed, it is plain to be seen that the land bears 
better crops than formerly, better last year than 
the year before, of my own growing, and the 
prospect is, for a still better the coming season. 
1 A Farmer. 
A HEN STORY. 
Mr. Editor :—I send you the following “ Hen 
Story, 1 ’ which, if you think worthy, you may 
insert in your paper. 
On the 1st of Jan., 1853, I commenced with 
24 hens; on the 15th of April, one got killed, i 
the remaining 23 all lived, and are alive now. J 
The whole number of eggs laid from Jan. 1st, 
1853, to Jan. 1st, 1854, was 3337 eggs. The 
number laid to April 15th, 1853, was 901 eggs, 
an average of about 38 eggs for each hen. 
Now taking 38 (the number supposed to have 
been laid by the hen lost) from 3337, and we 
have left 3299 for the 23 hens alive, which 
would be a trifle more than 143 eggs for each 
hen in a year. . 
My hens are all of the pure “ Black Spanish 
breed, from “Blake’s stock.” I feed them well, 
and always keep them shut up. 
Benj. Meriam, in Mass. Ploughman. 
Iloxbury, April 3, 1854. 
There are men, who by long consulting only 
their own inclinations, have forgotten that others 
have a claim to their deference. 
