103 B L E A C 
paper, after being bleached, mtifl be laid even together, 
and prefled juft fufficient to make moifture appear at 
the edges in drops ; after which, hang up tlie paper 
to dry in lofts, in the common way. After it is dry, pre¬ 
vious to its being fized, it nni!t be wetted out in the fol¬ 
lowing liquor, which will effectually fix the colour: take 
of alum eight pounds, difl'olve it in a gallon or two of 
warm water, letting it Hand till quite cold ; mix it with 
roo gallons of cold fpring-water ; then take the paper 
and wet it out in the common way in the above liquor, 
and, be it 'cither thick or thin paper, it mult be prcffed 
very hard, and, after being again dried, it may be lized 
in tire ufual way. Particular care fhotild be taken that 
you do not ufe any of the above liquor after being prelTed 
out of the paper; or it may be done in the dry water- 
leaf ftate. To do it after it is fized, the paper may be 
done dry, or wetted out in cold water, and prefled very 
hard ; after which, you are to proceed in every refpeCt 
as above, but, to fucceed in this way, it requires the 
paper to be peculiatly well lized. By this procefs, paper 
that has become mildewed, or loft its colour, will be 
Completely reftored, and fine papers rendered much lu- 
perior, Both in quality and colour. Another method is ; 
take a tub or other receiver, fill it with cold water, leav¬ 
ing a vacancy of about one tenth of the quantity it will 
contain, into which introduce the neck of a retort, the 
retort charged with a proportion of the aforefaid mixture 
of the manganefe and fait; then add thereto the fame 
proportion of vitriolic or fulphuric acid as before : the 
quantity in each retort, and the number of retorts to be 
riled, mud be ruled by the quantity of liquor wanted ; 
in which liquor.the paper is to be wetted out, and foaked 
in it till it is properly bleached, which will depend on the 
quality of the paper to be bleached ; after which, let the 
paper be well prelfed and dried ; when dry, wet it out in 
alumed water, as in the other procefs. In witnefs where¬ 
of, &c.” It is to be obferved, that this procefs, though 
it gives additional clearnefs and beauty to all printed pa¬ 
per, copper-plates, &c. yet it will difcharge ink-fpots, 
and totally obliterate writing. Thereafonis, that the ink 
ufed in printing, and in taking off copper-plates, is com¬ 
pounded with oil, which the acid will not touch. 
A patent has likewife been granted to Mr. Elias Car¬ 
penter, of Bermondfey, London; for his invention of a 
method of bleaching paper in the water-leaf or fheet, and 
fizing it, without drying ; whereby the manufacture of it 
will be improved, by fhortening its procefs, leflening its 
expence, and confiderably increafing its value. The pa¬ 
tent is dated Nov. 19, 1795, and the method therein de¬ 
fcribed is as follows:—“ I the faid Elias Carpenter do 
hereby declare, that the nature of my faid invention, and 
the manner in which the fame is to be performed, is here¬ 
inafter particularly defcribed and afcertained : that is to 
fay; I provide a (tout deal box or cafe, which mult be 
perfectly clofed, capable of confining w-ater or fleam; the 
cover on the top I make to let into a groove, the dimen- 
fions of which mult be regulated by the lize of the paper 
intended to be bleached in it. One I have made for fool’s- 
cap paper is three feet four inches fquare, and three feet 
nine inches deep, with a hole cut in one fide, near the top, 
to receive the neck of a retort. In this cafe I put a falfe 
bottom of deal, bored full of holes ; which faid bottom, 
including the feet on which it Hands, takes up a Ipace of 
about five inches. I have alfo four deal frames made to 
fit into the faid box or cafe, with two crofs bars in each, 
diftant about fifteen inches from each end, leaving a fpace 
in the centre of about four or five inches.: thefe frames 
have feet which make their height about ten inches. The 
firft of thefe-frames Hands on the falfe bottom ; the fecond 
on the fird; the third on the fecond; and the fourth on 
the third. I then put into the faid box or cafe, under the 
falfe bottom, a proportion of a certain liquid which I (hall 
hereafter dcfcribe; the ufe of which liquid is for the pre- 
fervation of the health of the operator. In my frames I 
have a groove cut in the infide of each end, and another 
H I N G. 
facing each end in the crofs bars ; thefe grooves receive 
the end of the laths on which the paper hangs. Much 
difficulty arofe in finding a contrivance for hanging the 
paper on. Lines, on account.of their being fo dole, were 
particularly inconvenient and tedious ; and thofe which 
would be moderate in price gave a fiain to the paper. 
Wood was fiibjeCt to the fame complaint, and, being cut 
fo thin as was neceffary, twified and warped in all forms ; 
and all metal would rufi or corrode in the operation. No¬ 
thing therefore appearing fo convenient and cheap as glafs, 
I procured from fome glaziers the cuttings of fafh-fquares, 
in large quantities of drips from § to £ of an inch broad, 
and about fifteen inches long. Thus provided, I took my 
paper, when prelfed in the packs in its wet Hate, and, 
laying one of the Hrips of glafs in the middle of the pack, 
I turned about four ffieets over on it, and placed it edge¬ 
ways in a groove of one of the frames ; then a fecond the 
fame way, placing it quite clofe to the firH : thus I pro¬ 
ceeded until the frame was filled. In like manner I pro¬ 
ceeded with the remaining frames, placing them in the 
box or cafe as before defcribed, (making it in the whole 
to contain about five reams,) the cover of which I place 
on, and either clofe it with pipe-clay, or Hrips of paper 
paHed on, which latter 1 prefer, as mod cleanly. 1 then 
lute the neck of a glafs retort in the hole of the box or 
cafe before mentioned, containing manganefe, fea-falt, 
and vitriolic acid ; the proportions of which I have fre¬ 
quently varied, without difcovering any very great differ¬ 
ence in their effe&s; but have generally found equal 
quantities of manganefe and fea-falt, and about of their 
weight of the vitriolic acid, have anfwered belt The 
manganefe and fait mud be well mixed together, and put 
into the retort; then the vitriolic acid mufl be mixed with 
an equal quantity of water impregnated with the fumes of 
burning fuliphur, and put to the other ingredients : thefe 
mixtures after Handing a ffiort time require a moderate 
heat, which I have, from repeated experiments, found 
mod conveniently communicated by boiling water. The 
paper, after having been expofed about eight or ten 
hours to the vapour or Hearn arifing from this preparation, 
will be found diffidently whitened, and may be taken 
from the box or cafe, and fized with the following fize : 
that is to fay ; Take one hundred weight of pieces of fkins 
of which lize is ufually made, and, after boiling it to a 
due confidence, and draining it, mix with it the following 
ingredients ; viz. fourteen pounds weight of alum, feven. 
pounds of calcined vitriol, and one pound of gum arabic r 
this quantity will make lize enough for about fifty reams 
of fool’s-cap paper; then prels it, and finirti in the ufual 
way. This procefs will anfwer extremely well for a rag 
that is devoid of Hieaves, and wants only a brightnefs of 
colour; but, where the rag is of a coarfe bad quality, 
abounding with fheaves, it will require the following pre¬ 
vious preparation; viz. I prepare a lixivium from equal 
quantities of pearl-affi and quick lime freffi from the kiln, 
in the proportion of about four pounds to each hundred 
weight of the article ; I pour on water, by degrees, until 
the lime is flacked, and mix them well together, then pour 
on a large quantity of water, fiirring it well feveral times; 
after which I differ it to Hand until the folution is clear, 
which I draw off, adding more water to the refiduum, un¬ 
til all the falts of the affies are entirely diflbrved ;. then I 
draw off the clear and mix it with the former, and, if not 
fufficient for the purpofe, I add more water to the folti* 
tion. With this lixivium I either macerate my rag, or 
boil it, as its Hate and condition may require; the firfl of 
which I prefer, as the mod cleanly, as well as the mod 
economical, but the latter is the mod expeditious and ef¬ 
fectual; and, when working a clole-wrought rag, made of 
a hard twifled thread, and abounding with Hieaves, it Will 
be found necedary to pafs it through a wafhing engine, to 
open it, and give the lixivium and. bleaching principle 
free accefs to its internal parts. After it hath been thus 
macerated, or boiled, until the Hieaves are extirpated, 
which will take a longer or fliorter time, according to the 
quality 
