PAPER. 
S 06 
pends, confifts in feparating the fibres of the rags, by- 
grinding, into exceedingly fine and (hort filaments, which, 
being mixed with water till they make a fine pulp, may 
be taken up in a very thin and even layer upon a mould 
of wire cloth. Now, by the draining away of the water 
through the wire, the filaments are left interwoven or 
felted fo completely among each other, that they will not 
feparate without breaking, and when dry will make a 
ftieet of paper ; the ftrength and quality of which depend 
very much upon the materials it is made from, and the 
equality of length and fize to which the filaments are re¬ 
duced by the grinding; w'hich equality alone can caufe 
them to float equally in the water of the pulp, and thus 
diflribute themfelves fairly and equally over the wire 
mould when taken up by it. 
The operation of paper-making admits of three divi- 
fions ; viz. I. The preparation of the rags. II. The form¬ 
ing of the flieets in the mill. 111 . The finilhingof the paper. 
I. Preparation of the Rags. —The forting of the 
rags is of no fmall importance in the art of making paper ; 
for unlefs the rags, which are ground at the fame time in 
the engine, are all of the fame quality, both as to fub- 
flance and condition, the fineft and belt parts will be 
ground away in the mill, and carried oft’by the water be¬ 
fore the coarfer are fufficiently reduced to make a fine 
pulp. For this reafon, in the forting of the rags which 
are intended to make fine paper, the hems and feams 
fliould be kept apart, and the coarfenefs of the cloth 
fhould be confidered. That cloth which is made of tow 
fliould be feparated from that which is made from the 
longer fibres; cloth of hemp from cloth of flax; and 
laftly, the degree of wearing in the cloth fliould be at¬ 
tended to. For, if rags almoft new are mixed with thofe 
which are much worn, the one will not be completely re¬ 
duced to a pulp, wliilft the other will be fo attenuated as 
to be carried off by the water, and pafs through the hair- 
ftrainers of the engine ; hence there muft be a confidera- 
ble wafte in the operation, a real lofs to the manufacturer, 
and even to the beauty of the paper; for the particles 
firft carried off by the current of the water, are perhaps 
thofe which give it that fmooth velvet foftnefs which is 
lo great a recommendation. When the forting is imper¬ 
fectly performed, the pulp or fluff is found to have cloudy 
parts floating in it, owing to fome maffes being lefs re¬ 
duced than others. This produces thofe cloudy papers 
wherein are feen by intervals parts more or lefs clear, and 
more or lefs weak, occafioned by flakes affembled on the 
wire of the mould, which are not fufficiently tempered 
and diluted to incorporate with more fluid parts. 
But as it is neceffary, in many cafes, to mix the different 
qualities of rags together, to produce various kinds of 
paper, this fliould be done by reducing the different forts 
of rags feparately in the mill, as alfo the hems and threads 
of the ftitching, becaufe the fowing-thread, being never 
fo much worn as that of the cloth, and not fo ea(y to be 
reduced, forms filaments in the paper. When the rags 
unequally difpofed for trituration, have been ground 
apart, the different pulps may be mixed together without 
inconvenience, and will be found homogeneous or alike, 
each having been ground during the time that was ne¬ 
ceffary for the fiate of the rag. Without this precaution, 
the fineft particles will be always loft, and of courfe the 
beautiful quality of the paper will be altered by the 
coarfeft. Therefore this care in forting the rags produces 
a great beauty of the paper, without hurting its goodnefs. 
It will, befides, be attended with the advantage of mix¬ 
ing a pulp, which will form the ftrength of the paper, 
with another which will give it foftnefs and luftre ; and 
thus two qualities may be united which othervvife exifted 
feparately. 
The rags are then put into a machine called a dufter, 
made in the form of a cylinder, four feet in diameter and 
five feet in length. It is all through covered with a wire 
net, and put in motion on pivots at its ends by a con¬ 
nexion with fome part of the machinery. The whole is 
inclofed in a tight clofe box. A con venient quantity of 
rags, after being cut into pieces about four inches.fquare, 
is inclofed in the cylinder of the dufter, and its motion 
feparates the dull from them, and it paffes through the 
wires into the box. 
The forting is performed by women and children, who 
are feated on benches, in a large room full of old linen, 
before a cheft, which is divided into four boxes, to receive 
as many different forts of rags. Each woman has a piece 
of pafteboard, hung from her girdle, and extended on 
her knees, upon which, with a long fharp knife, flie un¬ 
rips feams and ftitches, and fcrapes off all filth. What¬ 
ever can be ufed, after being well examined, is diftri- 
buted into one of the four boxes, according to the degree 
of finenefs, and the women throw the reft at their feet. 
The four boxes are for the different forts of rags: the 
fuperfine ; the fine ; the middling ; and the coarfe ; with¬ 
out including the very coarfe parts, which are totally 
rejefited, at leaft for the making of white paper, but 
may ferve for white-brown paper; but even for this pur- 
pofe they fhould be mixed up with a large parcel of coarfe 
linen. Old paper may alfo ferve for the fame ufe, but the 
wafte is confiderable ; it is therefore referved for pafte¬ 
board, in the matiufaflure of which, the fluff being 
worked lefs time in the engine, and with lefs force, 
though with the fame water, it will lofe much lefs than 
if worked fufficiently to make paper. 
Paper intended for bills of exchange, or other commer¬ 
cial and legal inftruments, ought to be tough, in order 
that it may not be eafily torn, when made as thin as it is 
neceffary to be, for the eafe of conveyance by poll. For 
this, paper rags of the beft quality muft be entirely, or in 
large proportion, employed ; and the price which the con- 
fumers are difpofed to pay for the article, is fufficient to 
allow the beft materials, and ftill indemnify the manufac¬ 
turer for his care and iriduftry. Rags imported from the 
continent are bad to make into writing-papers, it being 
very difficult to fize them fufficiently hard. The rags 
which are free from (heave, or the woody parts of the 
flax, and foft, are beft. 
Common papers require to be more or lefs tough, ac¬ 
cording to their thicknefs, and the ufe to which they are 
applied ; but a clear white colour is fought in paper of 
every defcription, whether for writing or printing. The 
man u fa ft urers of paper were formerly obliged to attend 
to the colour of the rags in the forting, as well as to 
their qualities; but of this care they are now in a great 
meafure relieved by the introdu&ion of bleaching, which 
enables them to produce the fineft paper, in point of co¬ 
lour, from any kind of rags. They have only therefore 
to find fuch materials as will make paper of a ftrong tex¬ 
ture, and a fine even furface, knowing they can produce 
colour at pleafure. To bleach the rags by theoxymuri- 
atic acid gas, they are firft wafhed in hot water, by a 
fulling-mill, fuch as is ufed for fcouring cloth : this re¬ 
moves the dirt, and they are put into a receiver or cham¬ 
ber, made of wood, in a cubical form, and the joints air¬ 
tight. It is provided with feveral (tone retorts, which 
being filled with a mixture of manganefe, with two- 
thirds its quantity of fea-falt, and a quantity of fulphuric 
acid equal to the fait, will, when moderately heated by a 
fmall fand-bath furnace, throw into the receiver a gas 
which quickly difcharges any colour the rags may con¬ 
tain. This procefs, which is very fimilar to that ufed for 
bleaching cotton thread, was invented by Mr. Campbell, 
who had a patent for it in 1792. In his fpecification, he 
direfils that the rags fliould, before they are put into the 
receiver to be bleached, contain about their own weight 
of fair water, the fuper-abundant water being prefled out. 
The rags fliould firft be opened by a machine, called by 
the cotton-manufafilurers a devil, or fome machine of that 
nature; and they are to be diftributed in the receivers,in 
layers fpread on frames, fo that they will not come in con» 
tafil with each other ; or they may be placed in the body 
of the receiver, and have ftirrers or agitators provided, 
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