872 PAP 
and gives the fheet a very confiderable ftrength; it alfo 
tends to take out thofe freckles on the furface of the 
fheets, which were occafioned by the impreffion of the 
felt, though it is neceffary to have felts in the firft pref- 
fure, becaufe the paper is then fo foft and pulpy, that it 
would be prelfed into a folid mafs if the (fleets touched 
each other. The paper remains in the fecond prefs as 
long as it can, until another pile is made ready by the 
lifter. When the paper has undergone thefe operations, 
it is not only foftened in the furface, but better felted, 
and rendered more pliant in the interior parts of the fluff. 
In fhort, a great part of the water which it had imbibed 
in the operation of the vat is diffipated. 
When the paper is removed from the fecond prefs, it is 
taken to the drying-lpfts, which are very extenfive apart¬ 
ments, ufually the upper parts of all the buildings of the 
mill : the (ides are formed by luffer-boards, which are a 
kind of lattice or boarding that can be opened or fhut, 
to admit more or lefs air, at pleafure^ The flieets are 
taken up upon a piece of wood like a T, and hung upon 
hair lines, llretched acrofs large horizontal wooden frames, 
called trilbies; and thefe, as they are filled, are lifted up 
between upright polls to the top of the room, and retained 
by pegs put in the pofts ; then another frame, being filled, 
is put up in its turn, and fo on till the loft is filled from 
top to bottom. 
The principal care in drying the paper, confifls in gra¬ 
dually admitting the external air, and in preventing the 
cords from imbibing moiflure ; for this purpofe the lattices 
or luffer-boards fliould beconftrufted with great exaftnefs, 
and the cords may be prevented from imbibing the water 
by covering them with wax. In uiing fuch cords, the 
moillure does not continue in the line of contaft between 
the paper and the cord, which prevents the fheet from 
firetching in that particular place by its weight, and from 
the folds which the moiflure in the fubfequent operations 
might occafion. The cords are of confiderable thicknefs, 
by which means they diminifh the point of contaft, and 
give a better and more equal circulation to the air. By 
thefe precautions, the Dutch paper is dried equally, and is 
extremely fupple before the fixing. The time neceffary for 
drying the paper depends fo much upon the Hate of the 
atmolphere, and the thicknefs of the flieets, that it cannot 
be Hated with any degree of accuracy. When dried, it is 
taken down, and lleeked, dreffed, and fliaken, to make the 
dull fall out, and to feparate the pages from one another. 
It is then laid in heaps in the warehoufe, and from thence 
brought out in order to be fized. 
The Jize far paper is made of the flireds and parings got 
from tanners, curriers, and parchment-makers. All the 
putrified parts, and the lime, are carefully feparated from 
them, and they are incloled in a kind of bafket, and let 
down by a rope and pulley into the cauldron. This is a 
late invention, and lerves two valuable purpofes : it makes 
it eafy to draw out the pieces of leather when the fize is 
extradled from them by boiling 5 and eafy to return them 
into the boiler, if the operation is not complete. When 
the glutinous fubflance is fufficiently extrafted, it is al¬ 
lowed to fettle for fome time ; and it is twice filtered 
before it is put into the vefl'el in which they dip the 
paper. Immediately before the operation, a certain quan¬ 
tity of alum is added to the fize. The workman takes a 
handful of the fheets, fmoothed and rendered as fupple as 
poffble, in his left hand, dips them into the veffel, and 
Isolds them feparate with his right hand, that they may 
equally imbibe the fize. After holding them above the 
vefl'el for a fpace of time, he feizes on the other fide with 
his right hand, and again dips them into the veffel. 
When he has fimfhed ten or a dozen of thefe handfuls, 
they are fubrr.itted to the aftion of the prefs. The fuper- 
.fluous fize is carried back to the vefl'el by means of a fmall 
pipe. The veffel in which the paper is fized is made of 
copper, and furnifhed with a grate, to give the fize, when 
aieceflary, a due temperature; and a piece of thin board or 
E R. 
felt is placed between every handful of flieets, as they are 
laid on the table of the prefs. 
It is neceffary to make the fize of confiderable ftrength 
for drawing and all kinds of writing papers, and, while 
the operation is performing to have the fize kept in as 
warm a ftate as the fixer can well bear his hands in it. 
And befure to give it a proper time, to let it be well foaked 
before it is put into the prefs, or it will be fize-Jlainecl; 
which will be the cafe alfo if, after being fized, prefled, 
and pafted, you hang it up to dry before it is cooled. It 
fhould ftand in a heap, after it is parted fheet by fheet, and 
preffed, until the next morning, before it is hung up to 
dry. Hang from two to five flieets in each fpur, accord¬ 
ing to the lubftance of the paper. If you fize wdien there 
is a very drying wind in the fummer, or a frofly and (harp 
air in the winter, it will injure and often del'troy the fize. 
The ftate which paper is in when it fliould be fized is 
called the water-leuf, each fpur having three or four fheets 
adhering together; and by no means in fingie (fleets, or 
a loole ftate (as directed in all the publications we have 
feen), as it would make almoft all the paper broken. 
After the paper is fized and taken out of the fizing- 
prefs, let it be well covered up in the heap with cloths to 
keep it warm until it is parted fheet by fheet by women ; 
after which it fliould be preffed again juft hard enough for 
the fize barely to ftand on the edges of the paper like drops 
of dew when preffed ; and it is then preffed enough in 
that ftate, and may be left to ftand in the prefs an hour 
or two, when it will be in a fit ftate to hang up to dry, 
as above. But it fhould be obferved, as to paper hung up 
after it is fized, that, if cold (harp air or very drying wind 
occurs in the fpring or fummer, cloths fhould be hung 
infide the (flutters of the drying-houfe to be drawn clofe 
when the paper is firft hung up, and for ten or twelve 
hours after. 
III. Finishing of Paper.. —After the paper has been 
fufficiently dried for the lad time, it is carried to the build¬ 
ing where it is examined, finiflied, and preffed : this is 
called the Sol. Women are here employed to remove all 
damaged and imperfeft flieets : it is then put into the 
dry-prej's, and fqueezed with a 1110ft immenfe force, to 
render the paper flat, and give it a good furface. The 
lever of this prefs is fifteen or eighteen feet long, and ten 
or twenty people are employed at the lafl to work it; 
though they fometimes ufe Sampfoti, that is, a windlafs 
like a crane, with which they purchafe the lever of the 
fcrew ; but this exceffxve labour is altogether avoided, and 
a much greater preffure given, by ufing Mr. Bramah’s 
ingenious hydrollatic prefs, inftead of the fcrew-preffes, 
which confume a great portion of the power in fridlion. 
For a defcription of this, fee the article Mechanics, 
vol. xiv. p. 761. 
The dry-prefs, of whatever form, is'generally made 
large enough to hold two packs of ordinary paper at 
once, placed fide by fide. \v hen the compreffion is 
judged fufticient, the heaps of paper are carried back to 
the table, and parted, that is, the whole turned, (fleet by 
fheet, in fuch a manner that the furface of every (heet is 
expofed to a new one; and in this (ituation they are again 
brought to the prefs. It is in extending thefe two ope¬ 
rations fometimes to four or five times, or as often as the 
nature of the paper requires, that the perfection of the 
paper confifts. If the fluff' is fine, or the paper (lender, 
the parting is lefs frequently repeated. In this operation 
it is neceffary to alter the fituation of the heaps with re¬ 
gard to one another every time they are put under the 
prefs ; and alfo, as the heaps are higheft towards the mid¬ 
dle, to place fmall pieces of felt at the extremities, in 
order to bring every part of them under an equal preffure. 
A (ingle man, with four or five prefles, may part all the 
paper produced by two vats, provided the previous preffing 
is well performed. The work of the parting generally 
lalls about two days, on a given quantity of paper. 
The paper is now foiled into different lots, according 
to 
