PAPER. 
to its quality and faults, after which it is made up into 
quires. The perfon who does this mud poffefs great Ikill, 
and be capable of attention, becaufe he afts as a check 
on thofe who feparate the paper into different lots. He 
takes the fheets with the right hand, folds them, examines 
them, lays them over his left arm till he has the number 
requifite for a quire, then brings the fides parallel to one 
another, and places them in heaps under the table. An 
expert workmen, if proper care has been taken in affort- 
ing the lots, will finifh in this manner 6000 quires in a 
day. The paper is afterwards collected into reams of 
20 quires each, and for the halt time put under the prefs, 
where it is continued for ten or twelve hours, or as long 
as the demand of the paper-mill permits. 
More recent Improvements .—The operation of moulding 
the fheets of paper has, for fome years pad, been per¬ 
formed by a patent-machine which produces it an endlefs 
and continued Jheet, indead of moulding them feparately 
one by one ; and this it does with fuch accuracy and dif- 
patch, that many paper-makers have procured machines, 
notwithdanding the great expenfe of erection, and the 
premium which they are obliged to pay the patentees for 
working them. The firffc idea of this curious machine 
was brought from France by Monf. Didot; but it was 
perfected here by our countryman Mr. Donkin ; and we 
think it one of the mod important inventions, as applied 
to the manufa&ory of paper, which has been produced 
fince the fourteenth century, when the method of making 
paper from linen rags was fird difcovered. Med’rs. Henry 
and Sealy Fourdrinier, and John Gamble, were the pro¬ 
prietors of this invention, for which they obtained feveral 
patents during its progreflive dages of improvement; but 
an aft of parliament was paffed in 1807, to extend the 
ufual term of all thefe patents to fifteen years from that 
period ; and they then enrolled a fpecification in the re¬ 
cords of Chancery, detailing the machine in its mod im¬ 
proved date. But they have fince parted with their pro¬ 
perty in the invention ; and the machine originally built 
by Meflrs. Fourdrinier and Co. now belongs to Mr. 
Nicholls, in whom the patent has been veded. It is 
fituated at Two Waters, a village in Hertforddiire, two 
miles fouth-fouth-wed from Hemel Hempdead, at the 
union of the river Gade with Bulborne-brook, and ad¬ 
joining the Grand Junftion Canal, By this machine, and 
appendant apparatus, every part of the procefs is con- 
dufted without the intervention of manual labour ; and 
it cannot fail of exciting furprife in the fpeftator, on be¬ 
holding the rag fird wafhed ; then beaten or reduced to 
pulp; and,ladly, condufted through pipes to the refervoir 
of the machine, which condantly feeds itfelf, and, in a 
very fe\v feconds, produces a paper fo perfeft in all its 
parts, that it is wound off upon a reel, exaftly like a web 
of cloth. The paper thus manufaftured is fuperior in 
quality, firmer in texture, and more parallel, than any 
ever made by hand : the machine is capable of working 
up half a ton of rags in one-day, and of making the 
whole, if required, into a fingle fheet of paper ! Indeed 
a fingle fheet of paper has been made of feven hundred 
and fifty yards in length, without one pin-hole or break, 
and of a texture refembling in finenefs the fpider’s web. 
But we fhall give a more detailed and fatisfaftory defcrip- 
tion of the procefs from the patent itfelf. 
The pulp, having been brought, in the ufual manner, 
to due confidence, by the admixture of water, kept in 
motion in the vat by means of what are denominated 
hogs, is let out through feveral circular apertures in front 
of the vat, which can be narrowed or widened at pleafure, 
by means of a Aiding plate. Thefe apertures admit the 
pulp into a trough, which has a low fide, or lip, and over 
the edge of this it flows, in a continued cafcade, or even 
flieet: this trough of the vat is placed at one end of the 
machine, fo that the flream of pulp falls upon a wire- 
cloth, or web, of many yards in length, the ends of which 
being united together, it is extended horizontally, in the 
manner of a jack-towel, over two rollers, one of them 
Vol. XVIII. No. 1250. 
373 
placed clofe under the lip or mouth of the vat, fo that 
the flream of pulp defcends.as little as poffible. The wire 
is alfo fupported by feveral other parallel rollers, that it 
may not hang down or bag, but be kept as level as poffible, 
and by a very ingenious contrivance is kept extended in 
breadth to a proper tenfion ; it therefore reprefents a table 
of feveral yards in length, which, by the revolution of the 
rollers, is kept in continual motion from the vat towards 
the end of the machine. The pulp is kept within bounds 
upon this table, according to the width intended to be 
given to the paper, by two pieces or rulers of wood, 
exaftly parallel with each other, and alfo with the line of 
motion of the wire. Between the wire itfelf and thefe 
rulers are placed two endlefs ftraps of leather, as wide as 
the rulers, and revolving with the fame velocity as the 
wire, but over different rollers. , Similar rulers, and end¬ 
lefs ftraps, are alfo placed in contaft with the lower fur- 
face of the wire, fo that the wire is confined between them 
on each fide, and the liquid pulp thus prevented from 
running off on the fides, and they aft as deckles to the 
mould. As they move together, they occafion no fric¬ 
tion to deftroy the wire. Near that part of the wire upon 
which the pulp falls from the lip in the vat, there is 
placed a flap of oiled filk, or other material, to prevent 
the pulp from running back' towards the vat over the 
•roller of the wire. 
As the wire revolves upon its rollers, and carries the 
pulp along upon its furface from the vat to the other ex¬ 
tremity, it is condufted between two rollers, fitted up in 
the manner of a rolling-mill, which caufe a preffure upon 
the pulp and paper to force out the water, and are there¬ 
fore called the 'wet-prefs. In order to guard the pulp, 
which before palling between the rollers is in a foft (fate, 
from being dillodged, or otherwife injured, by the upper 
roller coming immediately in contaft with it, a revolving 
endlefs W'eb of felt is applied. This is made of the fame 
width as the endlefs wire, but not fo long, and it is ex¬ 
tended, like that, upon rollers fituated above the wires ; 
it is likewife brought between the rollers of the wet-prefs, 
fo that its under furface falls upon the furface of the pulp, 
or paper, and defends it from the aftion of the upper 
cylinder : the wire and the felt are thus brought into con¬ 
taft: with the paper between them, and the required pref¬ 
fure is given by means of fcrevvs, which increafe or di- 
minifh the diftance of the large comprefling rollers ; and 
thefe, being covered with flannel cloth, or felting, are pre¬ 
vented from injuring the wire-webbing, as well as pro¬ 
ducing a better effeft upon the paper than naked cylinders 
would do. 
To prevent the water thus prefled out of the pulp from 
running back upon the paper, the wire is not only made 
to defcend before it pafles the wet-prefs, but there is alfo 
placed a fmall roller refting upon the wire, as near the 
prefs as poffible; and fome part of the water is previoufly 
got rid of, by both the wire and felt, with the pulp be¬ 
tween them, paffmg through a fmall pair of rollers, to the 
axis of the upper of which rollers are hung weights, 
in order to giye a flight preffure. The water that drains 
from the pulp is collefted into a trough, and returned to 
the vat by means of a fcoop-whee! inftead of a pump, 
which might form the paper-fluff into lumps or rolls, by 
the mutual friftion or rubbing of any parts of the appa¬ 
ratus againft each other ; and the realon for returning the 
water into the vat, is to prevent the lofs of a conliderable 
portion of the paper, fluff, blue, fize, &c. which would 
otherwife be fuftained by its running to wafte. 
It is evident then, that, if motion is given in the proper 
direftion to the wet-prefs cylinders, having both the web 
and wire thus comprefled between them, they will be 
drawn along by them, and caufed to revolve upon their 
refpedfive rollers; and that, as long as thefe webs con¬ 
tinue fo to revolve, and the pulp continues fupplied and 
running upon the furface of the under web, fo long will 
the machine continue making a fheet of paper of con¬ 
tinually increafing length. But as the paper, even after 
5 C having 
