SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
been hand made. By the generosity of the principal newspaper com- 
panies of Western Australia a model machine has been purchased, and 
will soon be erected at the paper laboratory. Already autoclaves for 
cooking the wood, a beater and bleacher, and all the chemical plant for 
testing, have been installed, and a great deal of preliminary work has 
been done. Karri and Jarrah have been investigated, and now Spotted 
Gum and Blackbutt from New South Wales, and Mountain Ash from 
Victoria, are being tested. In addition a good many grasses and other 
longer fibred materials are being examined to find a suitable material 
for blending with the short fibred hardwood pulps, to make a tougher 
paper. 
A great deal of work has to be done to gain the necessary technical 
experience, and good progress has been made in this direction. The 
results so far obtained indicate that several of our hardwoods yield a 
high percentage of readily bleached pulp, which would make good 
book, magazine, or writing papers. The question of newsprint has not 
yet been tested, owing to lack of necessary plant. This will soon be 
obtainable. G 
It is too soon yet to state definitely what the economic possibilities 
are, but it is safe to say from results obtained, that if a mill were to 
be erected to work on imported pulp, there is no doubt that at the 
start it would use a fair proportion of local pulp, and as further know- 
ledge is obtained, this proportion could be largely increased. This 
industry would, if established, give employment to many men. It 
would, moreover, make use of much timber now wasted, and help the 
forest departments to more economically manage the forests, and pre- 
vent fires, those deadly enemies of the forest. It would also help in 
keeping down the price of paper, which enters so largely into the life of 
the community. Lastly, it would destroy another of the fallacies that 
help to prevent the establishment of industries in Australia utilizing 
local raw materials. - 
624 
