Well might the _Boston News Letter_ of 1769 exclaim
in quaint old rhyme:
Rags are as beauties which conceal?d lie,
But when in paper, charming to the eye!
Pray save your rags, new beauties to discover,
For of paper truly every one's a lover;
By the pen and press such knowledge is displayed
As would not exist if paper was not made.
And well may man pride himself on this achievement, this marvelous
transformation, which represents the fruitage of centuries of striving
and endeavor!
Up to this point the reference has been almost entirely to paper made
from rags, but radical improvements have been made, caused by the
introduction of wood pulp, and these are of such importance that the
account would not be complete without some mention of them. These
changes are mainly in the methods of manipulating the wood to obtain the
pulp, for when that is ready, the process from and including the
"washers" and "beaters," is very similar to that already described. All
papers, whether made from rags or wood, depend upon vegetable fiber for
their substance and fundamental base, and it is found that the different
fibers used in paper-making, when finally subdued, do not differ, in
fact, whether obtained from rags or from the tree growing in the forest.
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