Prev | Current Page 126 | Next

Nugent, Homer Heath

"A Book of Exposition"

This machine is employed in making straw-board and
other heavy and cheap grades of paper.
Generous Mother Nature, who supplies man's wants in such bountiful
fashion, has furnished on her plains and in her forests an abundance of
material that may be transformed into this fine product of human
ingenuity. Esparto, a Spanish grass grown in South Africa, has entered
largely into the making of print-paper in England. Mixed with rags it
makes an excellent product, but the chemicals required to free it from
resin and gritty silica are expensive, while the cost of importation has
rendered its use in America impractical. Flax, hemp, manila, jute and
straw, and of course old paper that has been once used, are extensively
employed in this manufacture, the process beginning with the chemical
treatment and boiling that are found necessary in the manipulation of
rags. The successful use of these materials has met demands that would
not otherwise have been supplied. As a result, the price has been so
cheapened that the demand for paper has greatly increased, and its use
has been extended to many and various purposes.


Pages:
114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138