Furfural.-A weighed quantity of fibre is boiled with hydrochloric acid of 1.1 specific gravity under special conditions, and distilled. The distillate contains the substance called furfural, derived from the fibre. The weight of furfuralyielding constituents in the fibre can be determined by analytical methods.

Methoxyl. This important constituent of ligno-celluloses is determined by analytical processes which involve -boiling a weighed quantity of fibre with hydriodic acid, passing the methyl iodide formed into an alcoholic solution of silver nitrate, and calculating the amount of methoxyl from the silver iodide obtained.

Elementary analysis. The percentages of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are determined by well-known analytical methods.

CHAPTER XVI

HISTORY, CHRONOLOGY, AND STATISTICS

A Brief Historical Account of Paper.-The gradual evolution of paper as the medium for recording knowledge is interestingly set out in a book published by Matthias Koops in 1801, entitled "Historical Account of the Substances which have been used to describe Events, and to convey Ideas, from the Earliest Date to the Invention of Paper." Additional interest attaches to this work, since it was printed on paper manufactured from straw even at that early date.

The commemoration of important events was in ancient times effected by the planting of trees, the erection of heaps of stones, the recital of old traditions, and the memorising by succeeding generations of the stories of past heroes.

The art of writing having been discovered, more rapid advances were made in keeping accurate records on stones, metal and wood, frequent references to such being found in the Scriptures. Lead, soft clay, stone, wood were all pressed into service and gradually superseded in the times of the Romans by waxcovered boards, or Pugillares cerei.

The employment of thinner, more pliable material in the shape of palm leaves was early resorted to by the Egyptians, and Koops gives a detailed account of a number of interesting documents printed on leaves of this description.

From the leaves of trees, the attention of men was directed to the possibility of using the bark, and the interior bark (liber) was found suitable for the purpose. This Latin word liber came to signify a book, and to the collection of a number of such pieces of bark was given the name volumen.

The next stage in the evolution appears to have been the use of sheep- and goat-skins, the skins of fish and serpents, bones, intestines, and every conceivable material of a similar kind.

The first great step towards the present stage of perfection was the discovery of the possibilities of the Egyptian Papyrus, a tall, smooth-stemmed reed of triangular form, growing to a height of ten to fifteen feet, and terminating in a tuft of leaves. The soft pithy matter inside the stem was used for food, and the fibrous portion largely for cords, mats and wearing apparel, but the fame of the papyrus rests upon its application to the service of man as implied in the name of the plant which we have modified to the word paper. The exact date of the use of the papyrus is unknown. It was in extensive use about B.C. 350, and probably much earlier. The fact that in the book of Isaiah (Isa. xix. 7) mention is made of "the paper-reeds by the brooks" is regarded by some writers as proof of the use of papyrus in the time of Isaiah, but the revised version of the Bible conveys no such impression.

The manufacture of papyrus leaves was brought to great perfection by the Romans, who removed the several fibrous layers from the stem of the plant by means of a pin, and spread them on a table, washing them with water. Two layers were placed across one another at right angles, gently beaten and pressed together, dried and polished. The dried sheets were sized with a cream

made from flour, and when finished measured about fifteen to sixteen inches in width, the length varying according to the number of sheets fastened together.

The extensive use to which papyrus was put may be judged from the fact that at the unearthing of the ruins of Herculaneum in 1753 no less than 1800 rolls were discovered, while recent explorations have resulted in enormous finds of documents written on papyri.

Parchment (from Latin, pergamena) was invented by the King of Pergamus, the necessity for a writing material arising from the exportation of papyrus having been prohibited by the King of Egypt.

The discovery of the art of making paper is usually conceded to the Chinese. The earliest date which can be fixed in connection with the subject is 704 a.d., the year when the Arabians acquired the knowledge at the capture of the City of Samarkand from the Chinese, and utilised raw cotton and cotton wool as the staple material.

Rapid advances were made in the art after its introduction into Europe by the Moors about the year 1000 A.D., the towns of Toledo and Valencia taking a prominent part in the manufacture.

The exact date when paper made of cotton was brought to England has not been determined. The earliest MSS. appears to date about 1049, printed on paper made probably in France. The industry seems to have flourished in France, Italy and Germany long before it was taken up in England.

The earliest trace of paper-making in England is to be found in a book, "De Proprietatibus Rerum" (About the properties of things), printed by Caxton, in which appears the following:

"And John Tate, the younger, joye mote he brok

Which late hathe in England, doo make this paper thynne,

That now in our Englysh, this book is printed inne.”

Tate's mill was near Stevenage in Hertfordshire, and an entry made in Henry VII.'s household book, dated May 25, 1498, reads: "For a rewarde geven to the paper mylne, 168. 8d."

Spielman, of Dartford, erected a mill in 1588, employing about 600 workpeople.

For a long period after this the manufacture of paper in England remained an undeveloped art, the paper being imported mainly from France as required,

but in 1760 the celebrated "Whatman" mill was erected at Maidstone.

The improvements in the manufacture of paper between the years 1750 A.D. to 1800 A.D. were almost entirely the outcome of activity amongst paper-makers in France and Holland. The metho is used for converting the rags into paper were slow and costly, as it was customary to stack up the rags, after being duly moistened, in heaps, so that they became partially fermented, by which means the gummy and resinous matters were rendered soluble in water. The rags were then treated in wooden mortars and beaten for at least twenty-four hours by heavy stampers actuated from a waterwheel.

The stamping process was superseded at some period prior to 1770 A.D., the exact date being unknown, by the introduction of a machine provided with a cylinder fitted with sharp steel blades for tearing the rags into pieces. This machine was invented and first used in Holland, and even at the present day the "Hollander," as it is called, finds much employment in the beating of The use of this machine marked an important epoch in the development of the paper trade.

rags.

The possibility of making paper by machinery early engaged the attention of manufacturers, and the names of Robert, Didot, Gamble, Fourdrinier, and Donkin can never be forgotten in connection with this fascinating subject.

Louis Robert was manager of a paper-mill at Essones, in France. In 1799 he devised a machine consisting of an endless wire-cloth passing between two rolls. This wire was stretched horizontally between two rolls B, C (Fig. 154), one of which, B, was fixed, the other, C, being adjustable in order that the wire could be stretched when necessary. The beaten pulp stored in a vat D was thrown up by a revolving fan E against a curved plate F, which distributed the pulp and water in an even stream upon the surface of the cloth A. As the wirecloth travelled slowly forward the water fell through the wire, and the rolls G removed a further amount from the wet sheet. The wet sheet was reeled up

on a receiving roll H until a sufficient length had been obtained. The roll H was then removed, the paper unwound, passed through some press-rolls, and hung up to dry.

In 1800, Gamble, having secured from his brother-in-law, Didot, the patent rights of Robert, who was employed by Didot, came to England and interested Messrs. Fourdrinier in the machine. These gentlemen at first placed the construction of the machine in the hands of Messrs. Hall at Dartford, but subsequently engaged Mr. Bryan Donkin, one of the apprentices, to undertake the work at a factory in Bermondsey. In 1807 the first Fourdrinier machine was patented and erected at Two Waters Mill, Hertfordshire. The arrangements were very crude and primitive, but some encouraging results were obtained.

The mixture of pulp and water kept in a state of agitation flowed from a small vat A (Fig. 155) through a pipe on to the endless wire-cloth B, which was fitted with a suitable deckle C. The wet sheet of paper, from which a considerable quantity of water had been removed, was passed through squeezing-rolls D, so that more water might be taken out, this latter operation being still further assisted by the travelling-felt E, which also improved the firmness of the wet paper. After passing through couch-rolls F, the paper was pressed by rolls G and wound up on a separate reel H.

The energy of Donkin is displayed in the fact that during the years 1804 to 1851 his firm constructed no less than 190 machines.

Improvements followed rapidly, one after the other, directly the Fourdrinier machine became a commercial success. An exhaustive account of these may be found in the Report of the Jurors of the Great Exhibition of 1851,