A Historical Account of Useful Inventions and Scientific Discoveries: Being a manual of instruction and entertainment. — John Shaqi
A Historical Account of Useful Inventions and Scientific Discoveries: Being a manual of instruction and entertainment.Grant, George
History
A Historical Account of Useful Inventions and Scientific Discoveries: Being a manual of instruction and entertainment.
Grant, George
Inventions -- History
It appears, however, that it was known in the East, much earlier; it
being observed that most of the ancient manuscripts in Arabic and other
Oriental languages, were written upon cotton paper, and it is thought
the Saracens first introduced it into Spain.
Anderson, in his “History of Commerce,” says, that till the year
1690, there was scarcely any paper made in England, but the coarse
brown sort. Paper was previously imported from France, Genoa, and
Holland.--However, the improvement of this article in England, in
consequence of the French war, produced a saving to this country of
£100,000 annually, which had been paid to France for paper alone.
After linen and cotton are so much worn as to be unfit for any other
purpose, the several kinds are collected together, and the hard seams
and other accumulations, which would require a much longer time to
prepare proper for the general mass, than would be consistent with the
economy of the whole, those shreds are then separated and thrown away;
the different kinds are then collected and kept separate from each
other. In such a state of separation they are laid in troughs, which
are afterwards filled with water, where they are suffered to remain
till a species of fermentation takes place; and the separation of the
parts formed by art is not only rendered easy, but also, a division
may be made of the most minute parts; the separation is then made by
machinery. When properly prepared, a sufficient quantity is placed
upon a wire frame, or otherwise one formed of cloth; by mechanical
pressure, the moisture is extracted, after which the sheets are hung up
separately on lines to dry, in a building properly constructed to admit
a free circulation of air.
Manufacturers of paper, originally, could only use white rags to
make white paper; but Mr. Campbell, in 1792, discovered a method of
discharging any colour from rags, by bleaching with oxi-muriatic acid
gas, for which he obtained a patent.
The next considerable improvement which appears to have been made in
the manufacture of paper, consists in using felt or woollen cloth in
conjunction with the wire cloth formerly used, and now of necessity
retained, and other processes too voluminous to be inserted here.
The only remaining circumstance we have to mention is, that in the
beginning of the present century there was manufactured, in the
vicinity of London, a very good printing paper, made entirely from
wheat straw; for which manufacture, the inventor obtained a patent,
but he did not succeed, we presume, because it is now discontinued.
Considerable quantities of paper is now made from straw in France; but
it is of a yellow tinge. Paper made from linen is the best.
PAPER HANGING.
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