--------+----------------------------+-------------------------------- Fibre. | Source of the Fibre. | Application of the Fibre. --------+----------------------------+-------------------------------- Linen | Rags, textile waste. | High class writings and | | printings. Cotton | Rags, textile waste. | High class writings and | | printings. Esparto | Natural grass. | Writings and printings. Straw | Straw from various | Printings, box and card boards. | cereals--wheat, barley, | | oats, etc. | Wood | Mechanically ground wood. | Cheap papers, boxboards, | | middles, tickets and cards, | | writings and printings. " | Chemically prepared wood. | Writings and printings. Flax | Threads, waste from | Wrappings, boards, cable | spinning mills. | papers. Hemp | Spinning refuse, old rope, | Wrappings, boards, cable | sailcloth, etc. | papers, strong writings. Jute | Waste, old gunny bags. | Wrappings, boxboard, cards. Bamboo | Natural stems. | Writings and printings (not in | | Europe, and only limited | | quantities elsewhere). Ramie | Bast fibres of the plant; | Rarely used, except in special | textile refuse. | cases. Bagasse | Sugar-cane refuse. | Common papers (chiefly | | experimental results). Manila | Textile and rope refuse. | Wrappings, cable papers. Hemp | | --------+----------------------------+-------------------------------- _Exploiting New Fibres._--The exploitation of any new paper-making fibre requires attention to certain important details, which may be fairly considered in the following order:-- (1) _Supply._--The supply of material must be plentiful and obtainable in large quantities. Too often this question is entirely neglected by those who bring new fibres to the notice of paper-makers, probably because they do not realise that enormous quantities of material are necessary to supply even a very small section of the paper trade, the fact being that few plants yield more than half their weight of paper-making fibre. (2) _Suitability._--The fibre should be properly examined as to its chemical and physical properties in a laboratory equipped with appliances for its conversion into bleached paper pulp on a small scale. The examination of the fibre would include tests as to the amount of pulp which can be obtained from one ton of raw material, the approximate cost of treatment, and details as to the value of the fibre for paper-making.