MANUFACTURE OF PAPER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 17, 22 January 1919, Page 8

MANUFACTURE OF PAPER

A ■ 'possible outcome of the lessons of the -war is the manufacture in Australia of paper from wood pule (says the Melbourne Age}. For this purpose mountain ash is considered to be most suitable, and of this timber there are j 2.000.000 acres in Victoria available fori testing. In the past, Governments have been content with sending small trial lots of hardwood, believed to bo suitable for pulping, to paper mami factoring countries, but these countries are dirtily interested in a large exnort trade. Authorities who have given soma attention to the utilisation of Victorian hardwoods for paper making contend that the resu'.ts of tests cannot be satisfactorily known unless these tests are conduced in Victoria. The sugges tion is made that the three States interested should import a small _ plant from the Continent, with a view to making thorough experiments Sin the manufacture of pnlp for paper from IoW-fibred timbers in the forests, with both the soda and sulphide processes.' In 1917 samples of white mountain ash and! silvertop were sent to Norway for treatment at a wood-pulp milk but onlv the grinding process was employed, and the reports showed tljat tho pulp was so fragile that it broke when being taken from the rollers. As a sunole-> mentary pulp for pasteboard and thick < papers, it was thought, that these timbers could be used with advantage. Generally speaking, the timber was regarded as inferior for the purpose to Norwegian spruce. Victorian authorities, however, consider ihalt the Victorian samples woo d have given better results with the soda process. Spruce could be grown in Victoria- on a com , mernal basis only a> high mountain jevela. and not by substituting spruce for existing hardwoods.