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Show 6 PAPERMAKIN looked wholly white. At this sight the thought fiashed throug my mind: Could not paper be made from these plants "Without losing time, T started at once to experiment. I gathered the pappus as well as the wool-blade, then talked the matte over with the papermaker of the town, Herr Mechenhiuser. Ho happy T was when-after examining the pappus,-this goodnatured man declared that, though the wool-blade did not seem t him fit for papermaking, the poplar-downs must by all means b tried out. But my joy was gone when I learned that the papermaker wanted five to twenty pounds of pappus. It was impossibl to get such a quantity, and it cost me a great deal of talk before could persuade him to make the experiment with the poplardowns in a mortar. A few days later T received a few samples o the new paper. It was, at any rate, paper; one could print or eve write on it. Only, it was too ragged, and did not possess the necessary firmness, and, besides, it was full of litcle brown knots, th residue of the pounded kernels. Yet these first and imperfect samples provided the most convincing proofthat the pappus of popla is fit for papermaking; and the papermaker assured me, that if satsfactory quantity of pappus had been pounded in his regula beater instead of in the mortar, and if it had been further dul treated and finished, we could have obtained a reliable and paper "Other occupations prevented me continuing my experiment in the following two years. Yet being urged from several sources especially the Academy, I resumed the experiments. 1 gathere again a basketful of poplar-pappus and wool-blade, and gave it t the same papermaker. After a while I obtained paper from bot species. The wool blade paper came out unusually poor. It was extremely britdle,-all expense and labour seemed to be spent i vain. Nevertheless, I wondered whether there could not be mad better paper of woolblade. It was evident that the wool lay to Digital Imag © 2004 University of Utah. All rights reserved |