It is believed that a word or two regarding the manufacture of paper may be of value to teachers of primary handwork, so Equipment And Supplies the following brief description of the process is inserted at this point along with the kinds, sizes, and counts of paper just given.

Until recent years paper was made principally from cloth scraps, and at present all high grade papers are still "rag" papers. Most of the printing paper at present however is made from such vegetable fibres as those from wood, straw, and grasses. The fibres are ground and bleached and then boiled to a soft pulp. In the hand-made papers this pulp is dipped into a large pan from which the water gradually drains away leaving a wet sheet, which is then pressed and dried. Some high grade papers are still made in this way by hand, but mechanical processes have almost entirely displaced the hand process.

The machine process is as follows: (1) The fluid pulp is floated over a continuous wire cloth which has a constant motion, and which allows the water to drain away.

(2) The wet pulp is pressed under wire gauze rollers and more of the moisture taken up.

(3) The pulp can now hang alone and support itself for a short distance and is carried to a felt band and led to felt rollers.

(4) More water is pressed out between these felt rollers and the paper leaves them able to go unsupported to the metal rollers.

(5) The paper is now passed to the heavy smooth calender rolls, and under great pressure is given a smooth finish and added drying. These calenders are sometimes heated and used to give a glaze to the paper.

(6) It next is carried to the drying room and a current of heated air serves to drive away most of the remaining moisture.

(7) From here it may be taken to the roller cutters and cross cutters, and be cut and tied into bundles for shipment.

This description while not including the chemical treatment, nor other details of the preparation of the pulp may be taken as fairly representative of the usual mechanical part of the process. For newspapers, the paper is usually delivered upon large rolls as they come from the machine. Colored papers are given the color before the fluid pulp reaches the machine.