Sorting.—The rags being removed from the bags or bales in which they are packed, require first to be sorted according to the nature and quality of the fabrics of which they are composed; thus linen, cotton, hemp, wool, &c., must be carefully separated from each other; the thickness of the substance, its condition as to the wear it has undergone, and the colour of the material, all these considerations are taken into account by the women and girls who are employed in the operation of sorting. The finer qualities are set aside for writing-paper, inferior sorts being used separately, or mixed, according to the requirements of the manufacturer. Blue rags are generally separated from the rest and kept for the manufacture of blue paper, but most of the other coloured rags require bleaching. In sorting rags, a good deal of judgment and skill are required to avoid mixing the better qualities with those of an inferior class, which would occasion loss in the manufacture. It is also important that those of inferior colour should not be mixed with the finer qualities, which would be liable to affect the colour and deteriorate the quality of the paper. Paper manufacturers generally classify the rags obtained from home sources, that is, from different parts of the United Kingdom, under the following heads:—
Home Rags.
New cuttings.
Linen pieces.
Cotton pieces.
Fines (whites).
Superfines (whites).
Outshots (whites).
Seconds (whites).
Thirds (whites).