To conclude, it would appear that with the "Raw Material" "Bamboo," we have under our control "an embarrassment of riches," and I have only further to add that I know of no other that can at all approach it in economy of production, and I believe very few if any in the quality of the "Stock" produced therefrom suitable for Paper-making purposes.
BAMBOO,
CONSIDERED AS A PAPER-MAKING MATERIAL.
THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE PAPER TRADE IN RELATION TO THE SUPPLY OF RAW MATERIAL.
"The deficient supply of, and the increasing price for, the materials for making paper and the prospect of a still greater consumption has for some time excited the attention of manufacturers and the public."
The above Remarks prefacing a Memorandum drawn up by Dr. Forbes Royle, reporting for "The Commissioners for the Affairs of India," at the desire of "The Lords of Her Majesty's Treasury," and of "The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council for Trade," in 1854, and subsequently published in his valuable work, "The Fibrous Plants of India," in 1855—twenty years ago—truly represent the position of the Paper-Trade at the present time.
The extension of education and literature, the necessity for cheap newspapers and serial publications, the increased demand for paper for writing, as also for manufacturing and commercial purposes generally, have greatly stimulated consumption, and it is believed that since the abolition of the Excise duty in 1861, the annual production of paper has more than doubled.
Previous to 1861, raw fibrous material, with the exception perhaps of Straw, was but little used in paper-making, the waste of cotton, flax, hemp, and jute mills, having undergone a process of semi-manufacture, being comprised under the generic term of—Rags.
The American war, immediately following the repeal of the paper duty, threatening a cotton famine, the Paper-makers gladly availed themselves of a new material, "Esparto," which I had for some time previously been ineffectually endeavouring to introduce, and adopting my process for its treatment, this material entered speedily into consumption, and has tended more than anything else to promote the development of the Paper-trade by enabling the manufacturers to keep pace with the rapidly increasing demand.
The importations of "Esparto," which did not amount to 1000 tons in the year 1860 (indeed up to that date I was the only manufacturer using it[A]), rose to upwards of 50,000 tons in the year 1865, and by 1871—ten years only from its introduction—the annual imports had attained the large total of 140,000 tons.
"Esparto" being a wild grass (or, botanically speaking, a sedge) growing on waste lands, in Spain and Africa, owing to the greed of the native collectors—who, while gathering the plant, pluck it up recklessly, roots and all—is being gradually but surely exterminated.