Abstract
A LARGE amount of American capital has been employed for building newsprint mills in Canada. Recently, attention has been directed to the great pine forests in the Southern States and their suitability for making pulp for newsprint is being investigated. In the Scientific American of May, 1934, an interesting account is given by Dr. Herty of what is being done in this direction. It is pointed out that the South Atlantic and Gulf States have within their borders more than a hundred million acres of ‘cut-over’ lands and more than twenty-five million acres of abandoned farm lands. Despite the carelessness of owners, magnificent forests of yellow heart pine trees have sprung up. If this wood is suitable for making pulp, then the whole needs of the United States, and in addition a flourishing export trade, could be maintained from this supply. A laboratory has been built in Savannah, and investigations on a commercial scale have been made. From the colour point of view, early experiments showed that the pulp was as good as that made from spruce in the northern mills. Later on, evidence of blue stain appeared on some of the samples and experiments were made to overcome this. It was discovered that logs left with the bark on them for three weeks showed no sign of stain (or fungus growth). The wood was therefore pulped and ground within three weeks after it had been cut. The quality of the printed paper made from it gave every satisfaction. It had a marked velvety feel, required little ink for printing and was more pliable than the average newsprint. While this work is being carried on in the laboratory, reforestation with young pine trees is proceeding at a rapid rate in Georgia.
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Pulpwood for Paper in the United States. Nature 134, 452–453 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134452d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134452d0