“As far as the East is from the West,” so great is the difference between the methods and processes of the slow-going Orient and those that prevail in the Occident.

It is fully a century and a half since Berkeley gave expression to his faith in the high destiny of the West:

As the years followed each other swiftly in the past, it became strikingly evident that the world must look to the Occident for industrial activity and progress, and for the practical application of new inventions and discoveries. And yet, through the inevitable exception that proves the rule, we occasionally find East and West working along strikingly similar lines. The making of paper by hand, as carried on in our own country in early days, and to a limited extent at the present time, furnishes such an exception. In many respects, the process is not unlike that followed by the Chinese in making paper from the bark of the mulberry-tree, which has already been described in the preceding chapter. In either case, whatever the material employed, the first step, which was of prime importance, was to remove from the fibers all glutinous, resinous, or other superfluous matter. The fibers are the slender, elongated cells, the enduring portion of the plant that gives to the paper its strength, toughness, and elasticity.

Before the science of chemistry had been called upon to furnish its potent aid in the process of paper-making, the rags used were moistened and piled together in some warm, damp place, often in a cellar, where they were left to decay for a period—twenty days or more. During this time, the perishable portion, sometimes spoken of as vegetable gluten, fermented or decayed to such an extent that it could be washed from the fibrine, or long, white elastic filaments. Before being submitted to the process of decomposition, the rags were of course dusted, and, as far as possible, cleansed from all mineral, foreign, or indissoluble substances, after which they were cut into small pieces. When the fermentation engendered by heat and moisture had done its important work, the rags were boiled and washed, and finally beaten to a smooth pulp by the use of mallets.

In the early days of paper-making, before the discovery of the use of chemical agents to remove the coloring matter, the color of the paper was determined by that of the rags or other material, modified somewhat by the boiling and washing. When it was discovered that certain chemicals would dissolve or separate the coloring matter from the tissue, one great factor in the cost of making white paper was eliminated. Lye, lime, solutions of chlorine and of chloride of lime were employed for the purpose.

The fibers having been separated, by this slow and tedious method, from all foreign matter, they were placed in a vat, with a proper admixture of water to form a soft, slightly cohering mass of “pulp.” The next step in the process was the forming of the paper sheets. For this purpose the paper-maker employed a fine wire screen, or cloth, called the “mold,” which was oblong in shape, and supported by a light frame underneath. Above this was placed a very shallow frame known as the “deckel,” which in size and shape corresponded exactly with the mold. Dipping the mold into the mass of pulp, the operator filled it even with the top of the deckel, the thickness of the paper being determined by the depth of the deckel-frame. Then as the water from the pulp drained through the wire cloth, the operator moved the mold back and forth, giving a constant, even, and gentle motion to the mass within.

The manner in which the wires of the mold were arranged gave to certain papers their distinguishing characteristics. In some molds the wire was woven like cloth, and the product was therefore known as “wove” paper; in others, the small wires ran only one way, straight and very close together, and were crossed by stronger wires an inch or so apart, the paper in this case being called “laid” paper. At some point in the wire of the mold a small figure was worked out, also in wire, and as the pulp was shaken it became a little thinner over the design, leaving the impress known as the “watermark.”

When the pulp had been properly drained, and matted together, the mold was passed on to another operator, who was known as the “coucher,” from the fact that his work was the turning of the moist sheet of pulp upon a sheet of felt stretched over a board termed a “couch.” Over this first layer of pulp was placed another sheet of felt, then another mold full of the pulp, and so on until there was obtained a pile, or “post,” as it was called, several quires in thickness. The layers were then subjected to heavy pressure, by which as much of the water as possible was squeezed out, when the sheets of felt were removed, and pressure was applied a second time to the paper that remained. The sheets of paper on being taken out were hung over ropes or poles to dry, in some room or loft.

At this point in the process the paper would be open and porous, and would naturally absorb ink, instead of carrying it in lines or letters upon its surface. To overcome this defect, the paper was dipped in a solution made of clippings of hides, horns, or hoofs, or in the gelatine prepared from leather and parchment clippings. The process was, and is still, termed “sizing,” while the material is known as “size,” and is used to render the paper non-absorbent, also to fill up the pores and give an even surface. After being dipped in this solution, the sheets were pressed again, and for a second time hung up to dry; if a smoother surface was desired, it was obtained by passing the paper between metal rollers.

Hand-made paper is now made to a limited extent in America, and to a still greater extent in England. All Bank of England notes are printed on hand-made paper, two notes to a sheet, so that three edges of every note are rough. Working under the old method, it took three men a day to mold, press, and hang up to dry, or finish, four thousand small sheets of paper, while the process from beginning to end required about three months. ?From tree to paper in a day? In these modern days, as will be seen later, paper can be made in twenty-four hours from a tree standing in the forest, in the glory of its full strength and vigor; though in actual practice a longer time is taken in covering all the different processes. Truly the times are changed, and everything is changed with them!