ago sulphite manufacturers
would not accept consignments of spruce logs if they contained over 5
per cent of fir, while to-day many manufacturers tolerate 50 per cent.
Rope papers are found to contain not only jute, but when this raw
material is not plentiful, chemical pulp of various kinds. "Linen paper"
is often no more than a trade term. Not long ago printing papers were
made entirely from chemical wood pulp, but to-day if it is desired to
secure paper which is free from ground wood the specifications must so
stipulate. Writing papers, formerly made entirely from rags, now are
likely to contain either chemical or even ground-wood pulp unless the
specifications prohibit it. Without doubt, many paper manufacturers have
maintained certain papers up to a fixed standard for a long series of
years, but it is equally true that competition has lowered the standard
of a great many papers, some of which had acquired a distinctive
recognition. The employment of plant fibers will not necessarily lower
the present quality of papers, but if their employment does result in
products whose qualities are somewhat different from our so-called
standard papers it does not necessarily follow that such papers will not
find a ready market.

=FACTORS JUSTIFYING AN INVESTIGATION OF HEMP HURDS.=

Hemp hurds form a crop waste, in that they necessarily are produced in
the raising and preparation of hemp fiber, and their present use and
value are comparatively insignificant.

The assembling of the hurds may be effected with economy, since the area
in which hemp is handled with the use of machine brakes is restricted.
Although it must be stated that the present annual supply would not be
sufficient to justify the installation of a pulp mill nor would its
transportation to existing mills appear feasible, it is expected that
the available annual tonnage, especially in certain general sections,
will increase, due to the increased use of the machine brake. The
present tonnage per annum is approximately as follows: In the region of
Ohio and Indiana, 2,500 tons; in the Wisconsin section, 1,000 tons; in
the California region, 1,400 tons.

In years of adverse weather conditions there are often large areas of
hemp which are not harvested on account of its poor quality; there are
also large areas of cut hemp which become overretted, due to inclement
weather. It has been suggested by some of the hemp raisers that this
large amount of material might be