4 MODERN PAPER-MAKING
and shake on the machine wire, this formation causes them to become inter
locked with each other, and adds great strength to the paper, in addition t<
flexibility and bulk.
In order to give a clear explanation of this fact, we will again take th<
illustration of a number of sticks cut from different trees or bushes.
Suppose we have a dozen sticks or faggots cut from a thorn tree or hedge
They will be more or less twisted and irregular in shape. On the other hand
a bundle of canes will be composed of pieces more smooth and straight. Th<
faggot bundle will be more bulky than the other, because the sticks will no
lie so closely together. Further, if we try to pull out the sticks from the firs
lot, we will find it very difficult to do so, but we can pull the canes out quit*
easily.
Good new cotton (from rags, not raw fibre) when carefully beaten wil
produce the strongest papers, as strong as those made from linen. It requires
however, less drastic treatment in the beater than linen, because it is not sc
easy to make 'wet' or "greasy9 without cutting the fibres too short. The cottor
fibre is used for making a very great variety of papers, either alone or mixec
with other fibres.
It is ideal for filter- and blotting-papers, being easily and quickly cut; its
wide central canal and the spaces between the irregularly-shaped surfaces make
plenty of room to be filled by the ink, or to allow liquids to pass through.
In short, the cotton fibre is one of the most adaptable that the paper-makei
has at his command.
Linen (Fig. I, No. 2).—Linen is the fibre obtained from the flax plant,
which is grown in most parts of the world, and especially in the North of
Ireland, Russia and Central Europe.
The fibre is what is known as a bast, or inner bark fibre, and it is obtained
from inside the stem of the flax plant by removing the bark or outer covering.
The removal of this bark is a somewhat difficult operation, and is accomplished
by leaving the cut flax lying in ditches or water to rot or 'ret'. This is known
as the 'retting' process. In this way the outer bark is softened and rotted away.
After the retting is completed, the flax is collected and sent to the spinning
and textile factories, where it is spun into linen thread.
A linen thread is never so even and regular as a cotton thread, owing to the
hardness of the linen fibre and the knots which it contains; it is, however,
smoother and more 'shiny' on its surface. The length of the linen fibre is
about the same as cotton; it is about i inch long and grows in tight bundles
inside the stem of the plant; it is very narrow, about 1200 to the inch, but it is
much thicker-walled than cotton, and in consequence its central canal is much
narrower.