Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/355

PAP aiford an excellent ingredient in pudding;'? ; and may also be con- verted into tlour and braid. 5. The daciijlon, or Ckkfpixg Pan'Ick.-gkas'^, abonnds oil the sea-shores of Cornwall ; is peren- nial; and Howers in the month of July or August. Its roots may be employed for the same purposes as those of the Dog's-grass, fo which we refer. Although thediiTerent species of Panicle are coarse grasses, when cultivated in a rich soil, yet we be- lieve that few native plants deserve more the attention of those farmers, who possess large tracts of a light, sandy nature, where scarcely any other vegetable will prosper. PAPER, a thin flexible leaf, wiiich is generally prepared of ve- getable substances, for the purposes of writing, printing, &c. Theoriginalinvention of paper be- ing lost in the uncertainty of tradi- tion and antiquity, we shall not enter into any disquisition, respecting those nations, among whom this valuable article was first manufac- tured ; though the Chinese appear to have the strongest claims in point of priority : hence we pro- pose to confine our account to t',e materials of which paper is actu- ally made, as well as those sub- stances, from which it may be ad- vantageously procured. In Europe, paper Is manufac- tured chiefly of linen rags,- which, after being sorted into dirferent classes, according to their respec- tive qualities, are first carried to a machine, called a aitdng-tnl-le, where they are divided into minute pieces ; and thence to an engine, de- nominated the duster ; which is covered with a wire-net, and put in motion by machinery ■ so that, by the rapidity of its motion, it se- PAP [333 par.ites the dust from the shreds, and forces it through the wire. The rags are now reduced to a pulp of a proper consiste ice for making paper : this operation is cffeAed in mills, by the joint aAiitii of water, and cylinders provided with iron blades ; after which the srnfF is convej-cd into a general re- pository, that supplies the vat or vessel, whence the pulp is drawn. In order to cast this pulp into paper, the workman immerses in the vat a mould, composed of wire cloth, and furnished with a frame to retain the stuff: thus, he draws as mucli of the pulp as is necessary to form one sheet, on which he lays a felt for the purpose of ab- sorbing the moisture: and thus he continues, placing alternately a sheet and a felt, till he has formed six quires of paper, which is called a poit. When the last sheet of the. post is covered with felt, the whole is pressed; after which the sheets are suspended on cords in an airy room to dry, and then to undergo the process of iixing. Tliis is per- formed by plunging a few sheets together, and turning them, in a vessel full of sizd, Avhich is pre- pared of the shreds and parings of tanners, curriers and parchment- makers ; and into which a small portion of alum is thrown, before the sheets are immersed. 1'iie paper is now carried to the ' dn'i-ig-room ; ' and, after being' gradually dried, it is conveyed to the finishing-rootn ; where it i.s ' submitted to theartion of the press; selected; examined; fielded; form- ed into quires of 24 sheets, and finally. Into reams, consisting of 20 quires eddi. Thus naanufaftured, it is called- loriiing- paper ; as it is adaptt d for tills prir[.iOse by the process of siz-' iiio".