PAPER SHIPS AND PAPER GUNS.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume IV, Issue 202, 25 November 1864, Page 2

PAPER SHIPS AND PAPER GUNS.

[P ro,r i the Spectator , November 2. j. The Observer describes a new preparation of paper of a remarkable character. The uses to which this new kind of paper may be applied were explained on Saturday at the Phanis Works Paltersea:—“There were tubes made of paper which had been tested in the most satisfactory manner as rocket tubes. Reing made of paper they are, of course, very much lighter than the ordinary iron tubes, and they stand the test of rocket liriug equally as well as those of metal. Aot less remarkable were the thick slabs and boards, ol one inch in thickness, had been tested by bullet and ball, and the result showed that their power oi resistance was equal to ten inches of solid oak. The bullet, which had passed so lar through the paper board as to cause a projecting surlace at the rear, would have gone clean through the oak, fracturing and tearing it in all directions; while in the paper board the perforation made was a small, clean, round hole. These paper boards aro admirably adapted for the sides ot ships ; their specific gravity is somewhat less than Uiat ol oak, and they are easily fixed to the framework ot vessels. They have, however, this additional advantage over timber, that they do not acquire copper sheathing to prevent fouling, they are non-absorbent, and neither animal nor vegetable life flourishes upon their surface, as is the case with timber or iron. They have also this further advantage, that they are incombustible. No amount of heat will set them in a blaze. The application of great heat will produce combustion in the immediate neighbourhood of the flame, but anything like ordinary burning is quite Out of the question. In addition, however, to alltheso good qualities, paper has positive Jy the sd

vantage over timber and iron in the matter of cost. M. Szerlemy, the inventor, well known for the successful manner in which he has arrested the decay of certain portions of the exterior of the Houses of Parliament, has discovered fibre which grows in the Southern portions of Germany, and which may be converted into a rough kind of paper at a cost so trifling as to enable him. to compete with the builder of timber and iron ships. Not content, .however,, with forming the sides of ships of paper, the inventor is now engaged in the construction of light field pieces, specially adapted for mountain warfare, and these, judging from results already obtained by experiments with paper tubes, will be found to answer the purpose admirably. Tubes have already been formed of this prepared paper, they have stood the test against iron in the most satisfactory manner. So far as wo are enabled to ascertain the process of manufacture, it consists in lapping sheets or rolls of paper moistened with a solution of which zopissa is the principal ingredient, one over the other, until the requisite degree of thickness or strength is attained, and exposing the material for a short time until it becomes thoroughly hardened. This zopissa is of the nature of a giim, and is found in considerable quantities in Egypt. It has the peculiarity of giving extraordinary hardness to any surface upon which it is placed,' and it was very extensively used in the preparation employed for preserving the stone in the exterior of tho House of Commons. It has also • been used for the exterior of the Bank of England, the the interior of the dome of St. Paul’s on which Mr. Penrose has painled his frescoes, and it hast just been applied with extraordinary success to ■ the arches of-tiio London; Chatham, and-Dover Railway at the • Elephant and- Castle Station-, which have lately suffered considerably from . damp, and'the infiltration of water "froth the roadway. . There appears to be no limit to - the apuli- ■ cation of this useful material. In addition to the . preservation of paper, linen, stone, brick, plaster, and other material, another most useful application of the advantage was shown in the perfection of a material resembling flock paper, and suitable for carpets, which can be prepared of any colour and with endless variety of pattern; A slight alteration in the mode of treatment canverts canvas into a description of oilcloth which will stand any amount of wear, as may be seen from pieces which have been for several months laid down in the workshop at Battersea. The materials of a house are now in course of construction, for the ■ purpose of showing the adaptability of the paper boards to the construction of emigrants’ houses, temporary churches, and barracks. Already large quantities of a material known as “ Panonia,” 6r leather cloth, is manufactured by the use of this extraordinary substance, and made up into boots and shoes, which rival in their durable qualities the best kinds of iealher, and is equally valuable for preserving stone, brick, works in plaster, or any similar substance.