PAPER SHIPS AND PAPER GUNS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 66, 31 October 1864, Page 3

PAPER SHIPS AND PAPER GUNS.

(From the London Observer.) When, a short time since, Mr. Gladstone in advocating the repeal of the paper duties, paiuted in glowing colours the advantages which would result from his proposal, and told of tho many fresh uses to which paper could bo applied if relieved from the burden of taxation, he could not, in his most sanguine moments, have hoped for results so great as thoso which lvave already beon realised, i He painted a pretty rural picture of busy paper mills by the side of clear flowing streams, and the employment which they would afford to the rural population ; but had he spoken of such tln'ngs as ships or guns made of paper he would have been looked upon as a madman rather thanas a dreamer. And yet the time may not be far distant when "we may expect to see the one proudly riding on the waters, and tho other as severely tested as the homogeneous iron and steel of the guns at Shoeburyncss. We were present yesterday at the Phoenix Works, Stewart's Lane, Battersea, and, with a number of gentlemen connected with the Ordinance, and various scientific societies, had an opportunity of inspecting some preparations from paper which are of a most remarkable character, and which appear to point to a vastly extended application of this material in almost «svery bnmcK of fclxe useful n.ncL industrial arts. Thero -were, for instance, tubes mado of paper which, had been toated in the EuOSt satisfactory manner as rocket tubes. Being made of paper they are, of course, very much lighter than ordinary iron tubes, and they stand the test of rocket firing equally as well as those of metal. Not less remarkable were the thick slabs and boards made of paper. These boards, of one inch in thickness, had been tested by bullet and ball, and ':he result showed that their power of resistance was equal to ten inches of solid oak. The bullet, which had passed so far through the paper board as to cause a projecting surface 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 bole. These paper boarda are admirably adapted for the sides of ships ; their specific gravity is somewhat less than that of oak, and they are easily fixed to the irame-work of vessels They have, however, this additional advantage over timber that they do not require copper sheathing to prevent fouling ; they are non-absorbent, and neither animal nor vegetable life nourishes 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 all these good qualities paper has positively the advantage 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 House of Parliament, has discovered a 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 timberand iron ships. It would, of course, be impracticable to produce paper boards at anything like a price which would make the invention commercially valuable if the raw materials were to be obtained fvoni the limited supply of home or foreign vag3. Weare informed, however, that there is an abundant and almost exhaustless supply of the fibre suitable for the production of the material, and that, the specimens exhibited were made from paper manufactured some 500 miles from England, and which after bearing all expenses of carriage overland, and by railway and i steamer, was delivered in London at a price less than one-half of that of the commonest description of brown paper. Not content, however, with forming the sides of ships of paper, the inventor is now engaged in the construction of light fieldpieces' 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, and they have stood the test against iron in the most satisfactory, manner. At the recent International Exhibition there were exhibited some pipes made of paper — we do not refer to what wa3 termed the bituminous pipes — but those exhibited by M. ! Szerlemy, and which, tested by hydraulic pressure of 200 "pounds to the square inch, were found to stand the test, equal, ia every respect, to iron pipes. These pipes are admirably adapted for the conveyance of water ; they do not oxydize, as is the ca3e with lead or iron pipes, the former of which gives more or less of poison to the water that passe 3 through them. Being non-conductors, they prevent the water from freezing in the winter, and preserve it cold in the summer. Then they are so light, compared with either iron or lead, that they may be easily moved from place to place as required. They have this further advantage too, that the different lengths of paper may bejoinedtoeachotherwithoutthetrouble, delay, and uncertainty involved in making or soldering the joints of the metal pipes. One end of the paper pipe is dipped in a solution prepared for the purpose, placed in the end of the paper to which it is required to be attached, and a perfect and water-tight or air-tight joint is at once made. So far as we were 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 gum, 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 the House of Conimons. It has also been used for the exterior of the Bank of England, the interior of the dome of St Paul's, on which Mr. Penrose has painted his frescoes, and it, has just been applied with extraordinary success to the arches of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway "at 'the' Elephant and Castle Station, '. which have lately suffered ; considerably from damp and infiltration of water from the roadway. Thwe appears to be no limit to &c application of

this useful material. , In addition to the preservation of paper, linen, stone, brick, plaster, and other material, another most usofuT application "of tlio"" advantage, was shown 'in', the perfection ,of a material rescmbliu£j flock paper, and suitable for carpets, which can. ; be prepared ,of any color, and .with, endless variety of pattern. A slight alteration in' tho mode of treatment , converts canvas into"' a, description of oil-cloth which will stand anv amount of wear, as may -be seen from some pieces, which havo boen for several month* laid down in the workshop at Battersea. The materials of a house are now in coursb 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 "Panbhia," or leather-cloth, it manufactured by the uso of this extraordinary substance, and .inado. up into, boots . and, shoos,', which rival in their durablo qualities tho' best kinds of leather ; and it is equally valuable for pi-oserving stone, -brick, .works- in plaster, or any similar substance. A visit <io tho Phoonix Works certainly cannot fail , to' impress \ every ione with a high notion of the value ofhliororaavkable substance to which reference has been macto, tvnd tho wido fiold which is open for its application in varied forms. ;