I.K. Inha - Photo Set 7 (Industries)

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Six plates from the book

Suomi Kuvissa (Pictorial Finland)

by photographer I.K. Inha, 1895-1896:

Log-floating in rapids.

The small rapids which ever and anon interrupt the calm flow of the river, give much trouble to the log-floaters. In some of these rapids floating-channels have been made, along which the logs glide down at lightning speed. Where these are not available log-lines must be formed and men posted at the most difficult places, to help the logs along. If a log sticks fast or lays right across the river, the following logs pile themselves upon it and stagnation occurs which is difficult and tedious to remove.

Kymmene (Kymintehdas) and Kuusankoski

The Woodpulp-mills and Paper manufactories of our country, the more important of which we here name, are about thirty in number. On the banks of the river Kymmene are Kymmene paper-manufactory and Ingerois pulp-mill, from which we have taken the views of factory interiors which are given in this work; on the same river Kuusankoski and Högfors mills are also situated, besides many other smaller factories. The watercourses above the river Kumo drive Mänttä paper-manufactory in Keuru, two pulp-mills and a large paper-manufactory at Tammerfors, Nokia works in Birkkala, Kyrökoski mill in Tavastkyrö and Walkiakoski papermanufactory in Sääksmäki. On the river Vuoksen is Enso large pulp-mill.

The woodpulp-mill.

The woodpulp-mill is the ancient money-mill of popular legend actualized, which, in our modern times, grinds money from the forestdepths of the wilderness. The tree, which is to be transformed into woodpulp, is barked and sawn in blocks, which are boiled and freed from knots, and afterwards put in a mill, such as here illustrated. In this mill the wooden fibres are torn asunder by means of a large grindstone, and from the pulp thus made, which proceeds from the mill in a liquid form, mill-board is produced, or, by varying the process, all sorts of paper.

The wood-paper.

The wood-paper, mill-board and cellulose trade of our country had attained a considerable degree of developement in recent years. Finland also possesses many characteristics for this: a multitude of waterfalls for motive power and vast forests, which supply the raw material. In proportion to the extension of railways, new mills are erected, and the products of this trade are now among the principal articles of our export trade. We have here illustrated a part of the large machine room at Ingerois pulp-mill.

Our picture shows cellulose rolls, which the operatives are clearing of waste.

Cellulose is the name for wood-pulp prepared by chemical process. The barked, boiled and knot-cleared blocks are cut in small pieces, which are afterwards boiled in large rotary iron cylinders, together with chemicals, which separate from the wood all the component parts which would have an injurious effect on the durability of the paper. Finer qualities of paper are manufactured from the pulp prepared in this manner, it is also utilized in improving wood-pulp paper, or is exported as raw material.