89 



ropean name, the idea has prevailed that it was composed of rice. 

 Yet if this paper be held up between the eye and the light, an exqui- 

 sitely beautiful cellular tissue is discoverable, such as no art of man 

 could produce or imitate. It was then a subject of much gratifica- 

 tion to us, that we were lately favoured by Dr. Livingstone with. 

 a specimen of the paper, inclosing a portion of the stem of the plant 

 from which it is cut. The latter is evidently herbaceous ; the piece 

 is about four inches long, hollow in the centre, with a membranous 

 transverse septum at each end, so that it appears to be the joint 

 of a stem. The diameter is about an inch, and the thickness of the 

 parenchymatous substance is little more than half an inch, but of the 

 purest possible white. This piece might therefore be cut into a 

 sheet or leaf, though only of four inches in length yet of consider- 

 able breadth ; for it would of necessity be cut in such a manner as 

 to unroll like a scroll of common paper. 



It was Dr. Livingstone who first brought from China to Europe a 

 quantity of this substance, which he presented about twenty-five 

 years ago to Miss Jane Jack, who was celebrated for the beauty and 

 accuracy of her artificial flowers. Formed of rice paper, they ob- 

 tained additional celebrity, fetched very high prices, and were ea- 

 gerly sought for by persons of the greatest rank and most acknow- 

 ledged taste. For a bouquet which Miss Jack presented to the late 

 Princess Charlotte of Wales, she received the regal present of 70/. 



When Dr. Livingstone first procured the rice paper from the 

 Chinese, the pieces did not exceed four inches square ; they were 

 dyed of various shades and colours, and cost about 6d. each square. 

 Since that time the price has been much reduced, and the size of 

 the pieces increased, so as to be upwards of a foot long and 

 five inches across, and preserving their natural whiteness. The 

 tinted pieces are employed by the Chinese for their artificial flowers, 

 and the plain white for making drawings upon. Now, tliis material 

 is so much esteemed in Europe, that it is in request with people of 

 all nations who visit Canton. 



The same substance being also known in our possessions at the 

 East Indies, we wrote for information to General Hardwicke, a gen- 

 tleman whose long residence in that country and whose ardent love of 

 natural history gave him opportunities of becoming acquainted with 



