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on the island of Formosa arc Kc-lung-Slian, and the three 

 districts named Fung, Shan, Kea-e, and Chang-Kwa, all 

 within two hundred miles of the chief-prefecture city, Tai- 

 wanfoo, the capital of the island ; the furthest being Ke-lung- 

 Shan. It is also stated that it forms " a main source of 

 revenue to the population engaged in its cultivation, and the 

 inhabitants depend chiefly upon it for their maintenance.'* 

 According to the Chinese account of this plant it is of a 

 delicate nature, "suffering from a cold or damp air, and 

 withering in a bleak wind, a warm mild temperature appears 

 to be a chief condition of its thriving ;" whereas in Sydney it 

 is always observed to be very hardy, enduring in full luxuriance 

 of foliage the intense heats and hot -winds of the summer 

 season, and the bleak cold winds and sharp frosts of the 

 winter, even when exotic trees have suffered severely, and 

 some of them had even been destroyed. 



In forming a plantation of these trees it will be necessary 

 to remove the suckers from the parent stem when they are a 

 few inches high, and place them in pots ; when they have 

 attained about a foot in height they ought to be removed to 

 the land prepared for them, and planted in rows about five 

 feet apart. Respecting the method adopted by the Chinese 

 for removing the pith and manufacturing it into " Eice Paper," 

 I extract an account sent by Mr. Sinclair to Sir William 

 Hooker : — " When the plants have attained their full growth, 

 which is said to be in the tenth month, they are cut down, the 

 twigs and leaves removed, and the stems left to soak for some 

 days in running water, to loosen the bark and wood, and 

 facilitate the removal of the pith. This last, after being 

 cleaned and made into a cylindrical shape, is cut into con- 

 venient lengths, and is now ready for the hand of the paper- 

 cutter, who performs his part as follows : . Taking a sharp 

 broad-bladed knife, he makes a slight longitudinal incision in 

 the cylinder of the pith, which is then turned round gently 

 and regularly on the edge of the knife, until the whole avail- 

 able material is planed off in thin slices. Much care and 

 dexterity are required to produce sheets of even thickness ; 

 if the operation is performed too hastily, and the motion of 

 the hand not properly regulated, the sheets will not take the 

 required curl, and will come off in wrinkled masses. If, on 

 the other hand, the paring is done too slowly, the paper is 

 liable to come out of uneven thickness. This is the blunder 

 which the Fuh-chow artisans are too apt to commit, as they 

 are far behind the Formosa cutters, whose skill is truly 

 admirable ; one or two workmen at Amoy have, however, done 

 wonders in this line, and deserve considerable praise." The 

 sheets as they are cut are placed one upon the other, and 



