256 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



XXVIII. 



ON THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER 

 FROM THE BARK OF TREES IN UPPER 

 BURMAH. 



BY JOHNSTON SHEARER. 



[Read 25th March. 1890.] 



The piece of paper now exhibited to the Society was 

 made in the Shan Country of Upper Burmah. It 

 was brought home by a military officer %vhose regi- 

 ment formed part of the South Shan expedition, sent 

 to explore our newly acquired territorj', and bring 

 the wild native tribes into subjection to British rule. 

 The country is superior to India in its natural 

 productions, but is so remote and inaccessible from 

 the great ranges of hills intersecting it, and the 

 want of roads for wheeled vehicles, that the 

 Europeans of the expedition were the first white 

 men who were ever known to have visited it. 



This paper, notwithstanding its thinness and rough 

 appearance, is the common writing-paper of the 

 country. It is surprising how easily the pen or 

 pencil goes over it, and its remarkable strength 

 makes it an article of great use to the native people 

 for many purposes to which our common paper could 

 not be applied. 



The following notes on the way in which the 

 paper is made are extracted from the journal of 

 the gentleman who brought home the specimen, 

 and w^ho saw the processes in operation. 



It is made from the inner bark of a tree, long 

 strips of which are soaked in vats having a fire 

 under them. The vats are sunk in a small terrace 

 cut in the side of a hill, the mouths being level 



