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The makaso and several other plants used for making i)aper are cul- 

 tivated in the same manner, and manufactured by the same general process 

 as the mulberry, the manipulations varying only with the classes and quali- 

 ties of the paper produced. The kinds of paper that are made are almost 

 innumerable, some of them possessing extraordinary qualities, and the 

 purposes for which they are used are surprisingly various, embracing 

 the most delicate as well as the roughest objects, and involving ingeni- 

 ous processes and great skill and dexterity in their manufacture. Paper 

 is made in imitation of leather and of water-proof cloth, and possesses 

 all their qualities. This is done by an admixture of a paste or glutin- 

 ous substance which is produced by boiling fern and other roots, adding 

 a juice expressed from unripe persimmons. It is dyed of different colors, 

 and is a very tough and strong material, perfectly impervious to water, 

 and capable of resisting intense heat. It is used for boxes, trays, and 

 similar purposes, and even for siiucepans, which sustain no injury over 

 a hot charcoal fire. Prepared with oil, it is used for rain-coats, and as 

 a substitute for glass in windows. Water-proof great coats, made of this 

 species of paper, may be purchased for about 35 cents a piece, and they 

 are completely impervious in a storm of rain, although very light. The 

 Japanese persimmon, which seems to be an essential element of this 

 description of paper, is in process of successful culture in the gardens of the 

 Department of Agriculture. It does not differ in its constituents from 

 that which is indigenous to the southern portions of this country ; but 

 it is much larger and altogether of a superior quality, and its successful 

 culture in this country, which may be regarded as assured, is a matter 

 therefore of commercial as well as agricultural importance. 



The Japanese are wonderfully proficient in giving to paper great hard- 

 ness and weight, as well as extreme delicacy, lightness, and beauty of 

 texture. It is impossible to tear the tougher sorts of paper across the 

 grain, and thin strips, torn in the opposite direction, make tough and 

 convenient strings. 



The inquiries in respect to Japanese paper which have been addressed 

 to this Department have exclusive reference to its commercial aspect, 

 and to the question of its importation. It is obvious, however, that the 

 papers of Japan, various and beautiful and valuable as some of them 

 are, could not be utilized in this country and made available as an 

 article of merchandise for the reason that they are adapted only to the 

 peculiar tastes and customs of the Japanese themselves. The consular 

 reports referred to contain enumerations of various kinds of j)aper man- 

 ufactured in Japan, known by distinctive names, and extending to a 

 hundred and fifty different classes. Besides the uses i)reviously speci- 

 fied, different sorts of paper are manufactured expressly for the making 

 of hats, coats, shoes, bags, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, fans, screens, wall- 

 decorations, candle-wicks, mats, toys, trays, boxes of all kinds, purses, 

 pocket-books, tobacco-pouches, ornaments of every description, hair- 

 strings and pins, female hair-ornaments, bank-notes, drawing, painting, 

 and numerous other purposes, including diplomatic, ceremonial, and 

 fanciful descriptions for official dispatches, letters of congratulation, 

 and other communications exchanged on festive occasions. 



The handkerchiefs made of paper, and commonly used by the Japanese, 

 are of a whitish-brown color. Until a recent period, the Japanese were 

 in blissful ignorance of the comfort of a cotton handkerchief, which is 

 now an article of extensive exportation to this country and England. 

 Among the many varieties of the Japanese fan is one which is employed 

 in the battle-field as an arm of defense. It is made of paper, and is of 

 larger size than usual, the sheath being of iron, so that, if fatigued by a 



