1872.] Paper at the International Exhibition. 465 
Egypt long had the monopoly of the manufaéture of 
papyrus paper, and at the time of Augustus the trade was 
considerable, not only at Rome, but throughout the world. 
In the ninth century, the use of papyrus made in Egypt 
ceased in Europe, and it was replaced, almost universally, 
by paper made of cotton from the East. 
It is a curious circumstance, that there is at the present 
day no plant known to botanists which corresponds exactly 
with the papyrus of ancient times. In the prophecy of 
Isaiah a very remarkable prediction occurs with reference 
to this plant, in the following words :—‘‘ The paper reeds by 
the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything 
sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be 
no more.” So far as the papyrus plant is concerned, that 
prophecy appears to have received an actual fulfilment. 
The art of making paper from vegetable fibre, reduced in 
water to a pulp, is said to have originated in China. The 
oldest known records in that country are inscribed on very 
thin slips of bamboo, carefully dried by artificial heat, and 
many of these are preserved in the pagodas. At a later 
period the Chinese made use of a peculiar kind of silk, 
called silk paper; and finally, both were replaced by an 
inventor named Tsai-lun, who made use of the bark of 
certain trees, hemp, rags, old nets, &c., which he boiled 
down to a pulp, and thus produced paper proper. According 
to different authorities, this invention dates from between 
A.D. 89 and 105, whilst by another it is stated that the 
results of this invention were presented to the Emperor of 
China about the year A.D. 153. 
The manufacture of paper from the paper mulberry 
(Broussonetia papyrifera) was introduced into Japan about 
A.D. 610. Upto the year A.D. 280, silk, with a facing of 
linen, was used for writing upon, and thin wood shavings 
were also employed. In that year, however, paper was 
imported from the Corea; and this appears to have been 
the only paper known to the Japanese until the year 610, 
when two priests named Douché and Hajo were sent over 
to Japan by the King of the Corea. Doucho is said to have 
been a clever man, learned in the Chinese classics, and, 
moreover, a skilful artist. Besides the manufacture of 
paper, he also introduced that of writing-ink and millstones 
into the country. Although the paper made by Douché 
was very good of its kind, it did not take ink well, and had, 
besides, other drawbacks. In consequence of this, Shétoki 
Taishi, a son of the reigning Mikado, who had learned 
paper-making of Douchdé, introduced the manufacture of 
VOL. I1..(N.S;) 2.0 
