PAPER MATERIALS. 125 



pical country, there seemed to be an unlimited source of 

 supply. Opinions of botanists, however, were divided as to 

 whether the continued cutting of the young bamboo stems 

 would not considerably weaken them and eventually reduce 

 the supply. One thing to be borne in mind in considering 

 this subject is that the several species of Bambusa and Den- 

 drocalamus are equally suited to the manufacture of paper, 

 and that in India bamboos are very plentiful. Indeed, Sir 

 D. Bi-andis states "that there are about 1,800 square miles 

 of almost pure bamboo forest in the Arrakan division of 

 British Burma within a moderate distance from the coast, 

 and all accessible by navigable streams." The accessibility 

 is, of course, a matter of considerable importance in bringing 

 bulky material down to a point whence it could be the more 

 readily transferred for shipment to England. 



Notwithstanding the interest taken in the Bamboo 

 as a probable source of paper material, it has not, 

 down to the present time, become a recognised article of 

 trade. 



BAOBAB (Adansonia digitata). The fibrous bark of this 

 West African tree was first brought to the notice of the 

 paper-maker in 1876. It was proved upon trial to possess 

 all the necessary properties for making an excellent paper. 

 The drawback to its general utilisation has been the slow 

 growth both of tree and bark, and the probability of a 

 failure in the supply. 



PAPER MULBERRY (Broussotietia papyrifera). This 

 well-known tree, from the bark of which the Polynesian 

 islanders make their Tapa cloths, and the Japanese a large 

 portion of their excellent paper, which they put to such a 

 multitudinous variety of uses, was first brought to the 

 notice of English paper-makers in 1879. The late Mr. 

 Routledge, in reporting upon it, described it as " nearly, if 

 not quite, the best fibre he had seen," requiring very little 

 chemicals, and giving an excellent yield. 



