146 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



then boiled till it becomes tender, that is, till it easily 

 separates with the fingers; and then it is washed for 

 a longer or shorter time, according to the quality of 

 paper wanted. If strong writing paper, the washing 

 must be moderate; but if the colour is to be very 

 delicate, and the texture soft and silky, the washing 

 must be more prolonged. When properly washed, it 

 is taken to a table, and there reduced to a pulp, by 

 beating with wooden mallets. When sufficiently re- 

 duced, it is brought to the requisite consistency with 

 water; rice-starch, and the mucilaginous infusion of 

 manihot-root (Hibiscus manihot), are added by way 

 of size; and then the sheets of paper are formed one 

 by one upon a table, collected into heaps, and pressed 

 by a weight. 



The same bark is used by the people of many of the 

 South Sea Islands in the manufacture of their finer 

 cloths, more especially those that are to be dyed. 

 They make a coarser but stronger cloth of the bark 

 of the bread-fruit tree, and also of that of another 

 tree resembling the wild-fig of the West Indies. 

 The paper mulberry will grow in England, but the 

 cultivation of it would not, probably, be attended 

 with much profit. There can be no doubt, however, 

 that if proper attention were paid to the subject, ex- 

 cellent paper might be made of the inner bark of 

 many of our native timbers, the bark of which is 

 now used merely for fuel, or thrown away. 



The fustic mulberry (Moms tinctoria) is a na- 

 tive of many parts of South America (especially 

 Brazil) and the West India Islands. It grows to be 

 a very large and handsome tree; and the timber, 

 though like most other dye-woods, brittle, or at least 

 easily splintered, is hard and strong. It is, how- 

 ever, chiefly used as an ingredient in dyeing yellow; 

 and a great deal of it is imported into Europe for 

 that purpose under the name of fustic. 



