398 ART INDUSTRY AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS. 



and have not attained the rank of a domesticated national in- 

 dustry. 



The plants which furnish mucilaginous material for bark paper- 

 making instead of animal glue, are as follows : — 



I. Hibiscus Manihot, L. The Japanese names of this weed-like 

 species of Malvaceae, which relate sometimes to the whole plant, and 

 at others to the mucilaginous roots, are Tororo, Neri, Nubeshi, Tamo- 

 Osho-ki, Nori-kusa (paste weed), Nebari (glue material), Aki-no-gi, 

 Tsunagi (cement material). Tororo is a summer growth that, on 

 account of its deeply-divided five-lobed leaves, and large light 

 yellow blossoms, was brought from China to England early in the 

 1 8th century, as an ornamental plant. This variety is found 

 here and there in Japanese gardens. It differs in its narrow, linear, 

 lanceolate leaf-lobes from another whose indentations are much 

 less deep, and v/hich has broader lobes with notched edges. Only 

 this variety is cultivated for paper manufacture. It is planted in 

 rows like dwarf beans, whose height is also about the same. The 

 sowing takes place in May, the flowering occurs in late summer, 

 and the harvest of the thin, cylindrical roots in October. After 

 cleansing they are dried in the sun, and hung up in bundles 

 in a dry place till used. They do not form an article of trade, as 

 each paper-maker cultivates the plant himself to the extent of his 

 own want, which he estimates for the winter, as in summer the 

 following species takes its place. 



2. Hydrangea paniculata, S. and Z. This is a large bush grow- 

 ing all over Japan, found in mountain forests up to an elevation of 

 1,500 m. above the sea. It is called Shiro-utsugi and Nori-no-ki, 

 i.e. paste tree, but in Tosa its name is Tadzu and Kami-no-ki 

 (paper tree). In the last-named province of the island of Shikoku, 

 the bush is sought during the summer in the mountain forests, 

 the outer skin is shaved off and the bark is then peeled in finger- 

 length pieces, and brought fresh to the neighbouring town. Here 

 it is placed in a shallow vat, water is poured on and it is trodden 

 with the feet to a coarse, pulpy mass. It is then put into pails or 

 tubs, covered with palm leaves or grass, and taken without delay 

 to the paper-makers, who soon make use of it ; for the mucilaginous 

 bark of the Shiro-utsugi can only be used when fresh as a cement 

 of the paper fibres and a substitute for Hibiscus roots. 



3. Katsura japonica, L., the Sane Katsura or Binan-Katsura of 

 the Japanese (see p. 262), is also said by several Japanese authors 

 to furnish a mucilaginous bark to the paper industry. 1 do not 

 know its use by personal observation, and as I am acquainted with 

 many of the principal places of paper manufacture, I conclude 

 that the employment of it can be but limited. 



4. Nori, paste, like the mineral substitutes, is only used in the 

 thicker kinds of paper to make them closer and whiter. Such 

 papers are called Nori-gami, while those free from starch bear the 

 name of Ki-gami. 



