140 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



in which paper was introduced, it not having been 

 used here till so late as the beginning of the fourteenth 

 century*; and it is only one hundred and forty years 

 since writing -paper became an article of home manu- 

 facture. Until 1690 there was scarcely any other 

 paper made in England than that of a coarse brown 

 description. This war with France at that time 

 occasioning high duties to be laid on writing-paper, 

 the English manufacturers were induced to attempt 

 making the finer sorts, which they in course of time 

 produced in great perfection. In 1720 we find that 

 two-thirds of the writing-paper was of home manu- 

 facture; and very shortly ailerthat period we became 

 entirely independent of foreign supplies; at the pre- 

 sent time we export this article to a considerable 

 amount. 



The quantity manufactured in England alone in 

 1833 was 53,949,572 Ibs.; in Scotland, 8,806,780; 

 in Ireland, 2,179,303. 



Paper is an article whence considerable revenue is 

 drawn. In 1832 the excise duty on this manufacture 

 amounted to '815,159. The rates of duty charge- 

 able oh different classes of paper are as under : 



per Ib. 



First class paper . . 3 



Second ditto 1 



per cwt. 

 Glazed paper, mill-board, and scale-board . . 1 1 



First class paste-board 180 - 



Second class ditto 14 



English writing-paper has now long been acknow- 

 ledged by all Europe to be by far the best made ; 

 but in the production of that paper used for the 

 printing of large engravings, we are inferior to 

 France. Sensible of this inferiority, several indivi- 

 duals have turned their attention to the French pro- 

 * Macpherson. 



