66 PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



by canals and railways, reference is invited to the account furnished 

 by me as published in the Commercial Relations of the United States 

 for 1896-97, Vol. II. In the series of articles therein contained will 

 be found a description of the means of communication with foreign 

 countries, by water and rail, afforded at this port, as well as the 

 tariff of terminal charges. 



GEO. F. LINCOLN, 



ANTWERP, March 8, 1899. Consul-General. 



BRUSSELS. 



In reply to Department circular dated November 16, 1898, I have 

 to state that, although I have exerted my best endeavors in every 

 possible channel to secure the information called for, I regret to 

 say that, while dealers and manufacturers of paper in this district 

 have acknowledged receipt of my communications on the subject 

 with respectful deference, they have not given me any really valu- 

 able information. I therefore forward such data as I have been 

 enabled to obtain under the unfavorable circumstances. 



POPULATION. 



The total population of this consular district December 31, 1897, 

 was 2,659,523. The decennial increase is about 10 per cent. The 

 number of illiterates, according to the latest statistics, was 896,717. 



The Belgians are essentially a manufacturing people, expert in 

 all mechanical trades, excellent engineers, and clever inventors. 

 Among the uses of paper in this district may be mentioned printing, 

 lithographing, photographing, drawing, writing, tracing, copying, 

 wrapping, filtering, etc., for ordinary kinds of paper. For electro- 

 chemical works, spinning mills, laboratories, and for filtering in 

 sugar mills, vegetable parchment paper is employed. There are no 

 industries peculiar to the country requiring paper as raw material. 



The kinds of paper used at present are paper for printing, litho- 

 graphing, photographing, drawing, writing, tracing, copying, wrap- 

 ping, filtering, etc., wall paper, sandpaper, blotting paper, cardboard, 

 and pasteboard. 



SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AS TO QUALITY, WEIGHT, AND SIZE. 



It is very difficult to ascertain the special requirements as to 

 quality, weight, or size, as such conditions vary according to the 

 uses for which the paper is intended. Belgium produces paper for 

 very nearly all known uses. 



