382 PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



province. Mr. E. H. Parker, some time since the British consul at 

 this port, thus describes the manufacture of paper from bamboo: 



Among the manufactures of Szechuan, that of bamboo paper is decidedly one 

 of the most interesting. Young bamboos are first split into shreds, and are then 

 placed in layers in a large pit, with a quantity of unslaked lime or limestone be- 

 tween each layer. Water is poured upon the mass, and it is left to seethe there for 

 several months. The rotten bamboo is taken out and cleansed of the lime particles, 

 after which it is placed in a bottomless barrel or steamer, standing upon an iron 

 pan. A fire is lit below the steamer, and the mass is well boiled. It is next ground 

 in a stone mill and raked out, being then deposited in a stone trough full of water, 

 over which the workers stand. A curtain-like bamboo frame, about 3 feet broad 

 by 18 inches long, as fine as a tooth comb, is then dipped into the mashy mixture 

 and taken out with a thin film deposit upon its surface. This frame is gently 

 placed upon a heap of similar deposit (which in large quantities looks like a pile 

 of melted gingerbread) and carefully lifted, leaving the deposit behind. When the 

 heap has dried, it is deftly torn into shreds of coarse paper. The coarest kind is 

 called chih ching, or "paper essence." Ts'ao chih and shwui chih i. <?., "grass 

 paper" and "water paper" are other names. The bamboo frames are very ex- 

 pensive, costing, the workman said, over 1,000 cash* apiece. They were paid at 

 the rate of 18 cash the 360 sheets for the mere labor of taking the mash out of the 

 trough, and stated that they could each of them earn 500 cash a day, and that 2 

 sheets of paper sold for I cash. At Chungking, however, the price is 300 cash a 

 k'un (or ream) of 50 ho (or quires) of 30 single sheets. This would be at the rate of 

 5 sheets for I cash; but no doubt the qualities differ. A packet contains 50 ho, or 

 quires, of 78 sheets i. e., 3,900 sheets. 



CONSUMPTION. 



The uses of paper are various. It is employed for writing ma- 

 terial, for soles of Chinese shoes, for fancy boxes, toys, and artificial 

 flowers, for sacrificial purposes, for papering windows, etc. There 

 are no special requirements as to quality, etc. The quantities and 

 values of paper consumed for each year are unobtainable. It is 

 equally difficult to say if the consumption will increase. There are 

 4 paper firms in Chungking, and the amount of business done by 

 them per annum is estimated at about 80,000 taels ($54,720). The 

 names of the firms and order of importance are Tai He Shen, Tseng 

 Sin Kien, Fu Shing Tung, and Kiang Chuan Tai. The total num- 

 ber of printers is about 8. They print entirely from wooden types. 

 Last year, a native bought a hand printing machine from Shanghai 

 as an experiment and is doing well. There are no publishers. 



WATER POWER, FUEL, MATERIALS, ETC. 



The province of Szechuan is well supplied with navigable water 

 ways. For irrigating purposes, immense wheels measuring from 30 

 to 40 feet in diameter are employed. I quote again: 



The paddles are of matting and are propelled by the force of the current. Be- 

 tween each pair of paddles and running diagonally across the tire face (so to speak) 



* 1,000 cash equal about 45 cents in United States currency. 



