384 PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



The price of paper has almost doubled in the last few years, or 

 rather the price has remained the same and silver has depreciated 

 one-half; so that the natives have to pay twice as much for paper as 

 they formerly did. Cash is the standard of exchange in the interior 

 where the paper is made, and silver is not in circulation there. The 

 value of cash is constantly changing. 



The best paper is manufactured from mulberry bark and young 

 bamboo. Lime is used to rot it. It is then soaked in water and 

 pounded with a pestle turned by a crude water wheel. They dry 

 the sheets of paper by putting them on a concrete wall or oven that 

 has a fire inside. All work is done by hand, except that by the 

 water wheel. The best paper in this district is made in the province 

 of Kiang si, with Kiukiang, on the Yangtze River, as port of ship- 

 ment. A great quantity of cheaper paper, made of rice straw, is 

 produced in the provinces of Hunan and Hupeh. In a few places 

 it is manufactured from bark and cotton, none being made from 

 rags, which, compared with other materials, are much higher in 

 price. The straw paper is rough, of poor quality, and is very cheap, 

 but is used extensively. There are no foreign paper mills in this 

 district. The Presbyterian mission presses here and in Shanghai, 

 I am informed, do most of the printing of books, tracts, and maps 

 for the mission work in the Yangtze Valley. They formerly used 

 Chinese paper, but when the price advanced they began to use a 

 paper made in Norway and bought in England for 45. a ream; the 

 freight here from England is about 13 cents gold per ream. Of 

 course, the Chinese do not use it. 



The better grades of Chinese paper are sold at a price that 

 would seem to warrant a large trade being secured here by the 

 United States if we would manufacture paper suitable for Chinese 

 use. It must be unsized and properly packed so as not to mold in 

 this damp climate. Colored paper, mostly red, is used extensively 

 for visiting and official cards, sacrificial purposes, firecrackers, post- 

 ers, and decorations. 



In order to give more definite answers to the questions asked in 

 the circular, I submit the following. I have obtained my information 

 from leading Chinese merchants and others engaged in the business, 

 and have endeavored to verify, especially as to price, the statements. 

 I have to thank Mr. Liang, educated in the United States, for his 

 kind assistance. 



POPULATION. 



The population of the district is estimated at 80,000,000. The 

 uneducated number 50 to 85 per cent. The people have mechanical 

 traits, but these are undeveloped. 



