No. 12.— 1860-1.] BADULLA AND ITS PRODUCTS. 



A small factory was set up five miles from Badulla, at 

 Ambagaha oya, where the material was found in abund- 

 ance, and paper was made by hand labour, I now lay 

 before you a few specimens of the paper manufactured 

 by me. 



After spending nearly £200 I was obliged to abandon 

 the manufacture, owing to the want of suitable machinery 

 for reducing the raw material into pulp. With proper 

 machinery the cost may be greatly reduced ; and I be- 

 lieve, that the manufacture of paper with this new material 

 will yield a good return. The pulp is not easily dis- 

 tinguishable from that made of rags ; 90 grains made one 

 sheet of paper of the size of foolscap ; 12 sheets of paper 

 made with it weighed 2 oz. 2 drs. ; 1 ream 100 oz. 

 Again 160 lbs. cf the raw material made four reams of 

 paper. Weight of 1 sheet of paper 70 grains ; 8 lbs. 6 

 oz. of pulp are required to make 1 ream. 1 lb. of fresh 

 material yields \ lb. of paper pulp. 



The specimens of paper manufactured by me were sub- 

 mitted by Government to the Stationery Committee, com 

 posed of Mr. Saunders, Captain Higgs, and Major Layard. 

 These gentlemen reported in a letter to the honourable the 

 Colonial Secretary, dated 8th August, 1856, that " the speci- 

 mens might be rendered applicable to many useful purposes, 

 such as tor making envelopes, and printing licences, per- 

 mits, way bills, &c. ; the blotting paper would answer 

 very well." 



Mr. Bernard, Deputy Commissary General, in a letter to 

 the Colonial Secretary, dated 25th August, 1857, states 

 "with regard to the quality of the paper it appears to me, that 

 even now they are much better than a great part of the 

 paper manufactured in India, and extensively used in public 

 offices there." 1 forwarded 1 cwt, of paper-pulp to the Cham- 

 ber of Commerce, Colombo, on the li)th September, 1855. 

 The Secretary informed me 44 that the 1 cwt, of the pulp is now 



