Evening Meeting, Dec. 3rd, 1853. Ixxv. 



no very great care seems to have been taken of it. The specimens 

 marked No. 2 are those of my making, which I need not say admit of 

 considerable improvement. It is only adapted for writing upon with 

 Indian Ink. 



I also forward herewith paper made with fibres of the wild Marsh 

 mallow, Abelmoschus moschatus, marked No. 3; and with the inner bark 

 of the Ceylon Sack tree, marked No. 4. 



Your's, &c, 



W. C. Ondaatje. 

 Mr. Skeen stated that he thought No. 4 might make a 

 paper very similar to that used for the purpose of proof en- 

 gravings, its texture having a beautiful fine and glossy 

 appearance. 



Mr. Justice Starke remarked, that it would be interesting 

 in an historical as well as scientific point of view, to trace the 

 source from whence the Kandyans derived their knowledge of 

 the manufacture ; and wished to know if any one present 

 could give some information on the subject. The Secretary 

 referred to a paper in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society 

 of Bengal of 1832, by B. H. Hodgson, Esq., Acting Resident 

 at Nepaul, describing the manufacture of the Nepaulese paper, 

 which appears to be also made from the liber of plants, by the 

 same process detailed by Mr. Ondaatje. The author of that 

 paper was inclined to think also that the Chinese supplied the 

 Nepaulese with their knowledge of the manufacture, as appears 

 from the following extract. " I cannot learn by whom or when 

 the valuable properties of the paper plant were discovered; 

 but the Nepaulese say that any of their books now existent, 

 which is made of Palmira leaves, may be safely pronounced, 

 on that account, to be 500 years old: whence we may perhaps 

 infer that the paper manufacture was founded about that time. 

 I conjecture that the art of paper making was got by the Cis- 

 Himalayan Bhoteahs, via Shassa from China. A paper of 

 the very same sort being manufactured at Shassa ; and most 

 of the useful arts of these regions having flowed upon them, 

 through Tibet, from China : and not from Hindustan." 



