Chap. XVI. 



BAMBOO PAPER-MAKING. 



335 



so as to be pressed under water. These, I believe, 

 were intended to be made into paper after tliey 

 bad been soaked for some time. The whole of 

 the process of making paper from the bamboo did 

 not come under my notice while travelling in the 

 country, but I believe it is carried out somewhat 

 in the following manner : — After being soaked for 

 some time in the way I have noticed, the bamboos 

 are split up and saturated with lime and water 

 until they become quite soft. They are then 

 beaten up into a pulp in mortars, or where water- 

 power is at hand, as in the hilly districts, the beat- 

 ing or stamping process is done by means of 

 stampers, which rise and fall as the cogs which 

 are placed on the axis of the water-wheel revolve. 

 When the mass has been reduced to a fine pulpy 

 substance it is then taken to a furnace and well 

 boiled until it has become perfectly fine, and of the 

 proper consistency. It is then formed into sheets 

 of paper. 



Bamboo-paper is made of various degrees of 

 fineness according to the purposes for which it is 

 intended. It is not only used for writing upon, 

 and for packing with, but a large quantity of a 

 coarse description is made for the sole purpose of 

 mixing with the mortar used by bricklayers. 



In the fields about Cading I found two fine 

 species of carabus, under stones, which were highly 

 prized by entomologists at home. On the first 

 discovery of these insects I showed them to a 

 group of children who were with me, and offered 



