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thefe purpofes, the frelh plant is fteeped four days 
in water, afterwards dried, and treated as the can- 
nabis for hemp, to which it is fo fimilar when 
prepared, that Europeans generally fuppofe it to 
he the produce of the fame plant. 
As the fubftances, producing cloths, ropes, and 
paper, are few in prefent ufe, this plant may per- 
haps be cultivated with advantage, in fome of the 
Britifh Well India fettlements, and in other coun- 
tries deftitute of hemp and flax. It is not im- 
probable, that it may be raifed in the warmer 
climates of Europe, as it ripens here in winter. 
I cannot fay, what foils it may refufe ; where I 
have feen it, in the greateft plenty and perfection, 
has generally been upon an earth compofed of 
clay, calcareous grit, and fand. 
There are other vegetable fubftances ufed here 
for the purpofe of rope making; one of them is a 
fpecies of the hibifcus, a defcription of which I 
propofe for the fubjeCt of another paper: I can 
fcarce doubt, but that it is only for want of ex- 
periments, we have not a greater number of vege- 
tables rendered ufeful in this manner. The clafs 
Monadelphia , of linn^us, promifes fair for trials- 
of this kind. 
The Hindoftan method of manufacturing Paper. 
The manufacturer purchafes old ropes, cloths y 
and nets, made from the fun plant, and cuts them 
into fmall pieces, macerates them in water, for a 
few days, generally five, wafhes them in the river 
in a bafket, and throws them into a jar. of water 
lodged 
