202 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION-. 
cultivation and preparation of the China-Grass in China 
and India. The propagation of the plant is effected by 
cuttings of the roots, and replanting is required every ten 
years. The crops, of which there are three in the year, 
appear to be somewhat irregular. Cure must be taken not 
to cut the young shoots, therefore it is recommended to 
keep at least an inch from the ground, and the original 
stem is not to be cut. The first crop gives the worst fibre, 
and the third or last crop of each year the best. 
When gathered, the leaves are taken off by children or 
women. The plant is then steeped for a period varying 
from an hour to two days. After this the plant is broken 
in the middle, by which the fibrous portion is loosened and 
raised from the stalk ; into the interstice thus made the 
operator thrusts the finger nails and separates the fibre 
from the centre to one extremity and then to the other. 
At Canton, after having cut off the roots, the fibre is sepa- 
rated from the stalk and stripped off by drawing it over a 
pin fixed in a plank. The next process is scraping the 
material, which is facilitated by first soaking in water. 
The knife or scraper is about two inches long ; its back is 
inserted in a handle of twice its length. It is held in the 
left hand ; its edge, which is dull, is raised a line above 
the index finger. Strips of the material are then drawn 
over the blade from within outwards, &nd being pressed 
upon by the thumb, the pilous portion of one surface and 
the mucilaginous part of the other are thus taken off. Af- 
ter being wiped dry it is exposed to the sun for a day, and 
the whitest is then selected for fine cloth. 
The operations of bleaching and dividing are then per- 
formed on the fibres. The first is effected sometimes by 
boiling, and sometimes by beating on a plank with a mal- 
