PAPER MULBERRY 
205 
rated from the thinnest which covered the younger 
shoots ; for this bark makes the whitest and best 
paper, while that which is manufactured from the 
other is neither of so good a colour nor of so strong 
a texture. Bark which has been kept for some 
years is only fit to make a paper of the worst qua- 
lity, which is referred to the class of stained or de- 
fective goods. 
When the bark is well cleaned, and arranged in 
order according to its quality, they boil it in a ley 
which has been previously passed through a filter. 
When this begins to boil, they stir it continually 
with a strong reed, and as soon as the matter sepa- 
rates into a kind of wadding or filamentous substance, 
the boiling ought to be stopped. 
The boiling is succeeded by another operation, 
called washing, and this is said to be of singular 
importance in the manufacturing of the paper. If 
it is not continued long enough, the paper will be 
strong, but of a bad quality ; if, on the contrary, 
the washing is carried to an improper length, the 
paper will indeed be very white, but at the same 
time it will be soft, greasy, and unfit to write upon. 
It is therefore necessary to know exactly how to 
conduct this part of the process ; and the manner 
in which it is managed is nearly as follows : They 
put the substance to be washed into a basket 
which will admit the water on all sides : this they 
plunge into a river, and stir it about with violence 
till the matter contained within the basket is re- 
duced to the form of tow or wool. The substance 
