48 
Dt'. Hoernle -—Antiquities from Central Asia. [Extra No. 1, 
Four distinct varieties are observable. The first variety is a soft, 
thickish paper, to the toucli resembling felt or cloth, of comparatively 
even texture and rather brighter yellowish-brown colour. It is found 
in nine books ; viz., Nos. I and II of the First Set, Nos. I, III, IV, V 
and VI of the Second Set, and Nos. II and III of the Third Set. The 
second and third varieties differ from the first variety only in being 
progressively thinner, of more uneven texture, and of darker colour. 
The third variety, indeed, is occasionally of an exceedingly flimsy make. 
The second variety is found in nineteen books ; viz., Nos. II, III, IV and 
V of the First Set, No. II of the Second Set, No. I of the Third Set, 
Nos. I, II, III, IV, VI and VII of the Fourth Set, Nos. I, II and VIII 
of the Fifth Set, and Nos. I, II, III and V of the Seventh Set. The 
third variety is found in five books ; viz., Nos. VII and VIII of the First 
Set, No. V of the Fourth Set, No. Ill of the Fifth Set, and No. VI of 
the Sixth Set. All these three varieties are comparatively soft papers, 
and in this respect differ from the fourth variety, which is a hard and 
stiffish paper, of middling thickness, and of very uneven make. This 
fourth variety much resembles, except in point of colour and age, 
the kind of paper which is still made in Khotan at the present day. 
It is found in nine books ; viz., No. VIII of the Fourth Set, Nos. IV, V, 
VI, VII of the Fifth Set, and Nos. I, II, III and IV of the Seventh 
Set. With the exception of one book, they all belong to M. 8 ; and 
the single exception belongs to M. 9. The three other varieties do not 
resemble the modern Khotanese paper, though it is probable that they 
all are of Khotanese manufacture, being probably made of the same 
material, and by the same or a similar system of preparation. I 
am disposed to believe that the four varieties of this class of paper 
represent four different periods and four successive degradations of 
Khotanese paper manufacture. The texture of the modern Khotanese 
paper is exceedingly coarse and uneven, its pulp having been prepared 
very roughly and spread very unevenly. When fresh, the paper has a 
creamy or greyish colour : the much darker colour of the corresponding 
paper of the block-prints is the effect of age. Regarding its material I 
have received two different statements. The Rev. Magnus Backlund, 
Swedish Missionary in Kashghar, who has visited Khotan, informs me 
in a letter, dated the 29th June, 1898, that “it is made of the bark of 
the willow, softened in lye, and then taken up and beaten between flat 
stones, which of course, cannot be made so well as to prevent small 
pieces of bark remaining here and there.” According to Munshi Ahmad 
Din, of the Kashghar Agency, in a note written for me on the 19th 
December, 1898, “ the Khotan paper is a very coarse stuff, chiefly 
composed of silk waste.” In the sequel these classes and varieties of 
