82  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  etc.  {Ami^\m&rm' 
The  fibre  of  Mao  excels  that  of  hemp  by  its  flexibility,  fineness  and 
high  lustre.  The  finest  quality  is  consumed  in  the  weaving  of  costly 
cloth,  which  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  Japanese  for  summer  dresses. 
The  poorer  quality  being  used  for  making  fishing  nets,  angling 
lines,  etc. 
Among  barks  used  in  paper- making  were  exhibited  the  Paper  Mul- 
berry (Broussonetia  papyrifera),  Mitsumata  bark  (Edgeworthia  papy- 
rifera)  and  Ganpi  bark  (Wickstrcemia  canescens).  Specimens  of  raw 
and  bleached  bark  with  specimens  of  paper  were  exhibited.  The 
Ganpi  bark  is  valued,  especially  in  producing  a  smooth,  fine  and 
high  lustred  paper.  Japanese  paper  is  usually  made  from  two  or 
more  raw  materials,  and  is  very  seldom  prepared  from  a  single 
material.  Moreover,  the  fibre  of  Ganpi  and  Mitsumata  are  not 
strong  enough  singly,  yet  they  are  extensively  used  with  other 
coarse  raw  materials  in  order  to  give  the  tenderness,  smoothness 
and  lustre  to  paper  of  low  quality. 
Tobacco  from  9  prefectures  were  exhibited.  The  product  of 
Kokubu  is  most  highly  esteemed  by  the  Japanese.  There  were  also 
exhibited  some  fine  specimens  of  peppermint  oil  and  menthol  crys- 
tals. These  products  are  yielded  by  Mentha  arvensis,  a  plant  culti- 
vated from  a  very  remote  age  in  Japan.  All  the  specimens  exhib- 
ited came  from  the  Yamagata  prefecture,  from  which  the  exported 
products  are  also  obtained.  In  cultivating  the  plants,  the  land  is 
well  prepared  in  the  month  of  October,  and  the  roots  separated 
from  the  stubble  are  cut  to  lengths  and  planted  in  well  prepared 
soil  in  rows.  In  the  next  spring  a  dilute  ordure  is  given  the  plants 
when  they  grow  vigorously.  The  first  cutting  is  done  in  the  mid- 
dle of  July,  the  second  in  the  middle  of  September  and  sometimes, 
but  rarely,  a  third  cutting  is  made  in  some  districts.  The  plant  is 
dried  under  a  shed  without  exposing  to  the  sun  and  carefully  kept 
for  future  distilling.  The  best  time  for  distilling  is  said  to  be  the 
middle  of  January. 
Among  edible  dried  products  of  plants  may  be  mentioned  the 
dried  sweet  potato.  For  preparing  this  a  certain  quantity  of  cleanly 
washed  potatoes  are  placed  in  a  suitable  basket  and  immersed  in 
boiling  water  for  a  short  time,  then  removed  from  the  basket,  cut 
into  thin  slices,  spread  over  mats  and  exposed  to  the  sun  for  two  or 
three  days.  A  superior  quality  is  obtained  by  peeling  off  the  skins 
before  slicing.    Other  dried  products  were  exhibited. 
