will grow about a foot high in the first year, and in the second they will rise to a height of two or three feet. In the third year they will reach a little over four feet; in the fourth year they attain to six, or if particularly fine, to even nine and twelve feet. Each year in the tenth moon they are cut down to the roots, and from each stalk five branches appear the next year, so that in five years a large and dense shrub is developed. The cuttings of the fifth year's growth are used for making paper. The roots will not thrive well in old ground; the best place for planting is round the edges of new-made ground or paddy-fields. They will not stand salt or brackish water, nor will they flourish beside millet or sorghum. Care must be taken not to over or under manure them; if under manured they die, and if too much manure is used the plant is injured. If planted in the vicinity of other crops, such as rice, they rejoice in the effects of the manure which is used for their neighbours. They are sometimes planted on mounds which are raised along the beds of valleys, but newly-turned ground is the best. Cutting the Paper-Mulberry in Winter.-(Illustration No. 2.) The paper-mulberry suffers from sun-burn in a very dry summer; and, on the other hand, if there is too much rain it grows too fast, and is then injured by the autumnal winds. Care must be taken to protect the plants from the ravages of wild boar and deer, which delight to feed upon them. The shrub known as "Ts'kuri-kake”. is the best for making paper of, but it is scarce and expensive. There is also a variety called "kajiso," which makes good paper, but as it is more plentiful it is not so dear, though it is necessary to use a great deal of it. Another variety is called "takaso." Paper made of this is somewhat inferior, but the shrub attains a great height, and it is not necessary to divide the roots; a cutting of it may be planted just as it is cut, and will thrive, and it does not require so much attention as the "makôdzu" as regards manure; it will also thrive in swampy ground. It needs little care, and produces a tolerably large quantity of material for paper; and at present this variety is largely cultivated. The shrubs, like other trees, bud in spring, blossom in summer, and cast their leaves in autumn: by the twelfth moon they are quite bare. Steaming the Paper-Mulberry.-(Illustration No. 3.) The diameter of the boiler is 2 feet 6 or 7 inches; the steaming vessel is of straw. The mulberry stalks are cut into lengths of two and a-half to three feet for steaming. When the skin of the stalk begins to separate at the cut ends they are sufficiently steamed. Five or six steamings can be performed during a winter's night. Stripping the Skin from the Stalk.-(Illustration No. 4.) The stalks after steaming are taken in the hand as above illustrated, and the skin stripped off. After stripping the stick is of no use but for firewood. Drying the Skins.-(Illustration No. 5.) After peeling, the skins should be at once dried. They are divided into portions of a thickness that a woman can grasp conveniently in one hand. They are then hung on transverse poles and tied loosely at the ends, as in the illustration, so that the part tied may not be prevented from drying. They take ordinarily two or three days to dry, but if there is any wind they may dry in a day. After drying, they are weighed into portions of about 32 lbs. avoirdupois, and tied up in bundles. Washing the Skins.—(Illustration No. 6.) They are then ready for the next process, which is to wash them in running water in which they are left, as illustrated, for a day or a night, but twenty-four hours' washing will not hurt them. They are then taken in, and the inner fibre is separated from the outer skin. Removing the Inner Fibre.-(Illustration No. 7.) The outer dark skin is scraped off with a knife, as in the illustration, the knife being held stationary, pillowed on a straw padding, while the material is drawn towards the operator until the dark skin is removed. This dark scraping is used for making inferior kind of paper, known as "chiri-gami," and also "kizo-suki." It is called "soru-kawa," and after being thoroughly washed in running water, which causes it to open out flat, it is boiled. It is then allowed to rot, and is well beaten, after which paper is made of it, as described further on, by admixture with the "tororo." In years when the paper-mulberry is scarce, this kind of paper may be made of the common mulberry ("kuwa no ki"). The mode of manufacture is the same, and the leaves are sometimes made use of. Expressing the Sap.-(Illustration No. 8.) Paper is made of the inner fibre, which is parcelled into lots of about 32 lbs. avoirdupois each. It usually takes three days to make the paper, but adepts can accomplish its manufacture in two. These parcels are taken to the river and thoroughly washed, after which they are steeped in buckets of water; the water is then run off and heavy stones are placed upon the fibre to express the remaining liquid. They are then boiled as in the following illustration, so that when removed from the boiler they are no longer sticky or glutinous. This fibre is called "sosori." Boiling the "Sosori."-(Illustration No. 9.) The diameter of the boiler is 2 feet 6 or 7 inches. A portion of the "sosori is placed in the boiler, and two stirring-sticks, broad at the bottom and narrowed off at the top, are stood up in it; the remainder of the boiling is then scattered into the boiler by degrees (vide illustration). The lot is done in one boiling, but common water is not used. The "sosori" is boiled in water, in which the ashes of burnt buckwheat husks have been infused. While boiling it is stirred with the two sticks, one of which is held in each hand, and worked two and fro with a rotatory motion. It may be known to be sufficiently boiled if, when the stirring-sticks are removed, the water wells up from the bottom of the boiler through the holes left by the sticks, and spreads evenly over the surface of the boiling. Great care must be taken that it boils evenly. Occasionally it will be found that it will not boil, when about a quart of "robai" (wax-ash) thrown in will help it. Common lime will do as a substitute if "robai" is not at hand; but the admixture of either of these will slightly affect the colour of the paper. Second Washing of the "Sosori."-(Illustration No. 10.) The "sosori" is then placed in a basket, through which running water is allowed to percolate, in order that the residue of the ash infusion may be thoroughly expelled; the basket is then lifted up, and the water allowed to run off. Species of the Plant "Tororo," which is cultivated in the same Manner as the Common or the Small Red Bean.-(Illustration No. 11.) The "tororo" flowers in spring; the seed is inclosed in the flower, and is small and sexagonal in shape, resembling the sesamum. Neither the flower nor the seed are of any use in the manufacture of paper, but the root, of which the following is an illustration (No. 12), is used. The shrub is not unlike the cotton plant. There is also the wild "tororo," which is uncultivated, but which is used in the manufacture of commoner kinds of paper which are red in colour. The root of the "tororo" is taken during the rainy season of the fifth moon, after the flower has died and dried. The size of the root is about the same as that of the common dock, unless it grows in stony ground, when it is shorter. The sprouts and skin of the root are scraped off, and the root is then beaten. When required for use the "tororo" roots are boiled into a tolerably thin paste, a quart and a-half of which is required for each "boat" of the paper stuff. The "tororo" paste should be strained through a fine hair sieve into tubs, and may then be used as required. Pounding the "Sosori."-(Illustration No. 13.) The pounder is 3 feet in length, with a round handle, but square thence to the top. The table is 5 feet long, and about 3 feet broad, and 3 inches thick. It may be made of oak or cherry. The night before the paper is to be made the "sosori " should be again washed, and the next morning it is pounded for about as long a time as it takes to boil the rice for breakfast. When paper is made in the winter, a little "tororo" must be mixed with the "sosori " before pounding; when in spring, rice paste is used as a substitute. |