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Show lowing manner: "This paper is made from the fibrous stalks of the mada plant. The stalks are picked during the winter months after the plants hav flowered. They are then dried; the fibre separated by hand, and thick rope made. It is from old and worn-out ropes that the paper is manufactured The old mpe, wlucl\ is much used in this district and adjoining Bikanir termall pieces, well pounded, and soaked for three days wit and Jmm Th:s ‘material after being well washed forms a pulp fro w}uch paper is manufactured. Rope made from this fibre is undoubtedl stronger than flax rope, and at the same time possesses the fineness of silk. The paper in my collection, and that shown at the exposition of 1864, wa ‘made from the fibres of the stems, but it s said that paper may also be made from the silky floss of the pods. While this latter material requires bleachin it s of such a tender nature that the labour of maceration is insignificant (1x) Also at the exposition of 1864 was shown a specimen of India handmade paper that was composed of maize (Zea ma,m) (Hindi: angj and the fibre of Chinese sugar cane (Sorghum saccharatum) (Hindi: katara) This paper was fabricated as an experiment and no specimens containin these materials are now available (x2) Plan(z\.\n, or banana, tree (Mu sz m[nmtum) (Hlindi: mocha) fibre have, in the past, been used experimentally forthe making of Indian handmade paper, but rms casil\,:-mzccra\cd ma\cnal apparently did not len itself readily to forming into sheets of paper, and its use was soon abandone by the native workers. The specimens that remain were made by prisoner in the Gujrat jail, and are composed of the fibres from plantain stems use in equal parts with old hemp and waste paper. The time required for th ‘making of plantain paper, from the first beating of the material to the polishing of the sheets, was about forty days. One or two of the more progressive handmade papermakers of India are now experimenting with plantai fibre, but as yet, it has not been my privilege to examine any really fi paper that was manufactured from this substance 'Digital mage© 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah, All rights reserved |