sheets are pressed free of water by five or six men sitting on a plank on top of them till the greater part of the moisture is squeezed out; a finish is afterwards given to the surface by rubbing it with polished glass, which obliterates the marks of the wires and gives the surface a glossy smoothness. Ninety workmen at this place produce annually about 9,000 reams. Smaller "mills" are scattered throughout the Empire, and at one time several of the gaols were fitted up with the rude necessary machinery for native papermaking. As to the actual materials used in the native papermaking industry, in a country like India, where so many fibrous plants are indigenous, there is of course a considerable variety to choose from, and the native workers, in addition to the gunny bag, also use the fibres of the mallow, asdepiad, lace bark, nettle, palm, screw pine, plantain, amyrillis, and pine apple, not to speak of several others that are in ordinary use. As a matter of fact in the native "mills" paper is often made out of a mixture of the fibres of several plants of the foregoing families. Some years ago a native, uneducated, but enterprising, established a mill near Ahmedibad, in Gujerat, on the banks of a small river, and here he made paper by steam power, without any European advice or assistance, using gunny, old newspapers, cotton rags, etc., sized and bleached in a manner very similar to that in vogue in Europe. Latterly we have heard nothing of this "mill," and do not know if it be now in existence.

So much concerning the native paper industry of India, which is nowadays sorely pressed by the competition of new mills on what may be called the European system. These establishments are fitted with the most modern machinery for papermaking, and as illustrating their progress, we may mention that the total output from all mills in India in 1883 was 7 million pounds, and that in 1892, nearly a decade later, it had risen to 26 million pounds. Last year Mr. J. E. O'Connor, C.I.E., in his official capacity as Director General of Statistics to the Government of India, thus reviewed the paper trade for 1895-6:-"The competition of India with imported paper seems to be manifesting itself in the figures, for there is an absence of elasticity in the trade which, though it may partly be accounted for by the substitution of the cheaper continental paper for English paper, is mainly due to the expansion of the output of the Indian paper mills."

There are about ten paper mills of up-todate construction in India, of which there

are four in the Bombay Presidency, four in Bengal, one at Lucknow, and one at Gwalior, while there are also a number of smaller mills where is manufactured what are known as "country" or native papers, and to which we have already referred. In the larger mills, the fibrous materials chiefly used for making paper are rags, babui and moonj grasses, rice straw, jute and hemp cuttings, and old jute bags and cloth. The quality of the papers is improving year by year, and, as we have already said, the sales are increasing. Most of the white and blue foolscap, and much of the notepaper and envelopes used in the Indian Government offices is now obtained from the Indian mills, in which about 2,500 persons are employed. In a recent report by Mr. G. S. Curtis on the working of the Stationery Department of the Bombay Government, it is stated that:"There is no line in which the Indian mills are unable to compete with the English makes, especially in the manufacture of paper used for newspapers, and many of the Calcutta papers are printed solely on Indian paper."

A considerable quantity of paper of all grades is consumed in our Eastern Dependency, and the following statistics, showing the imports of foreign paper, will give some idea of the quantity used in the country quite apart from the production of its own mills. The figures show the value of paper and pasteboards imported into India during the past five years* :

Pasteboard, millboard and cardboard of all kinds were imported as under: July, 1896, 674 cwts., of R. 4,876 value; 1895, 433 cwts., R. 3,664; 1894, 591 cwts., R. 4,478. April-July, 1896, 2,163 cwts., R. 18,573; 1895, 2,643 cwts., R. 22,312; 1894, 1,539 cwts., R. 15,611.

The gross amount of duty collected at all ports of British India on paper, pasteboard, millboard and cardboard, of all kinds, and articles made of paper and papier-mache was as under:

JULY.

R. 23,312 19,944 14,175

APRIL-JULY. R. 88,163 82,753 69,571

1896 1895 1894 The Government Stores imported paper to the value of R. 13,517 in July, against R. 20,822 and R. 9,793 for the corresponding months of the two previous years. AprilJuly, 1896, R. 95,328; 1895, R. 51,672; 1894, R. 71,054. Government imports are not subject to duty.

There is a fluctuating exchange, and the value of the rupee has fallen 21·8 per cent. in the last ten years. The highest rate during the year ending March 31st, 1896, was 14 d., and the lowest 13 d. These figures give some idea of India's importance as a paper consuming country.

We have already said that there are ten large mills in India, and of these the principal ones are the Bally, the Titaghur, the Imperial, the Bengal, the Lucknow, and the

Poonah. Native labour is to a great extent employed, the managers, engineers and foremen being Britons, many of them, if not the majority, hailing from the northern portion of our island. Of the concerns mentioned we have in our present issue to deal with but the first, the Bally Paper Mills Co., Ltd., Calcutta, which is almost the oldest modern Indian paper mill now working. It was first started in 1867 with two machines, and in 1882 there was an extensive addition made in the shape of a complete new mill, including an installation of steam boilers, and a powerful main driving engine, made by Messrs. Yates and Thom, of Blackburn; fibre boilers, breakers, beating engines, and a large paper making machine, made by Messrs. George and William Bertram, of Edinburgh, the latter being capable of making high-class papers and carrying a wire 98-in. wide. At the same time considerable improvements were effected in the existing plant, the capacity of which was 72-in. and 90-in. papers, and since that time the proprietors have endeavoured to keep pace with the times and with the demand for paper by introducing the newest and best appliances, so as to keep the mill fully up-to-date.

Then in 1891-2 an entirely new mill was built at some little distance from the old one, the plans being prepared with a view to the special local requirements, by Mr. W. S. Grieve, who is now one of the directors of the company. In this new mill, of which we give an illustration, all the buildings and plant are of the most approved description, and combine everything that recent developments in papermaking could suggest. The machinery was ordered from the best British paper-engineering houses, the steam boilers being from Messrs. Galloways, of Manchester. The main driving engine is by Messrs. Pollitt and Wigzell, and is a compound tandem, working at a pressure of 120-lbs. The papermaking plant includes a 98-in. machine by Messrs. James Bertram and Son, Ltd., of Leith Walk Foundry, Edinburgh. It is in this new mill that the fine printings and engine-sized writings are produced, and these papers as turned out at the Bally Mills have already secured a high position in the favour of Indian purchasers of this class of product.

Still with the idea of keeping up-to-date the directors resolved to make further improvements in the mills, whereby their output might be increased, and in 1894-5 the old mill had its plant increased by the addition of a new steam boiler and five of Taylor's patent beating engines; and not satisfied even with this addition to the plant the proprietors have even now, we understand, plans under