_Paper._--The Chinese are now generally credited with the art of making paper of the kind most familiar to us, that is from fibrous material first reduced to the condition of pulp. Materials such as strips of bark, leaves, and papyrus cannot of course be included in a definition like this, which one writer has condensed into the phrase "Paper is an aqueous deposit of vegetable fibre." A.D. 105.--The earliest reference to the manufacture of paper is to be found in the Chinese Encyclopædia, wherein it is stated that Ts'ai-Lun, a native of Kuei-yang, entered the service of the Emperor Ho-Ti in A.D. 75, and devoting his leisure hours to study, suggested the use of silk and ink as a substitute for the bamboo tablet and stylus. Subsequently he succeeded in making paper from bark, tow, old linen, and fish nets (A.D. 105). He was created marquis in A.D. 114 for his long years of service and his ability. A.D. 704.--It has been commonly asserted that raw cotton, or cotton wool, was first used by the Arabs at this date for the manufacture of paper, they having learnt the art from certain Chinese prisoners captured at the occupation of Samarkand by the Arabs. The complete conquest of Samarkand does not, however, seem to have taken place until A.D. 751, and there is little doubt that this date should be accepted for the introduction of the art of paper-making among the Arabs. _Recent Researches._--Professors Wiesner and Karabacek have ascertained one or two most important and interesting facts concerning the actual manufacture of _pure_ rag paper. In 1877 a great quantity of ancient manuscripts was found at El-Faijum, in Egypt, comprising about 100,000 documents in ten languages, extending from B.C. 1400 to A.D. 1300, many of which were written on paper. The documents were closely examined in 1894 by these experts, at the request of the owner, the Archduke Rainer of Austria. Researches of a later date resulted in the discovery of some further interesting documents which appear to establish with some degree of certainty the approximate date at which _pure_ rag paper, that is, paper made entirely from rag, was manufactured. Chinese documents dated A.D. 768-786, which have been reported upon by Dr. Hoernle, and others dated A.D. 781-782-787, reported upon by Dr. Stein as recently as 1901, appear to show what materials were used by the Chinese paper-makers in Western Turkestan. The manuscripts mentioned were dug out from the sand-buried site of Dandan Uilig, in Eastern Turkestan.