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don, and plaited in various places, as far north as even Thurso in Caithness, where about 250 women and young girls are em-ployed. The straw-plait is sent to London , to be made up inhats and bonnets for ladies. A great quantity of straw-plait isalso made in Zetland. In Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen , andin the other towns of Scotland , the making up of hats and bon-nets forms employment to a number of females.
4. Paper.
The materials of which this article is made, are, rags of linen,cotton, &c. but chiefly of the first, which produce the best qualityof paper. After the rags have been properly sorted, they are sub-jected in water to the action of machinery. This reduces themto the consistence of a thin pulp, into which, moulds, the size ofthe sheet, are dipped. The bottom of the mould is a sieve of finebrass wire, through which the water filters leaving the pulp inthe state of paper, when it is removed to a felt to be thoroughlydried and properly pressed. A method of making an endlesssheet, or a web of paper, has been introduced under letters pa-tent ; and machinery for that purpose was lately erected in theneighbourhood of Aberdeen. This invention, however, is not yetgenerally practised in Scotland , owing to the high price chargedby the patentee for the machinery ; and, for the most part, themanufacturers adhere to the old method of making paper by ob-long square moulds.
The paper manufacture comprehends an Immense variety ofqualities; but those made in Scotland are chiefly the coarsestkinds. The general opinion of the consumers is, that the Scotchfiner papers are inferior to those of Kent and Middlesex ; and theconsequence is, that the paper mills of Scotland are employedprincipally in fabricating printing and packing papers of all thevarious qualities and sizes required by the country. Mill-boards,pasteboards, pressing papers, and all kinds used for the packageof goods, possess a decided superiority over those of English manufacture ; and to these kinds, the attention of the Scotch pa-per manufacturers is principally directed. The coarser sorts ofprinting papers are also preferred, owing to their better quality,and there is a considerable demand for them in the English mar-ket.
Blue, black, and purple paper are made in considerable quan-tities, and extensively used in packing and finishing various ar-ticles, such as cotton and linen cambrics, shirtings, threads,japes, hosiery, &c. ; and also the common blotting paper whichls consumed in the manufacturing and mercantile towns.
The consumption of printing papers for low-priced publica-tions, such as ballads, jest books, romances, pslams, testaments,bibles, &c. &c. is very considerable; and newspapers, magazines,teviews, posting and hand-bills, form another source of demand