Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-01

As paper forms such an important part OF
the firecracker you can imagine the making of
it must be a large industry in Canton, and 30 1t
is. However, the paper mills are anything but
imposing structures. They are low, square
buildings. with dirty, whitewashed sides, the
only pretty thing about them being the large,
double-tiled roofs with turned-uD corners.
There are not more than 100 workmen in each
mill, for paper being made more easily than
firecrackers it does not need as many laborers.
They are also men born to the profession. men
whose children will grow up to be paper makers
after them Every morning during their lives
they wake up with the one endless routine be-
fore them and they eat and sleep, too, In the
great paper mill The paper is made from the
bark Of the koon schon tree. which is known in
America under the equally incomprehensible
name of ..aralia paphyrifeca." ground up with
lime and then baked in kiln. When this is
done the mass is hammered out in the form Of
long rolls and then cut up into slices, just AZ
the confectioner behind the great glass window
cuts up his long and Welding twist of moiasses
candy for the amusement Of u crowd OF boys
outside and the benefi. of those who come in
and buy.
These pieces put into q curious little
mortar and pounded together again with Il
little hammer that comes very near being
worked by machinery. just as near as anything
could in China. where there are 30 many hands
ready to work for 4 miserable allowance of rice.
At last these slices made into mass again,
and this time II comes out az soft rs dough,
which Is placed in large pot of water till it is
completely dissolved. then with something very
like sieve they lift water from this pot. allow
ing ii to run back again through the bottom.
which is u fine net of bamboo thread. and there
is always a thin white sediment LEFT in the
bottom OF the sieve. Suddenly throwing the
sieve upside down the floor thew dislodge
the sediment. which falls in a thin white film.
A thousand OF these are left to lie one npon the
ttNta
dry. and thus it becomes paper. lie process
Is always the same AL over China. but tie in
gradients differ IN almost every factory. he
common ingredients are 5sw5oo. cotton. the
TOW Of silk. bark ard the .eaSes Of many plants.
The hair and even the iu:estines Of animals. IL
you take the inner piece OF brown paper on the
wrapping OF pack of frecrackers and hold It
20 the light you viii be able to see some OF the
ingredients used in making paper.
1t is an easy thing to distinguish the fire.
crackers made in America from those of Chinese
make. In the first place. the American crack
ers never small. They are rarely smaller
than four and half inches in length and have
short cord fuses while. on the other hand. the
Chinese kind have paper fuses, are braided into
packs and have gilt labels. tirework firm in
Chicago once tried TO make small trecrackers
by machinery, but after several fruitless at
tempts gave it up with loss of several thou
sand dollars. Thew could reproduce pack of
firecrackers after the Chinese pattern, the only
trouble being that they would not explode.
This is mainly because no machine can be man
ufactureJ to roll the frecrackers and take the
place OF the gentle pressure done with the hui
man hand. They invariably roll them too tight
and thereby render them useless.
The large American firecrackers ALWAYS have
a notice Printed on their sides, DO not hold
in the hand after lighting" Only an American
boy wouid be guilty OF such reckless thing.
In China as soon as a child lights cracker he
leaves it and does not run back and pick it up