The Indian tradition of drying paper upon lines is corroborated by the illustration of crafts and trade in the aforementioned Kashmiri manuscript.' Although it is not known to what extent this method of drying was practisec in the Middle East and Persia, it is unlikely that it was employed for paper making on a large scale: if pressed sheets are separated and hung on a line to dry, a smoothness comparable to that resulting from the process of drying as , stack, or upon a flat surface, cannot be achieved.