KINES AND MANUFACTURES OF- THE EAST iNDIKS. 295t 



Uie dyers of the united Britifti kingdom, be pleafed to lay 

 ^<jem before the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. 

 that they may be publiflied in the volume of their Tranf- 

 adions; if not, 1 truft you will e^Qufa my Iroubjiiig you with 

 them. They were fent to me from Madras by a fcientific 

 friend, who had the feveral operations, detailed in ihem, per- 

 formed in his own prefence, I forwarded a copy of them;, 

 and a fmall quantity of the ingredients mentioned in them, to 

 a friend at home, feveral years ago ; but he dying about or 

 foon after the time of -their arrival, I never learned what be- 

 came of them. It ftrikes me, however, that there is a con- 

 iiderable coincidence between the thread procefs and that 

 which I have feen recommended by Mr. Henry, of Manchef- 

 ter, for dying the Adrianople or Turkey red. 



I am not certain whether it is known at hotne, that many immenfe quaa. 

 of the hills in Bahar, and other parts of India, contain im- ^*'^'^s of talc 

 menfe quantities of mica, talc, or Mufcovy glafs. The na- j^jug j^ 3^-^ 

 tives of this country and China make very fplendid lanterns, 

 Ihades, and ornaments of it, tinged of various fanciful colours; 

 and it is alfp yfed by them in niedicine. When burned or 

 calcined, it is, I am told, confidered as a fpecific in obftinate 

 coughs and confumptions. When powdered, it ferves to 

 filver the Indian paper, &c. ufed in letter-writing j and, in 

 fad, it is applied to numberlefs purpofes. The bazar price 

 of that of the bed quality, fplit into flieets of about two lines 

 thick, is fix rupees the maund of 8tlb. avoirdupois. If it 

 could be applied to any ufeful purpofe at home, it might go 

 in part ballaft of (hips, and at a trifling expenfe. I enclofe a 

 fmall fpecimen of it, and am. 

 Sir, 



Your very obedient fervant, 



J. MACHLACHLAN. 

 Calcutta, 06i. 4, 1803. 



N. B. The chaya, or red dye root of the 'Coafti 1s, I be- 

 lieve, known at home : as alfo the calhaw leaves, which are 

 ufed as an aftringent. 



Charles Taylor, Efq. 



Diredions 



