ORPIMENT. \ 4J 



ORPIMENT. 



Sans. VfW«T, Haritdla, 



Orptmfxt ooo-nra in two forms, namely, in smooth sinning gold- 

 coloured scales called Vansapatri haritdla, and in yellow opaqno 

 masses called Pinda haritdla. Vansapatri haritdlQ is preferred 

 for internal use as an alterative and febrifuge. Pinda haritdla is 

 chiefly used as a colouring ingredient in paints, and for sizing 



country paper. Most of the older Sanskrit MSS. are written on 

 paper prepared with haritdla, to preserve them from the ravages 

 of insects, and this it does most effectually.* 



* Babu Rajendralala Mitra gives the following interesting acconnt of 

 arsenicised paper in his report on Sanskrit manuscripts, published in tho 

 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, for March 1875. 



"The manuscripts examined have mostly been written on country paper 

 sized with yellow arsenic and an emulsion of tamarind seeds, and then 

 polished by rubbing with a conch-shell. A few are on white Kasmiri paper, 

 and some on Palm-leaf. White arBenic is rarely used for the size, but I have 

 seen a few codices sized with it, the mucilage employed in such cases being 

 acacia gum. The surface of ordinary country paper being rough, a thick 

 coating of size is necessary for easy writing; and the tamarind-seed emulsion 

 affords this admirably. The paper used for ordinary writing is sized with 

 rice gruel; but such paper attracts damp and vermin of all kinds, and that 

 great pest of literature, "the silver fish," thrives luxuriantly on it. The 

 object of the arsenic is to keep off this insect, and it serves the purpose most 

 effectually. No insect or worm of any bind will attack arsenicised paper, and 

 so far the MSS. are perfectly secure against its ravages. The superior 



appearance and cheapness of European paper has of late induced many 

 persons to use it instead of the country arsenicised paper in writing puthis : 

 but this is a great mistake, as the latter is not nearly so durable as the former, 

 and is liable to be rapidly destroyed by insects. I cannot better illustrate 

 this than by referring to some of the MSS. in the Library of the Asiatic 

 Society. There are among them several volumes written on foolscap paper, 

 which dates from 1820 to 1830, and they already look decayed, mouldering, 

 and touched in several places by silver-fish. Others on John- letter paper 

 which is thicker, larger and stouter, are already so far injured that the ink 

 has quite faded, and become in many places illegible, whereas the MSS. which 

 were originally copied on arsenicated paper for the College of Fort William 

 in the first decade of this century, are now quite as fresh as they were when 

 first written. I have seen many MSS. in private collections which are much 

 older, and still quite as fresh. This fact would sn orgeat the propriety of 



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