212 cook's first voyage 1769. 



When cloth is to be washed after it has been worn, 

 it is taken dovvn to the brook, and left to soak, being 

 kept fast to tlie bottom, as at first, by a stone ; it is 

 then gently wrung or squeezed ; and sometimes se- 

 veral pieces of it are laid one upon another, and 

 beaten together with the coarsest side of the mallet, 

 and they are then equal in thickness to broad-cloth, 

 and much more soft and agreeable to the touch, after 

 they have been a little while in use, though when 

 they come immediately from the mallet, they feel as 

 if they had been starched. This cloth sometimes 

 breaks in the beating, but is easily repaired by past- 

 ing on a patch with a gluten that is prepared from 

 the root of the Pea, which is done so nicely that it 

 cannot be discovered. The women also employ them- 

 selves in removing blemishes of every kind, as our 

 ladies do in needle-work or knotting ; sometimes 

 when their work is intended to be very fine, they will 

 paste an entire covering of hoboo over the whole. 

 The principal excellencies of this cloth are its cool- 

 ness and softness ; and its imperfections, its being 

 pervious to water like paper, and almost as easily torn. 



The colours with which they dye this cloth are 

 principally red and yellow. The red is exceedingly 

 beautiful, and I may venture to say a brighter and 

 more delicate colour than any we have in Europe ; 

 that which approaches nearest is our full scarlet, and 

 the best imitation which Mr. Banks's natural history 

 painter could produce, was by a mixture of Vermil- 

 lion and carmine. The yellow is also a bright color, 

 but we have many as good. 



The red colour is produced by the mixture of the 

 juices of two vegetables, neither of which separately 

 has the least tendency to that hue. One is a species 

 of fig called here Matte, and the other the Cordia 

 Sebestina, or Eton ; of the fig the fruit is used, and 

 of the Cordia the leaves. 



The fruit of the fig is about as big as a rounceval 

 pea, or very small gooseberry ; and each of them. 



