722 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



Rhubarb {djim-tsa), tlioiigli used sometimes for a dye, is never 

 employed as a medicine in Tibet. Among the MongoJs its medicinal 

 properties are known, but its use is contiued to camels. 



Ophthalmia is one of the commonest diseases in Tibet. When so 

 affected the sufferer either wears Chinese smoked glasses or eye shades 

 {migra) of horsehair (pi. 30, fig. 1). These eye shades consist in a baud 

 of closely- woven horsehair about 2^ inches broad. The ends are -sewed 

 into bits of embroidered flannel. Some of these shades are convex over 

 the eyes, but 1 believe tbat these are not made in Tibet, but ou the 

 Kan-su frontier, by Chinese. The eye shades are carried suspended 

 from the girdle in a cylindrical cotton case, which can be pulled out of 

 another case of similar material, but usnally handsomely embroidered, 

 which slides over it. 



PI. 30, tig. 1, shows a migra and case made in eastern Tibet. The 

 Chinese form of eye shade (fig. 2) is also occasioually used by Tibetans. 



It is interesting to note that a similar horsehair shade is worn by 

 Persians in some parts of their country. (John Bell, Lives of Cele- 

 brated Travellers, ii, p. 133.) 



Miscellaneous objects. — In Tibet sewiug is about equally divided 

 between the two sexes, the men making most of their own clothes and 

 all tailors being men. They use scissors and needles of Chinese make 

 and woolen thread which they twist themselves. They sew toward 

 the body. The men do not use a thimble, but women have a small ring 

 made of copper resembling a seal ring, but where the stone should be 

 there is lead. They put this ring on the forefinger and press the needle 

 against it. It is used in parts of Mongolia (Ts'aidam) as well as in Tibet, 

 but the Chinese thimble, in shape like our tailor's thimble, is rapidly 

 superseding it in popular favor. 



A fly brush, made of the tail of a small yak, is shown in fig. 2, pi. 

 31. The hair of the upper j^art of the tail has been scraped off and a 

 handle made of the hardened hide. The hair is dyed a light red. The 

 other fly brush (fig. 1) is of coir, and is in use in China. 



Rouge pads of felt which have been soaked in a red coloring matter 

 are used by Mongol and Tibetan women. A portion of this is readily 

 transferred to the cheek by slightly moistening the pad. These pads 

 are i^repared in China. The Mongols use them much more commoul,y 

 than do the Tibetans, who have naturally rosy cheeks. 



Loosely \voven scarfs of silk, called in Tibetan Watag (k\i-hiags)^ are 

 in common use. Some of them have Luddhist symbols or inmges of 

 the Buddha woven in the texture; others are of less value and are 

 stiffened with plaster or rice powder. The usual color of these Watag 

 is light-blue or white. The smaller ones are about 20 inches long 

 and inches wide, and are worth a few copper cash apiece. The 

 largest are frequently 40 or 50 feet long and of proportionately greater 

 value. Most of these Fatag are made in Ch'eng-tu in Ssu-ch'uan for 

 the Tibetan and Mongol markets. Hue thus describes the use of the 

 Ic'atag : 



