242 Memoir on the IVool and Sheep 



pliable and silky, and bleach it without breaking or tear- 

 ing it : and the farina of the moungue has the property also, 

 by its mucilage, of softening it, and giving it a peculiar 

 whiteness without crisping it ; which any other substance 

 would do. 



It has been asserted, on the authority of some travellers, 

 that shaw Is are made from the hair of a kind of goat : in my 

 opinion it might be said, with equal propriety, That they are 

 made of the hair of the stag. I am astonished that writers 

 should amuse themselves at the expense of the public by 

 spreading such falsehoods. 



Another idea, no less distant from truth, is, that these 

 shawls are made from the wool of lambs torn from the 

 bellies of their mother. This account, which cannot be 

 read without sentiments of pain, is not only absurd but 

 atrocioui? ; it is contrary to every thing we know of the mild 

 and humane manners of the Hindus. Besides, this assertion 

 cannot be true, as it is well known that the wool of those 

 lambs is very short; and such a practice would be destructive 

 to the sheep, in consequence of the danger attending the 

 operation. 



1 he superfine shawls are not made of sheep's wool, but of 

 the wool of the camel. This wool, with which we are not 

 acquainted, and which cannot be cultivated in France with- 

 out considerable expense and great difficulty, is exceedingly 

 valuable ; it is more beautiful than Vigonia wool, and as 

 dear as it is scarce : it is found only on the forehead and 

 around the ears of that large animal. 



The finest shawls, those made of camels' wool, besides 

 being exceedingly dear*, are very scarce, and it is difficult 

 to procure them; it is even often necessary to order them at 

 Sirinagar, the capital of Cachemire, the only place where 

 they are manufactured. 



The common fine shawls manufactured in Cachemire are 

 the white, and cost two or three pounds sterling : they have 

 flowered corners, and a border of greater or less breadth ac- 

 cording to the price. Thev are three ells and a half in 

 length, and half an ell in breadth. The conmion ones only 

 are dyed, unless ordered to be so. llie latter cost from 

 twenty-five to thirty shillings. 



Shawls, the weft of which is camels' wool, are distin- 

 guished by the name of cacacheti; the white, with the wett 

 ef sheep's wool, are called seaumi; and the rest are known 

 by the appellation of passari. I have thought it necessary 



•' They cost ten guineas at the manufactory. 



to 



