?38 THE BEE OR Feb. 9- 



^n account of the culture of the plant, called hy Linna-us, 

 Oldenlandia Urrrbellata, and by the Indians on the 

 Qoromandel Coaft, Che ; — the rooti of which afford 

 the fine permanent red dye to cotton. — Communicated 

 by fames Anderfon, M^ D. phyfician to the prejidency 

 at Madras, in a letter to James Anderjon, L. L. D. 

 at Cotjield near Leith. Dated Auguji 3, 1788. 



The feeds of Oldenlandia or Chf^ are gathered in January, 

 and fdwn in July : the roots are dug up in march. \\Tien 

 the feeds are frefh gathered, I fhall fend you enough to ar- 

 rive without any rifque of lofing their vegetative power 



It grows every where here, a fmall weed ; but it is only 

 by particular culture the roots become poffeffed of the beau- 

 tiful and permanent red dye, the feeds of which only are 

 preferved for crop. 



To enable you to judge whether our Weft India iflands 

 are capable of its culture or not, I muft give you a iketch of 

 the Coromandel coaft, and the nature of the foil employed 

 for raifingChe : Of the climate, you have fome^^hat in the 

 philofophical tranfaftions. 



It appears to me, that the decompoHtion of the mountains, 

 waihed down by the freft\es, have extended a clay foil which 

 encroaches fome miles on the ancient bed of the fea, fo as 

 to form a level plain along the coaft, about two or three 

 feet higher than the fea's furface. 



This being eftabliftied, there are rivulets at a few miles 

 fcnly from eich other, which wafti great quantities of fand 

 from the foil of the inland country, till it reaches the fea, 

 when it is carried off at a right angle by the current, and 

 thrown out by the furf, fo as to form the beach. 



Now, the high winds that frequently blow here, drive 

 this fand farther backwards ; fo that in ages, the clay foil is 

 in many places covered with pure fand to the height of two 

 or three feet, and here and there, a fand hill thirty or forty 

 feet high. 



It is on thofe parts, where the fand is evenly fpread, the 

 Che is cultivated. The fandy plain is evenly laid out in. 



