MEDICINAL BULBS 



STEATITE 



OR TALC 



be planted in ridgou ulx.ut 1 or 1| inches below the surface just before the 

 *<,,,. rnurli in the sumo way a* onion* are cultivated. The bulb* ssleoted for 

 medioaj us.- Hhoul.l be of medium size, neither too young nor too old. In the 

 -M|,| Kim. . ..id, -r Imlbs are found growing with th - , and have to be 



nt i. it xl. Also luillHt collected on th hill* are apt to be offered for eale a* 

 ,uin in,ni. '1 IK- l.ullm growing with the ><! i4t* are oblong, not eo 

 spherical as the latter, and are yellowish in section. The hill bulb* are generally 

 of larger size. The process of preparing the bulb, called UlUngu. consist* in 

 cutting it up into fragments ami drying ; this should be carried out in the cold 

 season. The cutting should be done in the early morning so that the se*,iueiifs 

 may bo at once exposed to the sun for some hours, otherwise they blacken." 

 [('/. Kept. Proc. Cent. Indig. Drug* Comtn., I.e. 162-3. 233 42. 280-91. etc.] 



Urginea Indlca, *<">(A. (SciUa indica, Roxb.): FL Br. Ind.. vi., 347; D.E.P.. 

 lY.-iin. /:./. I'lnnt*, 1903, ii., 1075; Cooke. I.e. 768; LILIACB.*. Indian Squill, vi.pt.iv., 

 kauda, jnntjli -/'/.'/"-, ikil, phaphor, kochinda nori-vengayom, naiclca vuUi-jadda, 213-5. 

 adavi-irulli, kuttuUi, to-kesun, etc. A bulbous herb found in the drier hill* of the 

 Lower Himalaya and on the Salt Range, ascending to about 6.000 feet in altitude. 

 It is a larger plant than the preceding. Is considered an efficient substitute for 

 the genuine squill (i >;/t,,,;, <-m). But there are several other species of 

 i ! in !! met with in India, and these are doubtless used in some cases a* inferior 

 grades. The most general substitutes or adulterant* for the above are otoww* Adatansfc. 



<i-.iu ti< it in and InHfolimn ; lti,>< ,i,li ,, i, >,<,!, I'nnrratltttn trl/trnt~ . 



Pharmacog. Ind., iii., 1893, 476-9; Kept. Proc. Cent. Indig. Drug* Comm., i., 1901, 

 125, 233, etc.] 



STEATITE or TALC. Ball, Man. Econ. Geol Ind., iii., 439-15 ; DJLP., 

 Mallet, Note on Ind. Steatite, in Rec. Geol. Surv. Ind., 1889, xxii., pt. 2, 59- jiijjji 111 " 

 67 ; Royle, Further Note on Indian Steatite, 1890, xxiii., pt. 3, 124-30 ; j^itite. 

 Hayden, Steatite Mines, Minbu Dist., Burma, 1896, xxix., pt. 4, 71-6 ; 

 Holland, 1905, xxxii., 115-6. A soft magnesian or talcose mineral com- 

 monly called Soapstone from its smooth, soapy feeling. A coarse variety 

 is known as Potstone, on account of its being generally used in making 

 pots, dishes, etc. In the Indian vernaculars it has the following names : 

 abrak, silkhari, appractum, sang-i-palaun, bulpurn, etc. 



According to Holland, " there is a trade " in this substance " of un- 

 determined value in nearly every province, but it is impossible to form 

 even a rough estimate of its value." Again, he states that " the returns, 

 which are confessedly incomplete, give an average annual production in 

 India of about 35,000 tons, valued at 1,900." 



OCCURRENCE. Steatite is said to be one of the most widely distributed Occur- 

 minerals in India, occurring very commonly in metamorphic rocks. The pro- 

 vinces in which good qualities chiefly occur are Madras, the Central Provinces, 

 Bajputona and Burma. The following gives a brief summary of the supplies : 

 Madras. The best forms are met with in Betumcherla and near Madda- 

 waram village in the Karnul district. After that, the soapstones of Anantapur, 

 North Arcot, Bellary, Cuddapah, Salem, Malabar, Vellore, South Kanara diatrioti 

 and Puddukotai State may be mentioned. In 1896 a request was made that 

 a consignment of some 20 tons from Moddawaram village should be furnished 

 for trial as tops for gas-burners. The mineral was collected by local officers, 

 under the superintendence of the Geological Department, and shipped to England. 

 It was found, however, that nearly the whole of the consignment was useless for 

 the purpose contemplated. In 1899 the quantity produced in Madras is stated to 

 have amounted to 103 tons, valued at Rs. 4.900. (Cf. Foot*. Rec. Geol. Surr.. 

 1895 xxv pt. L, 33-5 ; Mem. Oeol. Surv., 1895, xxv., pt. 3, 203; Kmnri*. DttL 

 Goz.'Mod., Bellary, 1U04, 20, 255, 294; Anantapw, 1906, 11. 196.] 



Central Province*. The marble rocks in the Jabbalpur di 



in the Bhandara district are said to yield excellent stone. According to a repoi 

 by the Deputy Commissioner of Bhandara, the quarry at Kanheri was leased 

 1898 by Government for Rs. 118, the output being approximately 1,00 

 of stone. " This stone is used for making cup* and other vessels, and there s 

 about 10 factories called ' jantor ' all in the above village at work for making 



1049 



Folston*. 



