115 



Sect. III. 7/ir/,'.-; .vs-jr/ in Djjing. From time 

 imnsemorial luive llie CiiiliUMS made use ofiiidi- 

 geneoi!'^ j.ianis i'or clviiig; ii.d such is tlieir cx- 

 c;'lieii('e. tli;it ihey ct)ii:!!Uis>ic:it{^ the liveliest and 

 iiio-i, duiuhle colours to their cloths, without the 

 aid of anv foreign production,* I liave in my 

 possession a piece of cloth dyed in that country, 

 which inth rty \ears use has lost nothing of the 

 origii)al lustre of its colours, which are blue^ 

 yellow, red;, and green, nciJier from exposure to 

 the air, nor the use of soap. The natives of the 

 southern provinces obfaii; a blue from a plant 

 with wliich I am unacquainted ; but in the Arau- 

 canian and the Spanish possessions thev make use 

 of indigo diluted with fermented urine, which 

 gives to the substance dyed a beautiful and du- 

 rable colour. 



Red is obtained from a species of madder 

 called rclbuii (rubia Chilcnsis). It usually 

 grows under shrubs in sandy j)bices ; its stalk is 

 nearly round, the leaves oval, pointed and w hitisb, 

 and placed by fours as in the iilbert ; its fiowers 

 are monopetalous^ and divi.a;d i.ito four p.u'ts; 



* Besides the medicinal herb-^, thev l.avo ollicrs for dying, 

 the colours oF \vliicli ate very dural)!e, ai;d d;; v.ol change iu 

 \\ ashing. Anioiig the=o is the reilion, a speces ot madder, 

 uilh a leafsotMewluit less than the Eiirof can, the root of whicli 

 is boiled in water in the same manner to <'>ktract the dye. The 

 poquel is a species of southern wood, of a goideu colour. 

 Frazier, vol. i. 



I 2 



