OPTTJM SILK. 328 



ally entertained, and neither the climate nor soil presents 

 any obstacles to its being carried to the highest perfection. 



Opium, the use of which, both as a luxury and a medi- 

 cine, has become very extensive, is produced almost exclu- 

 sively in the central provinces of India, and forms one of 

 the most important articles of its commerce. It is culti- 

 vated largely in the provinces of Bahar and Benares, where 

 government monopolizes the trade in it ; purchasing the 

 crop before it is raised from the necessitous ryots at the 

 price of one rupee and a half per pound, to be resold at a 

 great advance. The opium of Malwa, however, is of a 

 superior quality, and the company had made great exer- 

 tions to procure the whole of it by treaty with the native 

 powers, and to prevent any part from reaching the west- 

 ern ports by the way of Rajpootana. By much the largest 

 proportion now comes from this province. Between 1821 

 and 1827, the opium exported to China from Patna and Be- 

 nares had fallen from 2910 to 2723 chests ; while that from 

 Malwa had risen from 1718 to 5630 chests. In 1830 the 

 company renounced the practice of purchasing opium in 

 Malwa, and agreed, on a certain consideration, to grant 

 passes to individuals, who might procure and convey it to 

 Bombay. 



Silk is another valuable article in the Indian trade. It 

 is produced largely in Bengal, — to a much smaller extent 

 in the upper provinces, — and scarcely at all in the Deccaa. 

 This rich material, originally confined to the East, has 

 been introduced into Europe, and so much improved that 

 the Italian silk is now decidedly superior to the Chinese ; 

 while that of India, which is comparatively weak and wants 

 staple, is less valued than either. Respecting the possibil- 

 ity of improving it, opinions greatly differ. Mr. Ramsay 

 attributes its defects to the heat of the climate, and there- 

 fore conceives that they cannot be obviated. Worms have 

 been imported from Italy, but have gradually degenerated. 

 Mr. Stephen Wilson, on the contrary, is of opinion that 

 the inferiority is principally owing to less skilful manage- 

 ment, and that the process, being carried on under cover, 

 cannot be materially affected by the fetate of the atmosphere. 

 Much is owing, he thinks, to the great superiority of the Ital- 

 ian cocoons. There are four harvests of silk, of which the 

 two principal are in November and January. The employ- 



