138 INSECT MANUFACTURES. 



red liquid, and add to it three ounces of alum. 

 Three or four ounces of tamarinds are boiled in a 

 gallon of water and strained. Equal parts of the 

 red liquid and of the tamarind water are then 

 mixed over a brisk fire ; and the pieces of silk or 

 cotton cloth to be dyed are dipped and wrung 

 alternately, until they have received a proper pro- 

 portion of the dye. To deepen the colour they 

 increase the proportion of the red liquid, and 

 lengthen the time during which the cloth remains 

 immersed in it. The colour is rendered perma- 

 nent by the use of bark in the rinsing water. 



There is yet another and a singular employment 

 of lac among the Indians. The polishing grind- 

 stones used by eastern lapidaries are composed of 

 a mixture of three parts river sand with one part 

 lac : these are mixed in a vessel over the fire, and 

 then formed into the shape of a grindstone ; the 

 part of the lac being merely that of a cement to 

 hold the sand together. 



In this country lac is valuable partly as a dye, 

 partly as a varnish. As a dye it is less beautiful, 

 but more durable than cochineal. It forms the 



