VOL. XLIX.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 4g 



After Dr. Kaempfer has described the true japan varnish-tree, he then tells uSj 

 that the varnish is collected from it near the city of Jassino, and that it is the 

 best varnish in the world , but that it is in so small quantities, that there would 

 not be sufficient for their own manufactories, were it not for a baser kind of 

 varnish, brought to them from Siam, and called nam-rak. This Siam varnish 

 he says, is got in the province of Corsima and kingdom of Cambodia, from the 

 tree anacardium, called by the inhabitants ton-rak, that is tree-rak. The fruit 

 of this tree he says expressly is called in our shops anacardium ; his words are, 

 '* cujus fructus officinis nostris anacardium dictus." See fig. 6. 



In Mr. Miller's answer to the Abbe Mazeas he says, this varnish is produced 

 from the anacardium, or cashew nut-tree ; and recommends it to the inhabitants 

 of our southern colonies in America to draw this varnish from it, as a national 

 advantage. In order to know what kind of tree bears this officinal anacardium, 

 Mr. E. consulted Linneus's Materia Medica, and Species Plantarum ; and there 

 he found it a quite different genus of plants from the acajou or cashew nut-tree 

 ofTournefort. Recalls this oriental anacardium, avicennia; and has given its 

 characters at large in his Genera Plantarum, and ranks it among the tetrandria 

 monogynia; whereas the occidental anacardium, or cashew nut-tree of the 

 American islands, he calls anacardium, and ranks it among the decandria mo- 

 nogynia. 



As the printers or stainers of callicoes in the East Indies make use of some 

 black dye, that holds its colour, and does not impair their cloths, Mr. E. tried 

 some fresh nuts of this oriental anacardium, and found, that not only from his 

 own experience, but lately from the confirmation of many gentlemen in the East 

 India trade, that a fine black colour, which will not wash out, is struck on 

 cotton and linen with the juice of the shell of this nut. They are known all over 

 India by the name of marking-nuts, and are sold for that purpose in their bazars 

 or markets, the figure of which is given in fig. 6. At the same time he 

 tried the acrid oily substance of the shell of some fresh cashew-nuts (fig. 7,) and 

 observed that it gave no c6lour to linen, but remained like oil of olives on it. 

 He had heard indeed, that the juice of the fleshy fruit that supports the cashew- 

 nut will stain the lips black, and perhaps it may linen ; but the gum or liquor 

 which proceeds from the tree, it is agreed by later authors, is of the same nature 

 and mechanical use with gum arable ; and consequently will dissolve in water ; 

 which would render it improper for varnish. The figure of the cashew-nut and 

 its fruit are exhibited in fig. 7 • 



Dr. Kaempfer further observes, that the quantity of varnish obtained from this 

 officinal anacardium tree is so great, as not only to serve to varnish all the utensils 

 of China, Tonquin, and Japan, but that it is exported in wooden vessels to 

 Batavia, and several other parts of India. It is not improbable therefore that 



VOL. XI. H 



