186 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [anNO 1757. 



He then makes Sir Hans say, that the inhabitants of Jamaica stain their cottons 

 with the bark of the cashew-nut tree. By this one would naturally conclude, 

 that Mr. Miller has been endeavouring to prove, in opposition to the Abbe 

 Mazeas's letter, that the art of painting or staining cottons of a fine deep black 

 colour, equal to that discovered by the Abbe Sauvages, as described in his ex- 

 periments on the Carolina toxicodendron, was practised by the English 40 or * 

 50 years ago in Jamaica. If this was the case it is something surprising, that 

 notwithstanding our great intercourse with that island, the calico printers of 

 England never got intelligence of this valuable secret. Further, if Mr. Miller 

 will consult Piso and Margrave, writers of the best authority on the Brasilian 

 plants, he will find their accounts of the acajou exactly correspond with that 

 delivered by Dr. Browne, in his History of Jamaica, as well as Sir Hans Sloane's: 

 for they say, that the juice of this tree is equal in virtue, and mechanical uses, 

 to the best gum-arabic. And if he still doubts, I shall lastly recommend him to 

 go to the British Museum, and there he may see a most elegant specimen of the 

 cashew-gum, which will put this matter quite out of all doubt. 



P. S. Since the foregoing paper was read. Professor Sibthorp was so kind to 

 deliver me an exact drawing of the fasi-no-ki in the Sherardian collection at Ox- 

 ford, taken by the Rev. Mr. William Borlase, f. r. s, the title and synonym of 

 which are both in the hand-writing of Dr. Dillenius, as the professor assures me. 

 See fig. 6, pi. 7. 



LVII. On the Number of the People of England. By the Rev. Richard Forster, 

 Rector of Great Sheffbrd in Berkshire, p. 457. 



In vol. 49 of the Transactions, there is another medium advanced to deter- 

 mine the amount of the people in England : and this is the number of houses 

 which pay the window tax, and which '• amount to about 690,000, besides cot- 

 tages, that pay nothing." To this is added, that " though the number of cot- 

 tages be not accurately known, it appears from the accounts given in, that they 

 cannot amount to above 200,000." 



Mr. F. thinks that no general public ac- Great ShefFord 90 17 



, , . • r i.u t- r Little Shefford 12 3 



counts have been given m, of the number ot Telford 162. ... 62 



the houses taxed to the window lights ; and Chaddleworth 62 — 20 



he thinks that the number of the cottages Catmore. . . '°"'.V. * '. *. *. '. * * '. '. '. ^a *. *. * ^1 

 which do not pay, far exceeds the immber of Farmborough 34 5 



houses that are rated. To prove this, he ^rt'oarVton.' .■.''.*.'■.*.*.'.*!!!! 99! i .'.' 4i 

 counted the numbers of both sorts in several 588... 177 



parishes, the results of which are in the annexed table. 



Here we see, that out of 588 houses, only 177 pay the window-tax. Now 

 if we say with the philosopher ex pede Herculem, and suppose that '200,000 



