656 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1790. 



quantities at Sylhet, where it is sold by the pound from 1 rupee to 14., and 

 formed a considerable article of trade from Bengal to Persia and Arabia." 



N° 3 is a specimen of the prime sort from Hydrabad. It differs materially 

 from the others, not only in its superior whiteness, and the being less mixed 

 with impure particles ; but in the being much harder than the purest particles 

 of Dr. R.'s specimens, much heavier, and hardly in any degree friable to the 

 finger. Submitting the specimens to examination, he refrains from experiments 

 on them, which may more successfully be made in England, and proceeds to 

 offer a few observations on the juice of the recent bamboo supposed to form the 

 Tabasheer. Rumphius remarks in Amboina, " Juniores arundines plerumque 

 in inferioribus suis nodis semi-repletae utcunque sunt limpida aqua potabili, quae 

 hisce in terris sensim evanescit, in aliis vero regionibus exsiccatur in substantiam 

 albam et calceam, quae Tabaxir vocatur." Garzius gives an account somewhat 

 different from this. " Fra tutti gli intermezzi de' nodi, si genera un certo li- 

 quore dolce e grosso, e ridotto in guisa di farina d' amido, e della istessa bian- 

 chezza, et alle volte se ne genera assai, alle volte poco, ma non tutte le canne, 



ne meno tutti i rami generano tale humore Questo liquore dopo d' essere 



appreso, mostra d' essere di color nero, over cinericcio, e non percio e tenuto 

 per tristo, imperoche questo avvienne, 6 perche sia troppo humido, 6 perche sia 

 stato lungo tempo nel legno rinchiuso, si come s' ban no pensato alcuni : con- 

 ciosia che in molti rami, che non sono stati toccati dal fuoco, intravenga, 

 questo." * 



The existence of this fluid in the bamboo is known by shaking the joint. In 

 a considerable number of bamboos split in order to procure it, Dr. R. never 

 found water in more than 2 joints, and generally not more than 2 or 3 drs. in 

 each ; the largest quantity procured at one time was l-i- oz. Very few joints in 

 proportion contained any. The fluid was always transparent, but varied in con- 

 sistence ; when thicker it had a whiter colour than common ; when more dilute 

 it differed little to the eye from common water, or sometimes had a pale greenish 

 cast. Applied to the tongue and palate, it had a slight saline, sub-astringent 

 taste, more or less perceptible in proportion to the consistence of the fluid. 

 After evaporation in the sun, the residuum had a pretty strong saline taste, with 

 less astringency. Some of the fluid, of a darkish colour, thickened in the reed 

 to the consistence of honey; and some, in another joint of the same reed, was 

 perfectly white and almost dry : both had the sharp salt taste, which the Taba- 

 sheer itself loses in a great degree by keeping. 



From 2 green bamboos, each of 5 joints, which had been cut only a few days 

 before, he procured above 2 oz. of fluid ; it had a slight saline taste, and in 

 colour had a greenish cast. One oz. was put into a phial, N° 1, and about 



• Capitolo XII.— Orig. 



