Earthen ware. 597 



Diana in Burmah. I have never met with clay equal to this in any 

 part of India I have travelled. Indeed it would he considered an in- 

 estimable treasure in Bombay or Travancore. This I will thank you 

 to represent to the Governor General. There is no clay in Travan- 

 core or Malvar that will stand the fire in any other shape than the 

 pots contained in the specimen box, which I hope you have received 

 before this. There is no cast steel exported from Travancore, but a 

 great quantity from Salem and Porto Novo. 



From James Dodd, Esq., Assay Master, Agra, to J. Thomason, 

 Esq., Secretary to Government, North Western Provinces, dated 

 6th August, 1841. 



I have herewith the pleasure of forwarding to you for the inspec- 

 tion of His Honor the Lieutenant Governor, specimens of fire clay, 

 which I have every reason to believe are the productions of these 

 Provinces. I am unable to speak of the qualities of these clays from 

 personal acquaintance, if I except a few experiments made on them 

 with the mouth-blowpipe, and I should have waited till I had gained 

 further information about them, had I not lately heard that a great 

 stir had been caused in Calcutta by the arrival of some fire clays from 

 Singapoor. My object now is merely to draw the attention of His 

 Honor the Lieutenant Governor to the fact of there being several 

 kinds of fire clays in these Provinces, to state what has been the result 

 of the experiments of other persons on some of these, and to enquire 

 how far the Government are disposed to sanction an expense for the 

 purpose of fully investigating the properties of all of them. 



2. It may be as well for me in the first place to observe, that cruci- 

 bles of fire clay will be required for the Bullion Depot and Assay 

 Office, and that although these could be obtained from Calcutta, yet 

 when one bears in mind the liability there is to breakage during 

 transport, and that so good a material for the purpose of crucible- 

 making is found in the neighbourhood, I cannot help thinking that it 

 would be desirable for some to be manufactured of this clay, and in 

 that r 11 the outlay should not be placed to the score of the ex- 



periment, since the furnace for firing the crucibles would answer 

 every purpose for examining the fire clays as to other qualities. 



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