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Exaynination of some decayed Oriental Works in the Library of the 



Asiatic Society. By H. Piddington, Esq. Officiating Curator, 



Museum Asiatic Society. 



At the request of our Secretary, I have undertaken the chemica} 

 examination of the decaying Oriental MSS. Works in the Society's 

 Library, of which the following is a description : — 



It is found that, principally in the Arabic books, at the end of a 

 certain time, a shade of black is observable about the letters. This 

 gradually appears to increase to a cloud round each word, such as 

 would be produced by a light shading of Indian ink. It increases to a 

 decided brown, and eventually a black colour, when the leaves become 

 wholly decomposed in the middle, where the black is most intense, 

 and fall to pieces like tinder, (the writing still remaining quite visible 

 upon them,) so that they crumble under the fingers ; and in short re- 

 semble, in those parts, books which have been burnt in close vessels ; 

 reminding us of the descriptions we read of the MSS. of Herculaneum 

 and Pompeii. In some places, where the page is surrounded with an 

 ornamental border of red and black lines, the black line appears so 

 completely to have destroyed the paper, that the page may be almost 

 taken out, as if it had been cut round with a penknife. The Moulvees 

 said it was owing to the " kuth," (catechu,) but the effect seemed a 

 very unlikely one to be produced by an astringent. The disease, how- 

 ever, evidently arises from the ink ; the paper where not written upon, 

 being in good preservation where it has not spread from the writing. 



To discover what can have produced this very serious mischief, was 

 the problem to be solved. 



1. The smell of the carbonised parts was something approaching to 

 that of caramel ; the taste sharp, saline, and acid, but not caustic. 



2. A quantity of the tinder-like matter from the centre of a book, equal 

 to about half an octavo page, was boiled in distilled water. Tiie solu- 

 tion was of a dark clear red-brown colour, it reddened litmus paper 

 very sensibly ; there was therefore free acid, and no free alkali present. 



3. The presence or absence of the following substances were shewn 

 by their corresponding tests as follows : — 



f Sulphuric acid Acet. Barytes. 



^ ! Muriatic acid, (trace,) ... Nit. Silver. 

 Presence oi < ^ i»/r r»i .♦ 



j Potass, Mur. Platma. 



I Lime, (minute quantity,)... Oxal. Ammonia. 



