316 On the Cotton called " Numta." [No. 124. 



l^th Answer. — About forty cubits deep the water is found in sand- 

 stone : the water is excellent. 



15th Query. — Specimens of the thread of which the fine Mamoodies 

 are made are required ? 



15th Answer. — Two skeins or " pucheries" of the thread are sent, 

 the finest weighs 2J mashas, and costs 4 annas ; the coarser weighs 2f 

 mashas, and costs 3^ annas ; one of these "pucheries" cannot be spun in 

 less than four days. They are spun by all parties, and when collected, 

 are arranged according to their fineness. 



Gwalior, March 17, 1842. 



Note. — My readers may recollect, that " Nurma" cotton from the neighbourhood of 

 Herat, was one of the samples of the staples of trade between Sinde and Khorasan, 

 and that "the foreign origin" of the Nurma grown in Bundelkhund was then account- 

 ed for by me by the natural supposition, that the fine cotton was brought into the 

 country by the early Mussulman invaders ; an opinion which I still adhere to. ijj 



On a Cylinder and certain Gems, collected in the neighbourhood of Herat 

 by Major Pottinger. By the Editor. 



I have selected the gems figured in the annexed plate from among 

 a collection placed in my hands by Major Pottinger. The cylinder 

 (Fig. 1,) is a very curious relic indeed. It was found on the hills close 

 to Herat by an Eimauk woman, from whom, I believe, Major Pottinger 

 purchased it. The material of which it is composed, as well as the 

 figures, and Cuneiform characters upon it, having equally baffled conjec- 

 ture and ordinary investigation, 1 sent the impression, taken in sealing- 

 wax, to Major Rawlinson at Candahar, requesting him, acquainted as he 

 is with some of the forms of the Cuneiform character, to give me his 

 opinion upon it; while I applied to my friend, Mr. Piddington, now 

 Curator of the Geological branch of the Museum of the Asiatic Society, 

 to determine, if possible, the material of which the cylinder was com- 

 posed. His opinion, in which Professor O'Shaughnessy concurred, was 

 given me as follows : — 



" At the request of our Secretary, I have examined this precious relic 



as to its physical properties. Its dimensions are, 



Inches. 



Height, 1.1 



Diameter, . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 



Diameter of the hole, . . . . , . 0.2 



