THE RED DYE-STUFFS OF INDIA. 67 



ratum really is to lessen the bulk and weight without any loss or damage to 

 the colouring matter. Many years ago Dr. Irvine, of the Bengal Service, 

 when at this place (Darjeeling), on account of his health, made some experi- 

 ments for this purpose on the munjeet, but I never heard the result. His 

 object was to procure the whole colouring matter in the form of cakes, like 

 indigo ; but how it answered I do not know. A great deal of munjeet is 

 exported from all parts of the southern face of the Himalaya into Thibet, 

 t *.?re it is much used in making the purple dye of Lamas' habiliments. As 

 the transport of this bulky article is entirely effected on men's shoulders, 

 and over difficult passes of elevations, from 14,000 to 18,000 feet, the reduc- 

 tion of bulk and weight is. quite as much a desideratum for the Thibet trade 

 as that to Europe." 



Dr. 'Gibson, Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens of Western India, 

 remarking upon this letter, states : — " My impression is — 1st, That the root 

 only is exported ; 2nd, That the madder of Affghanistan is Rubia cordifolia. 

 I grew a quantity of it in this garden for years, and have more than once, 

 I think, sent specimens of the root, such as a basketful at a time, to Bombay ; 

 but as the subject was taken up by no one, I ceased to cultivate the plant. 

 I certainly, until I saw Dr. Campbell's letter, doubted the fact of the stem 

 containing any colouring principle, and even yet I suspect some error. 

 I believe that the madder and madder-root, as marked in the Bombay 

 returns, are identical." 



Mr. H. Cope more recently furnished to the Agricultural and Horticultural 

 Society of India some further information respecting munjeet. "Madder 

 (he observes) is certainly not the same as the Himalayan munjeet, as dis- 

 tinctly laid down by the letter from Avignon you communicated to me 

 some time ago, in which it was stated that not only were they not the same, 

 but that the colours obtained were different, and applied to different pur- 

 poses. Whether the munjeet of Affghanistan is identical with the madder 

 of Europe remains to be proved. It is certain that what is exported from 

 Sind as munjeet is exported from Bombay as madder, and that the Bombay 

 export is called madder in England. But the matter will be shortly set at 

 rest, when the samples my firm has sent to Messrs. King, of Avignon, reach 

 their destination. A species of munjeet grows wild and abundantly in the 

 Kangra Hills, but it does not appear to be used for dyeing or commercial 

 purposes by the indigenous population. It, therefore, becomes a matter of 

 some importance whether the Kangra plant is applicable to the purposes 

 for which madder and the Himalaya munjeet of Nepal, Assam, &c, is used. 



" The roots, when taken up, appear to me to differ in nowise from the 

 Affghan madder — specimens of which, sent by me, were so much admired. 

 I now do myself the pleasure of forwarding to your address one seer of this 

 munjeet, stem and root, selected from a quantity which Mr. D. F. Macleod, 

 Financial Commissioner of the Punjab, was so good as to obtain for me at 

 Kangra. It labours, in my opinion, under the disadvantage of having been 

 gathered much too early. I consider October the proper month for digging 

 up the root, or even later. I also send two specimens of country cotton 



f 2 



