118" MB H. MEAD ON THE 



more than eigl it ounces a day : what was required, was a simple machine, 

 such as the village carpenter and blacksmith could make and keep in 

 repair, cheap, portable, and efficacious ; and he was not without hope that 

 such a result was within reach. Mr Mead here exhibited the diagram of a 

 French invention for extracting fibres, which consisted of a wheel carrying 

 round six arms, each of which in turn delivered a blow on the plant, 

 which latter was inserted in a slit cut in one of the posts of the frame- 

 work. It had been found to answer extremely well in the French colonies, 

 and he intended to have a trial of it made in Ceylon. 



The subject of dye-stuffs was next adverted to. The Milille and the 

 Jack, both of which gave a yellow dye, were too valuable for building or 

 furniture work to be exported with advantage ; but the Morinda citrifolia, 

 the Gorakaha of the Singhalese, and Cassa of the Tamils, grew as a 

 common weed over the whole country, and gave a good yellow colour, in 

 addition to being an excellent tanning material. It was in all respects 

 equal to sumach, of which 14,000 tons were annually imported into Eng- 

 land at a cost of about 14s. per cwt. The Orchilla weed had now become 

 well known. It grew plentifully along the whole extent of seaboard, a few 

 localities excepted, and commanded in the case of a recent shipment QOl. 

 per ton. The Sapan wood of Ceylon had been driven out of the home 

 market by the Siam article, which could be had much cheaper in that 

 country, and commanded a better selling price. The Chaya root, 

 Oldenlandia umbellata, which gave a dark red, fetched more money in the 

 local market than coidd be obtained for it in England ; so that Orchilla and 

 the Morinda were the only dyes worth notice on the part of the merchant. 



Tanning substances held a chief place in the list of productive 

 resources. The bark of the Kahatte {Carey a arbor ea) was one of the most 

 powerful astringents, and so was that of the Terminalia alata (the Koombook 

 of the Singhalese). The fruit of the Tirnberi (Emlryopteris glutinifera) 

 contained 60 per cent, of tannic acid. He had discovered the true Acacia 

 CatecJiu in the Northern Province, but believed that it was confined to a 

 single locality. The Cathartocarpus Fistula (Tiriconda), the barks of the 

 Mangrove (Kadol) and Anacardium occidentale (Caju) were also extremely 

 serviceable to the tanner. Many other astringents doubtless existed, but 

 the above list was sufficiently comprehensive. 



With regard to oils, Mr Mead said there were but two in addition to 

 those already known in commerce which used .to be referred to. The seed 

 of the Margosa (Melia azedaracli) could be had in great quantities in Jaffna 

 for about lOd. a bushel, and medical men had declared that in cases 

 of consumption its curative qualities rival those of cod-liver oil. Cardole, 

 a powerful vesicant, procured from the pericarps of the cashew nut 

 (Anacardium occidentale), could be had in abundance for the mere cost 

 of extraction, as the husk was universally thrown away. Other oils could 

 be procured in various parts of the island ; but they were either to be ob- 

 tained only in small quantity, or were absorbed by local demand. Gingelly 

 seed could be had at the commencement of the season at about 5s. per cwt. 



The Lecturer brought his address to a close by pointing out the fields 



