134 CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS OF INDIA. 



Vitriol was once largely manufactured on the banks of the Soane, in 

 Shahabad, from sulphate of iron, the product of the Kymore range ; but 

 the death of the gentlemen who instituted the manufacture stayed it, 

 It is now only a native manufacture on a small scale. 



Soap is made from cows's suet and a peculiar efflorescence gathered 

 from barren land, called by natives Oosiu\ The efflorescence is called 

 Bell. It is used for washing ; eight seers per rupee. 



Tinder, a kind of which is found, under the leaf of the sago palm 

 tree, ignites very easily. 



Bats' dung is mixed with water and ashes, and strained and left to 

 dry, when ammonia effloresces, and is used as an ingredient for gun- 

 powder. It is also used for manure like guano. 



An article called Sajjee is used in soap manufacture. Sajjee is made 

 in considerable quantities in the districts of Mooltan, Jung, Jhelum, 

 and Thanessur. It sells at about 32 lbs. for a shining. 



Oil Seeds. — The Ricinus communis, known by the provincial name 

 of Bheeree, has two or three marked varieties ; it is largely cultivated 

 in Shahabad, principally for home use, though a considerable quantity 

 finds its way into the castor-oil factories of Dinapore. The native pro- 

 cess only succeeds in making a very impure oil, which is so offensive 

 for its smoking qualities in burning, that it is not sought after by them 

 for that purpose, but only for anointing leathern well ropes, shoes, &c, 

 and, being a cheap oil, is largely used for the latter purpose. It is thick 

 and viscid, and, extracted under the native process, soon turns rancid, 

 while by the European process, it is next to cocoanut oil, one of the 

 purest and best burning oils known. The plant requires scarcely any 

 cultivation, and in South Shahabad is oftener sown on the borders of a 

 valuable field as a hedge than for any other purposes. It loves, however, 

 a sandy loam, and will not grow in the clays. Its yield under the native 

 process is about 33 per cent, of the impure oil above described, but a 

 larger quantity, and a purer oil, is extracted by the European process. 

 Newly cleared jungle lands grow the castor plant abundantly, and its 

 extended cultivation is only bounded by the demands in the market, so 

 long as the rates are remunerative ; for although the sowing and ten- 

 dence of the plant costs little trouble, yet the picking of the seed is a 

 troublesome process, and it requires a much larger amount of room to 

 come to perfection. The natives sow and uproot the plant yearly. It 

 is not known why this should be, as it grows and yields abundantly, 

 the second and third years, in hedges, or other open places. When cul- 

 tivated by itself, the natives always sow the seed too close, and con- 

 sequently the plant is comparatively small ; for attaining its full perfec- 

 tion no place is better suited than a hedge or a bank. 



The Ricinus communis is cultivated in Lucknow as a mixed crop. It 

 is sown in June by almost all the villagers, not extensively, but prin- 

 cipally for their own use. Its cultivation can be extended all over 

 Oude. This oil is extracted by bruising the seed and then boiling it in 

 water. The oil is afterwards skimmed off. This is the onlv seed out of 



