390 



HENNA. 



In Guadaloupe there are 48 plantations on which it is grown, 

 employing 1044 labourers. In French Guiana there are 563, which 

 employ 2110 hands. The net value of the crop in 1874, after 

 deducting expenses of culture, &c., was stated at 3567Z. 



The Board of Trade having ceased to particularize the imports 

 of this article into the United Kingdom, there are no later returns 

 available than those of 1870. The following are the imports and 

 value for a few years in cwts. : 



Year. 



Roll. 



Flag. 





cwts. 



cwts. 



1866 



1209 



2631 



18H7 



2480 



2860 



1868 



1035 



2981 



1869 



2670 



3111 



1870 



773 



3903 



The flag annotta is worth double the price of roll annotta. The 

 prices in March, 1877, were 2d, to 9d, per lb. for roll, and M, to 

 Is. 6d. fur flag. 



Henna (Lawsonia alba, Lamk. ; L. spiuosa, and inermis, Lin. ; 

 Alcanna spinosa, Gaert.). This plant grows plentifully in Egypt and 

 in most parts of the East, as far as India. From the leaves a paste 

 is compounded with which every Eastern beauty colours her hands 

 and feet. Nay, so ancient is the custom, that mummies have been 

 found with their nails dyed with henna. In later times, Mahommed 

 used henna as a dye for his beard, and the fashion was followed by 

 several of the caliphs. The use of henna is scarcely to be called a 

 caprice in the east. There is a quality in the drug which gently 

 restrains perspiration in the hands and feet, and produces an agree- 

 able coolness, equally conducive to health and comfort. It forms an 

 important article of commerce in all the Arabian towns. The pro- 

 duction in Egypt is said to exceed 6,500,000 lbs. ; 2216 cwt., valued at 

 3545Z,, were shipped from Morocco in 1873. 



Henna is largely used throughout Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Persia, and 

 India, as a substantive dye-stuff. It is but slightly, if at all, soluble in 

 cold water, but warm water into which a little lime has been thrown 

 readily dissolves oat the colouring matter. 



Henna is cultivated on a large scale at Touat ; a portion of this 

 region bears the significant name of the Henna Touat. The caravans 

 of Sahara supply all the Moghreb with it, and great use is made of 

 the plant as a cosmetic. European industry obtains from it a good 

 black dye. It is sold at Touat, 0*10 to 0*20 centimes for the rotal 

 of 1500 grammes. 



Henna appears to have been known in India in the time of Arrian, 

 as may be inferred from his statement that the people of India daub 

 their beards white, red, purple and green. It is used by the western 

 Hindoos, and the plant is abundantly cultivated in the vicinity of 

 Bombay, It is generally planted in India in the gardens and fields 



