t 



306 ORIENTAL COMMERCE. [Calcutta. 



Terra Jafonica, or Cutcii, (Cailu San.) is an extract from the wood 

 oi the Mimosa Catechu {Guvaca, San.), which grows wild in Malabar. It is 

 felled at any season, the white wood removed, and the heart cut into small 

 pieces, which are boiled in an earthen pot, for 3 hours ; when the decoction 

 has become ropy, it is decanted. The same quantity of water is again added, 

 (viz. half the measure of the wood), and it is boiled until it is ropy, when it is 

 decanted, and a third water given. The three decoctions are then mixed, and 

 the next morning boiled until the extract becomes thick like tar; it remains 

 in the pots for two days, and becomes so hard as not to ran. The inspissated 

 juice is then formed into balls or cakes, dried 7 days in the sun, and two 

 months in the shade. It is imported from Bengal and Bombay : the latter 

 is of an uniform texture, and of a red brown tint ; the Bengal kind is more 

 friable, and Jess consistent. It is generally in square cakes ; its colour 

 resembles chocolate externally, but when broken, it appears in streaks of 

 chocolate and brown. It is frequently mixed with sand and other impuri- 

 ties; has little or no smell, but a sweet astringent taste, melts in the mouth, 

 and is gritty. It should be chosen of a clear uniform chocolate colour, the 

 brightest and least burnt that can be, and as free from impurities as possible; 

 if it be perfectly pure, it will totally dissolve in water ; if otherwise, the 

 impurities will remain behind. It is sometimes met with of a pale reddish 

 brown, of a dark blackish brown, or black like bitumen. Some kinds are 

 ponderous, others light; some compact, others porous; some more, others 

 less astringent ; and these differences happen according to the manner of 

 obtaining them ; but the heaviest and most compact are reckoned the 

 best. It is an article of considerable trade from India to China. 17 Cwt. 

 are allowed to a ton. 



SECTION XXIL 

 BENGAL TO THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



I 1 HE head of the Bay of Bengal, from the Hughly River to the 

 principal branch of the Ganges, which is low, level, and woody, is called the 

 Sunderbunds, and is intersected in various directions by creeks and rivers. 

 The country on each side being covered with wood, affords a harbour for 



