A Letter from Mr. Nich. Waite Merchant of Lon- 
don, to Dr. Rob. Plot ; concerning fome Incom- 
buftible C\ox\i^ lately expofed to the Fire before 
the Royal Society. 
Sir, 
TH E great refped and honour I bear to the learn- 
ed and ingenious Gentlemen of the J^oyal Society, 
prevailed with me, within few days after ray arrival in 
this City^ to expofe to their fig1;it & examination a piece of 
of LinnenCloth, which by their experiment confumed not 
in the fire i and you being tliendelirous I would give a 
{bort narrative oiwhQ.t Subftance^ and in what /'^r^j- it is 
faid to be made I here fend you the fame account I re- 
ceived of it, from one Conco, sLnatnvgiiChine/e, refident 
in the Gty of Batavia in the North-Eaft parts of India. 
Who, by means of Keay-arear Sukfadana ("likewife a 
Chine fey and formerly chief r^(y7(?;w5r to the old Sultan oi 
Bantam) did after fcveral years diligence, procure, from 
gi grezt Mandarin in Lanquin (sl province of China,) near 
I of a yard of the faid cloth; and declared that he 
was credibly informed, that the Princes of T^^r^^^ry, and 
others adjoy ning to them, did ufe it in burning their dead-, 
and that it was laid and believed by them, to be made 
of the under part of the root of a tree growing in the 
VrovincQ ot Sutan ; and was luppofed, in like manner, 
to be made of the Todda trees in India : and that, of the 
upper part of the faid root, near the furface of the 
ground, was made a finer fort, which in three or four 
times burning I have feen diminifli almofl half: They 
report alfo, that out of the faid tree there diftills a liquor, 
which not conluming, is ufcd with a IViel^ made or the 
K k 2 lame 
