October i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
233 
ALL ABOUT DYE STUFFS, OILS, TAN- 
NING SUBSTANCES, FIBRES, STARCHES, 
CAOUTCHOUC, TOBACCO, DRUGS, &c. 
FOUiND IN CEYLON. 
( By the late Henry Meadr, written some 40 years ago.) 
YE S UFFS. 
The coloring substances are very numerous 
although many of them are scarcely worth the 
attention of the merchant, owing to local 
difficulties in the way of procuring them at a 
reasonable cost. The art of dyeing, was no doubt, 
once extensively practised by the Singhalese, but 
at present it is confined to the fixing of a yellow 
color on the robes of the priests and to the stain" 
ing of mats. The dyers have not that command of 
tints, or that skill in blending them, which is 
possessed by the Hindus, and the result is, with very 
few exceptions, that the colored cloths worn by the 
people are imported from India. There is a small 
export of Chaya root to the Coast, but it decreases 
yearly in point both of extent and value. 
At the head of the list of Dye Stuffs stands the 
Roccella Tinctoria and Boccella Fuciformis, the 
Orchella weed of commerce. This article was first 
exported by myself, in the beginning of 1859 ; it 
was found growing in great abundance at Cal- 
pentyn, and over a range of about fifty miles of the 
narrow strip of sand, which lies between the 
Calpentyn lake and the sea. Enormous filaments of 
the Tinctoria, some of them as much as eighteen 
inches in length, by three quarters of an inch 
in breadth, were found hanging in clusters on the 
decayed branches of the oldest mango trees, whilst 
the mimosas and several varieties of asclepiadem 
^urnished varieties of the Fuciformis, still more valu. 
able. The Palmyra trees and Coconut trees were 
found to be thickly clothed with the lichen, except 
l n those instances where they had been frequently 
climbed. There was scarcely a tree or bush tha' 
was not covered, more or less, with the Roccella, of 
the worth of which the people were wholly ignorant 
It has now become a regular article of commerce. 
Except on the tract of seaboard, stretching from 
Chilaw to Tangalle, the whole line of coast exhibits 
Roccellas, growing more or Jess luxuriantly, but 
always confined to a narrow belt of vegetation 
within the influence of toe sea air. On the salt 
marshes of the western coast, and on the borders 
of the lagoons it is invariably found, and there is 
a large growth on the eastern side of the Peninsula 
at Ti'incomalee, and about thelewa>s of Haniban- 
tota. Where the roots are not torn off, it is repro- 
duced yearly. 
Though every variety of Roccella is well worth 
gathering, there are some kinds that are much 
more valuable than others ; and the following simple 
test will enable anyone to ascertain the compar- 
ative richness of the coding matter whioh they 
contain. Fill a bottle half-full of water, put as much 
of the lichen in, as will leave room to shake the 
contents of the bottle thoroughly, and add as much 
30 
spirits of ammonia as will make the liquor un- 
pleasantly pungent. Shake the bottle i.icoasiunally 
during six or seven days, opening it now and then 
to admit the air, and at the end of that time the 
water will exhibit a rich purple color, deepening in 
intensity for about a fortnight when the maceration 
is completed. A comparison of the result of different 
experiments will show the colorific value of the 
various kinds of weed, and the test is one that never 
fails. If a lichen fails to impart color to a mixture 
of ammonia and water it is not a dye stuff, what- 
ever else it may be good for. 
The Orchella dye requires no mordant. To fix 
the color on cloth it is merely necessary to pour the 
solution above described into boiling water, and im- 
merse the wool or cotton to be dyed in it for half 
an hour. The dye is not a permanent one, but its 
extreme beauty will always make it acceptable to 
manufacturers, who use it to impart a finith to their 
goods. The value of the weed in the home market 
varies from £45 to £60 per ton. The latter prioe was 
obtained in July last for a shipment of the Ceylon 
article.* 
Ccesalpinia Sappan. — This|veryjuseful dyewood is to 
be obtained in considerable quantity over the 
southern parts of the island, and was at one time 
largely exported. In 1842 nearly 400 tons were 
shipped to the home market, but since then new 
fields of supply have been opened, and the trade in 
Ceylon Sapan is absolutely annihilated. It is pro- 
cured more cheaply, and of equal if not superior 
quality, from Siam, Manilla and Japan. The local 
price here is £6 per ton, a rate which leaves a loss 
to the exporter. The coloring matter of Sapan is a 
rather weak red, but by adding lime to the solution 
or a quantity of Cassa leaves it is considerably 
strengthened. In a few years' time when the cessa- 
tion of demand has allowed the growth of trees to 
be largely increased, it is probable that the Ceylon 
trade in Sapan may revive and assume its old 
proportions, f 
Artocarpus Intcgrifolia. — The wood ofjthe Jack, 
and especially the roots, furnish a lasting and good 
yellow dye which is materially improved by adding 
to the bath a limited quantity of the leaves of the 
Bombee. But though the article would always 
command a sale in the home market, it cannot be 
made to any extent an item of profitable export. 
The wood fetches a higher price for furniture uses 
than the merchant could afford to give for it, so 
that it is only the roots and the sawdust that can 
be considered of value for dyeing. During the last 
few years it has been cut down so abundantly, that 
it will soon be necessary to search for the tree in 
more remote localities. 
Vitex Trifoliata. — The Kaha or yellow Mililla 
yields a very delicate pure dye which the priests use 
chiefly for giving the required religious hue to their 
robes. It has been sent home and sold as Fustic, 
with which it seems to be identical in point of 
coloring matter. It is not used for furniture like 
Jack, but is much employed in buildings, and would 
be barely worth exporting as a dye stuff. 
Oldenlandia Umbellata. — Saya Vaya. — This variety 
of Indian Madder grows wild on the western coast, 
especially in the Akerapattu, where it is gathered, 
dried and exported to India. It gives" out a dull 
but lasting red color, which local dyers know how 
to improve by the addition of about five per cent. 
* This was written about 40 years ago : the price 
of orchella weed is now from 20s to 30s, a cwt. 
The Export in 1888 from Ceylon was nearly 490 cwt. 
—Ed. 
t The price of sapanwood is now £5 @ £8 per ton. 
The export in 1888 from Oeylon was 3,803 cwt. 
valued at R20.190.— Ed. 
