45^ fHE' TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [J^n. 1, 1904. 
The natural crimson pigment of the lac insect — 
from which a separate dye is manufactured iu India, 
and which gives its name to the artist's colour 
•i' crimson lake"— does not appear to be utilized in any 
■way in Ceylon. It is noticeable that a certain propor- 
tion of the insects— even in a single colony — are of a 
gamboge-yellow instead of crimson colour, and yield 
correspondingly a yellow pigment. 
riNGEK-NAIL LACQUEE-WOKK. 
The second class of lacwork is known as " niya- 
pothen" (finger-nail) work. The principal examples 
of this work are coloured walking-sticts and native 
ceremonial statf?. The headquarters of this branch of 
the industry is at a village named Hapuwida, in South 
Matale. It is confined to about five families. The 
name of this class of work is derived from the fact that 
the pattern is manipulated chiefly by the finger (or 
thumb) nail of the operator. 
The lac employori is that from Taehardtaalmzzce, 
and is here called " Keppitiya laooada," being collected 
principally from the " Keppitiya " tree (Groton aroma- 
ticus var. laccifenis). The insects occur on a number 
of other trees, but the laoworkera state that the lac 
grown on the croton is of a superior quality, and that 
lac from other trees is darker and more opaque. 
PKEPAEATION CF THK LAC. 
The preparation of the lac is, in most particul-xrs; 
Bimilar to that employed by the Tangalla workers. 
The crushed lac is enclosed ia narrow bolster-shaped 
bags of thin cloth. 16 is iieated over a charcoal fire, 
and the bag twisted until the melted lao oozes through 
the cloth. This melted lac is then scraped off with 
the back of a knife, and is drawn in the manner 
already described. Vermillion (" Sodilingam ") is the 
base of the red pigment. Dhobies' blue ("lsiilu")ia 
employed for the blue^tints. Orpiment (or rfulphide of 
Arsenic), locally known as " Hirial, " forms the yellow 
and buff colours. Black is produced by burning rags 
soaked in oil, and catching the soot on the bottom of 
an earthenware chatty. The greens are compounded 
from the blue and yellow pigments. 
The pigment is mixed into the drawn lac by soften- 
ing the latter and pounding the coloured powders into 
it This mixing is done by repeated blows with a 
blunt koife, which drives the colouring matter into the 
lac, the compound being kneaded and folded again and 
again during the process. 
From the nature of the appliances, this form of 
lacwork seems to he principally confined to the orna- 
mentation of wooden sticks, or of such pieces of 
furniture and other articles as are composed of rod like 
pieces of wood Joined together. It will be convenient 
to follow the process in its simplest form, namely, in 
the decoration of a walking-stick. 
THE PROCESS OP LAOQUBEING, 
The wood, having been fashioned into the requisite 
form and carefully smoothed, is first coated with the 
around colour (usually red). The only tools employed 
are small round tapered sticke, about 8 inches long, of 
some hard wood. The Epecimena iu the Museum 
collection are out from some kind of palm. The lac 
pigment is softened over glowing charcoal and a 
portion transferred to the point of this distributing 
tool, and worked about until it thickly covers about an 
inch of the extremity. This, in its turn, is again 
heated over the charcoal, and when suffipiently soft is 
spread evenly over the surface of the object by means 
of the same wooden tool. The object that is being 
coloured is itself repeatedly wnrmed to ensure the even 
distribution of the colour. The coating of pigment 
is then smoothed and polished with a strip of " ola " 
(Talipot leaf), a final polishing being given with a 
piece of soft rag. Upon this groundwork all the other 
-colours that form the pattern are overlaid in the 
manner described below. For this purpose the lao 
pigments are drawn out into threads of varying fine- 
ness in the foUcwinf; manner. A small piece of the 
requisite colour is attached to the point of the wooden 
to(rft It is repeatedly heated and kneaded upon the 
piece of palm leaf, to the smooth surface of which it 
does not adhere. When snffioiently ductile, the tool 
being held in the left hand, a piece of the softened 
mass is taken between the fiuger and thumb of the 
right hand and drawn out into a thread which, as it 
extends, is wound oflE round the bare knee and left 
hand of the operator, forming a short skein ; the 
thread being finally pinched off with the thumb nail. 
The thickness of the thread depends upon the rapidity 
of the drawing action ; the fine threads being produced 
by a rapid movement, while the broader ribbon-like 
threads are formed by a slower action. 
MAKING THE PATTEEN. 
To make the pattern — which is usually in thin lines 
of a lighter colour on the dark background — a thread 
of lac pigment of suitable thickness and tint is selected. 
The object is warmed, the end of the thread attached 
at the desired point and held in position with the 
thumb of the left hand. The thread is then applied, 
being made to follow any carves required by the 
pattern, and is finally cut off at the right spot with the 
finger nail. That portion of the object ia then again 
warmed, and the filament of colour pressed firmly into 
the substance of the groundwork by means of the strip 
of palm leaf. Broader bauds of colour are formed by 
applying many threads side by side, "When warmed 
and pressed into position, the several threads ooalesce, 
losing all trace of their composite origin. Dots are 
formed by applying the end of the thread and cutting 
off a minute piece w:ith the thumb nail. Such dots 
are consequently square or diamond-shaped. 
In this mp^nner the most intricate patterns are 
traced on the coloured ground, and great artistic taste 
is displayed in the execution. To ensure symmetry, 
the distances are carefully measured with thin strips 
of the palm leaf. The work is finally polished with a 
piece of soft cotton cloth, apparently without the 
assistance of any oil or other lubricant. 
The outturn of local lacwork is completely absorbed 
in the Island. It is very small, and the artificers do 
not seem at all enterprising or anxious to extend 
^heir operations or to find new markets. 
There seems no reason why the ludian lac insect, 
which secretes the resinous matter in much greater 
abundance, should not be established in Ceylon. Its 
plentiful occurence here might give a healthy impulse 
to the local trade in lacwork. I have made several 
attempts to introduce the Indian insect ; but owing to 
delay in postage and unsuitable packing, the insects 
have invariably died during transit. 
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF CEYLON LACS. 
The following analyses have been prepared by Mr. 
M. Kelway Bamber, Analytical Chemist to the Ceylon 
Government. For convenience of comparison, the 
analysis has been conducted by the method employed 
by sir. Hooper in his analyses of the Indian lacs. 
Composition of "Keppitiya lacoada " 
{T, albiszue, Green.) 
Per cent. 
Moisture ... ... ... 3'50 
Colouring matter ... ... 8*50 
Resin ... ... ... 74-72 
Bark, fragments, &c. ... ... 7'25 
Ash ... ... ... 6-0.3 
lOO'OOO 
Composition of " Tela-kiriya lacoada " 
(2'. Goncldferata, Green). 
Per cent. 
Moisture ... ... ... 245 
Colouring matter ... , ... 7-00 
Resin ... ... ... 85-81 
Insoluble ... ... ... 4 40 
Ash ... ... ... -34 
100000 
{Amals of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Fevadeniya,) 
