THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE. 
521 
1846 .] 
or hard water. It is manufactured largely in the cocoannt district along the Ma- 
labar and Coromandel coasts, particularly at Tranquebnr : 
Overmunnoo and poonheer, (native names for substances containing soda, used 
likewise in dyeing, bleaching, tanning, and making native glass.) common salt, 
saltpetre, and lime; proper proportions of each of these be ng chosen, they are 
bruised together, and to the whole is added water su'fbcienl to dissolve their active 
properties; the mixture is well agitated for several hours, and allowed to stand tor 
three days. The clear liquid is then drawn off and boiled to the same consistence 
as we do our soaps. The oil is put, in when the liquid begins to boil, 
Gambier (i. e. cutch) is extensively grown in the island of Singapore, for the pur- 
pose of being boiled down to an extract used for tanning leather in England, and 
in China for mixing with betelnut as an astringent. The plant is a small shrub, 
which grows up quickly, and is principally cultivated by the Chinese emigrants in 
the Strait settlements. Could not madder, sumac, quercitron, and other vegetable 
substances used for dyeing and tanning, be concentrated in a similar way — thus 
saving much expense of freight,? 
The sesamun, bene seed, or gingilee oil is much used for burning, cookery, and 
medicine in the south of India. The leaves of the castor oil plant are used in 
some parts of India for feeding silk- worms. The castor oil bean is pressed in large 
quantities in Calcutta for the English and native markets. It is of better qu ility 
than any other in the world. In some parts of the country it is used for burning. 
In China it is used in medicine. The Chinese also use large quantities of the 
young soft horn of the deer for medicine. It brings sometimes the price of five 
dollars per catty (one and one-third pound.) 
Indigo. — This article is produced in the largest quantities and of the best quality 
in Bengal. Some good qualities also come from southern India, by the way of 
Madras and Bombay. It is also grown to much extent in Manilla and Java. 
The Chinese, who use blue dyes extensively for their cottons and silks, are the 
principal consumers of these last qualities. That of Bengal and Madras goes to 
Europe, Arabia, Persia, the Red Sea, and America. The indigo plant is grown 
with the greatest success in precise!}' the same kind of country, and nearly the 
same latitudes, as the lower part of Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama. What is to 
prevent our planters embarking in the speculation but want of knowledge on the 
subject? It is at present the most valuable staple of India after rice and opium, 
and supplies the markets of the world, with but small exceptions. But it is right 
to mention, though the profits of it are large, that it is attended with great risk, 
and many fortunes are gained and lost in the business in a period of three years. 
There are large quantities of liquid indigo used by the Chinese, which is grown 
and manufactured for them by their countrymen in Luconia. How it. is made. I 
am not aware of. 
Tiiere are likewise many other eastern products which might be grown in our 
southern States bordering on the Gulf'. The Mangoestein, which grows in Siam, 
and Dorian plum in Java and Malacca, I have very little doubt, could he grown 
there. Probably the bread fruit might also be propagated in those countries; and 
if the banana and plantain are not already there, I do not see why a trial should 
not be made of them, as well as the cocoanut. Probably the southern part of 
Texas would grow these articles as well as be admirably suited for indigo. 
Indian Corn. — This article is grown throughout India, China, Java, Luconia, 
and other parts of the east ; but it does not enter much into the consumption of 
the people of this part of the world, except to a limited extent by the Chinese and 
in the south of India. The English in India do not understand or appreciate th® 
value of it as an article of food either for man or beast. The Chinese cook it in 
the same way as we do in the green state. It is not exported. 
Gram. — This is a grain of a similar species to our buckwheat, only the corns aro 
much larger and of a red color. It has a three-cornered shape. It is grown all 
over India, but principally in Bengal, in the same latitudes a.s the lower part of 
Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It is used throughout the Company’s terri- 
tories as the staple food of horses, elephants, camels, sheep, &c. It is used but 
little for human food . I have never heard of Indian corn being used for feeding 
animals in India. Gram and rice paddy are universally used for these purposes in 
British India, and the consumption is immense. It is exported to Madras, Mauri- 
tius, Cape Colony, and Bourbon. It is always soaked for half an hour in water, 
and the paddy pounded before given to the animals. 
