34 
LAC. 
on a lathe. The second can be employed for the decoration of other 
articles, such as panels, Kandyan walking-sticks, standard handles, and 
small pieces of furniture. The painted pottery and much of the 
decorative panel work—often classed as lac work in Ceylon—have 
really no connection with that art. The pigments employed in the 
painting of pottery are mixed with vegetable gums, and applied with 
paint brushes. Paint brushes are not and—from the nature of the 
medium—cannot be employed in true lacwork. 
As far as I have been able to discover, work of the first class is 
centred in the small village of Angalmaduwa (situate about 7 miles 
from Tangalla), and is in the hands of two small families only. I have 
visited this village and (with the exception of the actual mixing of the 
pigments, which was reserved as a trade secret) have seen the whole 
process. 
The product of two distinct species of lac insects ( Tachardia 
albizziœ, Green ; and T. conchiferata, Green) is employed by the lac- 
workers of the Tangalla District. The former, known to the natives 
as “Kon laccada,” occurs on the following trees:—“Keppitiya” 
(Croton aromaticus ), ■“ Kon” ( Schleichern trijuga), “Hinguru” (Acacia 
cæsia ), and “ Kittipol ” (a name which I have been unable to 
identify). I have found it also on “ Hulan-mara ” (Albizzia stipulata ), 
“Pehimbiya” (Filicium decipiens ), “Na-imbul” (Harpullia cupani- 
oides ), and Nephelium litchi. 
The latter (T. conchiferata ), known as “ Tela-kiriya laccada,” is a 
scarcer species, and is found by the natives only on the “ Tela-kiriya ” 
(Excœcaria Agallocha ), an Euphorbiaceous plant. I have myself 
taken this lac insect on a species of Acacia , in the Kandy District. 
Though less abundant than the other, this species is preferred by the 
lacworkers, as it produces lac of a brighter and clearer quality. They 
also use small quantities of imported Indian lac (the product of 
Tachardia lacca), which they purchase at Galle. It makes a quality 
similar to that of “ Tela-kiriya laccada.” 
A third species of Tachardia (which has been provisionally named 
T. lobata ) occurs in Ceylon on a species of Flacourtia. But the insect 
is so small and the resinous secretion so dense, that it would be of 
little or no value for lacwork. 
The wood employed by the lacworkers of Angalmaduwa is—almost 
exclusively—“ Suriya” (Thespesia populnea), which is light and easily 
worked on a turning lathe. It is seasoned (under cover) for about 
two months. “ Satinwood ” (Chloroxylon Sioietenia) is more rarely 
used. The work is smoothed with the leaves of the “ Sandpaper fig” 
(Ficus asperrima ). The objects usually manufactured are small tables, 
chairs, fancy cups, tom-tom frames, and walking-sticks. But any 
article, the parts of which can be revolved on a lathe, can be lacquered 
by this process. 
