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Linnæus

An account of the culture of the plant, called by Linn Oldenlandia Umbellata, and by the Indians on the Coromandel coaft, Che; the roots of which afford the fine permanent red dye to cotton. Communicated by James Anderfon, M. D. phyfician to the prefidency at Madras, in a letter to James Anderfon. L. L. D. at Gatfield near Leith Dated: Augustbz.1788. wą Leng (11 03 gribrosos elul ti podw_Jadum THE feeds of Oldenlandia or Che, are gathered in January, and fown in July. The roots are dug up in March. When the feeds are fresh gathered, I fhall fend you enough to ar rive without any risk of lofing their vegetative power.

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It grows every where here a fmall weed; but it is only by particular culture the roots become poffeffed of the beau tiful and permanent red dye, the feeds of which only are preferved for crop.

To enable you to judge whether our West India iflands are capable of its culture or not, I must give you a fketch of the Coromandel coaft, and the nature of the foil employed for raifing Che: Of the climate you have somewhat in the philofophical tranfactions. as pied ftom

It appears to me, that the decompofition of the mountains, washed down by the freshes, have extended a clay foil which encroaches fome miles on the ancient bed of the fea, folasto form a level plain along, the coast, about two or three feet higher than the fea's furface..

This being established, there are rivulets at a few miles only from each other, which wash great quantities of fand from the foil of the inland country, till it reaches the fea, when it is carried off at a right angle by the current, and thrown out by the furf, fo as to form the beach.

Now, the high winds that frequently blow here, drive. this fand farther backwards; fo that in ages, the clay foil is. in many places covered with pure fand to the height of two or three feet, and here and there a fand hill, thirty or forty, feet high.

It is in thofe parts, where the fand is evenly fpread, the Che is cultivated. The fandy plain is evenly laid out in

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beds like a garden, on which the feeds are fown and fully watered every third morning at fun-rife for the first month,

The value of the

as well as thot here prevents its being fent to EuTo obtain the full effect of the dye; fo that a dyer must ometimes repeat his procefs 200 times before he hits the right colour. earon nga W note

the power of the fun's rays are necef

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The root, which is very flender and long, when dried, is put up in bundles about a fpan in girt, and brought thus to market, where it fells according to its quality, at the rate of from teh pagodas, or four pounds Sterling, to feventy pagodas, or twenty-eight pounds Sterling the maund, or quarter of an hundred weight.

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Tranflation from the Talinga for the cultivation of the Che or Chay*.

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The way of gathering feeds of Chay root, when the plants are well grown and red-coloured, and after they have flowered and produced fruit and long roots, then it is time to get the feed, as the feeds are very fmall, and drop down under the plants, it can only be gathered with the fand, which must be kept as in a heap till next year, as it cannot be ufed that year. The ground fhould be fandy, and where there is fweet water, well manured with fheep's dung; or Theep thould be kept on the ground for that purpofe, and then ploughed, the more frequently the better, feven or eight times. It must be perfectly level, without grafs, and divided into beds of one yard breadth, and four yards long, with a narrow water courfe. The feeds must be fown thinly therein, and Palmira leaves placed over the furface, and the water poured on them to prevent the feed being washed out of the ground until they fhoot up, which will be in 5 or 6 days. For two months after this, the ground must be kept conftantly wet and sprinkled befides with water, having cow dung mixed with it every morning, to prevent the hoots being blown off by the wind;, during the remaining months the cow dung may be omitted, and the ground only water

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This was read in the Royal Society of Edinburgh, November 38 ; and the original, from whence the tranflation was made, lodged with the fecretary of the fociety:

ed twice a day, morning and evening.-Grass must not be allowed to grow. If managed as above, it will be grown in fix months, when it must be dug up with a large iron bar, to prevent the roots being broke, and bound into small bundles, that are to be dried and bound into larger bundles, of two maunds weight, or 150 pound weight.

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After cutting or beating off the upper part, the roots must be well powdered, and mixed up with four times their quantity of water in a pot, and boiled for fome time, both for painting and dying red. For the painted Calengary or Chintz, the painters ufe other ftuffs together with Chay root, according to their convenience, as Brafil wood, to shew them where the red is to be put, but the Che root is the princi pal.--The ground that is planted with Chay root cannot be ufed for the fame purpofe again for five years.

N. B. Seeds of the Oldenlandia Umbellata were fent by three different conveyances, which all arrived fafe in Britain. -One parcel was given to the royal fociety for the promotion of arts, in the Strand, London; another parcel to the fociety of agriculture, Bath; and another to the philofophic and literary fociety at Manchester; with a request to the first, that a fmall parcel of the feeds fhould be communicated to Sir Jofeph Banks, Bart. and another to the king's gardener at Kew;-the remainder to be diftributed among fuch perfons here, and in the West Indies, as were moft likely to give this plant a fair trial. It was alfo requested, that the members of the other focieties would take the trouble to fend thefe feeds, chiefly to their correfpondents in the West Indies, fo as to give it a chance of a fair trial in different places. At the fame time, as the root is of fo great value, it could admit of being imported directly from India as an article of commerce; and fome of the roots have been accordingly ord ed home for a trial.

It muft, however, be admitted, that the ufe of this drug is not now fo much wanted here as forrmerly, fecing an ingenious gentleman, now at Glafgow, has difcovered a method of dying cotton of a permanent red, little inferior te that from India.

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AW #SVO THE BEE,

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„SCUSS 81.2 (WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16. 1791.

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To the Editor of the Bee.

Thoughts on the modern prevalence of Bankruptcies.

SIR,

YOUR publication, which, though yet in its infancy, I flatter myfelf will be of extenfive utility to the world, invites the philofopher, the fcholar, the merchant, or the obferver, alike to communicate their ideas, which, after being fanctioned by your approbation, are thus given to the public. Perhaps in the prefent fituation of the commercial world, the number of Bankruptcies which have of late happened, may claim a few thoughts, 25 a as a fubject highly interefting to a mercantile nation. To remedy the evil entirely is perhaps impoflible while trade exifts, and fortune is capricious; but ought not fome diftinction to be made in the eye of the world, between the fituation of the extravagant unthinking villain, the hafty fpeculator, and the worthy man, who has been ruined by their schemes, ftrug. gling under the burden of a numerous family, and A man in deeply affected with his fallen condition? the fituation of the latter, is most deserving compaffio on him the creditor ought not to wreck that venge VOL. I.

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which is only deftined for guilty heads. Yet how of ten do we see him reduced to poverty and want, expofed to the mifery of a jail, without friends and without help! A man in this fituation is an object of pity! he who refufes it is unworthy of a better lot. On the other hand, the more fplendid spendthrift, who indulged himself in all the fashionable fellies of fenfuality and extravagance, who perhaps was the ruin of the former, whofe credit was never fupported but by the most ruinous means, viz. "wind bills, and perfonal affurance," often meets with that pity which the other never has found: in a fhort time furmounts his difficulties or feeming embarraffments: overleaps the bounds of prudence, and begins again his ruinous career with undiminished fplendor; defpifing alike the cenfures of the world, and of his own confcience, hackneyed in iniquity. Ought not the one to be admired in his misfortunes, and the other reprobated in his fplendor, and detefted, though furrounded with the glare of tinfelled fhew?

As matters have flood for fome time paft, there is no man who deals extenfively but muft fuffer; and the fraudulent bankrupt is generally the one who lives moft fplendidly.

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When we trace bankruptcies to their fource, we generally find extravagance at home, ruinous speculations, or misfortunes, the caufe to which they have been owing. Could not fome mode be adopted to check the growth of this growing evil? Could not fome mark of odium be ftamped upon them by the public? The wife moft furely would applaud a fcheme for that purpose: 'tis a pity it has not been already put in execution. For inftance when it was clearly proved that a man had fairly ruined himfelf by heedlefs expenditures, which he well knows his circumftances could not admit of; if he is a member of a mercantile fociety, and it is infinuated that either fraudulent practices, or fome other caufe, owing to himself, have been the caufes of his

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