The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Part 63

A kind of arrowroot is prepared from _C. angustifolia_, another species of this tribe of plants.

_Amaranthus gangiticus_, and another species, are much cultivated by the Hindoos for their stews and curries.

The quant.i.ty and value of the curry stuff imported into Ceylon, chiefly from India, has been in the last few years as follows:--

Quant.i.ty.

Years. cwts. packages. Value.

1847 6,866 1848 9,981 1849 26,347 109 9,664 1850 24,396 300 7,267 1851 32,550 9,446 1852 9,039

What is comprised under the term "curry stuff," I am not aware, but it appears to be a bulky article, for it was imported to the extent of 32,000 cwt. in 1852.

There are two varieties of turmeric usually sent into Europe from the East (whence all the turmeric imported into Europe is obtained), the "long" turmeric (_Curc.u.ma longa_), and the "round," or as it is better known the "Chinese turmeric." The latter description is very rare, the former is the common article of commerce. According to one of my correspondents, Mr. Hepburn, chemist, of Falmouth, Jamaica, the common or long turmeric is indigenous to that island, growing luxuriantly in the mountainous districts, in rather damp soils, its locality being in the vicinity of rivers, water-courses and springs. In this respect it differs from ginger, which requires a rather dry soil for its culture.

I am not aware that this plant possesses the property of impoveris.h.i.+ng the soil like the ginger. From the general habits of the plant in its natural state, we may gather the following rules for our guidance in its culture. The plants should be laid down in rows of five or six inches distant from each other, in a soil moderately damp, of an aluminous or clayey nature, and free to a great extent of the more soluble alkalies, potash and soda, as these, by absorption, may destroy the coloring matter of the plant, and so diminish its value as a dye-stuff. Finally, in preparing the roots for exportation, they should be cleansed from all earthy particles, exposed for drying in the shade, and without any further preparation bagged for s.h.i.+pment.

The coloring matter of turmeric is of an orange yellow color exceedingly delicate and capable of change, either from the action of light or of alkalies, which turn it to a dark brown color. It is slightly soluble in water, and readily soluble in an alkaline solution, becoming dark brown. Alcohol extracts the coloring matter.

The uses to which turmeric is applied are two: as an ingredient in the curry powder and paste, and as a dye for silk. It was some time ago used as a medicine; but though retained in the "Pharmacopoeias" of the present day, it is entirely discarded by the pract.i.tioner as a curative agent. The best Bengal and Malabar turmeric fetches a price nearly as high as that of ginger, and I see no reason why the West India planter could not send it into the British market quite as cheap as the East India trader. According to Dallas, 397 bags of turmeric were exported from Jamaica in 1797.

Turmeric is grown about the city of Patna and Behar. It is much cultivated about Calcutta and all parts of Bengal. One acre yields about 2,000 lbs. of the fresh root. It is also grown on the central table land of Afghanistan. The exports from Calcutta in 1841 were 11,000 Indian maunds, and 28,137 in 1842. The value of that exported from Madras in 1839 was 40,000 rupees, or 4,000; in 1840, 4,200. The quant.i.ty s.h.i.+pped from that Presidency in 1850 was 6,877 bags.

In the neighbourhood of Dacca about 200 lbs. of seed is sown to the beegah, measuring 80 cubits by 80, and the yield is from 640 to 800 lbs.

140 tons were imported into Liverpool in 1849, for dyeing and for curries; 414 tons in 1850; 11,554 bags and packages in 1851; and only 3,595 ditto in 1852. The price in January 1853 was, for Bengal, 10s.

to 12s.; China, 12s. to 14s., and Malabar 9s. to 12s. the cwt. The imports into London were 18 tons in 1848, 191 in 1849, and 980 in 1850. The deliveries for consumption, 192 tons in 1848, 270 in 1849, and 870 tons in 1850.

In China turmeric is used with Prussian blue in coloring and facing tea.

GINSENG

The produce of this plant, as an article of commerce, is confined to our transatlantic neighbours, who have the monopoly of the supply to China.

The root of _Panax quinquefolium_, the American ginseng, is much esteemed by the Chinese, for certain supposed beneficial effects upon the nerves, and for other presumed virtues; but our physicians have not discovered any proofs of its efficacy in Europe. The plant is an herbaceous perennial, growing upon the confines of Tartary and China, near the great wall. It is found wild, flouris.h.i.+ng in moist situations, and attains the height of from two to three feet; it is also now produced largely in the northern, middle, and western States of the Union, particularly Virginia, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, and a considerable trade is carried on with it to China. A variety of the plant was discovered, a few years ago, in the Himalaya mountains, and small quant.i.ties have been thence sent to Canton. It is also found growing in Canada. The root is about three or four inches in length, and one inch in thickness. It resembles a small carrot, but not so taper at the end, and is sometimes single, sometimes divided into two branches. The stem is striated, without branches, and of a red color near the root. The leaves, from four to six of which surround the stem where they form sheaths (bracteal), are simply pinnate. The flower stalk is long and green, the inflorescence a simple umbel. The fruit is a berry of a red color, and contains two seeds of the size of mustard seed. The officinal root differs in appearance, according to the country from which it is brought. In Korea and China it is white, corrugated when dry, and covered with a powder resembling starch. In Mandscharia and Dauria it is yellow, smooth and transparent, and when cut resembles amber. The taste of the root is bitter. Crude ginseng now sells in the Canton market at 70 to 80 dollars per picul of 133 lbs., and cured or clarified root at 130 to 140 dollars.

The stem of the plant, which is renewed every year, leaves, as it falls off, an impression upon the neck of the root, so that the number of these rings or marks indicates the age of the plant, and the value of the root increases accordingly. The Chinese government were formerly in the habit of sending out annually 30,000 Tartar soldiers to search for the plant, and each was obliged to bring home two ounces of the root gratis, and for all above that quant.i.ty he was paid its weight in silver. The Asiatic ginseng is said to be obtained from the root of _P. Schinseng_ of Nees von Esenbeck, _P. Pseudo ginseng_ of Wallich. This root might be procured in Prince Edward's Island and some of the other British North American colonies.

I have been able to trace, after some labor and research, the progressive exports of this curious article of trade from the United States.

In 1790, 813 casks, of the value of 47,025 dollars, were exported; and in 1791, 29,208 lbs. From 1803 to 1807, the annual value of ginseng s.h.i.+pped was about 123,000 dollars, and from 1820 to 1830, it averaged 157,000 dollars.

The following figures show the value of the article in subsequent years:--1831, 115,921 dollars; year ending 30th September, 1835, 94,960 dollars; 1837, 212,899 lbs., valued at 108,548 dollars; 1840, 22,728 dollars; 1841, 437,245 dollars.

The quant.i.ty s.h.i.+pped in 1839, from Philadelphia alone, was 317,443 lbs. In 1841, 637,885 lbs. were exported from the United States.

The value of that exported in the years ending 30th June, was 1844, 95,008 in dollars, and in 1845, 117,146 dollars; 110,000 lbs. were collected at Toledo, Ohio, in 1845. The value of the exports in the following years, ending June 30th, were--1847, 64,466 dollars; 1849, 162,640; 1849, 182,966; 1850, 122,916 dollars.

CORIANDER, CARRAWAY, AND OTHER SEEDS.

The fruits of anise, carraway, coriander, &c., (erroneously called seeds,) are in demand for various purposes.

CARRAWAY SEED is imported to the extent of 500 tons annually from Germany and Holland, the price being about 33s. per cwt. It is also now much grown in Ess.e.x and Kent. In the years 1848 and 1849, 7,000 cwt. of this seed was imported, of which nearly the whole quant.i.ty was retained for home consumption.

CORIANDER SEED is chiefly used by distillers, to produce an aromatic oil. The quant.i.ty imported annually does not exceed 50 tons, and it is brought princ.i.p.ally to the port of Hull. It is also cultivated in Suffolk, Ess.e.x and Kent.

Of MUSTARD SEED the aggregate quant.i.ty imported annually is about 2,000 tons for home consumption, and the flour is used as a well-known condiment to food, &c., and in medicine; the average price being about 9d. per pound.

ANISE.--The fruit of _Pimpinilla anisum_, under the name of aniseed, is princ.i.p.ally imported from Alicant and Germany (the first is preferred), but some is also brought from the East Indies. It is an annual plant, largely cultivated in Spain, Malta, and various parts of Germany, and also in the island of Scio, Egypt, and parts of Asia. The imports are not large; 192 cwts. paid duty in 1833, and 315 cwts. in 1840. About 60 cwts. are annually received at Hull from Germany. It is used to flavor liqueurs, sweetmeats, and confectionery of various kinds. Oil of aniseed is obtained by distillation from the fruit, and 1,544 lbs. were imported in 1839. About two pounds of oil are obtained from one hundred-weight of seed.

STAR ANISE, _Illic.u.m anisatum_, is a native of the countries extending from 23 deg. to 35 deg. of north lat.i.tude, or from Canton to j.a.pan.

The capsules const.i.tute in India a rather important article of commerce, and are sold in all the bazaars. Large quant.i.ties are also used in Europe in the preparation of liqueurs. 695 piculs of star aniseed were exported from Canton in 1850, valued at 8,200 Spanish dollars. 81 piculs of oil of aniseed were exported from Canton in 1845, and 105 piculs in 1850, valued at 11,900 dollars. 3,000 piculs of aniseed are exported annually from Cambodia.

PUTCHUK, OR COSTUS.

The substance called costus was highly prized by the ancients, and specimens may be met with at a few of the London drug-houses. It has been shown by Dr. Falconer to be the produce of a genus of the thistle tribe, to which he has given the name of _Aucklandia_. The root of _A.

Costus_ is supposed to be the _Costus Arabicus_, on the following grounds:--It corresponds with the descriptions given by the ancient authors, and is used at the present day for the same purposes in China, as costus was formerly applied to by the Greeks. The coincidence of the names--in Cashmere the root is called koot, and the Arabic synonym is said to be _koost_. It grows in immense abundance on the mountains which surround Cashmere. It is a gregarious herb, about six or seven feet high, with a perennial thick branched root, with an annual round smooth stem, large leaves and dark purple flowers. The roots are dug up in the months of September and October, when the plant begins to be torpid; they are chopped up into pieces, from two to six inches long, and are exported without further preparation. The quant.i.ty collected, according to Dr. Falconer, is very large, amounting to about two million pounds per annum. The cost of its collection and transport to a mercantile depot in Cashmere, is about 2s. 4d. the cwt. The commodity is laden on bullocks and exported to the Punjaub, whence the larger portion goes down to Bombay, where it is s.h.i.+pped for the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and China; a portion of it finds its way across the Sutlej and Jumna into Hindostan Proper, whence it is taken to Calcutta, and bought up there with avidity under the name of putchuk. The value is enhanced at Jugadree, on the Jumna, to about 16s. 9d. or 23s. 4d. per cwt. In the Chinese ports it fetches nearly double that price the cwt. The Chinese burn the roots as an incense in the temples of their G.o.ds, and they also attach great efficacy to it as an aphrodisiac. The imports into Canton in 1848 were 414 piculs; in 1850, 854 piculs; valued at 5,150 dollars. In Cashmere it is chiefly used for the protection of bales of shawls from insects.

The exports from the port of Calcutta were, in 1840-41, 19,660 maunds; in 1841-42, 12,847; in 1847-48, 2,050; in 1848-49, 2,110;--worth about 1,500 annually.

Specimens of amboyna wood, the odoriferous sandal wood from Timor, clove wood, and other choice woods from the Moluccas and Prince of Wales Island, were sent home to the Great Exhibition in 1851.

LIGNUM ALOES, the eagle wood and Calambak of commerce, yielding an aromatic perfume, is furnished by the _Aquilaria malaccensis_, and _agallocha_, in Silhet, an ornamental evergreen shrub. A very high artificial value is placed on the better qualities of this product by the natives of the East; the best quality being worth about 14 the picul of 133 lbs.

This fragrant wood is probably the lign aloes of the Bible.

Incense to the value of nearly one million and a quarter francs was exported from Alexandria in 1837.

Calambak or eagle wood, the true lignum aloes so highly esteemed in the East as a perfume or incense, is said to be produced by the _Aloexylum agallochum_, Lour. This remarkable wood contains a large quant.i.ty of an odoriferous oleo-resin; when heated it undergoes a sort of imperfect fusion, and exhales a fragrant and very agreeable odor.

Its price in Sumatra is about 30 per cwt. Inferior specimens are obtained at Malacca. Eagle wood is also obtained from several other trees. The true eagle wood is however very scarce.

SECTION IV.

DYES AND COLORING STUFFS, AND TANNING SUBSTANCES.

Of the several cla.s.ses of materials collected at the Industrial Exhibition in Hyde Park, in 1851, few possessed so much importance in the eyes of the textile and leather manufacturer and chemist as the different products used in the arts and manufactures for coloring and tanning purposes. These were in a great measure lost sight of by the public at large, being scattered about in small quant.i.ties in a great number of directions; and, from the minute samples shown, were in many instances overlooked altogether. Besides furnis.h.i.+ng some novel and general statistical facts, which may prove interesting, I propose also in this section to draw attention more prominently to some of these products, which are at present little known or appreciated.

Coloring substances for staining and dyeing are obtained indifferently from the animal, mineral, and vegetable kingdoms, but it is of the last alone that I shall have to speak. The importance of a more careful consideration of this subject will be admitted, if we consider how much the prosperity and extent of our cotton, silk, woollen, and leather manufactures depends on a liberal and cheap supply of dyes and tannin, to give beauty and color to the fabrics, and substance and utility to the skins. Even oil colors, for painters' purposes, which do not come within the scope of my remarks, form an item in our yearly exports of the value of 250,000, and when we calculate the large amount of cotton, silk and wool worked up, most of which requires various coloring agents, gums, starches, and mordants;--that nearly 30,000 tons of hides are annually imported, exclusive of those obtained from our now slaughter-houses, besides goat, seal, and other skins--and that the exports of our various manufactures of cotton, linen, silk, wool and leather in 1852, setting aside our home consumption, amounted to nearly fifty millions sterling, we shall be able to form a better estimate of the importance of the various subjects we are about to notice.

Great Britain does not pay less than 600,000 annually for the dried carca.s.ses of the tiny cochineal insect, while the produce of another small insect, that which produces the lac dye, is scarcely less valuable. Then there are the gall nuts used for dyeing and making black ink. Upwards of 3,000,000 is paid for barks of various kinds for tanners' purposes, about one million for other tanning substances and heavy dye woods, besides about 200,000 for various extracts of tannin, such as Gambier, Cutch, Divi-divi, and Kino. The aggregate value of the dye stuffs and gum it is difficult to estimate.

The beautiful specimens of materials imported from China, India, New Zealand, the Continent, and other countries, and exhibited at the Crystal Palace, proves to us that we have yet much to learn from other nations in the art of fixing colors and obtaining brilliant dyes. The French are much our superiors in dyeing and the production of fast and beautiful colors. Their chemical researches and investigations are carried out more systematically and effectively than our own. Russia imports dyewoods and dye-stuffs to the value of five millions and a half of silver roubles annually.

It was well observed by the Jury Reporters at the Great Exhibition, that "a vast number of new coloring materials have been discovered or made available, and improved modes have been devised of economically applying those already in use; so that the dyer of the present time employs many substances of the very existence of which his practical predecessors were wholly ignorant. From the increased use of many of the vegetable colors, and from the improved modes of applying the coloring matters, a demand has naturally sprung up for various dye stuffs; and at the present time, many of the dyeing materials of distant countries are beginning to excite the attention of practical men; for though they have been acquainted with many of these substances, it is only recently that the progress of the art has rendered their use desirable or even practicable."

It would be quite impossible, within the limits which I have a.s.signed myself, to make even a bare enumeration of the various plants and trees from which coloring substances and dye stuffs can be obtained, I must, therefore, be content to specify only a few.