The other weights in use at this Presidency are the under-mentioned :

The Bombay great weights are pice, seers, maunds, and candies, thus divided:

lbs. 02. dr.

30 pice, or 72 tanks, make 1 seer.........avoirdupois 0 11 3.2

Although the above represent the commonly received standard of gross weights at Bombay, yet there are a great number of commodities which are not governed by them, but sold by the Surat maund, which, notwithstanding it is said to contain only 40 seers, is sometimes 41, 42, 43, through all the intermediate gradations up to 46; nor is the candy uniformly confined to 20 maunds.

Pearls have here, as at Madras, a real and a nominal weight:

Rule for reducing the real to the nominal weight :-Multiply the square of the number of tanks by 330, and divide by the number of pearls ; the quotient is the number of Bombay chow.

By the Cutcha weight are sold jaggery, sugar, tamarinds, turmeric, ginger, mustard, capsicum, betel-nut, assafoetida, garlic, spices, pepper, cardamums, sandal-wood, wool, silk, cotton, thread, ropes, honey, wax, lac, oil, ghee, &c. The two latter are frequently sold by measure.

ARTICLES PROCURABLE AT BOMBAY, WITH DIRECTIONS.

ALKALI.-The Alkali brought to Europe, is chiefly of two sorts; one of which, Barilla, is brought as ballast instead of stones, generally loose, but sometimes in mat bags. Care should be taken that it is properly dunnaged, as it will diminish considerably if the water gets to it. It should be chosen dry and clean, of a greyish blue or slate colour, both within and without, and full of small holes, like sponge; if good, it will bubble much on being put into vinegar. Reject that which is of a blackish green colour, and of a disagreeable fetid smell. The other is an impure Carbonate of Soda, (Sejji-mitti, Hind. Sorjica, San.), resembling a sandy earth, sometimes in lumps, sometimes crumbled into powder. It is mostly brought, like the former, as ballast, or dead weight. The freight, when charged, is at the rate of 20 Cwt. to the ton.

ANACARDIUM is the fruit of the Malacca bean-tree, (Anacardium Orientale), growing in various parts of the East Indies; it is a kind of nut with a double shell, containing in the space between the outer and inner shell a fungous substance, filled with a dark-coloured viscous fluid, which is easily forced out upon cutting the nut, and squeezing it between the fingers. This juice rubbed on linen or cotton gives a reddish brown stain, and when rubbed with wet chunam, deepens to a full black, which is permanent: it is used in India for marking linen, and hence the nuts are called markingnuts. They should be chosen large, plump, and fresh.

ANIME is a resinous substance, which flows by incision from the trunk of a large tree, (Hymenaea), growing in several parts of the East Indies, and in South America. It has a light pleasant smell, little or no taste; colour a fine pale yellow; in the best specimens it is quite clear and transparent; it readily breaks between the teeth, but on long chewing, softens and sticks together. Gum Anime should be chosen in large pieces, clear and transparent; it is much enhanced in value by having the dirty outside scraped off, which can be done at a small expence in India, compared with London: when laid on a red hot iron, it quickly melts, catches flame, and

burns away with a fragrant smell, leaving only a small quantity of lightcoloured ashes. That which is small, dark-coloured, and opaque, should be rejected. Freight 16 Cwt. to the ton.

ARRACK.-This spirit is manufactured at several places in the East Indies-Goa, Columbo, and Batavia. This is a branch of trade, of which the Dutch have almost deprived the Portuguese, the art of making it being transferred for the most part from Goa to Batavia. Goa arrack is both double and treble distilled; it is weaker than that of Batavia, but has a peculiar and agreeable flavour, which makes it preferred to the other sorts. The Columbo arrack is inferior.

There are various accounts of the materials used, and the mode of making arrack; and the disagreement of these accounts seems to arise from the general appellation of arrack being given in most parts of India to every kind of spirituous liquor. The natives call our gin, English arrack. It is certain that the flavour of the several kinds of arrack differs as much as those of brandy, rum, or any other spirituous liquors. The Goa arrack is invariably made from a vegetable juice called toddy, which flows by incision from the coco-nut tree: when a sufficient quantity of toddy is procured, it is left to ferment, which it soon does; when the fermentation is over, and the liquor or wash has become a little tart, it is put into the still, and suffered to work as long as that which comes over has any considerable taste of spirit. The spirit thus procured is the low wine of arrack, and so poor a liquor, that it will soon spoil if not distilled again, to separate some of its phlegm it is therefore immediately poured back into the still, and rectified to that very weak kind of proof-spirit in which state we generally find it. The arrack we meet with, notwithstanding its being of a prooftest, according to the way of judging by the crown of bubbles, holds but a sixth, and sometimes but an eighth part of pure spirit; whereas our other spirits, when they shew that proof, are generally esteemed to hold one-half pure spirit.

Batavia arrack is obtained by distillation from rice and sugar; it is said that the Chinese junks import large quantities of samshew, a hot, fiery spirit from China, which is mixed with the arrack; but it is more probable that it is consumed by the numerous Chinese who reside in that settlement.

The following are the East India Company's Regulations for shipping Arrack, &c.-No arrack, or other spirits, are permitted to be shipped in India, or China, on any of the Company's ships returning to Europe, except such as shall be for the use of the ship's company on the voyage, or in the immediate privilege of the commander and officers.

Each cask or chest, shipped for the use of the ship's company, shall be

K

marked " Stores ;" and each cask or chest, shipped on the private account of any of the officers, shall be marked with the name at length of the person to whom it belongs; and such casks or chests as shall not be so marked, shall be taken and deemed to be the property of the commander. In order to ascertain the sums to be charged, as hereafter mentioned, before the respective accounts shall be adjusted and passed the Court, the arrack and other spirits received into the warehouse, shall be the first private trade articles put up to sale by each ship.

Should those marked "Stores" be refused to be bought, or not sell for a sum equal to the King's and Company's duties, the difference shall be charged to the owners in their account of freight and demurrage.

Should those marked with the name of the respective officers of the ship, or those deemed to be the property of the commander, in the same manner, sell for less than the duties before specified, the difference shall be charged in their respective accounts of private trade; but should it so happen that an officer importing arrack or other spirits, has not a sufficient quantity of other goods to answer the deficiency arising as aforesaid, then in that case such officer shall not be employed again in the Company's service, until he has paid the amount of such deficiency into the Company's treasury.

The tonnage of arrack is calculated at 252 gallons per ton.

ARRANGOES are large beads formed from the rough cornelian, of various shapes, barrel, bell, round: all are drilled. The barrel-shaped, cut from the best stones, are from two to three inches long, and should be chosen as clear as possible, whether red or white, having a good polish, and free from flaws; the bell-shaped are from one to two inches long, and inferior in every respect, being made from very inferior stones, and of little value. Considerable quantities were formerly imported; but in consequence of the abolition of the slave trade, the demand is now very trifling. 20 Cwt. of arrangoes are allowed to a ton.

AwL, or morinda, is a tree of a middling size, growing on the Coast of Malabar, and other parts of India, the root of which spreads, and strikes into the ground three or four feet; the trunk is used only for fuel. The roots, which are long and slender, are used as a dye in many parts of India; the colouring matter resides chiefly in the bark of the root. The small twigs which contain little wood, bear a higher price than the larger pieces; therefore the roots when dug up, are divided into three sorts, coarse, medium, and fine: the coarse sells for about a rupee per maund, the medium two or three, and the fine four rupees per maund. Indepen

dent of the consumption of this dye in the province of Malabar, large quantities of it are exported to Guzerat, and the northern parts of Hindostan, to the value of several lacs of rupees per annum. It is seldom imported into Europe.

BETEL NUT, so called, but properly Areca Nut, is the fruit of the Areca Palm, (Palma arecifera), a fine slender upright tree, not above 6 inches in diameter at bottom, and upwards of 30 feet high. The leaves grow like those of the coco-nut tree, and the nuts are in clusters. The husk, which is yellow on the outside, and brown and fibrous within, covers a nut about the size of a nutmeg; shape somewhat conical: it is white, and marbled within with purplish veins, of a light brown externally, moderately astringent, and insipid to the taste. The nut is grown in various parts of India, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and the Eastern Islands. That produced on the Coast of Malabar is of two sorts, boiled and raw: the former is the nut cut in slices, and boiled with a small quantity of Terra Japonica, then dried, when it is fit for sale; the other is the nut in the state we see it. When new and good, the nut will have a whitish skin on the broad end; but when old, the skin is easily rubbed off. Those which are worm-eaten and decayed, should be rejected.

The largest supply of Betel Nut is from the Coast of Pedir, which produces it in great abundance. These nuts are seldom imported into England, though they might be of use in some manufactures. In Coromandel and Malabar they are used in dying cotton goods. Betel Nut is an article of considerable trade from port to port in India; and a very large quantity is annually carried to China.

CARDAMUMS are produced in several parts of India, but the best from the Malabar Coast are usually brought to England. They are the produce of the Amomum Cardamomum, (Ilachi, Hind. Ela, San.) a small plant, growing in some places without cultivation; in others they are propagated by cuttings from the roots; in the third year the plants come to perfection, bearing abundantly for a year or two, and then die. The capsules are gathered as they ripen, and when dried in the sun, are fit for sale.

The usual crops raised in Malabar are estimated at about 100 candies, which are distinguished by the places of their growth, and are esteemed as follow: