SILKS, China, Japan, and Indian. Several provinces of China are so fertile in mulberry-trees, and their climate is so agreeable to the nature of silkworms, that the quantity of silk there produced is incredible: the single province of Tchehiang might supply all China, and even a great part of Europe, with this commodity. The silks of this province are the most esteemed, though those of Nankin and Canton be excellent.
The silk-trade is the principal in China, and that which employs the most hands: but the European merchants, who deal in it, especially in wrought silks, are to be careful of the spinning, &c. the waste being usually very great, as the French East India company have found to their cost.
In the year 1750, an act of parliament was passed for repealing the duties payable on China raw silk, imported into this kingdom by the East India Company, and intitling such silk, upon exportation, to the same drawbacks and allowances with the raw silk of the produce of Italy. And another act was passed in 1753, for the farther encouragement of the British silk manufacture. Japan would not afford fewer silks than China; but that the Japanese, a barbarous and distrustful people, have interdicted all commerce with strangers, especially with Europeans, excepting with the Dutch; who are said to be admitted on certain impious terms, related by Tavernier, but which we must own we cannot credit. The Dutch have endeavoured to vindicate themselves from these by the pens of several famous writers.
The silks of the states of the Great Mogul are brought in great quantities from Cassem-bazaar, a midland place, whence they are conveyed by a canal of 15 leagues into the Ganges, by which they are forwarded 15 leagues farther, to the mouth of the famous river of Indostan. The silk of Cassem-bazaar is yellowish; as are also those of Persia and Sicily; there being none, that we know of, naturally white, but that of Palestine. The Indians, however, whiten this with a ley, made of the ashes of a tree called Adam's fig-tree; but as this tree is pretty scarce, and they have not yet found any other that will serve in its place, the Europeans are forced to take the greatest part of their silks in their native yellow. Cassem-bazaar alone is computed to furnish every year 22,000 bales of silk, each bale weighing 100 pounds; of which the Dutch are said to export 7000 bales annually.
Great quantities of both raw and wrought silk are fur-
Skating. furnished by other parts of Bengal, and by several provinces of Indostan, which partly supply the natives, and afford a very considerable exportation to Europe. Several thousand bales of raw silk are annually imported from Bengal and China; some of which is, in this state, used for making princess-sluffs, but the greater part is prepared for the manufacturers by the silk-throwsters. The duty on thrown silk imported is 5s. 1d. , and the duty on raw silk, whether of the growth of Italy, Turkey, or India, is 1s. 4d. per pound.
The quantity of Bengal and China raw silk imported in 1783, was 3636 Bengal bales, each bale weighing about 150 great pounds, and 1390 China bales, at about 145 small pounds per bale.