Page:The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea.djvu/266

256 information probably reflects the esteem in which that mouth was held, as well as its predominant size, in his time

63. Malabathrum. — This was from the Eastern Himalayas, the greatest source of supply, as noted under §65. Ptolemy, also, says "the best malabathrum is produced in the country of the Cirrhadae."

63. Gangetic Spikenard. — This was probably the true spikenard, from the Himalayas, noted under § 49, and valued sufficiently to be shipped in considerable quantity to Nelcynda, where the Romans found it (§ 56).

Pliny describes another kind from the Ganges (XII, 26) which “is altogether condemned, as being good for nothing; it bears the name of ozœnitis, and emits a fetid odor.” This, as Watt remarks (pp. 451, 462, 792), was a variety of Cymbopogon or Andropogon, allied to the “nard root” of §39; probably Cymbopogon jwarancusa. These species, the lemon-grass, ginger-grass, citronella, etc., all yield aromatic oils, and until recently have been much confused.

Pliny confuses this grass also with malabathrum, which, he remarks (XII, 59), “is said to grow in the marshes like the lentil.”

63. Pearls.— These were not of the best quality; as Dr. Taylor remarks, those of the Ganges streams are inferior, being small, often irregular, and usually reddish.

63. Muslins of the finest sort, called Gangetic. — These are the muslins of the Dacca district, the most delicate of all the fabrics of India, an ancient test of which was for the piece to be drawn through a finger-ring. Ventus textilis, or nebula, were names under which the Romans knew of them. They are mentioned in the Institutes of Manu, in a way to show the organization of the industry: “let a weaver who has received 10 palas of cotton thread give them back increased to eleven, by the rice-water and the like used in weaving; he who does otherwise shall pay a fine of 10 panas."

Tavernier tells of a Persian ambassador who took his sovereign, on returning home, “a cocoanut of the size of an ostrich’s egg, enriched with precious stones; and when it was opened a turban was drawn from it 60 cubits in length, and of a muslin so fine that you would scarcely know that you had it in your hand.”

The history of cotton spinning in India goes back to remote antiquity, being associated with the Vedic gods or goddesses who are described and pictured as wearing woven garments. The patterns of such garments, showing great skill in both woven and tinted design, are abundantly reproduced from early temples in Mitra (Antiquities of