Calamina

On this city of the martyrdom of St. Thomas, see Indian Antiquary, XXXII., pp. 148 seq. in Mr. Philipps’ paper, and XXXIII., Jan., 1904, pp. 31–2, a note signed W. R. P.

XIX., p. 361. “In this kingdom [Mutfili] also are made the best and most delicate buckrams, and those of highest price; in sooth they look like tissue of spider’s web!”

In Nan p’i (in Malabar) Chau Ju-kwa has (p. 88): “The native products include pearls, foreign cotton-stuff of all colours (i.e. coloured chintzes) and tou-lo mién (cotton-cloth).” Hirth and Rockhill remark that this cotton-cloth is probably “the buckram which looks like tissue of spider’s web” of which Polo speaks, and which Yule says was the famous muslin of Masulipatam. Speaking of Cotton, Chau Ju-kwa (pp. 217–8) writes: “The ki pe tree resembles a small mulberry-tree, with a hibiscus-like flower furnishing a floss half an inch and more in length, very much like goose-down, and containing some dozens of seeds. In the south the people remove the seed from the floss by means of iron chopsticks, upon which the floss is taken in the hand and spun without troubling about twisting together the thread. Of the cloth woven therefrom there are several qualities; the most durable and the strongest is called t’ou-lo-mién; the second quality is called fan-pu or ‘foreign cloth’; the third ‘tree cotton’ or mu-mién; the fourth ki-pu. These textures are sometimes dyed in various colours and brightened with strange patterns. The pieces measure up to five or six feet in breadth.”

XXI., p. 373.