asr?9
ufeful, the greater part is perfumed, and worn by the Chiefs
as a morning drefs.
All thefe trees are propagated with great care, particularly
the mulberry, which covers the largeft part of the cultivated
land, and is not fit for life after two or three year’s
growth, when it is about fix or eight feet high, and fome-
what thicker than a man’s thumb; its excellence is to be
thin, ftrait, tall, and without branches: the lower leaves,
therefore, are carefully plucked off, with their germs, as
often as there is any appearance of their producing a
branch.
But though the cloth made of thefe three trees is different,
it is all manufa&ured in the fame manner ; I ffiall, therefore;
defcribe the procefs only in the fine fort, that is made of
the mulberry. When the trees are of a proper fize, they are
drawn up, and ftripped of their branches, after which foe
roots and tops are cut off ; the bark of thefe rods being then
flit up longitudinally is eafily drawn off, and,-when a proper
quantity has been procured, it is carried down to Fome running
water, in which it is depofited to foak, and fecured from
floating away by heavy Rones i when it is fuppofed to be
fufficiently foftened, the women fervants go down to the
brook, and flripping themfelves, fit down in the water, to
feparate the inner bark from the green part on the ontfide;
to do this they place the under fide upon a flat fmooth board,
and with the fhell which our dealers call Tyger’s tongue,
Tellina gargadia, fcrape it very carefully, dipping it continually
in the water till nothing remains but the fine fibres
Gif the inner coat. Being thus prepared in the afternoon,
they are fpread out upon plantain leaves in the evening; and
in this part of the work there appears to be fome difficulty,
as the miftrefs of the family always fuperintends the doing
Voir. II. E e of