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0064 Cathay and the Way Thither : vol.2
Cathay and the Way Thither : vol.2 / Page 64 (Color Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000042
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304 NOTICES OF THE LAND ROUTE TO CATHAY, ETC.

of Majorca and Spain in hampers. Orpiment, and the bag goes as orpiment. Safflower,' and you make tare of bag and cord, and after that they remain with the buyer gratis.

Henna ;~ and the bag goes as henna, only a tare of four   0
per cent. is allowed by custom of trade. Cummin ; and the bag goes as cummin, and if tied with rope the rope is al-

lowed as tare but remains with the buyer gratis. Pistachios ;3 and the bag goes with them with no allow- ance for tare, unless there be more bags than one, and if

there be, then the excess is weighed and allowed as tare, and the buyer has the one bag gratis.

Sulphur ; and the bag or barrel in which it is, is allowed as tare, and goes to the buyer gratis. Senna; and the bag is tare and goes to the buyer. Pitch; and the mat is allowed for as tare, and goes to the buyer. Mordct sangue ;4 the bag goes with it and no tare allowed.

The following are sold in the same way (but the particulars as to customs of sale, etc., are omitted) .

Saltmeat ; cheese ; flax of Alexandria and of Romania; Camlet wool ; washed wool of Romania ; unwashed ditto ; washed or unwashed wool of Turkey ; chesnuts.

I Here the word is Asfrole, the identity of which with safflower will perhaps be doubted. But at p. 373, where he makes the word adore, the description of the article and the way to judge of qualities appear to point to safflower. In other passages he has astifore, astuffi, but also zaffole (di Valenza) zaffiore, zafilore (pp. 64, 295, 211, 113, 134, 137).

2 "Alcana," the Cyprus of the Greeks, the Phylleria or Mock-privet of Gerarde, now called Lawsonia Inermis, used by Eastern women to tinge the nails, by men in dyeing the beard, etc.

3 Fistuchi. Though I do not find this form in any Italian dictionary, Macculloch's Commercial Dict. mentions Fastucchi as an Italian form of Pistacchi, and I have no doubt this is the word. For the Arabs call pistachioes Fustuk and the Turks, Fistik. The Persian is Pistah with no k, so that the word probably was first introduced in the Arabic form. I find Gerarde calls pistachioes Fistick-Nuts.

4 This perplexing word must be the Persian Murdah-sang, " Litharge." Burns however renders Moordar-sung (as he spells it) "sulphate of copper"

(Travels, iii, 207).

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