CO NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES AND OUDII. 381 dyeing purposes. Tesu, a yellow dye, is obtained from the flowers of the dhik (Butea frondosa). The dye is extracted by steeping the flowers in a weak solution of lime in water. The bark of the babúl is the conmonest and most effective tanning agent used in the NorthWestern Provinces. The Cawnpur saddle and harness factory uses from 1000 to 1500 tons of babúl bark annually. Myrobolan, the fruit of the Terminalia Chebula, is used as a grey dye and concentrator of colour, but is really a tanning ingredient. It is well ground and mixed with babúl bark in the proportion of 16 per cent. Fibres. The only plants grown for their fibre in the Provinces are those generally known as sanai and patsan. The former (Crotalaria juncea) is a leguminous plant, cultivated chiefly in the Rohilkhand, Allahábád, and Agra Divisions. It is used almost solely for making ropes and nets, being rarely woven into cloth of any kind. Patsan (Hibiscus cannabinus) belongs to the cotton-plant family, and is chiefly grown in the Meerut Division. It is hardly ever sown by itself, but generally as a border to fields of cane, cotton, and indigo. The fibre is softer, silkier, and whiter than that of sanai, but not as strong. It is chiefly used for making coarse cloth, sacking, and thin ropes. There is little or no export trade in these fibres. Two other fibrous plants are grown in these Provinces, but not solely for the sake of the fibre. One is the true hemp (Cannabis sativa), cultivated in Kumkun on account of the intoxicating drug it produces, t charas and bhang of the búzúrs. The fibre is sometimes extracted and used for making sacks and ropes. The other is linseed (a variety of Linum usitatissimum, the flax plant), grown in India exclusively for the seed. None of the numerous attempts that have been made to utilize the fibre of linseed has proved a commercial success. Lac.—Lac, properly so called, is the gummy deposit of the lac insect (Coccus lacca), and is found mainly on the twigs of the dhik (Butea frondosa) and the pipal (Ficus religiosa). It is brought in large quantities from the wooded hills of the Central Provinces and Chutia Nagpur to Mirzapur, where 22 factories are engaged in the manufacture. Two kinds of lac are exported in considerable quantities. One is the red dye made from the dead bodies of the insects. The other is shell lac, which is made by the trituration and washing of stick lac, the form in which the substance is brought in from the jungle. 'I he total exports were 2045 tons in 1881 and 3500 tons in 1883. The Fruits and Vegetables of the North-Western Provinces are grown almost entirely for local consumption. The principal fruits are-mango (Mangifera indica), orange (Citrus aurantium), lemon (Citrus acida), citron (Citrus medica), lime (Citrus Limetta), pumelo (Citrus decumana), guava (Psidium guyava), custard-apple (Anona squamosa), plantain (Musa paradisiaca), pine-apple (Ananassa sativa),
