22 FRAUDS IN SILKEN STUFFS book ii
The Indians, not knowing the art of gilding silver,1
insert in their striped stuffs threads of pure gold ; on this account
it is necessary to count the number of threads to see if the stuff
contains the requisite quantity, and the same should be done in the
case of stuffs striped with silver. As for taffetas, it is only
necessary to see whether they have a uniform fineness, and next to
unfold some of them to see if they contain any foreign substance to
increase the weight, after which each piece should be weighed
separately, in order to ascertain whether it is of proper weight.
In
Ahmadabad, as I have said, an abundance of these stuffs is made of gold
and silk, silver and silk, and of silk alone ; and carpets 2
of gold and silver and silk, but the colours of these carpets do not
last so long as those of the carpets made in Persia. As for the
workmanship, it is equally beautiful. It is for the eye of the broker
to observe the size, beauty, and fineness of the work in the carpets
worked with gold and silver, and he should judge if it is good and
rich. Finally, in the case of carpets, and in other stuffs worked with
gold and silver, it is necessary to withdraw some threads to prove
them, and to see if they are of the standard which they ought to reach.
Frauds in Cotton Cloths, and, firstly, in White Cloths.
All
cotton cloths, both fine and coarse, which the Dutch company order to
be made in the Provinces of the Empire of the Great Mogul, are brought
in bales to the storehouse at Surat, and delivered to the broker about
the months of October and November.
The frauds commonly perpetrated are in respect of the fineness, the length, and the breadth.3 Each bale contains
1 The art is now well known in India. For the methods employed see Mukharji, Art Manufactures, 226 ff. ; Baden Powell, Handbook of Manufactures and Arts of the Punjab, 157 ff.
2 The word in the original here is tapis, which
should perhaps be translated otherwise than carpet, though that is the
ordinary signification of the word. Perhaps table-covers are meant.
[See also Index, s.v.] For the Alcatifs, lcarpetwithlongpile',see Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 11
' 'It
must be observed that all Indian weavers, who work for common sale,
make the woof of one end of the cloth coarser than that of the other,
and attempt to sell it to the unwary by the fine end, although
