Henry Yule

“ We have seldom met with a more barbarous combination of impossible words than this. A numerous flock of these whistlers is sometimes seen in Bengal sitting in a tree, a curious habit for ducks.
WHITE ANTS. See ANTS, WHITE.
WHITE JACKET, s. The old custom in the hot weather, in the family or at bachelor parties, was to wear this at dinner; and one or more dozens of white jackets were a regular item in an Indian outfit. They are now, we believe, altogether, and for many years obsolete. [They certainly came again into common use some 20 years ago.] ”

“ He states that uchcha and nicha (Hind. uṅcha-nīcha, in reality for 'high' and 'low') are used in Canarese speaking districts to denote superior and inferior descriptions of an article, and supposes that wootz may have been a misunderstanding of uchcha, 'of superior quality.' The former suggestion seems to us preferable. [The Madras Gloss. gives as local names of steel, Can. ukku, Tel. ukku, Tam. and Malayāl. urukku, and derives wootz from Skt. ućća, whence comes H. uṅchā.] ”

“ Scott, of Bombay, in a letter to the President, acquainted him that he had sent over specimens of a substance known by the name of Wootz; which is considered to be a kind of steel, and is in high esteem among the Indians."—Phil. Trans. for 1795, Pt. ii. p. 322. [1814.—See an account of wootz, in Heyne's Tracts, 362 seqq.]
1841.—"The cakes of steel are called Wootz; they differ materially in quality, according to the nature of the ore, but are generally very good steel, and are sent into Persia and Turkey.... ”

“ Grant (Rural Life in Bengal, 25) give drawings of this boat, and the latter writes: "First we have the bulky Oolák, or baggage boat of Bengal, sometimes as gigantic as the Putelee (see PATTELLO) , and used for much the same purposes. This last-named vessel is a clinker-built boat—that is having the planks overlapping each other, like those in a London wherry; whereas in the round smooth-sided oolak and most country boats, they are laid edge to edge, and fastened with iron clamps, having the appearance of being stitched." ”

“ Rumphius mentions a kind of bamboo called by him Arundinarbor fera, the native name of which is Bulu swangy (see in vol. iv. cap. vii. et seqq.) . As buluh is Malay for bamboo, we presume that swangi is also Malay, but we do not know its meaning. (2) . Our friend Professor Terrien de la Couperie notes: "In the K'ang-hi tze-tien, 118, 119, the Huang-tchu is described as follows: 'A species of bamboo, very hard, with the joints close together; the skin is as white as snow; the larger kind can be used for boats, and the smaller used for pipes, &c.' See also Wells Williams, Syllabic Dict. ”

“ Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Gaertn., and from several other species of Dipt., which are among the finest trees of Transgangetic India. Trees of this N.O. abound also in the Malay Archipelago, whilst almost unknown in other parts of the world. The celebrated Borneo camphor is the product of one such tree, and the saul-wood of India of another. Much wood-oil is exported from the Burmese provinces, the Malay Peninsula, and Siam. It is much used in the East as a natural varnish and preservative of timber ”

“ Some so large as our English Spaniel Dogs, of a darkish gray colour, and black faces, with great white beards round from ear to ear, which makes them show just like old men. There is another sort just of the same bigness, but differ in colour, being milk white both in body and face, having great beards like the others ... ”

“ Ar. wāli. A Mahommedan title corresponding to Governor; ["the term still in use for the Governor-General of a Province as opposed to the Muḥāfiz̤, or district-governor. In E. Arabia the Wali is the Civil Governor as opposed to the Amīr or Military Commandant. Under the Caliphate the Wali acted also as Prefect of Police (the Indian Faujdār—see FOUJDAR) , who is now called Z̤ābit̤" (Burton, Ar. Nights, i. 238) ] . It became familiar some years ago in connection with Kandahar. It stands properly for a governor of the highest class, in the Turkish system superior to a Pasha. ”