9 Hauing heerein thus troubled you by raising to your minde the consideration of certaine things, it shall not be impertinent to tell you that it shall not be amisse that you note all the order of the degrees of labour vsed in Turky, in the arte of Clothing, and to see if any way they excell in that profession our people of these parts, and to bring notice of the same into this realme.
10 And if you shall finde that they make any cloth of any kind not made in this realme, that is there of great vse, then to bring of the same into this realme some Mowsters, that our people may fall into the trade, and prepare the same for Turkie: for the more kinds of cloth we can deuise to make, the more ample vent of our commoditie we shall haue, and the more sale of the labour of our poore subiects that els for lacke of labour become idle and burdenous to the common weale, and hurtfull to many: and in England we are in our clothing trade to frame our selues according to the desires of forren nations, be it that they desire thicke or thinne, broad or narrowe, long or short, white or blacke.
11 But with this prouiso alwayes, that our cloth passe out with as much labour of our people as may be, wherein great consideration ought to be had: for (if vent might so admit it) as it were the greatest madnesse in the world for vs to vent our wooll not clothed, so were it madnesse to vent our wooll in part or in the whole turned into broad cloth, if we might vent the same in Kersies: for there is great difference in profit to our people betweene the clothing of a sacke of wooll in the one, and the like sacke of wooll in the other, of which I wish the marchant of England to haue as great care as he may for the vniuersall benefit of the poore: and the turning of a sacke of wooll into Bonets is better then both &c. And also not to cary out of the realme any cloth white, but died if it may be, that the subiects of this realme may take as much benefit as is possible, and rather to seeke the vent of the clothes died with the naturall colours of England, then such as be died with forren colours.
12 And if of necessity we must be forced to receiue certaine colours from forren parts, for that this climat will not breed them, I wish that our marchants procure Anile and such other things to be planted in like climats where now it growes, in diuers others places, that this realme may haue that brought in for as base prices as is possible, and that falling out with one place we may receiue the same from another, and not buy the same at the second or the third hand &c. For if a commodity that is to be had of meere necessity, be in one hand, it is dearely purchased.
1. How many seuerall colours be died is to be learned of our Diers before you depart.
2 Then how many of those colours England doth die of her owne naturall home materials and substances, and how many not.
3 Then to bring into this realme herbs and plants to become naturall in our soiles, that may die the rest of the colours, that presently of our owne things here growing we can not yet die, and this from all forren places.
4 There is a wood called Logwood or Palo Campechio, it is cheape and yeeldeth a glorious blew, but our workmen can not make it sure. This wood you must take with you, and see whether the Silke diers or Wooll diers in Turky can doe it, with this one you may inrich your selfe very much, and therefore it is to be endeuoured earnestly by you. It may bring downe the price of Woad and of Anile.
Other some things to be remembred.
If you can finde oat at Tripoly in Syria or elsewhere a vent for the Cappes called in Barbarie, Bonettos colorados rugios, which is a red Scottish cap as it were without brims, you should do your countrey much good: for as a sacke of wooll turned into fine Deuonshire kersies doth set many more people on worke then a sacke spunne for broad cloth in a grosser threed, so a sacke of wool turned into those Bonets doth set many more poore people on worke, then a sacke turned into Kersies, by reason of the knitting. And therefore if you can indeuour that, you worke great effect. And no doubt that a maruellous vent may be found out of them into Afrike by the way of Alexandria, and by Alcayer [Footnote: Cairo.] Southeast and Southwest thence.