r 



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plump, and very full of juice, are light, flabby, arid 

 withered, and look more like dung than any thing 

 elfe, which niakes them frequently give the name of 

 rot to the fteepcr. If then we no longer find in the 

 leaves, and the reft of the plant, the fame fubftance 

 that was obfervable in it before it was laid to fteep, 

 is it not moft natural to believe, that it is the fame 

 fubftance and falts, which, being freed from their in- 

 clofures, and diffufed in the water, have thickened it, 

 and by their union or coagulation have formed that 

 blue mafs which they call Indigo, fo ufeful in piiinting 



and dyeing ? 



The culture.] This plant requires a good rich level 

 foil, not too dry; it greatly robs and impoverifties 

 the ground where it grows, and muft be alone. There 

 cannot be too much care taken to keep it clean, and 

 to hinder herbs of any kind whatever from growing 

 near it. They weed and cleanfe the ground where 

 they intend to plant the Indigo feed, five times over. 

 I ftiould think they ftiould call it fowing, but the 

 term of planting is confecrated in our ifles, and I do 

 not think I ought for the fake of a word to fall out 

 with our planters, who deferve our efteem upon a 

 thoufand accounts, though they have got a habit of 

 murdering the French language. They fometimes 

 carry their neatnefs to fuch a pitch, that they fweep 

 the piece of ground as they do a room. After that 

 they make the holes wherein the feeds are to be put 

 for this purpofe ; the flaves, or others, who are to 

 ■work at it, range themfelves in the fame line, at the 

 top of the piece of ground ; and going backwards 

 they make little drills the breadth of their hoe, of the 

 depth of two or three inches, at about a foot diftance 

 every way, and as much as poffible in a ftrait line. 

 'When they.are ;:ome to the end of the ground, each 

 . furnifties himfelf with a little bag of feeds, and re- 

 . .turning that way they came, they put eleven or 

 i:thirteen feeds into each of the holes they have made, 

 r A relick of fuperftition has taught them that the 



- number muft be odd. I by no means approve of this 

 rpraftice, but I ftiall take care not to endeavour to 



- jhew them the ufelefTnefs and folly of it, being fa- 

 ; tisfied I ftiall only lofe my time and labour. 



-This work is the moft toilfome of any in the manu- 

 • fadure of Indigo ; for thofe who plant it muft be al- 

 . ways ftcoping, without rifing up, till the planting of 

 the whole length of the piece is ended -, fo that when 

 that is large, which almoft always happens, they are 

 ^ obliged to. remain two hours, and often more, in this 





\ 





care 



4. j^jh» i^T,. 



- pofture. ■;. l-'''r . . ' . . ' 

 When they come to the top of the piece, they go 

 back again, and cover the holes where they have put 

 the feed in, by thrufting in with their feet the earth 



- they had taken out of them, and fo the feed is covered 

 with ;|bQut, two inches of earth, j.^ - ^ ;^ 



•The culture of this plant may be rendered very eafy, 



:* provided the inhabitants of our colonies in America 



could be brought to make ufe of the drill plough ; 



- for with this inftrument two perfoiis and a horfe or 

 ' mule will fow more land with Indigo in one day, than 



- twenty perfons can perform in the fame time, in the 

 '.method now praftifedj for the plough makes. the 



drill, and the hopper which is fixed to the plough 

 •■ follows, and fcatters the feeds at equal diftances in 

 . the drills ; and another inftrument behind the hopper 1 cloth, which they tie by the four corners -, and this is 



N D 



encouraged; and the ftrongcft and m.oft thriving 

 plants will always make the bcft Indigo. 

 What Le Bat fays of cutting the plants before ificy 

 are too old, in order to hiivc t!ie Indigo of a better 

 colour, is certainly right. Therefore as fuon as the 

 flowers begin to appear, ic Ihould be cut; for if it 

 ftands much longer the ftems of the plants will s^row 

 hard and ftringy, and the lower leaves will chtnge 

 to a yellowifti colour, which v/ill render the Indit^o 

 lefs valuable ; as will alio the plants being too dole 

 together, which will occafion their bottom leaves to 

 decay for want of free air : the fame will happen if 

 weeds are fuffered to grow among the plants. There- 

 fore there muft be great regard to their being kept 

 always clean. 



Though all feafons are good for the planting of In- 

 digo, yet care muft be taken not to put it in the 

 ground in a dry time : it is true, the feed may keep 

 a whole month in the ground, without being fpoiled ; 

 . but when it is planted fo, one runs the rifk of having 

 it eaten up by vermin, or carried away by the wind, 

 or choked by the weeds that fpring up with it ; fo that 

 the prudent planters never run the rifle of planting it 

 dry, i. e. at a time when they do not probably expeft 

 rain in two or three days after the planting is ended : 

 they chufe therefore, ufually, a moift feafon, which 

 promifes rain, and then they are fure of feeing the 

 plant fpring up in three or four days after its being 

 planted. 



Notwithftanding all the care that has been taken in 

 clearing the ground where the feeds have been 

 planted, the planter muft not be carelefs when the 

 Indigo is got above ground ; becaufe the goodnefs of 

 the foil, joined to the moifture and warmth of the 

 climate, and the plentiful dews that fall every .rjight, 

 makes a prodigious quantity of weeds fpring up, 

 which would choke and abfolutely fpoil the Indigo, 

 if extreme care was not taken to weed them up as foon 

 as they appear, and to keep the plant extraordinary 

 neat ; and very often the weeds are partly the caufe 

 of the breeding of a kind of caterpillars, which de- 

 vour all the leaves in a fiiort time. - . 

 From the time of the plants rifing above ground, to 

 its perfe6t maturity, is but two months, and then it 

 is fit to cut : if one was to ftay longer it v/ould blofli)m, 

 its leaves would grow drier and harder, and confe- 

 quently "they would yield lefs fubftance, and the co- 

 lour would not be nearfo beautiful..^ :.;,,^ , ^ ; 

 After this firft cutting, the new branches and leaves 

 : which.the plant producesjpay^be^^ at^out.gv^ry/ix 

 weeks, provided the ftafon be rainy, ana that 

 be taken not to cut it in a tirhe of drought, becaufe 

 ', then we Ihould infallibly lofe the plant, or, as they 

 -^ call it there, 'the Chbupues, and be obliged to*planc 

 „ again ; but all, t^Jjings being rightly managed, the plant 

 may laft two years ; after which it muft be plucked . 



up, and new ones planted. . . ,; :. . • v .-^ ,->/ 

 When the plant is ripe, which is known by the leaves, 



which grow brittle and lefs fupple, they cut it fome 



inches from the ground. > They ufe for the cutting 



of it great crooked knives made like fickles. Some 



planters make it into bundles like double bottles of 



hay, that a negro may eafily carry them to the fteepcr-, 



but moft people put it into large pieces of coarfe 



- ' 



'I 



.1 



IB ( 



1 4 



V 



\ 



covers in the drills, whereby the whole operation is j 

 performed at the fame time, and with great eafe. In- 

 deed the ufe of this machine muft be underftood by 

 the perfons who are to perform it, otherwife they will 

 do it in a bad manner, but a little praftice will bring 

 any perfon to the right ufe of it. . i - * . 



As the Indigo is fown in rows, a hoeing plough may 

 be made of a proper dimenfion, in order to clean the 

 ground between the rows; with this contrivance it 

 may be performed in much lefs time than in the me- 

 'thod j)ow praftifed^ But in doing of this, I would 

 advife the ftirring of the ground, foon after the Indigo 

 plants are come up, before the weeds have got much 

 ftrength, at whic|i time they are foon deftroyed -, and 

 -by ftirring of the ground th.e .pUms.wiU bq greatly 



morecony^ni^nt, theplantis.lefs, h^pdkdaiid fcjue^^zed, 

 -, and the fm^U are carried away as fafely as the great ; 

 and befides the work goes on quicker this way, than 

 in making bottles ; and as time is precious every 

 where, and efpecially in America, there cannot be too 

 much care taken not to lofe any., .. r ,; 

 . Eighteen or twenty packers of plants, each about the 

 fize of tvvo bottles of hay, are fufficient t;o fill a fteeper 

 of the afore-mentioned fize. . ,When it is filled with 



LI ' 



.water, fo that it covers the plants, they put pieces of 

 wood on the top, that the plants may not rife above 

 the water (much after the manner as tiiey do upon the 

 Grapes that arc put into the prcfsj and let ail ferment. 

 According as.she heat is greater or lefs, qr the plant 

 more or lefs ripe, the fermentation is raifed iponcr or 



• later. 



