of the Island of Cer'tgo and its Dependencies. 279 



place when the plant is a month old. By the middle or end of 

 July the plant is matured, and the manufacture of the indigo 

 commenced. In India the greatest expense at first is the erec- 

 tion of a manufactory, on account of the expense of materials, 

 which is not here so. Towards maturity a steadiness of tem- 

 perature seems to be favourable to the plant, which is said not 

 to be the case in India; for here, from tables kept for two 

 years, it would appear that the difference of temperature between 

 six p. M. and midnight averages in July and August scarcely 

 6° Fahr., and between midnight and sunrise, which is the coolest 

 part of the twenty-four hours, it is about 12°. Perhaps this 

 may be assigned as the cause of the experimental crops here 

 yielding much more matter, even under the disadvantageous 

 mode of manufacture followed, than is obtained in Bengal. Fur- 

 ther trial of the manufacture of this substance is worthy of se- 

 rious attention of the lonians. 



Some of our kitchen garden plants have been introduced with 

 success. Potatoes are gaining ground ; the Cerigotts gradually 

 acquiring a taste for them ; at present more are consumed than 

 reared on the island. Cerigo onions are everywhere highly 

 prized, causing an abundant exportation ; the garlic and leeks 

 raised are also in repute. Cucumbers are grown in considerable 

 numbers, on which, when in season, the poorer inhabitants almost 

 entirely subsist. An attempt has been made to introduce tro- 

 pical vegetables, and at present in a sheltered spot the banana 

 plant is thriving. 



From the small quantity of wood, the island has a very rugged 

 bleak appearance, there being scarcely any thing but olives, un- 

 less in some of the more fertile spots, where we occasionally 

 meet with the lemon, orange, walnut, almond, fig, cypress, oak, 

 elm, locust, pomegranate, and palm. Fig-trees are said to be 

 reared with greater facility than any others, growing where there 

 is any soil for them to take root ; the brushwood almost entire- 

 ly consists of mastick and myrtle. 



{To be continued.) 



