SOUTH CAROLINA 159 



discontinued. There is then, with a gentle stirring a 

 proportionate quantity of lime-water poured on, which 

 brings about the precipitation of the indigo; when 

 this is fallen to the consistency of a thick broth, the 

 water standing above (now clear) is drawn off, and 

 the sediment put into bags and hung up, until the 

 moisture has largely come away. Finally this mass is 

 taken out of the bags, kneaded on boards and wooden 

 spades, divided into little cakes, and thoroughly dried, 

 regard being had to the morning and evening sun. 

 The preparation of indigo, which here and there is 

 carried on with certain variations, is on the whole a 

 chemical process requiring the most careful and exact 

 attention in all its parts, the essential depending al- 

 ways on the right use of the proper moment, at which 

 this or that should be done : The quality of the indigo 

 is as much due to the exactness of its preparation as 

 to the nature of the plant, of the soil, and of the 

 weather. + Hence indigo planters have not always 

 equally good fortune, and often lose by the unskilful- 

 ness, malice, or carelessness of their head-men and 

 workmen, much or the whole of a crop. The head- 

 men in this sort of work are commonly negroes, and 

 if they thoroughly understand the management of the 

 indigo, a great value is set upon them, and they often 

 fetch two or three times as much as they would ordi- 

 narily. 



In the average it is expected that an acre of land 

 will yield 50 pounds of indigo, but very good land 

 60-70 pounds. Sundry marks determine the quality 

 of the indigo in the eyes of those skilled ; its lighter or 

 darker, even and pure color, and the fineness of its 

 particles, are exterior indications by which the prac- 



