464 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



INDIGO. 



THE indigo plant was formerly cultivated in the Southern States to a considerable 

 extent. The decline in its cultivation in this country was probably due to the intro 

 duction of the cotton-gin, and the consequent greater profits arising from the cultiva 

 tion of cotton. 



It is easily cultivated, and one of the most profitable crops of agriculture in Hindoostan. 

 Whether it will ever again be grown to any extent in the United States is a question yet to 

 be determined. The market demand for the product, and the price it commands, are such 

 as to warrant the opinion that, with sufficient capital and judicious management, its cultiva 

 tion might be made a profitable industry in those sections to which it is adapted, and 

 especially in many of the Gulf States. 



There are several varieties of the indigo plant growing wild in the United States. The East 

 and &quot;West Indies, India and Central America supply, at present, most of the indigo of 

 commerce. 



There are several varieties in cultivation, differing in the quality and quantity of the 

 product they supply. The coloring matter is furnished by the leaves of the plant. 



Cultivation, etc. Indigo requires a rich, but dry soil, and a warm climate. After 

 being once fairly started, the plants will sprout annually from the roots for four or five years ; 

 consequently its cultivation is much less difficult than that of many other crops. 



The soils generally regarded as the best for this product, are rich, sandy loams, although 

 it will grow on those of moderate fertility, if not too wet, a surplus of moisture being very 

 objectionable. Hence, it thrives best in a climate naturally dry, and in sections where there 

 is not a large amount of rain during the season. 



The soil should be made friable by the thorough use of the plow and harrow. The fer 

 tilizers used are supposed to exert a considerable influence on the amount and quantity of the 

 coloring element of the plant. Lime, ashes, poudrette, and barn-yard manure are all valua 

 ble, but the latter should always be well fermented or composted before being applied, or 

 used abundantly in connection with a previous crop of some other kind. Barn-yard manure 

 and lime combined make a good fertilizer. Weeds and grass are very injurious to the crop, 

 and should be exterminated as fast as they make their appearance. 



The seed should not be sown until the ground is quite warm. In the latitude of Central 

 Georgia, from the first to the tenth of April would be sufficiently early. The seed will ger 

 minate best when the soil is moist; therefore it is a good time to sow it just after a rain. If 

 sown when the soil is very dry, it heats, and the germ is destroyed. 



The seed is generally mixed with ashes or sand, and sown in shallow drills from twelve 

 to fourteen inches apart. About four quarts of seed is the average allowance for an acre. 

 It should be kept free from grass and weeds, in all stages of its growth ; this is especially 

 important when it first comes up. The weeding may be done with cultivator, horse-hoe, or 

 weeders suited to the purpose, a little hand-weeding sometimes being necessary in the rows. 



When the plants are an inch or two high, the soil should be loosened about the roots. 

 The first cutting should be when the plant first puts out the flower buds. If permitted to 

 blossom, the leaves are more hard and dry, and the indigo produced will be of inferior qual 

 ity. The cuttings should always be in wet weather, for, if harvested in dry weather, the 

 plants will not send up another growth. When necessary to cut it in dry weather, it should 

 be done late in the afternoon, that the roots may have the benefit of shade and dew before 

 being exposed to the sun. It is a plant that is very sensitive to the hot sun immediately 

 after being cut. The first crop is ready for cutting in two or three months, and, with favora 

 ble weather, a subsequent cutting may occur in six or seven weeks. 



