[NDIOO YIKUHNc; I <>[tlfB 



INDIGOFERA 



ARRECTA 



Natal-Java Plant 

 Leake (The Localization of the Indigo-producing Substance in Indigo-yielding 

 rinnts, Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. t 1905, xxix., pts. 1-3 ; Annals of Botany, 

 1905, xix., 297-310) has devoted much attention to the selection of K\< 

 ami tin- pni' t ic;il results to be attained thereby. Space cannot be afforded 

 bo il) more than review very briefly the salient features of these and 

 other special studies. This will ho attempted while following the usual 

 rule of treatment, in alphabetical sequence of scientific names: 



Indlgorera Anil, Linn. ; Mant. PI., 1771, 272; I'rain and linker. I.e. 137-40. 

 Thin South American species is grown in Burma, Kantorn 1m In < 'hiiui .uul S<>m ln-m 

 rliinn. Init never, o far aw wo now miderntand, in India proper. Mon-ov.r, 



would appear to be three very distinct varieties (or perhaps more con 

 distinct species, eloBely allied to i. .tun) that have to bo dealt with in this position. 



are : 



(o) I. truxlllensis, H.B.K. . /. tinctoria, var. oligophylla, DC. An American 

 species ami \ ery COIMIIHUI plant. It apparently was the form chiHly culti . 

 in the \\Vst Indies during Sloane's time, and is the wild indigo of West Indian 

 \\iiters. (.<) I. Anil, Linn., aar. polyphylla, DC. ; I. auffruticosa, Miller, Gard. Diet., 

 I. viii.), No. 2. This is the cultivated plant Xivhf/vilitl pitzahac of 

 Hernandez (Nova. PI. Hist., 1651, 108), the wild form of which is the i. xtn,<i . 



Lunnn (non Linn.). (-,) I. Anil, Linn., uar. Ofthocafpa, DC. 



I. argentea, Burm. (non Linn.), Fl. Ind., 1768, 171, an Indian plant that is quite 

 distinct from i. nrtirntata. though often confused with it. 



I. arrecta, Hochst. (Schimp., Herb. Abyss. PI., n. 1923, non Benth), in Natal- Java. 

 Richard, Fl. Abyss., i., 184. The Natal-Java Indigo. This is the well-known 

 dnjrndeg (dek indig) of Abyssinia and the chief indigo -producing species of Africa 

 mnvido the area occupied by I. nrtiruiata. It is now largely cultivated in Java 

 under the name of Natal Indigo. Of Java, Prain (in a letter to Barber) says, 

 " In the beginning only r. tim-tm-ia. probably introduced from India or Ceylon, 

 was grown. This, however, towards the end of the seventeenth century, was 

 replaced by i. munntrtinn, which held its ground for a considerable time. In 

 the West Indies and Brazil the cultivation began with i. *iimf-. which was 

 imported as ' Brazil Indigo.' Later on, however, this plant was displaced by 

 a native species i. ti-nj-nirnMiM. which soon was supplanted by another and better 

 native species, i. Anil. This species, M. .-tun, has spread all over the world 

 and is even now the most widely grown of the dye-yielding indigoes ; when it 

 reached Java it displaced /. tmtnatrnnn. In the West Indies I. Anil finally HMory. 

 met with a formidable rival in i. annti iii<-i*< and in course of time the latter. Discovery, 

 being recognised as a superior kind, was adopted in Java to the exclusion of i . A nil. Superior Stock. 

 M >! recently in Java t. gniitiintiifnniH has been found to be less valuable than 

 i. tti->-rrtn, and the latter has practically taken its place. The historical aspect 

 of the subject therefore indicates the advisability of at least giving a trial to 

 i. HiTcrta in Madras. It does not, of course, follow that the plant will thrive, 

 but if it does, it seems clear that it is the best species to grow. In Bihar, where 

 it has been carefully tried, there are objections to the plant which it is hoped may 

 be overcome ; but in Lower Bengal it thrives much better than i. minmtritnti. 

 The advantages of the plant are twofold. It gives much more leaf, being 

 a much larger plant, and it is stated by those interested in the preparation of 

 indigo to give a higher percentage of dye from the same weight of leaf." 



The objections to which Prain refers have been ably dealt with by Leake. 

 The plant was found to germinate so imperfectly as to render its cultivation un- 

 profitable . It has the same defect as clover, namely, the seed-coat is very hard 

 ( I'.lnx-nm and Leake, Ace. Research Work in Indigo, 1905, 33). What is, therefore, 

 required is a machine that will scratch the seed-coat and thus facilitate germina- 

 tion. Recently in the public press of India it has become customary to road of 

 " Vital -.Java seed scarified and ready for sowing" (see p. 671). Bergtheil (Ann. Scarified Sd. 

 I!' />t. Imp. Dept. Agri., app., 1904-5) observes that the Java plant contains more 

 pntoiiti.il colouring matter than do any of the plants ordinarily cultivated in 

 Bihar. Mr. H. A. Bailey, who visited Java in 1899 on behalf of the Indigo Im- 

 provements Syndicate, was apparently the first person who pointedly directed 

 the attention of Indian planters to this stock. F. M. Coventry iurnishes returns PercenUgM. 

 which would seem to justify the opinion that the Java plant shows an increase of improvement. 

 35 per cent, in the amount of green plant cut per acre and of 45 per cent, increase 

 in vat produce, over the ordinary plant of the United Provinces. 



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