'898 INDIGO 



remuneration for their labour, the seed only being supplied. The King obtains a 

 yearly supply of the seed from Bengal, and has indigo-plantations of his own, which 

 are set apart exclusively for this purpose. Indigo made from the Burmese plant, 

 indigenous to the country, is found not. to lie equal to the Bengal indigo. The land 

 upon which the seed is sown is ploughed in the same manner as that for wheat or 

 grain cultivation, but not until tlio monsoon season is over ; the seeds are then 

 scattered about as in other grain cultivation, and in the course of a few weeks shoot 

 up, and before four months have elapsed the young plants rise to the height of about 

 2-i feet, when they are cut down, tied up in bundles, and carted off to the nearest 

 factory. The late Crown Prince sent several Burmese youths to Bengal some years ago 

 to study the manufacture of indigo. They returned at the latter end of the year 1868, 

 and arc now engaged in superintending the plantations and manufacture of the dye. 

 Chinese merchants of Mandalay export indigo to the Shan States and China. The 

 average annual out-turn is about 8,000 viss, which is sold on His Majesty's account at 

 the rate of 400 rupees for 100 viss or 4 maunds. There is no prohibition as to the 

 cultivation of the plant or manufacture of the dye. 



The following account of the manufacture of indigo on the Senegal is taken from 

 Perottet's ' Art de 1'Indigotier ' : 



The land destined to the cultivation of the plant ought to be perfectly level and 

 free from undulations, so as to prevent the seed from being washed into the hollows 

 or lower parts by the heavy rains so frequent in the tropics. Soils of a greyish colour 

 abounding in clay are not adapted for the purpose, as they are too compact and cold. 

 Sandy soils of a whitish colour must also be avoided. Light soils, abounding 

 in humus or vegetable remains, and having a colour between grey and dark brown, 

 are to be preferred to all others. The soil should, at all events, not be one very 

 retentive of moisture. The quantity of indigo obtained from the same weight of 

 plant may vary, according to the soil, from 4 IDS. to 10 Ibs., and the quality also 

 varies in a. corresponding degree. The extent of ground which is required for the 

 production of indigo on a large scale is so great that the use of manure becomes 

 almost impossible. Nevertheless, the employment of the refuse of the plant, after the 

 extraction of the indigo, as a manure on fresh plantations is found to be attended with 

 very beneficial results. The ground, if new, must be turned up by means of a plough 

 or hoe, to the depth of at least 10 or 12 inches, three times successively, at intervals 

 of 3 months, before the sowing takes place. The sowing must only be undertaken in 

 fine weather, never during heavy rain. The seed employed should be perfectly ripe, 

 and, if possible, not more than one year old. It is to be left in the seed-vessels in 

 which it is contained until the time when it is wanted. The latter are then put into 

 a wooden mortar and reduced to fragments, and the seed is separated by winnowing 

 from the dust, debris, &c., with which it is mixed. The sowing is to be effected 

 broad-cast, and as evenly as possible. It should take place, if possible, just before 

 the approach of rain, in which case the use of a harrow is not required, as the rain 

 generally has the effect of completely levelling the ground and covering up the seed 

 with soil. The Indigofera tinctoria, and its varieties macrocarpa and emarginata, being 

 a plant with numerous crowded branches, it is not necessary in sowing it, to take more 

 than from 6 to 7 kilogrs. of seed to 1 arpent of ground ; but the Indigofera Ami, being 

 more sparingly branched, and therefore taking up less room, requires to be more 

 thickly sown. At about 10 or 12 days after sowing, when the young indig<>tVva> 

 have attained a height of about 81 to 108 millimeters, the ground must be carefully 

 weeded, and this operation must be repeated as soon as the weeds have again inado 

 their appearance and commenced to interfere with the growth of the crop. When t ho 

 season is favourable, 3 months are generally sufficient to enable the plants to attain 

 the degree of development necessary for the production of indigo. At the period 

 when inflorescence commences, the plant is far richer in colouring matter than at any 

 other. As soon, therefore, as there are any indications of flowering, and when the 

 lower leaves, in the axils of which the flowers appear, begin to acquire n yellowish 

 tint, and when pressed in the hands produce a slight crackling noise, no time must bo 

 lost in cutting down the plant. This is effected by means of good knives or sickles. 

 and as near the ground as possible. The stems, after being cut, are tied together into 

 bundles or sheaves, and carded to the manufactory. Since the colouring principle of 

 the indigoferse is extremely susceptible of change by the action of destructive agencies, 

 it is necessary to use the utmost despatch in gathering the crop, and to have the manu- 

 factory of such a size in proportion to the plantation, that no time may bo lost in work- 

 ing up the material as soon as gathered. The plants must on no account lie out when 

 they are moistened cither with rain or dew, because in this caso they acquire a blackish 

 tint in consequence of the friction to which they are exposed in enttinir them and 

 taking them to the manufactory, this tint being a si<j;n of the disappearance, of the 

 colouring matter. Besides this,' it has been observed that during the continuance of 



