CULTIVATION OF INDIGO. 141 



PROCESS OF CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE. 



The land is ploughed or hoed, say some nine inches 

 deep, and the soil is pulverized, i. e., clods well broken, 

 roots of grass and weeds carefully taken away ; then the 

 seed, mixed like flax-seed with clay, is cast in the 

 ground, and a very light harrow ; a bush with moderate 

 w-'ight on it is used often in India. If weeds spring up 

 with the plant, it would be necessary to take them out ; 

 the plant after a few showers covers over the land, and 

 keeps down all weeds. It grows even to some six feet 

 high, varying from four feet to five feet. When it gets, 

 or before it gets, to its full height, and before the leaves 

 get yellow in the least, the plant should be cut, and car- 

 ried to the factory the same day. All plants should be cut 

 very early in the morning, and then placed in the vats, or 

 otherwise not be heaped up to get heated. Each vat 

 may be made to hold from 5,600 to 8,000 Ibs. of plants. 

 The plant is all placed horizontally in the vat, and 

 when filled up, hurdles are laid on the top of the plant, 

 and beams are laid across the hurdles ; the ends of the 

 beams being secured at the side walls of the vat. The 

 water is then poured in, and the plant is steeped for ten 

 hours or upwards, depending on the heat very much. 

 The water is then drawn off from a vent at the bottom of 

 the vat, into another vat, built at the base of the one in 

 which the plant had been steeped. The beams are then 

 raised off the hurdles, and the hurdles taken away ; and 

 the steeped plant is taken out of the vat and made use of 

 for firewood. A large quantity of potash might be ob- 

 tained from it. 



