248 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAP. 



The Guade- 

 loupe 

 process. 



Crushing the 

 seeds. 



Pressing out 

 the moisture. 



The anatto 

 kept moist. 



The advan- 

 tage of 

 preparing a 

 pure dye. 



Habitat. 



The dyes. 



tensively cultivated, a different mode of preparation has been 

 adopted. The seeds are thoroughly crushed between rollers, 

 so that they come out as fine powder intimately mixed with 

 the dye. The product is then put into water, and when it 

 has subsided to the bottom, the surface water is run off, and 

 the paste is boiled for four or five hours. It is afterwards 

 put in boxes pierced at the bottom with holes that are covered 

 with a cloth so as to prevent the paste passing through. A 

 board is placed on the top of the paste, and weighted down, 

 so as to press out the excess of moisture through the bottom 

 holes. The paste is then packed in casks, in layers, separated 

 with banana leaves, and this is done so as to retain moisture, 

 and to prevent fermentation. If the paste be too dry water 

 is sometimes poured into the cask, for unless the anatto be 

 kept moist it will deteriorate in value. The product, of 

 course, contains only a proportion of the dye mixed with the 

 powdered seeds, and it is, therefore, not nearly so valuable as 

 the pure cake anatto. The purer the dye is sent to the 

 markets, the higher will be the prices obtained for it ; and, 

 unless a fine article be prepared, it is better to ship the dried 

 seeds, from which the dye is extracted in England and the 

 United States. 



TURMERIC. Curcuma longa. 



THE plant producing turmeric belongs to the ginger family, 

 and it closely resembles ginger in its growth and habit as 

 well as in appearance. It is a native of some districts of 

 India and of Ceylon, but it is now grown in all parts of the 

 tropical world. The plant was introduced into Jamaica by 

 Zachary Bayley Edwards in 1783, and it has become wild in 

 many parts of that island, as well as in Dominica and other 

 islands of the West Indies. 



A beautiful yellow dye is obtained from the rhizome of the 

 plant, but it is not now used very extensively as the colour 

 is not of a stable nature. It is employed, however, on a 

 comparatively large scale to give the yellow colour to var- 



