indigo. 293 



fectly understood in England, in the year 

 1608 ; before which period, they were sent 

 white into Holland, where they were dyed and 

 dressed, and from thence brought back for 

 sale. In that year, Sir William Cockrayne, 

 an alderman of London, obtained a patent 

 for dyeing and dressing cloths at home ; but 

 great confusion arising from this grant, it was 

 revoked in 1615. But in 1667, workmen came 

 over from the Netherlands, under whose 

 direction the art was brought to a consider- 

 able degree of perfection ; but there is even 

 at the present time great room for improve- 

 ment in our dyeing, many of our colours 

 being inferior to those of our Continental 

 neighbours. 



The Romans used indigo to assuage swell- 

 ings and inflammations, and to dry tumours. 



In the Hortus Indus Malabaricus, it is 

 stated, that a decoction of the indigo root 

 is an excellent remedy in nephritic colics. 



Some physicians recommend indigo in the 

 quantity of *a dram, while others condemn 

 the practice, and look on it as a poison. The 

 internal use of indigo is prohibited by law in 

 Saxony. 



