LEGUMINOSJE. 251 



by the Cape of Good Hope, the Dutch are supposed to have 

 been the first, about the middle of the 16th century, to import 

 it direct into Europe. It was long, however, ere it came into 

 general use as a dye, and there appears to have existed against 

 it a very unaccountable prejudice. It was considered to be a 

 kind of stone, and was prohibited in England during the reign 

 of Queen Elizabeth, and also in Saxony by the Elector, who 

 described it in his edict as a corrosive substance, and fit food only 

 for the devil. Soon after this its importance came to be under- 

 stood, and the cultivation of the plants which yield it was intro- 

 duced into the West Indies, and into Mexico, and follow- 

 ed up with such success, that the market of Europe was for 

 a long time principally supplied from these countries. A large 

 proportion was furnished by Jamaica, and the remains of Indigo 

 works may now be met with in different parts of the country. 

 In 1672, according to Edwards, there were 60 Indigo works, 

 producing 50,000 Ibs. annually. A tax, however, of 3s, 6d. 

 per Ib. having been imposed by the British parliament, the 

 cultivation was soon after, in a great measure, abandoned ; and 

 although the duty was soon after removed, and a bounty of 

 sixpence per Ib. offered, if imported directly into Great Britain, 

 still it never again became general, and at present, I am not 

 aware, that it js produced in any quantity, or that there is a 

 single Indigo work, deserving the name, in the Island. In the 

 East Indies, on the contrary, the cultivation of late years has 

 rapidly increased, so as to supply 3-4ths of the Indigo for the 

 European market. 



Jt is to be hoped, as few articles give a more profitable return 

 for the capital embarked, that its cultivation among us may be 

 , resumed, especially as, from the improvements in the manufac- 

 ture, the unhealthy fermenting process, which was found so 

 fatal to the labourers employed, may now be dispensed with. 

 An attempt was made, some years ago, by the late Mr Robert 

 Gray, of St George's, to introduce the cultivation on his own 

 property in that parish ; but he did not succeed, owing to the 

 excessive rains which fall in that district during almost every 

 period of the year. The like ill success, and from a similar 

 cause, has attended an attempt lately made on Greenwich Hill 

 estate, in Manchioneal. The result would be different were a 

 proper choice of climate and soil observed, such as the plains 

 of Vere or Liguanea, where the rains are occasional, and 

 seldom heavy, and the soil light and open. 



The medicinal uses of the Indigo are few. A decoction of 

 the root, used as a lotion, effectually destroys vermin, and is 

 very generally employed for that purpose in the country. The 

 juice of the young branches, mixed with honey, is recommended 

 as an application for aphthae of the mouth in children : and the 

 Indigo, in powder, sprinkled over foul ulcers, is said to cleanse 

 them. The disease in poultry, known by the name of yaws, is 



