INDURATED. 



INFLAMMATION. 



the name of liquid blue. It affords by distilla- 

 tion carbonic acid gas, water, ammonia, some 

 oily and acid matter, and much charcoal; 

 whence its constituent principles are most pro- 

 bably carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. 

 Indigo may be procured also from several other 



Elants besides Indigofera tinctoria, and particu- 

 irly from Isatis tinctoria, or woad, a plant indi- 

 genous to Britain, and thought to be the plant 

 with the juice of which the ancient Britons 

 stained their naked bodies, to make them look 

 terrible to their enemies. If this plant is di- 

 gested in alcohol, and the solution evaporated, 

 white crystalline grains, somewhat resembling 

 starch, will be left behind; which grains are 

 indigo, becoming gradually blue by the action 

 of the atmosphere. The blue colour of indigo, 

 therefore, is owing to its combination with 

 oxygen. 



Indigo is not cultivated to so great an extent 

 in the United States as formerly, the imported 

 article being obtained so readily. The follow- 

 ing process of manufacturing indigo in small 

 quantities for family use is extracted from the 

 Southern Agriculturist: Cut the indigo when 

 the under leaves begin to dry, and while the 

 dew is on them in the morning; put them in a 

 barrel, and fill this with rain water, and place 

 weights on to keep it under water; when bubbles 

 begin to form on the top, and the water begins to 

 look of a reddish colour, it is soaked enough, 

 and must be taken out, taking care to wring and 

 squeeze the leaves well, so as to obtain all the 

 strength of the plant; it must then be churned 

 (which may be done by means of a tolerably 

 open basket, with a handle to raise it up and 

 down) until the liquor is quite in a foam. To 

 ascertain whether it is done enough, take out 

 a spoonful in a plate, and put a small quan- 

 tity of very strong lye to it. If it curdles, the 

 indigo is churned enough, and you must pro- 

 ceed to break the liquor in the barrel in the 

 same way, by putting in lye, (which must be as 

 strong as possible,) by small quantities, and 

 continuing to churn until it is all sufficiently 

 curdled ; care must be taken not to put in too 

 much lye, as that will spoil it. When it curdles 

 freely with the lye, it must be sprinkled well over 

 the top with oil, which immediately causes the 

 foam to subside, after which it must stand till 

 the indigo settles to the bottom of the barrel. 

 This may be discovered by the appearance of 

 the water, which must be let off gradually by 

 boring holes first near the top and afterwards 

 lower, as it continues to settle ; when the water 

 is all let off and nothing remains but the mud, 

 take that and put it in a bag, (flannel is the best) 

 and hang it up to drip, afterwards spreading 

 it to dry on large dishes. Take care that none 

 of the foam, which is the strength of the weed, 

 escapes ; but if it rises too high sprinkle oil 

 on it. 



Seven or eight species of indigo are found 

 in the United States, most of which are in the 

 south. The wild indigo (Dyer's Baptisia), com- 

 mon in Pennsylvania and other Middle States, 

 yields a considerable proportion of blue co- 

 louring matter of an inferior kind. {Flora 

 Cestrira.) 



INDURATED (Lat. induro). A term imply- 

 ing that a substance naturally soft is hardened. 



It is a term frequently used in botanical works 

 to signify the above-mentioned change. 



INERT VEGETABLE MATTER. The 

 inert vegetable matters of the soil are those 

 which decompose very slowly, and consequent- 

 ly afford very little nourishment to the growing 

 plant. Of this kind are woody fibre, tanner's 

 bark, peat, &c., all of which, if not previously 

 rendered more easily soluble by being mixed 

 with farm-yard dung, or other easily fermenta- 

 ble substances, afford food to vegetation, by 

 very slow degrees. 



INFIRMARY (Lat. infirmus, weak). An 

 hospital for the reception of the sick. The 

 Veterinary College in London have an infirm- 

 ary for sick and diseased horses, to which the 

 horses of their subscribers have access and 

 medical treatment, free fr9m charge. 



INFLAMMATION. In farriery, is a disease 

 or affection consisting in an increased heat and 

 action in any part of an animal, arising from 

 various causes, external or internal, local or 

 universal. In animals, the chief causes are 

 wounds, bruises, and sudden or excessive cold, 

 and the application of heat afterwards. 



The horse is subject to inflammation of the 

 lungs, stomach, bowels, kidney, and of the eye 

 and foot Of inflammation of the bowels I 

 have already spoken (see BOWELS). Of in- 

 flammation of the stomach in the horse, except 

 from poisonous herbs or drugs, we know little. 

 It very rarely occurs, and then can with diffi- 

 culty be distinguished from inflammation of the 

 bowels ; and in both diseases the assistance of 

 a skilful veterinary surgeon is required. 



Among the causes of inflammation of the 

 kidney are, improper food, such as mow-burnt 

 hay, musty oats, &c. Bleeding, in this case, 

 must be promptly resorted to, and carried to its 

 full extent. An active purge should next be 

 administered ; and a counter-inflammation ex- 

 cited as near as possible to the seat of disease. 



Inflammation of the lungs is one of the 

 causes of roaring : it is generally brought on 

 by the respiration of heated and empoisoned 

 air, in neglected and filthy stables ; by sudden, 

 changes from heat to cold, or cold to heat, 

 fcem grass to the stable, or stable to grass, and 

 so on. Bleeding, blistering, and relaxing me- 

 dicines should be resorted to under the advice 

 of a professional man ; for the cure of this 

 malady can scarcely be safely undertaken 

 without proper advice. 



Cooling applications, such as Goulard's ex- 

 tract, one drachm or half an ounce of the tinc- 

 ture of opium to a pint of water, with mash diet 

 and gentle physic, will usually get rid of com- 

 mon inflammation of the eye, or the inflamma- 

 tion will subside itself; but should three or 

 four days pass and the inflammation not be 

 abated, we may begin to suspect that it is spe- 

 cific and fatal inflammation, or true ophthal- 

 mia, for which there is no cure. See EYE. 



Inflammation of the foot is brought on by 

 over-exertion. If a horse that has been ridden 

 or driven hard be suffered to stand in the cold, 

 or if his feet be washed and not speedily dried, 

 he is very likely to have " fever in the feet." 

 Bleeding at the foot, and poultices of linseed 

 meal to cover the whole of the foot and pastern, 

 with sedative and cooling medicines, should be 

 3 K 661 



