332 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



kind of indigo which seems to be peculiar to their 

 country. They call it tarroom akkar. Totally 

 unlike the common indigo, it is a vine or creeping 

 plant, with leaves four or five inches long, in shape 

 like a laurel, but finer, and of a dark green colour. 

 Its qualities are, however, precisely the same as 

 those of the common indigo ; there is no difference 

 in their colours, they are prepared in the same 

 manner, and used indiscriminately, no preference 

 being given to one above the other, except that the 

 akkar, by reason of the superior size of its leaves, 

 yields a greater proportion of sediment. 



The people of Sumatra do not manufacture either 

 sort of their indigoes into a solid substance, as is 

 practised elsewhere in the East, and in the West Indies. 

 They merely soak and macerate the stalks and branches 

 for some days in water, then boil it and work with 

 their hands some quick-lime among it, with leaves of 

 a species of fern, for fixing the colour. They then 

 drain it off and use it in its liquid state. 



The Japanese cultivate three other plants thePoZy- 

 gonum Chinense, barbatum, and aviculare, for the same 

 purpose, and procure from each of them a beautiful 

 blue colour resembling that from indigo. They dry 

 the leaves, then pound them and mix them up into 

 small balls or cakes, which are sold in the shops 

 ready for use. When they are to be used they boil 

 these cakes in water, adding some ashes to the decoc- 

 tion. This liquid dye is equally available for linen, 

 silk, and cotton. 



WOAD. 



Woad, or Isatis sativa, is a plant, probably, which 

 from the earliest times has been used for the pur- 

 poses of dyeing. The ancient Britons, when first 

 invaded by the Romans, are described as having 



