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Indigo. neral held to be material, provided the former be laid 

 ''"""V*^ previous to the finding of- the indictment, and the latter 

 be within the jurisdiction of the court; unless in those 

 cases where a limitation in point of time is assigned by 

 statute for the prosecution of offenders. The offence 

 must be set forth with clearness and certainty ; and in 

 some crimes, particular technical words must be used, 

 else the indictment is void. Thus in treason, the facts 

 must be laid to be done " treasonably, and against 

 hit allegiance ;" in indictments for murder, it is neces- 

 sary to say that the party indicted " murdered" the 

 other ; in felonies, the adverb " feloniously" must be 

 used, and in burglaries, " burglariously." In rapes, the 

 word " ravished" is necessary, and must not be expres- 

 sed by any periphrasis. So in larcenies, the words 

 "feloniously took and carried Qtvay" are necessary to 

 every indictment, as alone expressive of the precise of- 

 fence. In indictments for murder, the length and 

 depth of the wound should also in general be expressed. 

 In some indictments, it is likewise necessary to express 

 the value of the thing which is the subject or instru- 

 ment of the offence ; as in larcenies, in order that it 

 may appear whether it be grand or petit larceny ; and 

 whether entitled, or not, to the benefit of clergy ; and 

 in homicide of all sorts, as the weapon with which it 

 is committed, falls, as a deodand, to the king. 



In the law of Scotland, indictments are framed at 

 the instance of the Lord Advocate, in whose name they 

 are laid. When a private party joins in the prosecu- 

 tion, his name may be added to that of the Lord Advo- 

 cate ; but when the private party is the principal prose- 

 cutor, with concurrence of the Lord Advocate, the ac- 

 tion is brought in the form of criminal letters. And 

 this last is also the form generally used in prosecutions 

 at the instance of the Lord Advocate, when the party 

 accused is not in custody. 



Indictments, in Scotland, are prepared in a syllogis- 

 tic form. The major proposition states the nature of 

 the crime, and in general, that it is severely punishable ; 

 the minor states the offence alleged to have been com- 

 mitted by the party accused, and avers that it consti- 

 tutes the crime stated in the major proposition ; and 

 the indictment concludes, that, on conviction by the 

 verdict of the jury, the pannel ought to suffer the 

 punishment of the law. See Blackstone's Comment. 

 Jacob's Law Diet. Erskine's Inst. of the Law of Scot!, 

 Hume's Comment. Bell's Diet, of the Law of ScotL (z) 



INDIES, EAST. See INDIA. 



INDIGESTION. See MEDICINE. 



INDIGO, a well known and much esteemed blue 

 dye. Under the article DYEING (where see Indigo in 

 the Index) will be found an account of the history of 

 its introduction into Europe, and of the processes by 

 which it is applied in practice. Under CHEMISTRY, 

 (see Index,) will be found a minute account of its che- 

 mical properties, with brief notices of its natural histo- 

 ry. ^But as the importance of indigo renders the histo- 

 ry of it, and the processes which it undergoes prepara- 

 tory to its exportation from the countries which pro- 

 duce it, interesting to those who cultivate or respect the 

 useful arts, we shall, under the present article, give an 

 ampler account of these subjects than appeared con- 

 formable to the rank which it held under those more 

 comprehensive heads. At the same time, as even in 

 this instance we avoid unnecessary repetitions, we 

 advise those readers who are deeply interested in the 

 subject, to peruse also the accounts there given. 



This substance, or its basis, is contained in the isa- 

 tis lincloiia, which grows in temperate climates, and 

 has been used for imparting a blue colour to the animal 



and vegetable fibre. It is also contained in some legu- 

 minous plants of warmer latitudes, particularly various 

 species of the indigofrra. When it exists in small quan- 

 tity along with the other constituent part? of the plant, 

 it may be extracted by water, and detained in that 

 menstruum a sufficient length of time to admit of being 

 used as a dye. These plants, therefore, were, in former 

 times, merely dried and comminuted for the market, and 

 the processes of fermentation and exposure to an absorp- 

 tion of oxygen were left to the care of the dyer. The 

 isatis iinctoria and liisitanica were indeed often sub- 

 jected to a partial fermentation previously to drying. 

 In Hindostan, for thousands of years back, the colour- 

 ing matter of the indigo plant has been extracted, oxy- 

 genated, and precipitated in a comparatively pure state 

 for sale. In the plant, the basis of indigo is form- 

 ed colourless, destitute of the requisite proportion of 

 oxygen, and is then- extremely liable to decompo- 

 sition and destruction ; but, after it has received that 

 addition, its qualities are remarkably permanent. This 

 property is mentioned by Dr. Bancroft t as manifested 

 by the simple experiment of squeezing the juice of the 

 fresh leaves on calico. The colour is at first green, 

 but, by the influence of oxygen from the atmosphere, 

 it is converted into a permanent blue. 



This, however, only affords an imperfect, though a 

 simple, exemplification of the principles on which the 

 preparation of indigo depends. We shall give an ac- 

 count of the process by which this is effected on the 

 large scale. 



The plants from which it is produced are, 1. The/n- 

 digojera anil, a large American plant, which affords in- 

 digo of good quality. 2. Indigofera tincloria, a Chi- 

 nese and Indian plant, which has been carried to Ame- 

 rica. This is less hardy, but more productive than the 

 preceding. 3. Indigofera disperma. This affords the 

 Guatimala indigo. Its produce is uncommonly fine, 

 but less abundant : and, 4. Indigofera argentea, which 

 affords the indigo bntard of the French. All these 

 plants are small shrubs, which emit a smell offensive to 

 cattle. The stems with the leaves are cut* and, either 

 immediately, or after more or less drying, are pressed 

 down into large vats or sleepers, then covered with 

 water, which is generally cold. . A slight motion, in- 

 crease of bulk, and evolution of heat, are in a few hours 

 perceived: air-bubbles rise, and patches of froth are 

 formed on the surface, together with a violet or cop- 

 per-coloured cream, which soon after acquires a fine 

 blue ; the body of the liquor becomes green, but in no 

 degree turbid, till fully exposed to the action of the 

 air. Instead of the peculiar smell of the recent plant, 

 a putrescent and extremely offensive odour is generat- 

 ed. In the first part of this process, it has been ascer- 

 tained that there is an absorption of oxygen ; the gas 

 which is separated in bubbles is carbonic acid. While 

 the liquor first becomes green, it deposits a fine green 

 precipitate when treated with alkalies : at a later pe- 

 riod, it deposits, when thus treated, a substance of 

 a light sky-blue. When the fermentation is completed, 

 the green liquor is drawn off into the beating vat, in 

 which it is agitated or churned by machinery. It now 

 absorbs oxygen, and the colouring matter is formed in- 

 to a floculent substance, which is merely impended 

 in the fluid, while the other principles are still in a 

 state of solution. Lime-water, or caustic alkali, is add- 

 ed, to promote the precipitation of the indigo, as soon 

 as it is observed to be distinctly granulated. At this 

 stage, the froth, from being blue, is rendered colour- 

 less by the subsiding of the blue matter. When 

 this addition is made, a further absorption of oxygen 



