518 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



means of vinegar or lemon- juice, and then to 

 boU in the ordinary manner. 



The experiments of M. Vauquelin made on 

 some arnatto berries imported by M. Leblond, 

 confirmed the efficacy of the process wliich he 

 proposed, and the dyers ascertained that arnatto 

 obtained in this manner had at least four times 

 the value of that which was procured in the 

 ordinary manner. It was reported to be more 

 easy to work, to require the addition of less sol- 

 vent material, to give less trouble in the dyeing 

 vessel, and to funiish a purer colour. Guiliche 

 recommends that the application of heat should 

 be avoided in the preparation of arnatto. There 

 can indeed be no question that this substance is 

 very much injured in its preparation ; as all 

 vegetable extracts, when exposed to the direct 

 action of fire, have their properties lessened, or 

 even altered, by partial charring ; an accident 

 which never fails to occur in a greater or less 

 degree. In the country of its production, we 

 are told that this colouring matter is much supe- 

 rior when used, as by the aborigines, fresh from 

 the trees. The Brazilians, by another method 

 of preparation, produce a permanent crimson 

 colour from arnatto. Tlie Spanish Americans 

 mix the berries after having undergone a parti- 

 cular process with their chocolate, to which, in 

 their opinion, it not only gives an excellent tint, 

 but imparts valuable medicinal virtues. 



The amatto of commerce is moderately hard, 

 of a brown colour on the outside, and a dull red 

 within. It is seldom employed in England but 

 as a dye for silken stuffs, or as an auxiliary in 

 giving a deeper shade to the simple yellows. Its 

 colour is a bright orange, but this is extremely 

 ftigitive, fading very fast on exposure to the air. 

 It, however, powerfully resists soap, and the 

 action of the strongest acids. Dr Bancroft, in 

 making experiments on this substance, found 

 that pieces of linen and cotton dyed in the usual 

 way with arnatto, and subjected to the action of 

 chlorine, not only retain their colour, but, on 

 the contrary, bore exposure to the atmosphere 

 longer than those pieces similarly dyed, which 

 had not been so treated. Amatto is acted upon 

 with great difficulty by water, to which it im- 

 parts only a pale brown tinge. When made into 

 a dye-bath, alkali is therefore always added, 

 which facilitates its solution, and produces a 

 better colour. The liquid sold in the shops 

 under the name of " Scott's Nankin dye," is 

 nothing but a solution of arnatto in potash and 

 water. Amatto is perfectly soluble in alcohol ; 

 it is much used in this state for lacquering, and 

 for communicating an orange tint to the yellow 

 varnishes. 



It is likewise employed in large quantities as 

 a colouring ingredient for cheese, to which it 

 gives the required tinge, without imparting any 

 unpleasant flavour or unwholesome quality. 



Amatto is imported into this country in cakes 

 of two or three pounds weight, wrapped up in 

 large flag leaves, and packed in casks. In this 

 form it is a kind of paste, the evaporation not 

 having been carried on to absolute dryness. 

 Another kind, the roll arnatto of commerce, is 

 of a much superior quality, being a hard extract, 

 and containing a much greater proportion of 

 colouring matter. 



The average annual importation for the five 

 preceding years, was 1074 casks, each weighing 

 from three to four and a half cwt. 



ToRMERic. (Curcuma longa.) Natural family 

 scitamineoe; tnouandria, monoffj/nia, of Linnseus. 



Turmeric. 



This plant is indigenous to the East Indies, 

 and other parts of Asia, and to Madagascar. It 

 has likewise been cultivated with some success 

 in Tobago ; samples of turmeric sent to England 

 from that island having been found superior to 

 that usually imported. It does not, however, 

 yet foi-m an article of importation from the West 

 Indies. Our supplies are brought from the 

 East Indies, China, and Java; of these the 

 Chinese turmeric is the best. The island of 

 Sumatra might also furnish supplies, for it is 

 mucli cultivated there, and principally used by 

 the natives to give that yellow tinge to their 

 rice, and other food, of which all eastern people 

 seem so fond. The East Indians make the same 

 use of it. 



The roots of the curcuma longa spread far 

 under the surface of the ground ; they are long 

 and succulent, and about half an inch in thick- 

 ness, having many circular knots, from which 

 arise four or five spear-shaped leaves, standing 

 upon long foot-stalks. The flowers grow in loose 

 scaly spikes, surmounting the foot-stalks which 

 spring from the larger knots of the roots, and 

 attain to about a foot in height. The flowers are 

 of a yellowish red colour, shaped somewhat like 

 those of Indian reed. 



These roots are externally of a colour inclin- 

 ing to grey, but internally of a deep lively yel- 

 low. They are very hard, and not unlike, either 

 in figure or size, to ginger. The roots are reduced 

 to powder previously to being employed as a 



