F A B A C E JE. 235 



ever way Indigo is procured, a certain degree of fermentation appears neces- 

 sary, as it does not appear to exist in the leaves, and is therefore rather a 

 product than an educt. 



The mode of preparing it, and of applying it to the purposes of dyeing, 

 seem to have been known in India from the earliest ages, and it is noticed by 

 Dioscorides and Pliny, though the term Indicum was also applied to other 

 colouring substances. Its use was likewise known to the Mexicans and other 

 American natives, long anterior to the conquest. As early as the fifteenth 

 century the Venetians were in the habit of receiving it from India, by the 

 way of Egypt; but it was not generally employed in Europe until about the 

 middle of the sixteenth century, when it was brought from the East Indies by 

 the Dutch. When it was thus introduced, there was a great prejudice against 

 it, and it was considered to be a kind of stone ; it was prohibited in England 

 by Elizabeth, and in Saxony by the Elector, who speaks of it in his edict as a 

 corrosive substance, and food fit only for the devil. 



The best Indigo is of a deep-blue colour, inclining to violet, of a smooth 

 grain, and bright and sparkling when broken. It should break easily, swim 

 in water, and burn freely, leaving but little residue. 



Medical Uses, fyc. — A decoction of the root,' used as a lotion, effectually 

 destroys vermin, and is much used for that purpose in Jamaica. The juice 

 of the young branches, mixed with honey, is recommended as an application 

 in the aphthous sore mouth in children, and Indigo sprinkled over foul ulcers 

 is said to cleanse them (Macfadyen, Flor. Jam., i. 251). The leaves are 

 supposed to have virtue in hepatitis, given in the form of powder mixed with 

 honey, and a decoction of the root is reckoned as alexipharmic. (Ainslie, 

 Mat. Ind., i. 179.) 



Indigo itself has been employed for a long time. The Romans ascribed 

 extraordinary virtues to it ; " rigores et impetus sedat et siccat ulcera," {Plin., 

 lib. xxxv. c. vi.) It was employed at one time as an astringent, in immode- 

 rate discharges of the lochia, and for curing a prolapsus of the uterus or rec- 

 tum. (James, Pharm. Univer., 345.) Of late years it has attained some 

 celebrity in the treatment of spasmodic diseases, especially epilepsy, in which 

 it is stated to have been very successful in numerous cases, in Germany. 

 The trials made with it in England and this country have not been attended 

 with the same good results (Dunglison, New Rem., 361). To produce any 

 effect the doses must be as large as the stomach can bear, beginning with a 

 few grains and increasing. The best form of exhibition is in an electuary of 

 one part of Indigo to two of syrup. According to Roth (Pereira, ii. 610) 

 it produces the following effects. " Shortly after taking it the patient experi- 

 ences a sense of constriction at the fauces, and an impression of a metallic 

 taste on the tongue. This is followed by nausea, and frequently by vomiting. 

 In some persons the vomiting is so violent as to prevent any further use of the 

 remedy. When it has subsided, a diarrhoea, often accompanied with cardial- 

 gia, ensues ; the stools are frequent, liquid, and of a blue colour. Dyspepsia 

 and vertigo sometimes occur. The urine becomes of a dark-brown or violet 

 colour. After its use for some time, spasmodic twitchings of the muscles 

 sometimes take place." 



This article, however, appears to be possessed of very little power, as most 

 persons can take it in very large doses ; two ounces having been administered 

 daily for a length of time without producing any very manifest effect, except 

 a derangement of the digestive apparatus. 



