INDIGO. 229 



and termed cake anatto. It gives a fine yellow, and also 

 the nankeen colour, and is much used for colouring 

 cheese. The imports are variable; in 1847, 138 tons were 

 received, and in 1850 only 72 tons. 



Indigo (Plate XIV. fig. 74). — A peculiar vegetable 

 colour, extracted from Indigofera tinctoria (Plate XIV. fig. 

 73) and several other species of the same genus (Nat. Ord. 

 LeguminoscB). Various other plants also yield indigo, but 

 they do not furnish any portion of that consumed in this 

 country. 



This important material was known to the ancients, who 

 used it both as a dye and also as a paint. Dioscorides 

 called it Iv8i/cbv, and Pliny Indicum ; the former says, indigo 

 comes from the workshops of the dyers, attaching itself to 

 the vessels from which it is removed and dried. Pliny 

 speaks of another kind which is formed spontaneously like 

 a froth upon Indian reeds : the author is of opinion that 

 the article here alluded to is the lac dye, now so exten- 

 sively used. 



Like many other valuable discoveries of the ancients, the 

 use of the indigo was lost to Europe until the middle of 

 the sixteenth century. It was introduced by the Dutch, 

 who imported it from India, but its use was almost pre- 



