190 



Money in Lucerne ; the last word in Alfalfa Culture, by South African 

 Experts and practical Farmers, pp. 1-88 (Midland Printing and 



Publishing Co., Ltd., Cradock, Cape Colony, L909 ?). "Lucerne 



or Alfalfa Cultivation," Thompstone, in Agric. Journ. India, iv. Oct. 



1909, pp. 319-334, illustrated. Irrigation of Alfalfa, Fortier, U.S. 



Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 373, 1909, pp. 1-48, illustrated. 



Variegated Alfalfa, Westgate, U.S. Dept. Agric. Bureau PI. 



Industry, Bull. No. 169, 1910, pp. 1-63, illustrated, 5 figures in the 

 text ; plates i.-ix. 



lNDIGOPBRA, Linn. 



Indigofera arrecta, Hochst; Fl. Trop. Afr. II. p. 97. 



[/. umbonata, Welw. Fl. Trop. Afr. ii. p. 98.] 



III.— Wood, Natal PI. iii. t, 287 ; Whyte, Report, Africa No. 3, 1903. 



Vernac, names. — Degendeg or Dek Indig (Abyssinia, Oliver, Prain 

 (k Baker) ; Sense (Ilorin, Bailey) : Sense (Lagos, MacGreyor) ; 

 Bwenga (Karonga, Nyassa, Scott) ; Urn — Pegembetu (Natal, Wood) — 

 Java Indigo ; Natal Indigo. 



Bassa Province (Elliott, No. 86, 1904, Herb. Kew) ; Katagum 

 (Dalziel, Herb. Kew). 



The chief Indigo producing species in Africa outside the area 

 occupied by /. articulata ; largely cultivated in Java (Prain & Baker, 

 Journ. Bot. xl. 1902, p. 144) to which place it was introduced from 

 Natal (Wood, Natal PI. iii. pt. 4, p. 18). Used in Ilorin for dyeing 

 purposes (Bailey, Herb. Kew), by the natives in Natal for staining 

 blue (I.e.), by the natives of Pungo Andongo for dyeing cloth (Hiern, 

 Cat, Welw. Afr. PI. i. p. 216) and yields sfood Indigo in Shupanga 

 (Kirk, Herb. Kew). 



This plant as a source of Indigo was recommended, by the Director 

 of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to the Government of S. Nigeria 

 in preference to Indigo/era tinctoria, when requisitioning for a 

 supply of seed (Kew to Colonial Office, 30th March, 1905). Java 

 Indigo (/. arrecta) has proved so suitable to the soil and climate of 

 Behar, that, roughly speaking, the risks of cultivation have been 

 halved, and the production of the green plant doubled without a 

 depreciation of the dye content of the leaf (Pharm. Journ. [4] xxv. 

 p. 492) ; or, according to Coventry, the Java plant shows an increase 

 of 35 per cent, in the amount of green plant cut per acre, and of 

 45 per cent, increase in vat produce over the ordinary plant of the 

 United Provinces (Watt, Comm. Prod. India, p. 661). 



The average prices per lb. for Java Indigo, in 1909 at Amsterdam, 

 were for " very fine red " 5s. 3d to 5s. Ad.; " very fine violet " 4s. lid. 

 to 5s.; "medium fine to fine," 4s. hd. to 4s. 9d.; " low medium," 

 3s. lOd. to 4s. 2d.; " ordinary to good ordinary," 3s. Ad. to 3s. Sd. 

 (Cons. Rep. Ann. No. 4415, 1910, p. 10). 



The total imports to the Netherlands were 5515 lb. (1905) ; 

 2281 lb. (1906) ; 3647 lb. (1907) ; 2918 lb. (1908) ; 1533 lb. (1909) 

 (l.c. p. 11). 



Leaves said to be used as a vegetable in Nyasaland (Scott, Herb. 

 Kew). 



Found at an altitude of 4-5000 ft. Kilimanjaro, (Johnston, Herb. 

 Kew) ; 3500-6000 ft. Kibwesi to Matschakas, Ruwenzori (Scott Elliot, 

 Herb. Kew). Frequent in sandy thickets between Condo & Quisondo 

 (Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. PI. i. p. 216). 



For general cultural details see 2". tinctoria. 



