ANNOTTA, OR AllNOTTO. 



389 



pounding with a wooden pestle. The seeds are removed by straining 

 the mass through a sieve ; and the pulp being allowed to settle, the water 

 is gently poured off, and the pulp put into shallow vessels, in which it 

 is gradually dried in the shade. After acquiring a proper consistenco 

 it is made into cylindrical rolls or balls, and placed in an airy place 

 to dry, after which it is sent to market. It used to be most common 

 in this form of small rolls, each 2 or 3 ozs. in weight, hardj dry, and 

 compact; brownish without and red within. The other process of 

 manufacture is that pursued in Cayenne. The pulp and seeds together 

 are bruised in wooden vessels, and hot water poured over them ; they 

 are then left to soak for several days, and afterwards passed through 

 a close sieve to separate the seeds. The matter is then left to ferment 

 for about a week, when the water is gently poured off, and the solid 

 part left to dry in the shade. When it has acquired the consistence of 

 solid paste, it is formed into cakes of 3 or 4 lbs. weight, which are 

 wrapped in the leaves of the banana, and known in commerce as 

 flag arnotto. This variety is of a bright yellow colour, rather soft 

 to the touch, and of considerable solidity. 



Labat informs us that the Indians prepare an annotta greatly 

 superior to that which is brought to us, of a bright shining red 

 colour, almost equal to carmine. For this purpose, instead of steeping 

 and fermenting the seeds in water they rub them with the hands, 

 previously dipped in oil, till the pulp comes off and is reduced to a 

 clear paste, which is scraped off from the hands with a knife, and 

 laid on a clean leaf in the shade to dry. Mixed with lemon juice and 

 gum, it makes the crimson paint with which Indians adorn their 

 bodies ; and they employ the leaves and roots in cookery to increase 

 the flavour and give a saffron colour. 



It owes its value to the colouring matter bixin and orellin, which 

 constitute about 20 per cent, of good dry annotta. Fresh annotta 

 contains more than half its weight of water. It was formerly em^ 

 ployed in dyeing wool and silks, but its colour though beautiful at first 

 soon fades, and hence it has been abandoned for more permanent dyes» 



Annotta is principally consumed by painters and dyers ; but it is 

 also used to colour cheese with a pale yellow or flesh colour. The 

 Dutch use it for heightening the colour of their butter, and it is em.m 

 ployed for the same purpose in some American and English dairies. 



The following shows the position of the production of this dye^ 

 stuff in the two French colonies : 







^Guadaloupe. 



French Guiana. 







Year. 



Hectares 

 under 

 Culture. 



Produce. 



Hectares 



under 

 Culture, 



Produce. 







1869 

 1870 

 1871 

 1872 

 1873 

 1874 



385 

 496 

 687 

 725 

 661 

 528 



kilos. 

 313,200 

 379,400 

 675,938 

 668,896 

 542,850 

 369,600 



2,182 

 2,456 

 2,233 

 1,945 

 1,832 

 1,783 



kilos. 

 626,362 

 691,998 

 659,295 

 487,579 

 463,087 

 445,915 





