5 



we cannot see any reason why the growers in Jamaica and Ceylon should not be able to teach the natives how 

 to prepare it in this way. and we could then take laige quantities of this kind of Annatto annually, and pro- 

 bablv all that they could make. Wo would suggest that some of the growers should make the experiment and 

 send us samples, and we would let them know how much we could give for it and the quantity we would take 



annually.^ c>)ngum ^ on Q f ^nnatto throughout the world is of course limited. Our business has been established 

 over 100 years, and for the last 50 years our importation of Annatto has not varied very much. Last year our 

 imports of Annatto of the various kinds amounted to over 50,000 lbs., the great bulk of which was Cayenne 

 Flag Aunatto. Had we used the seeds only we should have required at least 200,000 lbs. for our business 



*^ 0n6 " Annatto is principally used for colouring cheese and butter, for which purpose it has to be specially pre- 

 pared so as to bo perfectly pure and harmless when it reaches the consumer. 



" The following are among the many preparations of Annatto manufactured by us, specimens of which 

 have been presented to the Kew Museum : - 



Imperial Black Cake Annatto. 



Treble Strength " 



Extra Superfine " " 



Superfine Orange" " 



Fluid Extract of Annatto. 



Butter Colouring. 



Butter Colouring prepared in oil. 



Roll Annatto, Spanish. 



Cayenne Flag Annatto. 



Lisbon Roll Annatto. 



" These are used for a variety of purposes, viz., for colouring jellies, hair, soap, candles, scent, spirits, 

 confectionery, leather, pomades, chocolate, and in making lacquer for brass work, and dyeing calico, silk, 

 wool skin, rues, straw-plait, feathers, wood, ivory, bone, &c , and also as an auxiliary in giving a deeper 

 shade to the simple yellows. 



" Dyers also use the raw Flag Annatto very extensively for a reddish colour. It is not generally known 

 that two colours can be obtained from Annatto, yellow and red." 



The following information is gleaned Irotn the Kew Bulletin, published in July, 1887 : — 



" Annatto plants are readily raised trom seed, and are of a hardy character. They prefer cool, moist situa- 

 tions such as the banks of streams, and luxuriate in shaded places in and around dwellings. They are, 

 however, readily established on comparatively poor soils, and although the growth under such circumstances 

 is necessarily less robust, the yield in seeds is fairly large. If a plantation of Annatto is proposed to be es- 

 tablished, plants may first be raised in seed beds in nurseries, and transplanted during the rainy seas m when 

 about 6 or 8 inches high. The distance apart of permanent plants may vary from 10 to 15, or 20 feet, accord- 

 in" - to the character of the soil, and the nature of any subsidiary cultivation that may be carried on. In many 

 cases seeds may be sown at once in the places where the permanent plants are desired, and of the seedlings 

 grown, the strongest only is ultimately retained. As cattle, horses, and goats do not eat the leaves of Annatto, 

 planters iu the West Indies often utilize hilly pasture lands by planting Annatto upon them. In this way 

 very little expense is incurred for maintenance, and should the price of the produce prove of an unremunera- 

 tive character, no steps are taken to gather the crop. The range of cultivation for Annatto is a wide one. In the 

 "West Indies it grows readily from sea-level up to an altitude of 2,000 feet. In Ceylon it is known to grow 

 up to 3,000 feet, but it i» particularly flourishing in the lowlands. It appears to be well adapted for moist 

 warm situations, with a mean annual temperature of 75° to 80° Fah. It requires an abundant rainfall, and 

 hence is not suitable for arid situations, or those subject to prolonged droughts. Under favorable circum- 

 stances Annatto plants begin to yield seed in about two years, and remain fruitful for a long period. 



"The manufacture in French Guiana is as follows :- Pick the small red seeds from the husk, put them in 

 fresh and clear water to soak, for not less than 2 days, then pass them through a mill or crusher. • When 

 crushed let them remain 24 hours in fresh water ; after this pass them through a sieve ; the residue is again 

 passed through the mill until nothing remains of the seed. The produce of the seeds as prepared is put in 

 water until it has precipitated ; the surface water is then made to run out. After the surface water has 

 become perfectly clear, the paste is boiled during 4 or 5 hours' time. After this process has been gone 

 through, the paste is placed in cases with curing holes, with a weight placed on it, and a cloth at the bottom 

 to prevent the finely crushed powder from passing through. When the above process has been gone through 

 the paste should be in a fit state for shipment. It is then packed in layers, with plantain leaves between each 

 layer to retain the necessary amount of nuisture and to check acidity. 



" A method recommended by the Director of the Botanic Gardens at Ceylon for preparing Annatto, and 

 which, no doubt, has been followed in the manufacture of some fine samples of Annatto lately exported from 

 that Island, is as follows : The seeds, with their pulpy envelopes are pounded in a wooden mortw, and, 

 after adding hot water, the mixture is left in the mortar for several days, after which it is passed through a 

 sieve. The liquid is then left to ferment for S days, when the water is decanted off, and the deposited pulp 

 left to become concentrated by evaporation in the shade. When it has acquired the consistency of firm putty, 

 it is made up into cakes of 1£ — 2 kilos, weight. These are packed with plantain leaves, and have a lively 

 orange-yellow colour ; the value is about 4 fr. the kilo. In Cayenne it would appear that the pulp is some- 

 times boiled for 4 or 5 hours, and afterwards put under weights to squeeze out the water. It is also some- 

 times made into rolls instead of cakes, in which state it appears to fetch an inferior price. 



"Messrs. S. G. Clements &Co., of Bristol, writing on 1 1th June, 1887, state : — ihe value of Annatto Seed 

 at market is to-day unusually low, good quality having been done at 2^d. lately, so that growers cannot be 

 doing well with it. Now, in Ceylon, an extraordinarily fine bright paste is made, and we think we purchased 

 the fiist lots of it brought over, through London brokers, at a much higher price than any Paste or Flag An- 

 natto then offered in London or Liverpool. It was followed by other lots not quite up to the first grade, and 

 the disparity in values between ' Cayenne' best, and this ' Ceylon' was too great to induce us to go on 

 buying, except in small lots occasionally for mixing and improving. On lately enquiring the value, our 

 brokers tell us the bulk of it is going to the United States of America, and there fetching 3s. 6d. per lb. 1" 



