and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society,— June, 1912. 563 



SALES OF PRODUCE IN BRITISH AND CONTINENTAL MARKETS. 



Fibres, Cotton, Grain, Oil Seeds, Hides and Skins, 

 Timber, Rubber, Drugs, Wool, Ores, Mica, Gums, Tea, 

 Cocoa, Coffee, Copra, Sugar, etc., are being regularly 

 dealt in; Keymer, Son & Co., being selling Agents for 

 Estates, Mills and Exporters. 



Samples valued. Best ports for Shipments indicated. 



The management of Estates undertaken. Capital found 

 for the development or purchase of valuable properties. 



KEYMER, SON & CO. , 

 Cables: Whitefriars, 

 KEYMER, LONDON. LONDON, E. C. 



(Same address since 1844). 



In the previous article in Capital, already re- 

 ferred to,it was pointed out that many things had 

 been and were being tried to take the place of 

 indigo— rhea, cotton, flax, jute, sugarcane, etc. 

 Most of these have disappeared, and we may 

 safely predict they will never be revived again. 

 One alone — sugarcane— has survived and it has 

 come to stay. — Indian Planters' Gazette, May 25. 



AN INDIGO PLANTER'S FALSE 

 REASONINGS. 



(To the Editor, 11 Indian Planters' 

 Gazette.") 



21, Clarendon Crescent, Edinburgh, April 11. 



Dear Sir, — An Indigo Planter writes me as 

 follows:— "I think the Synthetic should be 

 dyed according to the Badische directions, and 

 with the stuff just as it is sold." If it is dyed as 

 it is sold, it may contain "refined indigo, ,; which 

 would be a fraud, and if it does not dye in an 

 indigo vat, it proves that it is not indigo. Then 

 what comes of the scientific contention that Syn- 

 thetic Indigotin is pure indigo, quite free of 

 impurities and adulterations ? Again, he says, 

 " there is no use in analysing for 'faKesl' We 

 know that it is the additional stuff put in the 

 paste by the makers which brings it so near 

 indigo; but if they can bring the stuff to re- 

 semble indigo in any way they like or can, the 

 result is the same to us, provided their stuff 

 will stand exposure, etc." That's utter nonsensel 

 Flour and blue stone can be made to resemble 

 indigo, but no man of intelligence could hold 

 that it was "pure indigo" or any of the other 

 "fakes" that are generally used, Unless «' Syn- 



thetic indigotin" and water' can dye as well as 

 indigo, it is only, a fraudulent competitor, and 

 should be denounced accordingly, just as one 

 would Logwood blue or Alizarin blue passed 

 off as indigo. There must be no adulteration 

 whatever of any kind, and every sample and 

 every brand of these Synthetic paste should be 

 thoroughly analysed before being tried in any 

 way in competition with indigo, for, if a sam- 

 ple is "faked" with refined indigo, cake indigo, 

 or any other colour, it can't be genuine. That 

 is perfectly clear, and the only way to get rid of 

 possible frauds of this nature is to take indigo 

 entirely out of the hands of its present manipu- 

 lators, and to educate the public to distinguish 

 indigo from all subterfuges, and to demand 

 the real article, and prosecute those who won't 

 supply it. If the Behar men won't do that, 

 the Ceylon planters will. To leave the trade in 

 a state of dereliction as at present, is not only 

 insane folly, but fatuous idiocy, of which Bri- 

 tons should be the last people in the world to 

 encourage ! My friend's argument amounts to 

 this, that if any unscrupulous person challenges 

 Behar Indigo against 20 per cent. Synthetic 

 paste and adds 10 per cent, or 20 per cent, re- 

 fined indigo to it, he may well boast that the 

 Synthetic is equal to indigo. A propor analy- 

 sis, however, would knock all that on the head 

 and the silly planter who would accept tho paste 

 without analysing it ! The same planter also 

 quotes a case where I know more about tho 

 dyer than he does, but care not, at present, to 

 divulge his name. I am etc., 



K. N. MacDowalDi 

 —Indian Planters' Gazette, May U, 



