C a p, V. The Caribby-I'flands. 



clear the voice, to fvveeten the breath, to caufe a good co- 

 lour in the face, to take away the crudities of the ftomach, 

 to promote digeftion, to fharpen the appetite, and to con- 

 fume that waterifhnefs and phlegm which puts the body in- 

 to a languifhing condition 5 nay it is affirm'd by feme, that 

 it preferves and wonderfully fortifies the memory, by dif- 

 perfing the cold humours, or the phlegm of the Brain. This 

 root may alfo be redue'd into a parte, of which there may be 

 made a Conferve, or cordial Ele&uary that hath the fame ef- 

 fects. 



We come now to give a fhort account of Indico. The 

 Plant being cut is bound up into little bundles or fagots, and 

 left to rot in cifterns of ftone or wood full of fair water 5 on 

 which there is caft a certain quantity of oil, which according 

 to its nature covers all the furface of it : They lay ftones upon 

 the fagots, that they may the better keep under the water $ 

 and after three or four days that the water hath been boiling, 

 which it does by the meer virtue of the Plant, without any 

 affiftance of fire, the leaf being rotted and difiblv'd by that 

 , natural heat which is in the ftalk, they take great ftakes and 

 ftir the whole mafs that is within the cifterns, fo to get out all 

 the fubftance of it 5 and after it is fetled again, they tajp out 

 of the cittern that part of the ftalk which is not rotted : that 

 done, they feveral times ftir what is left in the ciftern, and af- 

 ter they have left it to fetle, they let out the water at a cock 5 

 and the lees or dregs which remains at the bottom of the ciftern, 

 is put into molds, or left to dry in the Sun. Thefe dregs is that 

 which is fo much efteem'd by Dyers, and commonly known 

 by the name of Indico. 



There are fome make ufe of PrefTes, whereinto having put 

 little bundles of the rotted Plant, they by that means get out 

 all the juice of it : But in regard they are the leaves of the 

 Plant that the forefaid Commodity is made of, thofe who are 

 defirous to have it of the higheft price, think it enough to have 

 the dregs which remains after the corruption of thofe leaves., 

 and is found, after fo many ftirrings, at the bottom of the ci- 

 ftern. 



The French Inhabitants of the Caribbies were there a long 

 time ere they drove any trade in that Commodity, by reafon 

 that the Plant whereof it is made, being of it felf of a very 

 ftrong fcent, exhales an infupportable ftink when it is rot- 

 ted : But fince Tobacco came to fo low a rate, and that in 

 fome places the ground would not bring forth that which 

 was good, as it had done fome time before, they apply cl 

 themfelves to the culture of Indico, whereof they now make 

 a confiderable advantage. 



Laftly, as concerning Cotton 5 the French make it not much 

 their bufinefs to gather it, though they have many of the trees 



that 



