458 



DTES AJfD COLOEmG STUFFS. 



subsequently — that is, at tlie time Edwards wrote — convenient apparatus was 

 constructed, the levers of which were worked by a cog-wheel, kept in motion 

 by a horse or mule. When the fluid had been churned for fifteen or twenty 

 minutes, a small quantity was examined in a cup or plate, and if it appeared 

 curdled or coagulated, strongly impregnated lime-water was gradually added, 

 not only with a view to promote separation, but to prevent decomposition. 

 Browne remarks (" Civil and Nat. Hist, of Jamaica," art. " Indigo"), tiie plan- 

 ters " must carefully distinguish the different stages of this partot the operation 

 also, and attentively examine the appearance and color as the work advances, 

 — for the grain passes gradually from a greenish to a fine purple, which is the 

 proper color when the liquor is sufficiently worked, — too small a degree of agita- 

 tion leaving the indigo green and coarse, while too vigorous an action brings it 

 to be almost black." The liquor being then, as we shall suppose, pi'operly 

 worked, and granulation established, it was left undisturbed until tne flakes 

 settled at the bottom, when the liquor was drawn ofl", and the sediment (which 

 is the indigo) placed in little bags to drain, after which it was carefully packed 

 in small square boxes, and sufl'ered to dry gradually in the shade. 



Such is the account, nearly word for word, -whicii Edwards gives of the mode 

 of manufacturing indigo. I shall now quote his remarks upon the outlay and 

 gain upon the article verbatim. — " To what has been said above of the uatm-e 

 of the plant suiting itself to every soil, and producing four cuttings in the year, 

 if we add the cheapness of the buildings, apparatus, and labor, and the great 

 value of the commodity, there will seem but little cause for wonder at the 

 splendid accounts which are transmitted down to us concerning the great opu- 

 lence of the first indigo-planters. Allowing the produce of an acre to be 300 lbs., 

 and the produce no more than 4s. per pound, the gross profit of only twenty acres 

 will be £1,200, produced by the lab^r of only sixteen negroes, and on capital in 

 land and buildings scarce deserving consideration." Yet, notwithstanding this 

 statement, the author informs us afterwards that he knew, in the course of 

 eighteen years' residence in the West Indies, upwards of twenty persons who 

 tried to re-establish indigo manufactories, but failed. This appears strange, 

 since it is plain that what has once been done can be done again, but especially 

 in the manufacture of an article requiring a capital so very small in proportion 

 to the profits as almost to tempt the most cautious and the most timid man to 

 embark in it. 



I quote the following passage from the same author, for the purpose of show- 

 ing the very loose manner in which statements are made on the authority of 

 others, who are as incompetent to decide the merits of a question as the party 

 himself chronicling their opinion. Speaking of the twenty unfortunate indigo- 

 planters, our author thus writes: — "Many of them were men of foresight, 

 knowledge, and property. That they failed is certain; but of the causes of their 

 rAiLURB I confess I can give no satisfactory account. I was told that disappoint- 

 ment trod close upon their heels at every step. At one time the fermentation 

 w^as too long continued, at another the liquor was drawn off too soon ; now the 

 pulp was not duly granulated, and now it was worked too much. To these in- 

 conveniences, for which practice would doubtless have found a remedy, were 

 added otiiers of a much greater magnitude — the mortality of the negroes, from 

 the vapour of fermented liquor (an alarming circumstance, that, I am informed, 

 both by the French and English planters, constantly attends the process), the 

 failure of the seasons, and the ravages of the worm. These, or some of these 

 evils, di'ove them at length to other pursuits, where industry might find a surer 

 recompense."^ — (p. 283.) 



The fallacy of much of this requires no comment, as it must strike even the 

 most careless reader, — for if the so-called indigo-growers did not know the pro- 

 cess of manufacturing the commodity, then it could not be surprising that they 

 failed. Thus the cause of their failure required no comment, and no explanation. 

 Were a ploughman taken from the field and placed at the helm of a ship, and 

 the vessel in consequence wrecked, would any one be astonished but at the folly 

 of those who placed him there This was the case with t'le indigo-growers, — 

 they attempted what they did not understand, and, consequently, lost their labor 

 and their money. The mortality of the negroes employed, stated as another 

 reason for abandoning tlie attempt, requires a somewhat more lengthy notice. 



