1S38.] 



Culiivaiion and Manufacture of Indigo, 



197 



Account of the Cultivation and Manufacture of Indigo, from Mac- 

 fadyen^s Flora of Jamaica. 



" In the cultivation of the Indigo plant {Indigofera tinctoria), the 

 Lest time, for ploughing or preparing the land, is immediately after the 

 October rains. It has been found that sowing broad-cast succeeds 

 better than in drills. A bushel of seed will plant from six to eight 

 acres. In the course of a few days the young plants come up ; soon 

 after which they ought to be cleaned and moulded, As the plant grows 

 wild in river courses and in dry gravelly situations, a soil of a similar 

 character is found the best adapted for its cultivation. The rains ought 

 also to be light and seasonable, and it is of importance that they 

 should fall immediately after the young plants show themselves above 

 ground, in order that they may be invigorated, and enabled to resist 

 the attacks of the numerous insects to which they are, at this period of 

 their growth, exposed. From this time little rain is required, except 

 immediately after the branches have been cut ; at these periods a 

 shower is of great service, enabling the Plants to send out new and 

 vigorous shoots. A wet climate indeed is not at all suited to the culti- 

 vation of the Indigo, It is true that the plant may grow luxuriantly, 

 but the juices are watery, and the produce obtained is small in quanti- 

 ty, and inferior in quality. Besides, as Indigo contains an immense 

 proportion of carbon, and, as it is a well-established fact, in Vegetable 

 Physiology, that it is not secreted by plants in the shade, but only when 

 they are exposed to the direct influence of the sun's rays ; it is evident 

 hat indigo requires much and continued sunshine to render its juices 

 rich in this principle. 



" The proper period for cutting the plant is previous to flowering. 

 The leaves at this time change from a light to a dark green, and, ac- 

 cording to the French Indigo planters, they crack when they are squeez- 

 ed. It is of importance to determine the exact time when the plant 

 ^omes to this state, since the branches, if they are prematurely cut 

 would be deficient in the quantity of the produce, and the quality would 

 be inferior. 



" The Indigo plant is retained in cuUivation for a year, daring which 

 period it yields three or four cuttings. The indigo obtained from the 

 first cutting is the greatest in quantity, and is of the finest quality. 

 The succeeding cuttings bectnne gradually less productive, so that one 

 part of the first yields as much as two parts of the second cutting. 



