Ii6 WONDERS OF THE TROPICAL FORESTS. 
except within the tropics, a higher mean teniperatttre than 
60" being absolutely necessary for its vegetation. The 
seed is liown in furrows a foot apart from each other, and 
two or three inches in depth. Sufficient moisture causes 
it to shoot above the surface in three or four days, and it 
is usually fit for gathering at the end of two months. 
"When it begins to tlower it is cut with a sickle a few inches 
above the roots, and furnishes, after six or eight weeks, a 
second crop. The cultivation of indigo would thus seem 
to be exti-emely profitable, but the sun, which so rapidly 
improves and invigorates the plant, calls forth at the same 
time a multitude of insects and catei*pillars, that prey 
upon the valuable leaves, and frequently disappoint the 
planter's expectations. 
All the intermediate shades of violet and purple may 
be obtained from the mixture of red and blue, varying 
according to the different proportions whereiji these colours 
are applied. There are, however, some few veget4ible sub- 
fit-ances which yield a violet or purple dye, without being 
combined with another colour, and of these logwood is the 
most important. The stately tree which furnishes this 
valuable article of commerce is a native of the western 
world, having been lirst discovered in the swampy forests 
of Yucatan, and in the low alluvial grounds that girdle 
the Bays of Campeachy and Honduras. 
About the year 1661, logwood became in great request; 
and as the indolent Spaniards to whom the country at 
that time belonged failed to supply the market, several 
English adventurers, without first asking permission, settled 
or squatted on the uninhabited coast of Yucatan, and 
made the woods near Laguna de Terminos ring with the 
sound of their industrious axe. Slany years passed with- 
out the Spaniards taking any notice of the intruders ; but 
as these, growing bolder by sufferance, began to penetrate 
farther into the country, to build houses and form planta- 
tions, as if they had been masters of the soil, their jealousy 
was at length aroused, and in 16S0 the English settlers 
