DYEING. 
359 
fire in earthen pots, crush it between two flints, previously to 
pounding it in the mortar. The butter of the taman is of 
a light yellow colour. It is firmer than that of the ce, an^ 
has no smell. I preferred this to the other. 
Indigo grows spontaneously in the environs of Time. The 
women use it for dyeing their cotton thread ; which the men 
weave into cloths. The process employed to extract the 
dye is very simple. They do not take the trouble to cut the 
plant, but gather the leaves, which they bruise; and then mak- 
ing them up into small cakes they lay them in the sun to dry. 
This process has been followed for a very long period. 
When the dye is wanted, the cakes are bruised, and put into 
a large earthen pot, made for this purpose ; cold water is then 
poured over them and time is allowed for the leaves to soak. 
After leaving them twenty hours to ferment, ley is made 
with the ashes of the straw of foigne, and cold water is added. 
This has the effect of dissolving the indigo. The dye being 
thus prepared, the articles to be dyed are put into the pot. 
Cotton requires to be thus soaked for a whole night, or even 
longer ; and when taken out, I have seen it of a beautiful 
blue colour. In proportion as the water diminishes, more 
is added, and the same leaves serve to dye for a whole week; 
but the first tint is always the finest. 
I saw, in this country a climbing plant, with a very 
broad leaf, and containing a large quantity of blue dye. It is 
very common at Sierra-Leone. The young women do not 
dye the cotton thread ; that task is always consigned to the 
old women, who also cultivate little gardens round their huts^ 
where they raise various kinds of herbs which they use for 
making their sauces, &c. In these gardens they also grow 
tobacco, which is sown in September and transplanted in 
October. Very little attention however is bestowed on its 
cultivation. That which I saw at Time and in its neighbour- 
hood is of a small species, and it is not gathered until it runs 
to seed. The leaves, after being dried in the sun, are reduced 
