AGRICULTURAL mAGAZinC, 
COLOMBO. 
Added as a Supplement Monthly to the " TROPICAL AGRICULTUBIST:' 
August :- 
The following pages include the Contents of the Agricultural Magazine for 
Vol. XL] 
AUGUST, 1899. 
[No. 2. 
TflE ANNATTO DYE OP COMMEECE. 
(^Contiiiued.) 
^^^^ 
HE use of aniiatto for colouring 
cheese and other food articles 
seems to have originated from 
the belief that it possessed certain 
antiseptic and peptic properties, 
but the country of its origin 
is not known. The West Indians were known to 
be using it as a medicine in the treatment for 
dysentery, while in East India, Mysore, the 
natives use it as a condiment in their curries. 
The Spanish mix; the prepared dye in their 
chocolates— evidently not for the sake of the colour- 
ing but for its virtue as a digestive. The 
superiority of cheese made in Holland is no 
doubt due to a judicious use of the dye which it 
seems the Dutch keep as a secret. Manufacturers 
in Germany in attempting to imitate the Dutch 
product, overdid it so much so, that it was 
found necessary for the German government to 
enact special laws last year prohibiting the use 
of annatto in that country. In an extract from 
the Journal of the Society of Arts which appeared 
in the Ceylon Observer o/"12th instant, it will be seen 
that annatto which is therein named "bixa orellana'' 
formed one of the principal products of Togoland 
in German West Africa. After the new laws came 
into operation in the fatherland, the produce of 
those colonies evidently found its way to other 
countries, carrying with it the tendency of lowering 
prices and demoralizing the market. But this 
state of things should not continue long, for as 
oon as it is known that the variety of the annatto 
growing in Africa is different from those found 
in East India and Ceylon, preference will be given 
once more to the latter as has actually been the 
case once before when the West Indian product 
reigned supreme. In this connection it will be 
interesting to look back to the discussion which 
a sample of AVest African annatto seed sent to 
England had elicited. The following letter which 
appeared in the Kew Bulletin for July, 1890, 
speaks for itself : — 
EoYAL Gardens, Kew, to Colonial Office. 
Royal Gardens, Kew, 29th March, 1890- 
Sir, — I am desired by Mr. Thiselton Dyer to 
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of '22nd 
January last, forwarding a copy of a. despatch 
from the Officer Administrating the Government 
of Lagos on the subject of an experimental con- 
signment of annatto seeds forwarded to this 
country for valuation and report. 
2. These seeds were duly received at Kew 
early last month, and samples were forwarded to 
several firms of annatto dealers and manufacturers 
inviting their opinion upon them for the informa- 
tion of the Government of Lagos. 
3. Copies of the replies received are herewith 
enclosed. It appears that Lagos annatto seeds are 
not so good as those exported from Jamaica ; they 
are smaller, less bright in appearance, and not so 
rich in colour. This may be owing to the fact 
that the Lagos seeds were gathered before they 
were fully ripe. In any case the market value is 
very low, and it is doubtful whether West African 
seeds can be shipped to this country at a profit. 
4. The subject of annatto has already been 
very fully treated in the Kew Bulletin (July and 
September, 1887). It is a matter for consideration, 
if the export of the seeds will not prove remu- 
nerative on the West Coast, whether it would be 
possible to prepare the flag or roll annatto. There 
is a regular and steady demand for annatto in 
this form, and the charges for freight are con- 
