plump, and very full of juice, are light, flabby, and 
withered, and look more like dung than any thing 
elfe, which makes them frequently give the name of 
rot to the fteeper. If then we no longer find in the 
leaves, and the reft of the plant, the fame fubftance 
that was obfervable in it before it was laid to fteep, 
is it not moft natural to believe, that it is the fame 
fubftance and faks, which, being freed from their in- 
clofures, and diffufed in the water, have thickened it, 
and by their union or coagulation have formed that 
blue mafs which they call Indigo, fo ufeful in painting 
and dyeing ? 
The culture.] This plant requires a good rich level 
foil, not too dry ; it greatly robs and impoverifties 
the ground where it grows, and muft be alone. There 
cannot be too much care taken to keep it clean, and 
to hinder herbs of any kind whatever from growing 
near it. They weed and cleanfe the ground where 
they intend to plant the Indigo feed, five times over. 
I fhould think they fhould call it fowing, but the 
term of planting is confecrated in our ifles, and I do 
not think I ought for the fake of a word to fall out 
with our planters, who delerve our efteem upon a 
thoufand accounts, though they have got a habit of 
murdering the French language. They fometimes 
carry their neatnefs to luch a pitch, that they fweep 
the piece of ground as they do a room. After that 
they make the holes wherein the feeds are to be put 
for this purpofe •, the flaves, or others, who are to 
wo k at it, range themfelves in the fame line, at the 
top of the piece of ground ; and going backwards 
they make little drills the breadth of their hoe, of the 
depth of two or three inches, at about a foot diftance 
every way, and as much as poflible in a ftrait line. 
When they are come to the end of the ground, each 
furnifhes himfelf with a little bag of feeds, and re- 
turning that way they came, they put eleven or 
thirteen feeds into each of the holes they have made. 
A relick of fuperftition has taught them that the 
number muft be odd. I by no means approve of this 
practice, but I fhall take care not to endeavour to 
fhew them the ufeleffnefs and folly of it, being fa- 
tisfied I fhall only lofe my time and labour. 
This work is the moft toilfome of any in the manu- 
facture of Indigo ; for thofe who plant it muft be al- 
ways ftooping, without rifing up, till the planting of 
the whole length of the piece is ended ; fo that when 
that is large, which almoft always happens, they are 
obliged to remain two hours, and often more, in this 
pofture. 
When they come to the top of the piece, they go 
back again, and cover the holes where they have put 
the feed in, by th rafting in with their feet the earth 
they.had taken out ot them, and fo the feed is covered 
with about two inches of earth. 
The culture of this plant may be rendered very eafy, 
provided the inhabitants of our colonies in America 
could be brought to make ufe of the drill plough ; 
for with this inftrument two perfons and a horfe or 
mule will fow more land with Indigo in one day, than 
twenty perfons can perform in the fame time, in the 
method now praCtiled ; for the plough makes the 
drill, and the hopper which is fixed to the plough 
follows, and fcatters the feeds at equal diftances in 
the drills ; and another inftrument behind the hopper 
covers in the drills, whereby the whole operation is 
performed at the fame time, and with great eafe. In- 
deed the ufe of this machine muft be underftood by 
the perfons who are to perform it, otherwife they will 
do it in a bad manner, but a little pra&ice will bring 
any perfon to the right ufe of it. 
As the Indigo is fown in rows, a hoeing plough may 
be made of a proper dimenfion, in order to clean the 
ground between the rows •, with this contrivance it 
may be performed in much lefs time than in the me- 
thod now praCtifed. But in doing of this, I would 
advife the ftirring of the ground, foon after the Indigo 
plants are come up, before the weeds have got much 
ftrength, at which time they are foon deftroyed ; and 
by. ftirring of the ground the plants will be greatly 
encouraged ; and the ftrongeft and moft thriving 
plants will always make the belt Indigo. 
What Le Bat fays of cutting the plants before they 
are too old, in order to have the Indigo of a better 
colour, is certainly right. Therefore as foon as the 
flowers begin to appear, it fhould be cut - 5 for if it 
ftands much longer the Items of the plants will grow 
hard and ftringy, and the lower leaves will change 
to a yellowifh colour, which will render the Indigo 
lefs valuable *, as will alfo the plants being too cloie 
together, which will occafion their bottom leaves to 
decay for want of free air : the fame will happen if 
weeds are fuffered to grow among the plants. There- 
fore there muft be great regard to their being kept 
always clean. 
Though all feafons are good for the planting of In- 
digo, yet care muft be taken not to put it in the 
ground in a dry time : it is true, the feed may keep 
a whole month in the ground, without being fpoiled j 
but when it is planted fo, one runs the rifk of having 
it eaten up by vermin, or carried away by the wind, 
or choked by the weeds that fpring up with it ; fo that 
the prudent planters never run the rifk of planting it 
dry, i. e. at a time when they do not probably expetft 
rain in two or three days after the planting is ended : 
they chufe therefore, ufually, a moift feafon, which 
promifes rain, and then they are fure of feeing the 
plant fpring up in three or four days after its being 
planted. 
Notwithftanding all the care that has been taken in 
clearing the ground where the feeds have been 
planted, the planter muft not be carelefs when the 
Indigo is got above ground ; becaufe the goodnefs of 
the foil, joined to the moifture and warmth of the 
climate, and the plentiful dews that fall every night, 
makes a prodigious quantity of weeds fpring up, 
which would choke and abfolutely fpoil the Indigo, 
if extreme care was not taken to weed them up as foon 
as they appear, and to keep the plant extraordinary 
neat ; and very often the weeds are partly the caufe 
of the breeding of a kind of caterpillars, which de- 
vour all the leaves in a fhort time. 
From the time of the plants rifing above ground, to 
its perfect maturity, is but two months, and then it 
is fit to cut : if one was to ftay longer it would blofiom, 
its leaves would grow drier and harder, and confe- 
quently they would yield lefs fubftance, and the co • 
lour would not be near fo beautiful. 
After this firft cutting, the new branches and leaves 
which the plant produces may be cut about every fix 
weeks, provided the feafon be rainy, and that care 
be taken not to cut it in a time of drought, becaufe 
then we fhould infallibly lofe the plant, or, as they 
call it there, the Choupues, and be obliged to plant 
again ; but all things being rightly managed, the plant 
may laft two years ; after which it muft be plucked 
up, and new ones planted. 
When the plant is ripe, which is known by the leaves, 
which grow brittle and lefs fupple, they cut it fome 
inches from the ground. They ufe for the cutting 
of it great crooked knives made like fickles. Some 
planters make it into bundles like double bottles of 
hay, that a negro may eafily carry them to the fteeper ; 
but moft people put it into large pieces of coarfe 
cloth, which they tie by the four corners ; and this is 
more convenient, theplantis lefs handled and fqueezed, 
and the fmall are carried away as fafely as the great •, 
and befides the work goes on quicker this way, than 
in making bottles *, and as time is precious every 
where, and efpecially in America, there cannot be too 
much care taken not to lofe any. 
Eighteen or twenty packets of plants, each about the 
fize of two bottles of hay, are fufficient to fill a fteeper 
of the afore-mentioned fize. When it is filled with 
water, fo that it covers the plants, they put pieces of 
wood on the top, that the plants may not rife above 
the water (much after the manner as they do upon the 
Grapes that are put into the prefs) and let all ferment. 
According as.the heat is greater or Ids, or the plant 
more or lefs ripe, the fermencsCon is raifed 1'ooner or 
later. 
