I.EGUMI NOSyE. 
251 
l>y the Cape of' Good Hope, the Dutch are supposed to have 
been the first, about the middle of the 16th century, to import 
it direct into .Europe. It was long, however, ere it came into 
general use as a dye, and there appears to have existed against 
it a very unaccountable prejudice. It was considered to be a 
kind of stone, and was prohibited in England during the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth, and also in Saxony by the Elector, who 
described it in his edict as a corrosive substance, and fit food only 
for the devil. Soon alter this its importance came to be under- 
stood, and the cultivation of the plants which yield it was intro- 
duced into the West Indies, and into Mexico, and follow- 
ed up with such success, that the market of Europe was for 
a long time principally supplied from these countries. A large 
proportion was furnished by Jamaica, and the remains of Indigo 
works may now be met with in different parts of the country. 
In 1672, according to Edwards, there were 60 Indigo works, 
producing 50,000 lbs. annually. A tax, however, of 3s. 6d. 
per lb. having been imposed by the British parliament, the 
cultivation was soon after, in a great measure, abandoned ; and 
although the duty was soon after removed, and a bounty of 
sixpence per lb. offered, if imported directly into Great Britain, 
still it never again became general, and at present, I am not 
aware, that it is produced in any quantity, or that there is a 
single Indigo work, deserving the name, in the Island. In the 
East Indies, on the contrary, the cultivation of late years has 
rapidly increased, so as to supply 3-4ths of the Indigo for the 
European market. 
It is to be hoped, as few articles give a more profitable return 
for the capital embarked, that its cultivation among us may be 
resumed, especially as, from the improvements in the manufac- 
ture, the unhealthy fermenting process, which was found so 
fatal to the labourers employed, may now be dispensed with. 
An attempt was made, some years ago, by the late Mr Robert 
Gray, of St George’s, to introduce the cultivation on his own 
property in that parish ; but he did not succeed, owing to the 
excessive rains which fall in that district during almost every 
period of the year. The like ill success, and from a similar 
cause, has attended an attempt lately made on Greenwich Hill 
estate, in Manchioneal. The result would be different were a 
proper choice of climate and soil observed, such as the plains 
of Vere or Liguanea, where the rains are occasional, and 
seldom heavy, and the soil light and open. 
The medicinal uses of the Indigo are few. A decoction of 
the root, used as a lotion, effectually destroys vermin, and is 
very generally employed for that purpose in the country. The 
juice of the young branches, mixed with honey, is recommended 
as an application for aphthte of the mouth in children : and the 
Indigo, in powder, sprinkled over foul ulcers, is said to cleanse 
them. The disease in poultry, known by the name of yaws, is 
