360 
ON  BIXA  ORELLANA  AND  ANNATTO. 
ON  THE  CULTURE  OF  BIXA  ORELLANA  AND  THE  PREPARA- 
TION OF  ANNATTO. 
By  Th.  Peckolt,  of  Cantagallo. 
This  neat  little  tree,  which,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cantagallo, 
in  Brazil,  flowers  in  December  and  January,  and  ripens  its 
fruits  towards  the  latter  part  of  April  or  in  May,  grows  without 
attention  in  most  of  the  provinces  of  Brazil,  and  might,  with  a 
little  care,  be  made  more  profitable  than  many  other  vegetable 
products  which  require  cultivation,  more  attention  and  labor. 
For  the  province  of  Para,  the  production  of  annatto  is  one  of  its 
many  sources  of  wealth,  though  this  dyestuff  is,  by  some  un- 
scrupulous manufacturers,  adulterated,  and  its  price,  consequent- 
ly, has  become  depressed  ;  Para  is  the  only  Brazilian  province 
where  it  is  cultivated. 
For  domestic  purposes  it  is  much  employed  here,  as  well  as 
in  the  United  States  and  Europe,  being  used  for  coloring  butter 
and  cheese,  and  likewise  for  beautifying  and  seasoning  some 
dishes  ;  as  a  medicine  it  enjoys  a  somewhat  favorable  reputation 
in  Brazil,  and  as  a  dyestuff,  it  is  almost  indispensable. 
Notwithstanding  the  scandalous  sophistications,  its  price  in 
Para  is  now  from  10  to  12  millreis  per  arroba  (1  millreis  =  50  cts.; 
1  arroba  =  32  Portuguese  pounds ;)  and  promises  to  again  rise 
to  its  former  height  of  18  millreis,  if  the  necessary  precautions 
against  adulterating  it  should  be  taken. 
It  is  a  matter  of  experience  that  the  annatto  tree  grows  lux- 
uriantly in  almost  any  kind  of  soil,  and  is,  therefore,  recom- 
mended for  the  cultivation  of  such  land  as  is  not  well  fitted  for 
the  production  of  alimentary  articles. 
The  mode  of  growing  this  tree  is  as  follows :  The  land  is  pre- 
pared at  the  same  season  and  in  the  same  manner  as  for  cotton. 
The  land  is  furrowed,  and  at  a  distance  of  8  or  10  feet  2  or  3 
seeds  are  planted,  which  must  have  been  first  soaked  in  water 
for  some  time.  After  some  time,  other  seeds  are  planted,  when 
the  first  ones  had  not  germinated  ;  after  three  months  a  weeding 
takes  place,  when  the  superfluous  plants  are  likewise  pulled  out, 
not  more  than  one  being  allowed  in  one  place.  Now  all  the  ne- 
cessary attention  has  been  paid  to  this  tree,  with  the  exception. 
