414 
Indigo  in  Bengal, 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Aug.,  1880. 
resulting  solution  measuring  slightly  over  3  fluidounces,  and  an  emul- 
sion is  prepared  from  this  as  follows: 
Be     Ethereal  solution  of  Chian  turpentine,  .  .    fl.  ^ss. 
Solution  (mucilage)  of  tragacanth,  .  .  fl.  ^iv. 
Syrup,  .  .  .  •  .  .    fl-  5i 
Sublimed  sulphur,         ....  grs.  40. 
Water,  .  .  .  .  .  to  fl.  ^xvi. 
Mix. 
The  sulphur  appears  to  have  been  added  because  it  was  not  wished 
to  lose  anything  contained  in  the  pills  which  had  previously  been 
proved  to  be  of  such  service.  Mix  it  as  you  will,  the  sulphur  will 
separate  from  such  a  mixture  and  aggregate  the  resin  in  masses,  first  to 
the  top  and  then  at  the  bottom  of  the  bottle.  By  using  mucilage  of 
'  acacia  in  place  of  mucilage  of  tragacanth  a  satisfactory  mixture  may 
be  obtained  by  first  putting  the  mucilage  into  the  bottle,  adding  the 
turpentine  solution,  shaking  and  diluting  with  a  little  water  ;  rub  the 
sulphur  with  the  syrup  and  poiir  into  the  bottle  ;  fill  up  gradually  with 
water,  shaking  after  each  addition  of  a  little  •,  or  a  good  emulsion  can 
be*  made,  using  either  mucilage  of  tragacanth  or  mucilage  of  acacia, 
by  omitting  the  sulphur  altogether.  This,  as  pharmacists,  we  are  not 
warranted  in  doing,  but  the  substituting  of  mucilage  of  acacia  for 
mucilage  of  tragacanth  is  a  deviation  from  the  strict  letter  of  the  pre- 
scription which,  with  the  leave  of  the  prescribers,  I  have  had  recourse 
to. — Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans. April  24,  1880. 
THE  PRODUCTION  OF  INDIGO  IN  BENGAL.^ 
Indigo  is  almost  entirely  obtained  from  leguminous  plants  of  the 
genus  Indigofera.,  that  cultivated  in  India  being  the  Indigofera  tinctoria.^ 
and  that  in  America  the  Indigofera  anil.  The  plant  is  grown  in  India, 
China,  Java,  the  Antilles  and  Central  America.  It  is  planted  either 
in  the  spring  or  the  autumn,  and  generally  in  clayey  soil.  In  India  it 
has  pinnate  leaves  and  a  slender  ligneous  stem,  and,  when  successfully 
cultivated,  rises  to  the  height  of  3,  5  and  6  feet.  It  is  cut  with  prun- 
ing knives  at  the  end  of  May,  and  as  its  growth  is  exceedingly  rapid, 
two,  and  sometimes  three  crops  are  obtained,  but  the  last  crop,  in  its 
production  of  coloring  matter,  is  not  equal  to  the  first.  Mr.  Koechlin- 
Schwartz,  in  an  article  in  the  "  Bulletin  de  la  Soci^te  Industrielle  de 
^  From  the  "Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts,"  April  30,  1880. 
