370 
VARIETIES. 
The  preparation  of  these  beverages  is  the  office  of  the  women. — Ibid,  from 
Union  Medicate,  Journ.  de  Pharm.  xxvii.,  196. 
Florida  Indigo  Indigo  was  formerly  cultivated  in  Florida,  for  which 
the  climate  and  soil  is  well  adapted.  It  grows  wild  upon  the  barrens  in 
almost  every  portion  of  the  Peninsula.  When  cultivated  by  the  English 
in  this  country,  the  Indigo  of  Florida  was  considered  in  the  London  mar- 
ket superior  to  all  others,  except  that  of  Caraccas.  The  manner  of  culti- 
vating and  manufacturing  advantageously  is  as  follows  : 
The  seed,  which  is  very  small,  is  soaked  for  some  twelve  hours,  then 
mixed  with  ashes  or  sand,  and  sown  in  drill  rows,  about  eighteen  inches 
apart.  The  time  for  sowing  in  Florida  is  from  the  middle  of  March  to  the 
first  of  April.  When  the  young  plant  makes  it  appearance,  it  resembles 
white  clover,  and  must  be  carefully  weeded,  and  the  earth  kept  loosed 
about  its  roots.  Three  weedings  are  sufficient  to  carry  it  up  to  the  first 
cutting,  which  commences  when  the  plant  begins  to  bloom,  say  about  the 
first  of  July.  The  plant  is  so  easily  injured  by  the  sun  after  it  is  plucked, 
that  the  cuttings  should  be  in  the  afternoon.  As  fast,  as  it  is  cut,  which 
is  done  by  a  siekle,  it  is  carried  to  a  vat  called  the  steeper.  This  vat  is 
made  of  plank,  is  water-tight,  and  varies  in  size  according  to  the  extent  of 
the  operations  of  the  planter.  The  steeper  is  filled  with  cuttings  immersed 
in  water.  Planks  with  weights  upon  them  are  then  placed  on  top  to  keep 
the  euttings  beneath  the  water.  In  this  state  steeping  is  continued  for 
about  ten  hours,  or  less,  according  to  the  temperature  of  the  water.  When 
the  water  assumes  an  olive  color,  it  is  drawn  into  the  "  beater,"  another 
vat  placed  alongside  and  beneath  the  steeper,  and  connected  by  a  tube,  and 
fastened  with  a  valve  or  spigot.  The  liquid  is  now  churned  by  hand  or 
with  machinery,  until  it  becomes  lighter  in  color,  and  a  blue  fecula 
begins  to  make  its  appearance.  From  time  to  time  lime  water  is  thrown 
into  the  beater  during  the  "  churning."  After  the  fecula  spoken  of  dis- 
tinctly appears,  the  water  is  suffered  to  remain  about  four  hours  for  the 
Indigo  to  settle.  It  is  then  drawn  off,  the  sediment  placed  in  bags,  and 
hung  up  to  drain.  When  drained  sufficiently,  it  is  placed  in  boxes  to  dry, 
under  gentle  pressure  ;  and  when  dried  firm,  it  is  cut  up  into  square  cakes 
and  placed  in  the  shade,  to  become  completely  dried  by  evaporation.  The 
shorter  the  steeping  and  the  less  the  beating,  the  lighter  will  be  the  color 
of  the  Indigo.  The  Indigo  plant  will  yield  two  or  three  cuttings  a  season, 
and  one  hand  will  cultivate  about  three  acres,  the  result  being  from  175  to 
200  lbs.  of  the  article.  Unlike  sugar  cane  or  corn,  the  Indigo  requires  no 
expensive  machinery.  Where  it  is  made  only  for  domestic  use,  barrels 
are  used  for  steeping  and  beating. — Florida  News. 
American  Tamarinds. — William  M.  Singleton,  Esq.,  of  Winchester,  Va., 
has  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  fine  growth  of  tamarinds,  from  seeds  procured 
at  a  confectioner's  shop.    One  of  these  trees,  eight  years  old  and  measuring 
