The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom by P. L. Simmonds

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The liquor in the lower vat must be strongly beaten for an hour and
a half, when the indigo begins to agglomerate in flocks, and to
precipitate. This is the moment for judging whether there has been
any error committed in the fermentation, which must be corrected by
the operation of beating. If the fermentation has been defective,
much froth rises in the beating, which must be allayed with a little
oil, and then a reddish tinge appears. If large round granulations
are formed, the beating is continued, in order to see if they will
grow smaller. If they become as small as fine sand, and if the water
clears up, the indigo is allowed quietly to subside. Should the vat
have been over-fermented, a thick fat-looking crust covers the
liquor, which does not disappear by the introduction of a flask of
oil. In such a case the beating must be moderated. Whenever the
granulations become round, and begin to subside, and the liquor
clears up, the beating must be discontinued. The froth or scum
diffuses itself spontaneously into separate minute particles, that
move about the surface of the liquor, which are marks of an
excessive fermentation. On the other hand, a rightly fermented vat
is easy to work; the froth, though abundant, vanishes whenever the
granulations make their appearance. The color of the liquor, when
drawn out of the steeper into the beater, is bright green; but as
soon as the agglomerations of the indigo commence, it assumes the
color of Madeira wine; and speedily afterwards, in the course of
beating, a small round grain is formed, which, on separating, makes
the water transparent, and falls down, when all the turbidity and
froth vanish.

The object of the beating is three-fold; first, it tends to
disengage a great quantity of carbonic acid present in the liquor;
secondly, to give the newly-developed indigo its requisite dose of
oxygen by the most extensive exposure of its particles to the
atmosphere; thirdly, to agglomerate the indigo in distinct flocks or
granulations. In order to hasten the precipitation, lime water is
occasionally added to the fermented liquor in the progress of
beating, but it is not indispensable, and has been supposed capable
of deteriorating the indigo. In the front of the beater a beam is
fixed upright, in which three or more holes are pierced, a few
inches in diameter. These are closed with plugs during the beating,
but two or three hours after it, as the indigo subsides, the upper
plug is withdrawn to run off the supernatant liquor, and then the
lower plugs in succession. The state of this liquor being examined,
affords an indication of the success of both the processes. When the
whole liquor is run off, a laborer enters the vat, sweeps all the
precipitate into one corner, and enters the thinner part into a
spout which leads into a cistern, alongside of a boiler, twenty feet
long, three feet wide, and three feet deep. When all this liquor is
once collected, it is pumped through a bag, for retaining the
impurities, into the boiler, and heated to ebullition. The froth
soon subsides, and shows an oily looking film on the liquor. The
indigo is by this process not only freed from the yellow extractive
matter, but is enriched in the intensity of its color, and increased
in weight. From the boiler the mixture is run, after two or three
hours, into a general receiver called the _dripping vat_, or table,
which, for a factory of twelve pairs of preparation vats, is twenty
feet long, ten feet wide, and three feet deep, having a false bottom
two feet under the top edge. This cistern stands in a basin of
masonry (made water-tight with Chunam, hydraulic cement), the bottom
of which slopes to one end, in order to facilitate the drainage. A
thick woollen web is stretched along the bottom of the inner vessel,
to act as a filter. As long as the liquor passes through turbid, it
is pumped back into the receiver; whenever it runs clear, the
receiver is covered with another piece of cloth to exclude the dust,
and allowed to drain at its leisure. Next morning the drained magma
is put into a strong bag, and squeezed in a press. The indigo is
then carefully taken out of the bag, and cut with a brass wire into
bits, about three inches cube, which are dried in an airy house,
upon shelves of wicker work. During the drying a whitish
effloresence comes upon the pieces, which must be carefully removed
with a brush. In some places, particularly on the coast of
Coromandel, the dried indigo lumps are allowed to effloresce in a
cask for some time, and when they become hard they are wiped and
packed for exportation.

2. _Indigo from dried leaves._--The ripe plant being cropped, is to
be dried in sunshine from nine o'clock in the morning till four in
the afternoon, during two days, and threshed to separate the stems
from the leaves, which are then stored up in magazines till a
sufficient quantity he collected for manufacturing operations. The
newly dried leaves must be free from spots, and friable between the
fingers. When kept dry, the leaves undergo, in the course of four
weeks, a material change, their beautiful green tint turning into a
pale blue-grey, previous to which the leaves afford no indigo by
maceration in water, but subsequently a large quantity. Afterwards
the product becomes less considerable.

The following process is pursued to extract indigo from the dried
leaves:--They are infused in the steeping vat with six times their
bulk of water, and allowed to macerate for two hours, with continual
stirring, till all the floating leaves sink. The fine green liquor
is then drawn off into the beater vat, for if it stood longer in the
steeper, some of the indigo would settle among the leaves and be
lost. Hot water, as employed by some manufacturers, is not
necessary. The process with dry leaves possesses this advantage,
that a provision of the plant may be made at the most suitable
times, independently of the vicissitudes of the weather, and the
indigo may be uniformly made; and, moreover, that the fermentation
of the fresh leaves, often capricious in its course, is superseded
by a much shorter period of simple maceration.

PRODUCTION OF INDIGO IN INDIA.

maunds.

1840 120,000
1841 162,318
1842 79,000
1843 143,207
1844 127,862
1845 127,862
1846 101,328
1847 110,000
1848 126,565
1849 126,000

Average of the ten years 126,744 maunds.

The yield from the different districts in 1849, was nearly as
follows:--

maunds.
Bengal 84,500
Tirhoot 24,500
Benares 9,500
Oude 6,500
---------
125,000

In 1790 the general object of cultivation in Mauritius was indigo, of
which from four to five crops a year were procured. One person sent to
Europe 30,000 lbs., in 1789, of very superior quality.

CEYLON.--Indigo, though indigenous in Ceylon, is still imported from
the adjoining continent, but its growth in this island would be
subject to none of the vicissitudes of climate, that in the course of
a single night have devastated the most extensive plantations in
Bengal, and annihilated the hopes and calculations of the planter at a
time when they had attained all the luxuriance of approaching
maturity.

The district of Tangalle, in the southern province, is the best
adapted to the culture and manufacture of indigo for various reasons,
such as the abundance of the indigenous varieties of the plant, the
similarity of the climate to that of the coast of Coromandel, where
the best indigo is produced; facility of transport by water to either
of the ports of export, Galle or Colombo, during the south-east, or to
Trincomalee by the south-west monsoon; every necessary material is at
hand for building a first rate indigo factory, including drying yards,
leaf godowns (stores), steeping vats and presses, except roof and
floor tiles--which may be obtained in any quantity from Colombo,
during the south-west monsoon, at a moderate rate, compared with their
cost at home.

In 1817 an offer was made to the Grovernment to introduce the
cultivation of indigo, on condition of a free grant of the land
required for the purpose and freedom from taxation for thirty years,
after which the usual tax was to be levied; and in case the
cultivation were abandoned, the land was to revert to the Crown. But
whether from the disturbed state of the colony at the time or from
incredulity on the part of the Government, as to the capability of the
colony in this respect, the application was unheeded. A subsequent
proposal, emanating from a Swedish gentleman of great ability, skill
and enterprise, was defeated by his death, although a company was on
the point of formation to carry out the scheme. It would not be
difficult, says Mr. Barrett, to select 500,000 acres, the property of
the Crown, which at a comparatively small expenditure might be brought
into a proper state of cultivation for the reception of indigo seed;
for very little would be required to be done beyond clearing the land
of weeds, burning the grass, and then lightly ploughing and levelling
the ground; and whenever manure might be requisite, the fecula of the
leaf affords one of the richest that could be employed. Ceylon
produces two other plants from which a very valuable blue dye may be
obtained by a similar process to that of making indigo. The Singhalese
head men of the Tangalle district have long been anxious for the
establishment of an indigo plantation there, and would readily take
shares in a company established for that purpose. Indigo would seem to
have been exported by the Dutch from Ceylon so late as 1794. The wild
varieties of indigo which grow on the sea-shore are used by the dobies
(_washermen_).

Indigo grows in a wild state in Siam, and all the dye used in the
country is manufactured from these plants. The extensive low grounds
are admirably suited for the cultivation of this plant.

A large quantity is raised in Manila, but I have no full details of
the cultivation in the Philippines. However, in the first six months
of 1843, 1,039 piculs of indigo were shipped to Europe, and about 650
to other quarters--equal in all to about 226,000 lbs. in the half
year. In the year 1847 the exports of indigo were 30,631 arrobas,
equal to about 7,658 cwt.; in 1850 the total exports from Manila were
4,225 quintals.

JAVA.--The cultivation of indigo was introduced into Java in the time
of the company. It was so much neglected during the administration of
Governor Daendels, that the exportation ceased. It however revived
subsequently, and in 1823 the exports were close upon 17,000 lbs. In
1826 it had risen to 46,000 lbs. In the single province of Westbaglen,
about 60 square miles in extent, 86 indigo factories were established
in the course of seven or eight years. In 1839, the exports of this
dye-stuff from Java were 588,764 kilogrammes, valued at 71/2 million
francs.

It has been found by experience that a good soil is essentially
necessary for the plant, and the indigo transplanted from elevated
grounds to the rice fields succeeds better and yields more coloring
matter than when raised direct on the spot from the seed. The
residencies of Cheribon, Baglen and Madura, are those in which the
crop succeeds best. From being so exhausting a crop, and finding it
prejudicial to their rice grounds, they are gradually abandoning
indigo culture in Java, and about two-thirds of the indigo plantations
have within the, last year or two been replaced with sugar.

The value of the Java indigo is set down at 250 rupees (L25) per
maund. If this be the average price, and it cannot be manufactured
lower, Bengal has little to fear from Javanese competition. The
product of indigo rose from 276 maunds in 1825, to 28,000 in 1842, and
the quantity sold by the Dutch Trading Company in the last-named year
was 10,500 chests, of about the same dimensions as those usually
exported from Calcutta.

Some further statistics of the culture in Java are shown in the
following returns of the quantity exported:--

lbs.
1830 22,063
1835 535,753
1839 595,818
1841 913,693
1843 1,890,429
1851 769,580
1852 838,288

The produce in 1848 was 1,151,368 lbs.

1840. 1841.
Residencies in which this culture is introduced 9 10
Number of factories 728 728
Families occupied with this culture 197,085 192,159
Extent of fields where the cutting has been made
in _bahas_ of 71 decametres 40,844 38,829
Quantity of _bahus_ planted before the gathering 317 538
Quantity of indigo crop in pounds 2,032,097 1,663,427
" average pounds per _bahu_ 493/4 43

The extent of fields destined for the crop of 1842 was 37,970 bahus,
and the amount of the crop was calculated by approximation at
1,862,000.

The gradual increase of the export in the eighteen years ending 1842,
is shown as follows:--

Maunds.
1825 76
1826 126
1827 109
1828 310
1829 600
1830 480
1831 563
1832 2,213
1833 2,861
1834 3,310
1835 7,023
1836 5,365
1837 10,822
1838 9,788
1839 15,680
1840 27,946
1841 24,044
1842 28,000

Total imports of indigo into the United Kingdom, and quantity retained
for home consumption:--

Imports. Home consumption.
cwts. cwts.
1848 59,127 9,032
1849 81,449 12,270
1850 70,482 16,374
1851 89,994 27,947
1852 83,565 16,381

IMPORTS OF INDIGO.
Mexico and the ports
East Indies. of South America.
lbs. lbs.
1831 6,996,062 ------
1832 6,196,080 66,363
1833 6,315,529 125,264
1834 3,595,697 64,638
1835 3,861,853 88,306
1836 7,218,991 198,003
1837 5,706,896 365,091
1838 6,578,352 142,739
1839 4,651,542 363,148
1840 6,940,192 124,766
1841 7,451,653 247,031
1842 8,931,112 155,003
1843 6,319,294 130,836

Entered for home consumption about two millions and a half pounds
annually. (" Parl. Returns No. 656, September 1843, and 426,
September 1844.")

The consumption of indigo in Europe and North America in round
numbers, estimated from authentic sources, is thus set down by Mr.
Macculloch in 1849:--

chests.
In Great Britain for home consumption 9,820
" France total for ditto 10,400
" American ports from London and Liverpool 2,500
" " Calcutta 700
" " Holland, &c 400
Other European countries export from London and Liverpool. 21,530
" " Holland 4,270
" " Calcutta 120
" " France 300
----------
50,040

MADDER.

This substance, which is so extensively used in dyeing red, is the
product of the long slender roots of the _Rubia tinctorum_, a plant of
which there are several varieties. Our principal supplies of this
important article of commerce are obtained from Holland, Belgium,
France, Turkey, Spain, and the Balearic Isles, the Italian States,
India, and Ceylon.

The plant is generally raised from seed, and requires three years to
come to maturity. It is, however, often pulled in eighteen months
without injury to the quality; the quantity only is smaller. A rich
soil is necessary for its successful cultivation, and when the soil is
impregnated with alkaline matter, the root acquires a red color; in
other cases it is yellow. The latter is preferred in England, from the
long habit of using Dutch madder, which is of this color, but in
France the red sells at two francs per cwt. higher, being used for the
Turkey-red dye. Madder does not deteriorate by keeping, provided it be
kept dry. It contains three volatile coloring matters, madder purple,
orange, and red. The latter is in the form of crystals, having a fine
orange red color, and called Alizaine. This is the substance which
yields the Turkey-red dye. The chay root is employed in the East
Indies as a substitute for madder, and so is the root of _Morinda
citrifolia_, under the name of Sooranjee.

Turkey madder roots realise about 30s. per cwt. About 1,100 tons are
annually shipped from Naples, worth about L30 per ton.

Madder has become an article of great request, on account of the fine
scarlet color produced from its roots, and is so essential to dyers
and calico printers that without it they cannot carry on their
manufactures. It is cultivated extensively in Holland, from whence it
is imported in large quantities into both England and France, though
it is cultivated to some extent in both countries. It has also been
raised as a soiling crop, but the coloring matter is of so penetrating
and subtile a character, that the flesh, milk, and even the bones of
animals fed upon it are said to be tinged to a considerable degree
with it. The soils best adapted, and which should be selected for its
cultivation, are dry, fertile, and deep sandy loams; the roots are
long and fibrous, and descend to a depth of from two to three feet. It
may be propagated by seed, which, by some, is thought the best
method, but the more usual mode is by the division of, and
transplanting, the roots. The ground should be thoroughly and deeply
pulverised, clean, and well-manured for the preceding crop, that the
manure may be thoroughly rotted and incorporated with the soil: in
April or May the suckers will be fit for taking from the older
plantations--those of two or three years producing the best. The sets
should have roots four or five inches long. Mark out rows two feet
apart, with a line, and set the plant with a dibble, one foot apart in
the rows. The roots should be dipped in a puddle of fine rich earth
and water, beaten to the consistence of cream, previous to planting;
let the crown of the plant be clearly over ground, and secure the
earth well around the root, to keep out drought. The plantation
requires nothing more but to be kept perfectly clean and well-hoed
during the summer months; and after the top decays in the autumn, to
be earthed up by the plough for the winter, each year, till the plants
are three years old, when they are of the proper size and age for
lifting, which must be done by trenching the land two feet
deep--several hands accompanying the digger to pick out the roots,
which must be thoroughly cleaned and dried on a kiln till they are so
brittle as to break across, when they are fit to be packed in bags,
and sold to the dye-stuff manufacturers who grind and reduce them to
powder for use. The produce is variable; usually from eight to twenty
cwt. per acre, but as much as 3,000 to 6,000 lbs. is frequently
obtained. The forage amounts to about 15,000 lbs. the first year, and
7,500 lbs. the second year. In a new and good soil manure may be
dispensed with for the first crop. Some cultivators interline and grow
other crops between the rows, but the best cultivators state that such
a practice is objectionable. The breadth of land under this crop in
England is much reduced, in consequence of the reduction in price from
the competition of the Dutch growers.

Madder is extensively grown on the central table land of Afghanistan,
forming one of the leading products of Beloochistan.; and, according
to Mr. Pottinger, it sells in the Kelat Bazaar at about 10 lbs. for
2s. The cultivation there pursued is as follows:--The ground is
repeatedly ploughed, and laid out finally in small trenches, in which
the seed is sown, covered slightly with earth, and then the whole is
flooded. Whilst thus irrigated, the trenches are filled with a mixture
of rich manure and earth. The plants appear in about ten days, and
attain a height of three or four feet during the first summer. They
are cut down in September and used as fodder for cattle. Subsequently,
and until spring arrives, the ground is manured and repeatedly
flooded. During the second year's growth, the plants which are
intended to produce seed are set apart, but the stems of the remainder
are cut every four or six weeks, in order to increase the size and
goodness of the roots.

Madder is said to repay a nett profit of 200 dollars to the acre,
when properly managed. It produced on the farm of a gentleman, who
has devoted some attention to this product in Ohio, at the rate of
2,000 lbs. per acre, and it may be made to produce 3,000 lbs., which
is a greater yield than the average crops of Germany and Holland. Nine
acres were planted by another person in the United States, in 1839,
which he harvested in 1842. The labor required is said to be from 80
to 100 days work per acre.

In the third year the stems are pruned as in the two preceding, and in
September the roots are dug up. The roots are fusiform and thin,
without any ramifications, and usually from three to five feet long.
As soon as raised, they are immediately cut into small pieces and
dried, and are then merchantable.

Mr. Joseph Swift, an enterprising American farmer, of Erie county,
Ohio, who occupies about 400 acres of choice land, mostly alluvial, in
the valley of the Vermilion river, seven miles from Lake Erie, has
detailed his practice in the "New Genesee Farmer" (an agricultural
periodical), for March, 1843. His directions must be understood as
intended for those who wish to cultivate only a few acres, and cannot
afford much outlay of capital. Those who desire to engage in the
business on an extensive scale, would need to adopt a somewhat
different practice:--

_Soil and preparation._--" The soil should be a deep, rich, sandy
loam, free from weeds, roots, stones, &c., containing a good portion
of vegetable earth. Alluvial "bottom" land is the most suitable, but
it must not be wet. If old upland is used, it should receive a heavy
coating of vegetable earth, from decayed wood and leaves. The land
should be ploughed very deep in the fall, and early in the spring
apply about one hundred loads of well-rotted manure per acre, spread
evenly, and ploughed in deeply; then harrow till quite fine and free
from lumps. Next plough the land into beds four feet wide, leaving
alleys between three feet wide, then harrow the beds with a fine
light harrow, or rake them by hand, so as to leave them smooth and
even with the alleys; they are then ready for planting.

_Preparing sets and planting._--Madder sets or seed roots are best
selected when the crop is dug in the fall. The horizontal uppermost
roots (with eyes) are the kind to be used; these should be separated
from the bottom roots, and buried in sand in a cellar or pit. If not
done in the fall, the sets may be dug early in the spring, before
they begin to sprout. They should be cut or broken into pieces,
containing from two to five eyes each; _i.e._, three to four inches
long. The time for planting is as early in the spring as the ground
can be got in good order, and severe frosts are over, which in this
climate (America) is usually about the middle of April. With the
beds prepared as directed, stretch a line lengthwise the bed, and
with the corner of a hoe make a drill two inches deep along each
edge and down the middle, so as to give three rows to each bed,
about two feet apart. Into these drills drop the sets, ten inches
apart, covering them two inches deep. Eight or ten bushels of sets
are requisite for an acre.

_After culture._--As soon as the madder plants can be seen, the
ground should be carefully hoed, so as to destroy the weeds and not
injure the plants; and the hoeing and weeding must be repeated as
often as weeds make their appearance. If any of the sets have failed
to grow, the vacancies should be filled by talking up parts of the
strongest roots and transplanting them; this is best done in June.
As soon as the madder plants are ten or twelve inches high, the tops
are to be bent down on the surface of the ground, and all except the
tip end covered with earth, shovelled from the middle of the alleys.
Bend the shoots outward and inward in every direction, so as in time
to fill all the vacant space on the beds, and about one foot on each
side. After the first time covering, repeat the weeding when
necessary, and run a single horse plough through the alleys several
times to keep the earth clean and mellow. As soon as the plants
again become ten or twelve inches high, bend down and cover them as
before, repeating the operation as often as necessary, which is
commonly three times the first season. The last time may be as late
as September, or later if no frosts occur. By covering the tops in
this manner, they change to roots, and the design is to fill the
ground as full of roots as possible. When the vacant spaces are all
full, there is but little chance for weeds to grow; but all that
appear must be pulled out.