The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Part 68

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 G.o.downs (stores), steeping vats and presses, except roof and floor tiles--which may be obtained in any quant.i.ty 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 gra.s.s, 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-sh.o.r.e 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 quant.i.ty 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 s.h.i.+pped 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 7 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 (25) per maund. If this be the average price, and it cannot be manufactured lower, Bengal has little to fear from Javanese compet.i.tion. The product of indigo rose from 276 maunds in 1825, to 28,000 in 1842, and the quant.i.ty 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 quant.i.ty 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 Quant.i.ty of _bahus_ planted before the gathering 317 538 Quant.i.ty of indigo crop in pounds 2,032,097 1,663,427 " average pounds per _bahu_ 49 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 quant.i.ty 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 princ.i.p.al 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 quant.i.ty 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 subst.i.tute 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 s.h.i.+pped from Naples, worth about 30 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 quant.i.ties 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 compet.i.tion 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 s.p.a.ce 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 s.p.a.ces are all full, there is but little chance for weeds to grow; but all that appear must be pulled out.

_The second year._--Keep the beds free from weeds; plough the alleys and cover the tops, as before directed, two or three times during the season. The alleys will now form deep and narrow ditches, and if it becomes difficult to obtain good earth for covering the tops, that operation may be omitted after the second time this season.

Care should be taken, when covering the tops, to keep the edges of the beds as high as the middle; otherwise the water from heavy showers will run off, and the crop suffer from drought.

_The third year._--Very little labor or attention is required. They will now cover the whole ground. If any weeds are seen, they must be pulled out; otherwise their roots will cause trouble when harvesting the madder. The crop is sometimes dug the third year; and if the soil and cultivation have been good, and the seasons warm and favorable, the madder will be of a good quality; but generally it is much better in quality, and more in quant.i.ty, when left until the fourth year.

_Digging and harvesting._--This should be done between the 20th of August and the 20th of September. Take a sharp shovel or shovels, and cut off and remove the tops with half an inch of the surface of the earth; then take a plough of the largest size, with a sharp coulter and a double team, and plough a furrow outward, beam-deep, around the edge of the bed; stir the earth with forks, and carefully pick out all the roots, removing the earth from the bottom of the furrow; then plough another furrow beam-deep, as before, and pick over and remove the earth in the same manner; thus proceeding until the whole is completed.

_Was.h.i.+ng and drying._--As soon as possible after digging, take the roots to some running stream to be washed. If there is no running stream convenient, it can be done at a pump. Take large round sieves, two-and-a-half or three feet in diameter, with the wire about as fine as wheat sieves; or if these cannot be had, get from a hardware store sufficient screen wire of the right fineness, and make frames or boxes, two-and-a-half feet long and the width of the, wire, on the bottom of which nail the wire. In these sieves or boxes, put half a bushel of roots at a time, and stir them about in the water, pulling the branches apart so as to wash them clean; then, having a platform at hand, lay them onto dry. (To make the platform, take two or three common boards, so as to be about four feet in width, and nail deals across the under side). On these spread the roots about two inches thick for drying in the sun. Carry the platforms to a convenient place, not far from the house, and place them side by side, in rows east and west, and with their ends north and south, leaving room to walk between the rows. Elevate the south ends of the platforms about eighteen inches, and the north ends about six inches from the ground, putting poles or sticks to support them--this will greatly facilitate drying. After the second or third day's drying, the madder must be protected from the dews at night, and from rain, by placing the platforms one upon another to a convenient height, and covering the uppermost one with board. Spread them out again in the morning, or as soon as danger is over. Five or six days of ordinarily fine weather will dry the madder sufficiently, when it may be put away till it is convenient to kiln-dry and grind it.