The Sun.
London, England, 1812-10-30 00:00:00

OFFICE OF ORDNANCE,
, Oct, :4, me,
rpFIZ PRINCIPAL OFFICERS of-His
.lESTY'S ORDNANCE do hereby give Notice,
That they will sell by Public AUction at the Tower, on Tues-
day, the M Day of November nut, between the hours of TeA
and FOV o'Clock, sundry Lots of old and unserviceable
ORDNAISCr STORES, consisting of
Harness Collars, Bit Halters, Rope Traces, and various other
Articles of Sadlery and Harness Clothing; and sundry Ar-
ti,:les of Bedding ; Powder Horns, Tents, Musket Stocks
and Flints, Steel, Pewter, and mixed Metal, Double-headed
Shot, and old Cast ;and Wrought Iron Tools of sorts ;
Spades, Shovels, Bellows, Lanthorns, Bottles, and Wheel-
barrows, Empty Casks, Cartridges, old Match and Flre
Engines, sundry 01E17 Building Materials; together with a
'variety of other Articles :

The whole of which may be viewed, upon application, at the
Honourable Principal Storekeeper's Office in the Tower, and
at tie Royal Arsenal at, froolteich, until the Day of Sale ; at
Which place's, printed Lists of the Lots will be delivered to
those Persons who 7;tuy (Tidy for the some.' ,
13,y Order of the Board,
„, , 1?: IL. CREW, Secretary.

[!=ll.rer SIXI"tiNtt,TIALPPtiI/4720:.
'

APPI;NDIX TO_ THE SIXT:I REP Olt r

.ciFTt
AFRICAN INSTirruTioN.

pXTRACT rE.cm THE REPORT OF THE tOMINII6,-

SIONERS OF AFRICAN :Nail i

(Contin4ed from our Paper of Tutc,:ay,)

Ti "ectlirig.

Provided- the season favotrs vegetation, the
begins to sprout the fourth days often even.
on the third. At the end-of fifteen-days. it is
ready assailed by weeds which dispute its*suhsistz-
etice, and which tini:4l by destroying it, if the
hoe be nOt speedily employed.
Not Only the abundance of the crop, but even.
the manufacture' and quality of indigo, absolutely
require the. 0.-ceding 'to be so serupttlousiy per,-
fornied as to remove every other. plant. If. this
care be not rigorously employed, diflieultie will
occur in the fabrication Which cannot he obviated
after the appearance of the indigo. They arc oc-
casioned by other herbs being cut and carried to,
the vat (oeCuve) with the indigo. These hef.bs,,
by feimentation, give a juice which deranges all
the signs of 'fabrication, and by its' interference
prevents the developement and', re-union of the
essential parts of the indigo: The indigo thus
obtained is bad in quality, 'and less in quantity
than the crop promised. •
- The Cattin,o- of Indigo.:
After three months, the indigo is commonly fit
to cut, and this operation isfar from immaterial
it has also its rules and its procedure,. The first
object of attention is the maturity of the indigo:
the, second, to cot the pint one inch from the
earth. To cut it higher may retard the shoots
of a second cutting, tor" may even entirely pre-
vent them. Large crooked knives are much
more convenient for: this purpose than any other
instrument ; and at the. same time much more
advantageous with regard to the subsequent
crops.
The indigo plant is transplanted, as soon as cut,
to the place where art must give it the Corm under
which it 'becomes merchandize. Ail the implev
mentS necessary for the chemical process are re-
duced to three great vats (or cures) of mason work,
built one above the other, ,in such manner that
the, middle cure can-receive the liquid froth that
which is above it, and can discharge it into that
which is below. The first and most elevated is
called lc; Pour riture, or Trempire; and is' much
larger than the other two. in the French col -
nies, it is from ten to twelve feet long, nine or ten
broad, and three deep. In the province of Vene..
zuela, it is from eighteen to twenty feet long,
fourteen or fifteen feet broad, and only twenty
. inches deep.
The second cave bears the name of Batterie. It
is not so wide as the peurriture, but muctt deeper,
that the •trn.ter mtly tv7., agitated in it withevit escap-
ing over the edge.
The third cove, smaller than the preceding, is
called Bassinott, or Repository. It is there that
the indigb undergoes the last opel-ation. But ttie
- most essential article to an indigo maker is a
rapid and very limpid stream of water, that way
. be employed at pleasure in the fabrication of the

Fabrication, or Manufacture of Indigo.
coirte now to speak of the fabrication or ma-
nufaCtire, which appears in these places so simple
.easy, and natural, that it is confided to negroes,
who know nothing, or to whites who are equally
ignorant. Both are incapable of giving a reason
for the slightest cause, but they know admirably
well how to command effects, and to obtain, by
practice, results of which the most skilful chemists
would be proud. The blue colouring substance
known to us under the name of indigo, is com-
bined with heterogeneous articles, from which. the
manufacturer must disengage it. This combina-
tion is so intvicate that it eludes the nicest eye.
Like many.other results, it appears to be the pro-
duct of a peculiar operation, the effeFt of which
gives great satisfaction ; but we are groping in
the dark when we endeaVOur to pursue the causes
which-have contributed to produce it.
The whole body of the plant, compressed in "a
certain .quantity of water, enters into an extreme-
ly active fermentation, of which we will notice the
details.

In proportion as the caloric increases, azote is
disengaged, the herbaceous mucilage separates,
the vegetable is decomposed, the mixture absorbs
oxygen. At first the liquor takes in the basin a
gr'een tinge. It is strongly agitated, that ,the
elements of the vegetable may subtilize, and the
fermentation speedily augments to the highest
degree. The fermenting fluid passes from a green
to a violet tinge,, and'this by degrees changes to
a blue colour.
Tho first fermentation takes place in the trein
Moire, in which very clear water had been pre-
viously placed. The plant is prevented from
Swimming, by being pressed beneath the surface.
The state of the plant, the ground that produced'
it, and the season in which it was cut, are guides
to direct the manufacturer. This fegmentation
takes place more Or less promptly, ac,cording to
,causes which concur to hasten or retard it. Ten,
twenty, and thirty hours arc most frequently the
term : it rarely requires a longer time. In Terra
Firma, when not prevented by the sate of the
plant, nature of the soil, or the season, twelve
hours suffice for the fermentation, The great art
of the fabrication is to check it at a proper degree.
If the fermentation is too feeble or too brief, the
plant remains impregnated with much essential
salt, which diminishes the quantity of the indigo.
If it be too long, the 'tender extremities of the
plant undergo a putrefaction which destroys the
•
colour.

The odour of the fermenting liquid, and the
numerous flies which Ay over it, are signs to whicia