Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-01-02

Cultivation of Woad, (or the iSqtis tinctoria of
potanists) tor the purpose of preparing
deep blue dye, of great Importance in thc
manufactures OF cotton and wooden fabrics
ma letter to the hon. Samuel S. Mitchell
from Henry \. S. Dearborn, esq dated AT
Brinley-Place, Roxbury, near Boston. Octo-
Der y, lsl6.-Recomended to the different
societies for internal improvement in the T.
nited States.
SlR-Knowing yourpatriotic zeal for the ad-
vancement of the arts sciences and whatever
may tend to enlarge the products ofagricuIture,
aud OF the mechanical industry of the United
States, herewith transmit number of copies
of work, which have translated from the
French, on the culture of I;oad or Pastel and
the use OF IFS blue pigment i'll dyeing
DESTROYS OF testing the correctness of the
experiments which are therein detailed. of the
best methods of cultivatiug Pastel, and cx-
tracing the Indigo from the matured leaves
OF the plant, | sowed a piece of ground in
the fore part OF May, i'll drills, three fleet a.
part, and at the first wedding, thnncd out
the plants, so as TO leave them six inches d.
part
On the 18th of August, cmt part of The
leaves, which covered the SixtetlI part of an
acre: and pursued the process contained in
the information upon the art of extracting In
digo from the leaves OF Pastel, published by
order of his eXccllency Montaivet Count
OF the Empire, and Minister OF the Interior
contanedmthe treatses transmitted. The ex-
ESiiuitht NUttSCICu u tuInlrdLlOn- ana here
with sendyou sample of the Indigo obtain
ed
The fermentation was perfect at the cxpi-
ration ofiorty-eight hours The liquor being
Drawn on from the watts, one bucket OF lime wa
Ter, prepared agfeeably to the directions CON
tanned III the treatise, was added to two of tie
liquor, and then agitated with Il small wooden
rake TOR hfteen minutes, when a coDious white
ir0th arose to the surface. which soon aSSum-
ed a bright blue coior-this ffoth WINS care
fully skinned off, and put into eurthen bowls
to dry, and gave me a quantity of fcurec, as
mentioned at page l3S--a part of which send
you.
The green llacculi were deposited in two
hours. The superintendent yellow lqucur,
being drawn OF, an ounce of sulphuric acid 10
every bucket of liquor diluted with water, was
poured into the green precipitate, which in
stdntiy changed IT To most beautiful cerule-
on blue cold water then poured into this
mixture, and violently agitated for ten min
uteS.
Twelve hours after, the liquor was drawn
on, and the blue deposition put into cloth III
tiers, TO drain. In twenty four hours the indigo
was perfectly drained, taken ont, and put into
box with linen bottom, which was placed
IN an airy situation under cover. At tie OK
plrdtion OF seventeen days, il had become a te-
nacious paste was thea taken out with wood
en- knife, aud pressed into small boxes 10
dry. In two weeks the indigo wa, perfectly
dry.
= the expiration of twenty days, the plants,
WHICH had been cut, were grown sufficiently
large TO cut again, which would rive Of course
three cuttings year, in this northern eli
mate; Dut u sOwn III September, there might
be iOur, Il not five cuttings wear As the
plants are not injured by tile fiOsts of win
ter, they would, in this way, be fit to cut in
June.
From this experiment am satisfied the fol-
lowing quantity OF indigo could BIZ made from
an acre Of ground One cutting from the six
heth part OF an acre, gave of indigo, half
pound. One c"tting from one acre. therefore.
world have given thirty pounds fonr cuttings.
one hundred aud twenty pounds The present
price of indigo is ten dollars per pound there
fore, Que acre of land cultivated with pastel
would produce to the iarmcrtwO hundred and
forty dollars.
wish you to dstribnte some of nv books I
have sent, among tie different agricultural So
cietics in the state of New ! 0rk, and the re-
maindcr ~ such manner as will best tend to
dIfiusc a knowledge # the advantage which
the agriculturIsts and Divers of yonr state
may derive from the cultivation and use of
pastel.
lfile present pacific state Ofthe world is adj
verse to the extension oil tie cultivation and
use OF pastel, as dying material, II is never
thclcss Important, that the advantage which
the diiereat sections Of our country NAV roam
at some future period, from this plant, should
be known, when lcss favorable circumstances
snail combine to afford the cOlOring inrrcdi.
cuts, now so easily obtained, from every part
of the globe.
During the war, indigo was S. ID. in New
England and ~ York
" IS OF The FIRST consequence 10 a nation that
IT canuoiat all tiiscs be able TO rely on the re-.
sources oiits soils, and industry, for not only
the accessories, but the luxnries oflilt.
The rceources of tue United States arc as
yet, very impericctly developed; bgt the rap
al advances which are now making in chvnn3s.
try, mineraiogy. botany, agriculture and tie
mechanic and fine arts warrant the most fsvo-
rable aniicipatons Of tie future glory, prospe-
rity, happiness, and real independence Of the
republic
Besidcs the advantages resulting from the
cultivation Of wOad, as pigment for dveing. il
IS indispensably necessary for fermentinQ the
indigo rt For this purPose, the green leaves
s.s .saai = r..x .rs .,.ds int4 axe. ssaIIs ~