The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1857-11-05

1t is apprehended that The war In India will
cut short the supply and greatly enhance the
price of this article. 1t is one of more impor-
tance than many persons suppose, although II
has ceased to hold the important place that il
once did in the products Of the United States.
The species of Indgio most commonly culti-
waited in India is, we believe. native OF trop-
ical regions of America. although there are
many varieties of the plant, more or less in fa-
vor IN different districts The enterprise, en-
ergy ani intelligence Of the English, aided by
the cheap labor Of the natives, were the means
OF rendering the production Of this article in
the East Indies more productive than in Amer
lea, and thus driving the industry Of our plan
ters into other channels.
Indigo grows best on lands recently cleared,
as it requires good deal of moisture it also
reqnires protection from the high winds, and
irrigation in time Of drought. It needs rain
particularly when the young plant has just ap-
peared above the ground. 1t thrives best
while growing, in damp cloudy weather, tho
sunshine Is requisite to develop fully its color
ing properties The cultivation Of the plant
requires less labor than the gathering anI pres
ervation of the crop. The coloring matter is
obtained from the leaves. When ready for
gathering they assume a dark green COLOR
The branches containing them are then sew
cred from the main stem, the leaves dried in
the sun, beaten off and placed under shelter.
With favorable weather, other branches and
leaves put forth, and treated in similar man.
ner until three or four pickings have been se-
cured, when re-panting becomes necessary.
The leaves. after drying, are stepped in six
times their volume of water the water, after
having extracted the coioring matter froG
them, is drained off. boiled, strained, and al
lowed to ferment; when having been suffc-
iently evaporated, the indigo is beaten and
moulded. The entire process is too nice and
tedious for description here.
DR.. Leiber attributes the superiority Of East
India indigo, mainly to the improved process
of manufacture pursued in that country, and
says that the American, which sells at less
than half the price, can be made equal to the
foreign article, with proper care and atten-
ton. In 1929 the value of indigo consumed in
the United States was estimated at two mil
lions of dnllars--the quantity being as many
pounds, Of which one tenth, or 20o, 700 pounds
was then Of American growth, and worth only
80 cents per pound, while the foreign was
worth from 81 to 1,25. The average product
of indigo in Sonth Carolina is said to be 30
pounds per acre, though four times that guam
tity has sometimes been produced.
British India, for some years, has furnished
more than three quarters of the indigo of COM
merce. If that supply should now be entirely
cat off, it is difficult to say how far prices may
advance, or what impulse may be given to its
cultivation in the Southern States. There can
be no doubt that Texas Is as well calculated
for its growth as any other State. There are
doubtless some old Carolinians among us who
are familiar with its growth and preparation
FOR market