Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1901-01-12
CULTURE OF Indigo.
HOW A COMMONLY USED DYE
iS RAISED.
Its Cultivation Gives Employ ment to
Millions In 1ndia-Detaiis of the
Processes of It's Man Color.
ing Matter Comes from Its Leaves.

Indigo, the most beautiful and ex-
pensivc of all dyes In common use, has
ever been closely related to India, as
its name implies. From India the an
cient Greeks and Romans drew sup
plies of the blue dye. and although 1t
was lost to Europe during the greater
part of the middle ages. enormous
quantities have been imported for com.
mcrcial purposes during the last hun.
drcd years.
Indigo Is cultivated all over India,
giving employment to millions Of ma
tivcs and thousands of foreigners. In
three districts alone In Behar. where
some of the finest indigo Is grown, Eu-
rOpcan capital Is invested to the extent
of no less than $2o,OOO.OOO. Some 3D.
900 acres are under cultivation. There
are 100 Englishmcn managing ana
working OH the concerns" rs the fac
tories and plantations are always
called. ana 1.5OO,OOO natives.
An indigo concern may occupy any
where between 1000 and 10000 acres.
each cultivated acre producing on an
average about fifteen to twenty pounds
of indigo.
The plant grows to height OF he.
tween three and four feet. II IL In
the leaves that the color yielding mat
ter chiefly resides. they being ut their
fullest ut the time when the flower
buds are about to bloom: but the leaf,
Of u acknowledgment color, gives no In
dication of containing anything which
will yield blue colOring matter.
Toward the end of June. or rs soon
MS the monsoon has set In. the crop Is
cut. and the work of manufacturing
commences. The first manufacturing,
called "morhum mnhai," lasts general.
~ to the middle Of August. BY this
time the stems which. have been cut
have shot up again. and In September
u second crop Is taken from the same
plants - sometimes three crops are
| taken In one season.
In most concerns the simple. print.
tive processes Of manufacture are still
adhered to, for planters and old hands
ARE strong believers In the original true
blue. and will have nothing to do with
ncw-fanglcd ideas and chemical nd-
mixtures.
Every day the watts In which the
plants are stceped--the first process Of
manufacturc--arc cleaned out by coo.
lies. The plant IL stacked upright, tn
allow air to escape, and Is kept In po'
sitlon by long pieces of bamboo. Then
water IL run into the vat, which. how
ever, Is not quite filed. since the plan,
expands, cXerting an enormous press
urc that might easily crack the watts
sides.
The plants take long while to soak
the leaves are not easily wetted. Whci
the plants have been stepped for abOu
ten hours. the color yielding matter vii
have been extracted. The liquid !,
now run of into lower or "beatIng'
watts. and the extract plant, or ''scet.
II taken out, to be subsequently ON
plOyed to fertllizc new crops. I'll,
running liquid varies In color from
bright orange to olive green. 1t |,
necessary that It shall now DO kept IL
IL state of violent agitation.
The frOth IL ut first blue, then whit,
and soon disappears. The liquid. after
passing through various color changes
turns from green to dark, rich indig,
blue. The Ovcrscer. to test whether
the beating process IL sufficient. take,
a little liquid ana pours It on to plat,
If the grain. or "fccula," readily set
| ties, leaving u clear fluid. the bcatcr,
jump from the vat, or the wheel Il
stopped.
After beating. the fecula IL Above,
to settle for two or three hours, an,
then the water IL run of. The grail
IL collected, passed through various
strainers. whence 1t flows to Il well
ana Is elevated by a steam injector (,
an iron tank. 1t Is now boiled, to pre-
vent any further fermentation, an,
then the hot concentrated stun IL rul
through strainers ON to filter table.
The resulting pulpy paste. not unlik
cOlOrcd whipped cream. Is pressed an,
cut into small cakes. each stampe,
with the mark of the factory. the dat
and the number Of the days boiling
The cakes are put away to dry on BAN
boo shelves, being carefully duste
and turned every few days until read
for packing. -PearsOn's Magazine.
|
| Cooking az Great Attitudes.