mediately declined throughout them all, but
nowhere so rapidly as here. The financial error was quickly
discovered,--a remedy was attempted by a bounty; but it came too
late, the plantations were thrown up, and the planters, attracted by
the temporary gain, abused the tardy boon, by introducing, as of
their own growth, large quantities of foreign indigo." As Bridges
may be said in this passage to be merely a commentator on Edwards,
who has entered more largely upon the subject, I shall condense from
the latter, statements connected with the manufacture and decay of
this branch of industry, once the staple of Jamaica.

Edwards ("West Indies," vol. ii., p. 275, 2nd edition) reckons three
kinds of indigo--the wild, Guatemala, and French. The first is the
hardest, and the dye extracted from it of the best quality as
regards color and grain; but one or other of the two species is
commonly preferred by the planter, as yielding a greater return. Of
these the French surpasses the Guatemala in quantity, but yields to
it in fineness of grain and beauty of color. The indigo thrives
almost on any land, though the richest soils produce the most
luxuriant plants, and the longest dry weather will not kill it. The
cultivation and manufacture our author thus describes:--"The land
being prepared, trenches, two or three inches in depth, are made by
the hoe. These are ten or twelve inches asunder. The seeds are then
strewed in the trenches by the hand, and slightly covered with
mould. When the plants shoot, they are carefully weeded, and kept
constantly clean, until they rise high enough to cover the ground. A
bushel of seed is sufficient for four or five acres. The best season
for planting is March; but if the land be good, it may be sown at
any time, and in three months the plants attain maturity. In
seasonable situations, they have four cuttings in the year. The
subsequent growths from the plants ripen in six or eight weeks; but
the produce diminishes after the second cutting, so that the seeds
should be sown every second year. A species of grub, or worm, which
infests the plant on the second year is avoided by changing the
soil; or, in other words, by a rotation of crops. The produce per
acre of the first cutting is about 60 lbs. It is nearly as much in
North America; but when the thermometer falls