fore
plain that the manufacture of indigo was lost to Jamaica, not from
any difficulty in growing the plant, or from any loss of life
attending the process of manufacturing it, but from the ruinously
heavy duty of L20 the hundred-weight--and that now, when no duty
exists, it might be again cultivated with great advantage.

The cultivation of indigo has been repeatedly attempted in Cuba, but
never with much success; although the shrub called the Xiquilite, from
which it is extracted, grows wild in several districts of the island,
but more especially towards the eastern extremity. The first
_anileria_, or manufactory of indigo, was established in 1795, under
the patronage of the _Ayuntamento_ of the Havana, who made an advance
of 3,500 dollars, without interest, to the party engaging in the
speculation, in order to encourage the enterprise; but the undertaking
proved unsuccessful, and the same fate has befallen every subsequent
attempt to introduce this branch of industry. In 1827, the whole
produce amounted only to 56 arrobas. In 1837 the imports of indigo
greatly exceeded the exports; the former having amounted to 121,350
lbs., and the latter to 82,890 lbs. In 1833, 5,184 lbs. reached the
United Kingdom from the Havana, and in 1843, 62,675 lbs.

In 1826 British Honduras exported 358,552 lbs.; in 1830, 2,650 serons;
in 1844, 1,247 serons; and in 1845, 1,052 serons.

The indigo shrub is one of the most common bushes in Trinidad, where
it grows wild on almost all the indifferent soils. In 1783, there were
several plantations and manufactories of indigo established in
Trinidad; these were subsequently abandoned, on account of a
supposition that they were unhealthy. Prior to 1783, the colonists had
a kind of simple process by which they extracted sufficient coloring
matter to serve domestic consumption. This process is at present
unknown, hence all the indigo used there is imported from Europe,
although the plant from which it can be made vegetates in every
direction.

In 1791 Hayti imported 930,016 lbs. of indigo, while in 1804 the
export had dwindled to 35,400 lbs.

Indigo, as I have already stated, was once a most important crop in
South Carolina, some attention has recently again been given to it by
an individual or two in Louisiana, and the enterprise is said to
promise success; enough might undoubtedly be raised in the United
States to supply the home market. Some indigo produced at Baton Roug