e
was pronounced to have been equal to the best Caraccas, which sells at
two dollars per pound; and the gentleman who cultivated it remarks,
that one acre of ground there, well cultivated, will yield from 40 to
60 lbs.; that it requires only from July to October for cultivating
it; that there is not connected with it one-third of the expense or
time that is generally required for the cultivation of cotton.

I take the following from Smyth's "Tour in the United States."

"This plant is somewhat like the fern when grown, and when young is
hardly distinguishable from lucern grass, its leaves in general are
pinnated, and terminated by a single lobe; the flowers consist of five
leaves, and are of the papilonaceous kind, the uppermost petal being
longer and rounder than the rest, and lightly furrowed on the side,
the lower ones are short and end in a point; in the middle of the
flower is formed the style, which afterwards becomes a pod containing
the seeds.

"They cultivate three sorts of indigo in Carolina, which demand the
same variety of soils. First, the French or Hispaniola indigo, which
striking a long tap root will only flourish in a deep rich soil, and
therefore, though an excellent sort, is not so much cultivated in the
maritime parts of the State, which are generally sandy, but it is
produced in great perfection one hundred miles backwards; it is
neglected too on another account, for it hardly bears a winter so
sharp as that of Carolina. The second sort, which is the false
Guatemala, or true Bahamas, bears the winter better, is a more tall
and vigorous plant, is raised in greater quantities from the same
compass of ground, is content with the worst soil in the country, and
is therefore more cultivated than the first soil, though inferior in
the quality of its dye.

"The third sort is the wild indigo, which is indigenous here; this, as
it is a native of the country, answers the purposes of the planter
best of all, with regard to the hardiness of the plant, the easiness
of the culture, and the quantity of the produce. Of the quality there
is some dispute not yet settled amongst the planters themselves; nor
can they distinctly tell when they are to attribute the faults of
their indigo to the nature of the plant, to the seasons, which have
much influence upon it, or to some defect in the manufacture.

"The time of planting the indigo is generally after the first rains
succeeding the vernal equinox; the seed is sow