The bales are generally made up in 150 lbs. each, and the quality is classed by numbers, from 1 to 9; Nos. 1 to 3 being of the quality called cobres in Europe; Nos. 4 to 6 of that called cortes, and Nos. 7 to 9 of that called flores; Nos. 1 to 6 do not at present pay the expenses of manufacture, and are never intentionally made.  No doubt, with a little more skill in the manufacture, the whole might, as in Bengal, be made of the quality called flores; but such improvements cannot be expected till a new race of people inhabit Central America.  At present about one-half of the indigo produced is under No. 7, and as the cultivation is said not to pay at the present prices—­and, indeed, hardly can be supposed to compete with Bengal, a country where labor is so much cheaper, and capital abundant—­it is probable, that the cultivation will shortly be entirely abandoned, unless the price should again rise in Europe.”  In 1846, 21,933 lbs. of indigo were exported from Angostura.

The following particulars were contributed to my “Colonial Magazine,” by the late Dr. Edward Binns, of Jamaica:—­

The species generally cultivated is the I. tinctoria, which requires a rich moist soil and warm weather.  The seed, which is at first sight not unlike coarse gunpowder, is sown three or four inches deep, in straight lines, twelve or fifteen inches apart.  The shoots appear above ground in about a week; at the end of two months the plant flowers, when it is fit for cutting, which is done with a pruning knife.  It must be mentioned that great care is requisite in weeding the indigo field when plants first shoot through the earth.  In the State of St. Salvador, large vats made of mahogany, or other hard wood, are constructed for the reception of the plant, where it is allowed to undergo maceration and fermentation.  In a short time the water becomes greenish, and emits a strong pungent smell, while carbonic acid gas is freely evolved.  In about twenty-four hours it is run off into large flat vessels, and stirred about until a blue scum appears, when additional water is added, and the blue flakes sink to the bottom.  The supernatant water has now acquired a yellowish tinge, when it is run off carefully, and the blue deposit or sediment put into bags to drain.  It is subsequently dried in the shade, or sometimes in the sun, then placed in cotton bags and carried to the indigo fair, or forwarded to the city of Guatemala.

The East Indian mode of manufacturing the indigo differs materially, and many suppose it preferable to the Salvador.  It consists in steaming the fermented mass in large pipes enclosed in huge boilers.  I am inclined to believe this to be the most economical, if not the best way of manufacturing indigo.  From Guatemala alone, it is computed that from 6,000 to 8,000 serons of indigo are exported annually; while San Miguel, Chalatenaugo, Tejulta, Secatecolnea, St.