MATERIALS FOR A BLACK COLOUR.
To dye cloth black, they make use either of a kind of alfaroba, which I have described elsewhere to be like the Egyptian tree acacia, of a well-known Paraguayrian herb, or of a rich, black clay. Though cotton will take a black dye, it will not hold it long; consequently the cotton dresses which we wore in Paraguay, became almost of no colour, and the blackness, by degrees, faded away. The Spanish ladies of St. Iago, and the Chiquito Indians have the art of dying cotton with a very lasting black, a secret unknown to every one else.
A NAMELESS FRUIT AFFORDING
A GREEN COLOUR.
Walking in a wood on the banks of the Narahage I discovered a shrub, before unknown to me, covered with leaves of such a very bright green that I felt an inclination to taste them. I found them sweeter than sugar, and thought to use them for sweetening the herb of Paraguay. Applauding myself vastly, for what I thought so useful a discovery, I gave a leaf to the Spaniard, my companion, to taste; but he prudently declared, that he should take care not to eat, or even touch that strange plant. The Indian old women were consulted on this affair: they told us that these leaves were used for dying things green, but were very poisonous.