When the Indigo-operator finds that the water is sufficiently beaten, he lets it settle till he can draw off the water clear; which is done by means of several cocks one above another, for fear of losing the Indigo. For this purpose, if the water is clear, the highest cock is opened, the second in like manner, till the water is observed to be tinged; then they shut the cock: the same is done in all the cocks till all the Indigo be in a pap at the bottom of the second vat. The first, or small vat, serves only to purify the water which is found to be tinged, and let run while clear.
When the Indigo is well settled, they put it in cloth bags a foot and six inches wide, with a small circle at top, which helps to receive the Indigo with ease; it is suffered to drain till it gives no more water: however, it must be moist enough to spread it in the mould with a wooden knife or spatula.
In order to have the seed, they suffer it to run up as many feet as they foresee shall be necessary for seed; it shoots four or five feet high, according to the quality of the soil. There are four cuttings of it in the islands, where the climate is warmer; three good cuttings are made in Louisiana, and of as good a quality at least as in the islands.
Tobacco, which was found among the Indians of Louisiana, seems also to be a native of the country, seeing their ancient tradition informs us, that from time immemorial they have, in their treaties of peace and in their embassies, used the pipe, the principal use of which is that the deputies shall all smoke therein. This native Tobacco is very large; its stalk, when suffered to run to seed, shoots to five feet and a half and six feet; the lower part of its stem is at least eighteen lines in diameter, and its leaves often near two feet long, which are thick and succulent, its juice is strong, but never disorders the head. The Tobacco of Virginia has a broader but shorter leaf; its stalk is smaller, and runs not up so high; its smell is not disagreeable, but not so strong; it takes more plants to make a pound, because its leaf is thinner, and not so full of sap as the native. What is cultivated in the Lower Louisiana is smaller, and not so strong; but that made in the islands is thinner than that of Louisiana, but much stronger, and disorders the head.
In order to sow Tobacco, you make a bed on the best piece of ground you are master of, and give it six inches in heighth; this earth you beat and make level with the back of a spade; you afterwards sow the seed, which is extremely fine, nearly resembling poppy seed. It must be sown thin, and notwithstanding that attention, it often happens to be too thick. When the seed is sown, the earth is no longer stirred, but the seed is covered with ashes the thickness of a farthing, to prevent the worms from eating the tobacco when it is just shooting out of the earth.
As soon as the tobacco has four leaves, it is transplanted into a soil prepared for it, put into holes a foot broad made in a line, and distant three feet every way; a distance not too great, in order to weed it with ease, without breaking the leaves.
The best time for transplanting it is after rain, otherwise you must water it: in like manner, when the seed is in the earth, if it rains not, you must gently sprinkle it towards evening, because it is somewhat slow in rising, and when it is sprouted it requires a little water. You must lightly cover the plant in the day time with some leaves plucked the night before; a precaution on no account to be dispensed with, till the young plant has fully struck root. You must also daily visit the tobacco, to clear it of caterpillars, which fasten upon it, and would entirely eat it up, if they are not destroyed. The tobacco-caterpillar is of the shape of a silk-worm, has a prickle on its back towards its extremity; its colour is of the most beautiful sea-green, striped with silver-streaks; in a word, it is as beautiful to the eye as it is fatal to the plant it is fond of.
I gave great attention to keep my plantation clear of all weeds, observing in weeding it with the hoe not to touch the stalks, about which I caused to lay new earth, as well to secure them against gusts of wind, as to enable them to draw from the earth a more abundant nourishment. When the tobacco began to put forth suckers, I plucked them off, because they would have shot into branches, which would impoverish the leaves, and for the same reason stopped the tobacco from shooting above the twelfth leaf, afterwards stripping off the four lowermost, which never come to any thing. Hitherto I did nothing but what was ordinarily done by those who cultivate tobacco with some degree of care; but my method of proceeding afterwards was different.
I saw my neighbours strip the leaves of tobacco from the stalk, string them, set them to dry, by hanging them out in the air, then put them in heaps, to make them sweat. As for me, I carefully examined the plant, and when I observed the stem begin to turn yellow here and there, I caused the stalk to be cut with a pruning-knife, and left it for some time on the earth to deaden. Afterwards it was carried off, on handbarrows, because it is thus less exposed to be broken than on the necks of negroes. When it was brought to the house, I caused it to be hung up, with the big end of the stem turned upwards, the leaves of each stalk slightly touching one another, being well assured they would shrivel in drying, and no longer touch each other. It hereby happened, that the juice contained in the pith (sometimes as big as one's finger) of the stem of the plant, flowed into the leaves, and augmenting their sap, made them much more mild and waxy. As fast as these leaves assumed a bright chesnut colour, I stripped them from the stalk, and made them directly into bundles, which I wrapped up in a cloth, and bound it close with a cord for twenty four hours; then undoing the cloth, they were tied up closer still. This tobacco turned black and so waxy, that it could not be rasped in less than a year; but then it had a substance and flavour so much the more agreeable, as it never affected the head; and so I sold it for double the price of the common.
The cotton which is cultivated in Louisiana, is of the species of the white Siam,[48] though not so soft, nor so long as the silk-cotton; it is extremely white and very fine, and a very good use may be made of it. This cotton is produced, not from a tree, as in the East-Indies, but from a plant, and thrives much better in light than in strong and fat lands, such as those of the Lower Louisiana, where it is not so fine as on the high grounds.