17 



object of drying the pulp first, and then wetting it again before 

 allowing it to ferment, is not at first sight obvious, nor could 

 we learn why this practice has been found advantageous. The 

 fermentation itself is no doubt a zymolytic decomposition of 

 glucosides. The use of woad as a source of indigo is now very 

 limited, being confined to some of the old-fashioned Yorkshire 

 dye-houses, where it is used in conjunction with indigo in the 

 so-called * woad vat,' a description of which will be found in any 

 work on dyeing," 



nufactures, Dr. Schunck, 



Kersal, Manchester, 



August 31, 1897. 



I AM not aware that woad is still used alone without the 

 addition of indigo. Some years ago, when writing an article 

 on blue dyeing for Ure's Dictionary, I went to Yorkshire and 

 studied the process of blue dyeing in one of the first establish- 



I found they used woad, madder, bran, and caustic lime, in 

 addition to indigo. The woad can add very little to the intensity 

 of the colour, its only use, in my opinion, being to start and keep 

 up the process of fermentation w^hich is necessary in order to 

 dissolTO the indigo for dyeing purposes. The process is a ticklish 

 one ; it is subject to one or two mishaps ; the vat may either 

 become too alkaline or too acid. In either case the liquor is 

 spoiled, and the indigo is lost or destroyed. I should think better 

 and simpler processes are now employed. 



Edw. Schunck. 



Museum No. I. at Kew contains (Case 6) a fine series illustrating 

 the details of the Wisbech factory, including an example of the 

 peculiar iron-tool employed for weeding woad. These were 

 presented in 1881 by A. Peckover, Esq., through Professor 



VI.-MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



Visitors during 1901.— The number of persons who visited the 

 Royal Botanic Gardens during the vear 1901 was 1,4G(),169 ; that 

 for 1900 was 1,111,024. The average for 1891-1900 was 1,346,861. 

 The total number on Sundays was 594,371, and on week-days 

 865,798. The maximum number on any one dav was 88,543 on 

 May 27th, and the smallest 35 on December 12th. 



24020 3 



