172 I'l.OW'I'RS Ol^ THI-. Sl-'.A-COASr 



and Aiin'ust is llic unu: lo sl-c il in llowcr, i1i()Lil;1i il is occasionally in 

 hlooni in May. It is hicnnial. 



The llowers arc tairK' lari^c ami ccjnspiciums, anil aru lunncrous; hiii 

 Woad is not largely visited by insects, and is as a rule sell-pollinated. 

 The fruit is dispersed by its own inechanisni. The ])ods do not 



iipi-n, bul lall, pardy 

 aulcd liy die wind, at 

 sonicdistancc from the 

 |)arcnl plant, being 

 pcndLiloiis when ripe. 

 Woad is a saiul-lov- 

 ini^ plant, and re(|iiircs 

 a santl soil, grow ing in 

 districts where sand- 

 stone rocks contribute 

 lo form a sand)' soil 

 at the surface. 



No iLingus infests 

 it, and Aphis brassic(r 

 is the only insect that 

 li\cs on it. 



l!y I'liny, Woad 

 was called G/asfiuu, 

 hence the name Glas- 

 tonbin-y (Welsh g/as, 

 blue; Gaelic g^^s, 

 grev, green). Woad 

 is akin to I'i/r/iii/. 

 the Latin name for it. 

 Dioscorides gave the 

 name Isafis, and /ii/c- 

 toria refers to the 

 dyeing properties. 

 Woad is called 

 Ash of Jerusalem, Dyer's Weed, Goud, Ode, \\^:)ad, Wad. 



W'hen the leaves are used as a dye they are covered with boiling 

 water, steeped for an hour, and weighted down. The water is then 

 poured off, and the leaves are treated with caustic potash and then 

 with hydrochloric acid, yielding an indigo-blue. W^oad mills are still 

 worked at Wisbech, but the use of indigo has superseded it, and it is 

 only used to fix indigo. 



. T. U r.otlHsrd 



\V().\i) [halts llniiurin, L.) 



