332 On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Woad. 



and one of eminence in the blue- trade siiB'ered so much bv 

 woad of his own growth, that he declared his resolution to 

 decline the trade altoiitthcr. When [ pointed out to him 

 that it was the woad that occasioned his bad blues, and that 

 \ had from the same defect purchased such other woad as 

 •would do, and informed him where he could get it, — he 

 succeeded as usual. His own he disjiosed of to a drysalter, 

 Avho sold it again somewhere in the country ; and it occa- 

 sioned such a cause of complaint, as I believe rendered the 

 claim of payment to be given up, or partly so : of this I 

 am not certain, having it only from report. I mention this 

 in order to give those who wish to become growers of woad, 

 such information as may properly direct them. 



The leaves of woad on good land in a good season grow 

 very large and long, and when thev are ripe show near their 

 end a brownish spot inclining to a purple towards its centre, 

 while- other parts of the leaves aj^pear green, but just begin- 

 ning to turn of a more yellowish shade; and then they 

 must be gathered, or they will be injured. 



Woad is to be gathered from twice to fobr and even five 

 times in the season, as I once experienced (it was an early 

 and a late season), and for the next spring I saved an acre 

 for seed, of which I had a fair crop. I picked the young 

 seedling sprouts off" the rest, and mixed with my first ga- 

 thering of what was newly sown ; this was very good. Du- 

 ling one season I let these shoots grow loo long ; the con- 

 sequence was, that the fibrous parts became like so many 

 sticks, and afforded no saponaceous juices. When you de- 

 sio;n to plant woad on the same land the second season, it 

 should be as soon as y(un- last gathering (before winter is 

 finished) be ploughed; that is, as soon as the weather will 

 permit, and in deep furrows or ridges, to expose and ame- 

 liorate it by the vegetative salts that exist in the atmosphere, 

 and by frost and snow. This, in some seasons, has partly 

 the effect of a change of produce ; but if intended for wheat, 

 tlie last gathering should not be later than September. 



The land, after woad, is always clean, and the nature of 

 the soil appears to be greatly changed in favour of the wheat 

 cron;for I have always experienced abundant increase of 

 produce after woad, and observed that it held on for some 

 lime, if proper changes were attended to, and good hus- 

 bandry. Keeping land clean from weeds, certainly pro- 

 duces an increase of corn.; but in the hoeing and gathering 

 woad (for hoeing and earthing up the plants often tenders 

 them abundantly more prolific, even if there are no weeds), 

 many nests of animalculse are destroyed, as well as grubs 



