MADDER 161 



the madder is called in France garance robee fine, or garance surfine, and it is marked 

 with the letters s F. The smaller roots yield an inferior madder, which is called 

 garance non robee, or inifine, and is marked M F. When the different kinds of root* 

 are not separated ^from one another, but all ground together, the product is called 

 garance petite robee, moins robee, or Jinc, and is marked F F. By far the greater por- 

 tion of the madder consumed in France consists of this quality, since it is found to be 

 perfectly well adapted for all the purposes to which madder is usually applied. The 

 letter o is applied to the lowest quality of madder or mull, which is obtained by 

 grinding the epidermis and other portions of the root which are detached after the 

 first storing, and during the process called robage. The qualities c F and c F o con- 

 sist of mixtures of M F and o. There i& also another quality, which receives the 

 designation s F F, and which is obtained by grinding separately the internal ligneous 

 part of the root, previously deprived of the outer or cortical portion. This quality is 

 employed for dyeing fine colours on wool and silk, as well as for the preparation of 

 madder-lakes. Other marks, such as s F F F, E x s F F F, &c., are also occasionally 

 employed by French manufacturers and dealers, to distinguish particular qualities. 

 In Holland the product obtained by grinding together the whole roots, after the sepa- 

 ration of the mull, is called onber, whilst the term crop is applied to the internal part 

 of the root ground separately. 



The Levant madder, usually called Turkey roots, is considered to be the finest 

 quality imported into this country. It comes to us from Smyrna, and consists of the 

 whole roots broken into small pieces, and packed in bales. It is ground as it is, 

 without any attempt being made to separate the different portions of the root ; and 

 has then the appearance of a coarse, dark reddish-brown powder. It is employed 

 chiefly for the purpose of dyeing the finer purples on calico. Next to this comes the 

 madder of Avignon, of which two varieties are distinguished in commerce, viz. Paluds 

 and rosee. The first, which is the finest, owes its name to the district in which it is 

 grown, consisting of a small tract of reclaimed marsh land in the neighbourhood of 

 Avignon. Avignon madder is considered to be the best adapted for dyeing pink. It 

 has the appearance, as imported into this country, of a fine pale yellowish-brown or 

 reddish-brown powder. The paler colour, as compared with that of ground roots, is 

 owing to the partial separation of the external or cellular portion of the root during 

 the process of grinding, as practised in France. The madders of Alsace, Holland, and 

 Naples, are richer in colouring-matter than the two preceding kinda, but they yield 

 less permanent dyes, and are therefore only employed for colours which require little 

 treatment with soap and other purifying agents after dyeing. Of late years, indeed, 

 the employment of garancine, a preparation of madder, in the place of these lower 

 descriptions, has become very general. 



All kinds of madder have a peculiar, indescribable smell, and a taste between 

 bitter and sweet. Their colour varies extremely, being sometimes yellow, sometimes 

 orange, red, reddish-brown, or brown. They are all more or less hygroscopic, so 

 that even when closely packed in casks in a state of powder, they slowly attract 

 moisture, increase in weight, and at length lose their pulverulent condition, and form 

 a firm, coherent mass. This change takes place to a greater extent with Alsace and 

 Dutch madders than witli those of Avignon. Madder which has undergone this 

 change is called by the French garance grappee. It is probable that some process 

 of fermentation goes on at the same time, for madder that is kept in casks in a 

 dry place, and as much out of contact with the air as possible, is found constantly 

 to improve in quality for a certain length of time, after which it again deteriorates. 

 Some kinds of madder, especially those of Alsace and Holland, when mixed with 

 water and left to stand for a short time, give a thick coagulum or jelly, which does 

 not take place to the same degree with Avignon madder. The madder of Avignon 

 contains so much carbonate of lime as to effervesce with acids. The herbaceous parts 

 of the plant, when given as fodder to cattle, are found to communicate a red colour 

 to their bones, a circumstance which was first observed about a hundred years ago, 

 and has been employed by physiologists to determine the manner and rate of growth 

 of bone. 



There exists no certain means of accurately ascertaining the intrinsic value of any 

 sample of madder, except that of dyeing a certain quantity of mordanted calico with 

 a weighed quantity of the sample, and comparing the depth and solidity of the 

 colours with those produced by the same weight of another sample of known quality, 

 and even this method may lead to uncertain results, if practised on too small a scale. 

 The Paluds, which is the most esteemed of the Avignon madders, has a dark red hue, 

 whereas the other kinds have naturally a yellow, reddish-yellow, or brownish-yellow 

 colour. Nevertheless, means have been devised of communicating to the latter the 

 desired reddish tinge, which, therefore, no longer serves as a test. A method formerly 

 employed to ascertain the comparative value of a number of samples of madder con- 



M 



