WO AD. 2 11. 



quantity of seed for the broad-cast method is five or six Ibs. 

 to the acre ; for the drill mode, two pounds are more than 

 sufficient, the seed being smaller than that of the turnep. 

 Vow seed, where it can be procured, should always be sown 

 in preference to old ; but, when of the latter kind, it should 

 be steeped for sometime before it is put into the ground. 

 The time of sowing may be extended from February to July. 

 Early sowing, however, is to be preferred, as in that ease the 

 plants come up stronger and afford more produce the first 

 season. The after culture of the woad consists in hoeing, 

 thinning, prong-stirring, and weeding, which operations may 

 be practised by hand or horse tools, as in the culture of teazle. 



GATHERING THE CROPS. The leaves of the spring-sown 

 plants will generally be ready towards the latter end of June 

 or beginning of July, according to the nature of the soil, sea- 

 son and climate ; the leaves of those put in at a later period 

 in the summer arc often lit to be gathered earlier. This bu- 

 siness should, however, constantly be executed as soon as the 

 leaves are fully grown, while they retain their perfect green 

 color and are highly succulent ; as when they are let remain 

 till they begin to turn pale, much of their goodness is said to 

 be expended, and they become less in quantity, and of an infe- 

 rior quality for the purposes of the dyer. Where the lands are 

 well managed they will often afford two or three gatherings, 

 hut the best cultivators seldom take more than two, which are 

 sometimes mixed together in the manufacturing. It is ne- 

 cessary that the after-croppings, when they are taken, should 

 be constantly kept separate from the others, as they would 

 injure the whole if blended, and considerably diminish the 

 value of the produce. It is said that the best method, where a 

 third cropping is either wholly or partially made, is to keep it 

 separate, forming it into an inferior kind of woad. In the 

 execution of this sort of business, a number of baskets are 

 usually provided in proportion to the extent of the crop, and 

 into these the leaves are thrown as they are taken from the 

 plants. The leaves are detached from the plants, by grasp- 

 ing them firmly with the hand, and giving them a sort of a 

 sudden twist. In favorable seasons, where the soils are rich, 

 the plants will often rise to the height of eight or ten inches ; 

 but in other circumstances, they seldom attain more than four 

 or five, 



The produce is mostly from about a ton to a ton and a half 

 of green leaves. The price varies considerably; but for 

 woad of the prime quality, it is often from twenty-five to thirty 



