MADDER. 229 



if these cannot be had, get screen- wire of the right fineness, 

 and make frames or boxes about two and a half feet long, 

 and the width of the wire, on the bottom of which nail the 

 wire. In these sieves or boxes, put half a bushel of roots 

 at a time, and stir them about in the water, pulling the 

 bunches apart so as to wash them clean ; then, having a 

 platform at hand, spread the roots about two inches thick 

 for drying in the sun. Carry the platforms to a convenient 

 place, not far from the house, and place them side by side, 

 in rows east and west, and with their ends north and south, 

 leaving room to walk between the rows. Elevate the 

 south ends of the platforms about eighteen inches, and the 

 north ends about six inches from the ground, putting poles 

 or sticks to support them this will greatly facilitate drying. 

 After the second or third day drying, the madder must be 

 protected from the dews at night,, and from rain, placing 

 the platforms one upon another to a convenient height, and 

 covering the uppermost one with "boards. Spread them 

 out again in the morning, or as soon as the danger is over. 

 Five or six days of ordinarily fine weather will dry the mad- 

 der sufficiently, when it may be put away till it is conve- 

 nient to kiln dry and grind it. 



Kiln drying. The size and mode of constructing the 

 kiln may be varied to suit circumstances. The following is 

 a very cheap plan, and sufficient to dry one ton of roots at 

 a time. Place four strong posts in the ground, twelve feet 

 apart one way, and eighteen the other ; the front two four- 

 teen feet high, and the others eighteen ; put girts across 

 the bottom, middle and top ; and nail boards perpendicularly 

 on the outside, as for a common barn. The boards must be 

 well-seasoned, and all cracks or holes should be plastered, 

 or otherwise stopped up. Make a shed-roof of common 

 boards. In the inside put upright standards about five feet 

 apart, with cross-pieces, to support the scaffolding. The 

 first cross-pieces t x o be four feet from the floor ; the next two 

 feet higher, and so on to the top. On these cross-pieces, 

 lay small poles about six feet long and two inches thick, 

 four or five inches apart. On these scaffolds the madder is 

 to be spread nine inches thick. A floor is laid at the bottom 

 to keep all dry and clean. When the kiln is filled, take six 

 or eight small kettles or hand furnaces, and place them four 

 or five feet apart on the floor (first securing it from the fire 

 with bricks or stones), and make fires in them with charcoal, 

 being careful not to make any of the fires so large as to 



