WOAD. 231 



The preparation of the soil, when woad is to be grown 

 on grass land, may either be effected by deep plowings, 

 with the aid of the winter's frost, cross plowing and harrow- 

 ing in spring ; by deep plowing and harrowing in spring ; 

 by paring and burning ; or by trench-plowing, or spade- 

 trenching. The first mode appears the worst, as it is next 

 to impossible to reduce old turf in one year ; and, even if this 

 is done, the danger from the grub and wire-worm is a suffi- 

 cient argument against it. By plowing deep in February, 

 and soon afterwards sowing, the plants may germinate before 

 the grub is able to rise to the surface ; by trench-plowing, 

 the same purpose will be better attained ; and, best of all, 

 by spade trenching. But a method equally effectual with 

 the first, more expeditious, and more destructive to grubs, 

 insects, and other vermin, which are apt to feed on the 

 plants in their early growth, is that of paring and burning. 

 This is, however, chiefly practiced where the sward is rough 

 and abounds with rushes, sedge, and other plants of the 

 coarse kind, but it might be had recourse to on others, with 

 benefit. 



The mode of sowing is generally broad-cast, but the 

 plant might be most advantageously grown in rows, and 

 cultivated with the horse hoe. The rows may be nine 

 inches or a foot apart, and the seed deposited two inches 

 deep. The quantity of seed for the broad-cast method is 

 five or six pounds to the acre ; for the drill mode, two 

 pounds are more than sufficient, the seed being smaller than 

 that of the turnep. New 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 some time before it 

 is put into the ground. The time of sowing may be ex- 

 tended from February to July. Early sowing, however, is 

 to be preferred, as in that case 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 practiced by hand or 

 horse tools. 



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 are often fit to be gathered earlier. This 

 business should, however, constantly be executed as soon as 

 the leaves are fully grown, while they retain their perfect 



