THE MADDER. 249 



MADDER. 



Rubia. 



Welsh, Gwreiddrudd, Cochwraidd. French, Garance. Ger- 

 man, Krapp. Spanish, Rubia. Arabic, Fooali. 



LINNJEAN. NATURAL. 



Tetrandria. Rubiacece. 



Monogynia. Stellatece. 



THE wild madder (Rubia perigrina), our only 

 British species, does not possess the brilliant dye- 

 ing qualities of the cultivated R. tinctorum, though 

 the colouring-matter afforded by its roots is by no 

 means to be despised ; it is, however, a rare and 

 capricious plant, and the expenses of collecting it 

 would probably so greatly exceed its value, that it 

 will never be regularly used as an article of commerce. 

 It occurs, though sparingly, in the Isle of Wight, 

 and reappears on the mild southern shores of Devon- 

 shire and Cornwall, extending up the coast line of 

 Wales, as far north as to the island of Anglesea, 

 probably the farthest limit influenced by the warm 

 and genial atmosphere accompanying the course of 

 the small ocean current known as Kennel's. The 

 madder is a remarkably handsome, shrubby plant, 

 whose angular, toothed, and quaint-looking stems, 

 and dark, sparkling, shining, and serrated leaves, 

 more than compensate for the absence of any striking 



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