THE MADDER. 251 



which, as probably originating in the words verus 

 aurantia, true golden yellow, is a curious, though 

 by no means rare, example of a name expressive of 

 a quality being retained and differently applied, 

 long after its original sense has been lost sight of. 



The madder, as is well known, is the most in- 

 valuable dye for calicoes ever discovered, as it not 

 only yields a fine rosy, or somewhat crimson-red to 

 cold water or spirit, and a rich red-brown to hot 

 water, but also gives every shade of lilac, purple, 

 pink, and red, or even of yellow and brown, accord- 

 ing to the mordant through which the cloth has 

 been passed before immersing it in the madder-tubs. 

 To linen it does not impart its colour so well. So 

 subtle is this dye, that the bones of animals fed on 

 the plant are quickly tinged with the colouring- 

 matter, and if the food be long continued, this even 

 becomes permanent. 



The following remarks by Professor Robert Hunt, 

 shew how materially in this, and countless other 

 cases, modern science economises old, as well as dis- 

 covers new, articles of chemical or other commercial 

 importance. " The spent madder has been for years 

 accumulating in the calico works. A chemist prov- 

 ing that these heaps of refuse still contained one 

 third of the original quantity of the colouring- 

 matter, shewed how it could be readily extracted ; 

 and these are now become new sources of wealth/' 

 The principal export of madder is from Holland, 

 Zealand, &c., but its cultivation is largely increasing 

 on the Rhine, where an excellent qualitity is said to 

 be produced. 



