Book VI. 



MADDER. 



919 



the labourer cuts off the ripe heads along the rows or lines with about nine inches of stem, and tics them up 

 in handl'uls with the stem of one that is more perfectly ripened. On the evening of the day on which they 

 are cut, they should be put into a dry shed ; and when the weather is fine and the air clear, they should 

 be taken out and exposed to the sun daily till they become perfectly dry. Much care must, however, be 

 taken that no rain falls upon them. In doing this, some make use of long small stakes or poles, on which 

 these handl'uls are hung during the time of their preparation. 



:>»H. As soon as they are completely dried, they should be laid up in a dry room, in a close manner, till 

 they become tough and of a bright colour, and ready for use. They should then be sorted or separated into 

 three kinds, by opening each of the small bundles. These are distinguished into kings, middlings, and 

 scrubs, according to their different qualities. They are afterwards, the author of The Somerset licport 

 says, made into packs, which, of the first sort, contain nine thousand heads, but when of the second, 

 twenty thousand ; the third is a sort of very inferior value. By some, before forming them into packs, 

 they are done up into what are termed staves, by means of split sticks, when they are ready for sale. 



5945. The produce of teasel varies from ten to fifteen packs on the acre ; nine packs 

 of kings, nineteen of middlings, and two of scrubs, are reckoned a large crop, with a 

 great bulk of haulm. Often, however, the crop fails. 



5946. The use of the heads of the teasel has been already mentioned. The haulm is 

 of no use but for burning as manure. Parkinson observes, that this is a sort of crop 

 that may be grown to advantage on many lands, in a rotation, as a fallow to prepare for 

 wheat ; and by burning the straw and refuse stuff after the crop is reaped, it will be found 

 not to impoverish, but rather to improve the land. In their young state, the teasel plants 

 stand the winter without danger ; and are a good crop for clearing land of all weeds, 

 from their lateness in the process of hoeing, their being few weeds that vegetate at so 

 advanced a season. On all these accounts they become an advantageous crop for the 

 farmer. 



5947. To save seed, leave a few of the very best plants uncropped, and then, when the 

 seed is ripe, cut oft' only the largest and terminating heads, from which the seed is easily 

 separated by beating with flails, and cleaned by the winnowing machine, or a sieve. 



5948. The chiif injuries to which the teasel is liable are those inflicted on it while young, 

 by the fly and slug. 



Subsfct. 4. Madder. — Rubin linctbrum L. ; Tetrandria Monogyn'ui L., and Kubiucea: J. 

 Garance, Fr. ; F'drberrothe, Ger. ; Robin, Ital. ; and Rubia, Span. (Jig. 800.) 



5949. The dyers madder has a perennial root, and an annual stalk. The root is com- 

 posed of many long, thick, succulent fibres, almost as large 

 as a man's little finger ; these are joined at the top in a 

 head, like the roots of asparagus, and strike very deep into 

 the ground, being sometimes more than three feet in length. 



lyy From the upper part (or head of the root) come out many 



"\v<-^^&^ side roots, which extend just under the surface of the ground 

 JF^l^NvJS' t0 a great distance, whereby it propagates very fast ; for 



these send up a great number of shoots, which, if carefully 

 taken oft' in the spring soon after they are above ground, 

 become so many plants. It is a native of the south of 

 Europe, flowers in June, and seeds soon afterwards ; but 

 by them it is never propagated. Madder is mentioned by 

 the Greeks as a medical plant, but when it was first used 

 in dyeing is uncertain. It has been cultivated in Holland 

 and Flanders, and other parts of the Continent, for the latter 

 purpose for many centuries, and has been tried in this 

 country ; but unless the importation of the root from the 

 Continent be entirely prevented, it will not answer. Its 

 culture has been attempted at different times when our 

 commerce with the Dutch was interrupted, or when they raised the price of the article 

 exorbitantly high. At present it may be imported not only from Holland, but from 

 France, Italy, and Turkey. 



5950. The soils most suited to the cultivation of madder are deep, fertile, sandy loams, 

 not retentive of moisture, and having a considerable portion of vegetable matter in their 

 composition. It may also be grown on the more light descriptions of soil, of sufficient 

 depth, and in a proper state of fertility. 



5951. The preparation of the soil may either consist in trench ploughings, lengthwise 

 and across, with pronged stirrings, so as to bring it to a fine tilth ; or, what will otten be 

 found preferable, by one trenching two feet deep by manual labour. 



5952. The sets or plants are best obtained from the runners, or surface-roots of the old 

 plants. These being taken up, are to be cut into lengths of from six to twelve inches, 

 according to the scarcity or abundance of runners. Sets of one inch will grow it tliey 

 have an eye or bud, and some fibres ; but their progress will be injuriously slow tor want 

 of maternal nourishment. Sets may also be procured by sowing the seeds in ime light 

 earth a vear before they are wanted, and then transplanting them ; or sets ot an inch may 

 be planted one year in a garden, and then removed to the field plantation. 



ii N 4 



