Boo;. VI. WELD, OR DYER'S WEED. 921 



harrowing in spring ; by deep ploughing and harrowing in spring ; by paring and burn- 

 ing; or by trench-ploughing, or spade trenching. 



5967. 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 sufficient argument against it. ]5y 

 ploughing deep in February, and soon afterwards sowing, the plants may germinate before the grub is 

 able to rise to the surface ; bv trench-ploughing, the same purpose will be better attained ; and, best of 

 all, by spade trenching. But a method equally effectual with the first, nu-re expeditious, and more 

 destructive to grubs, insects, and other vermin, which are apt to feed on the pl.ints in their early growth, 

 is that of paring and burning. This is, however, chiefly practised 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. 



5968. The lime of smiling may be extended 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. 



5969. The mode of sowing is generally broad-cast, but the plant might be most advan- 

 tageously 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 turnip. 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. 



5970. The after-culture of the woad consists in hoeing, thinning, prong-stirring, and 

 weeding, which operations may be practised by hand or horse tools, -<« in the culture of 

 teazle. 



597 1 . 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, 

 season, 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 

 ai the leaves are fully grown, while they retain their perfect green colour and are highly 

 succulent ; as when they are let remain till they begin to turn pale, much of their good- 

 ness is said to be expended, and they become less in quantity, and of an inferior quality 

 for the purposes of the dyer. 



5972 In the execution of this sort of business, a number of baskets are usually provided in proportion 

 to the extent of the crop, and into these the leaves are thrown as they are taken from the plants. The 

 leaves are detached from the plants, bv grasping them firmly with the hand, and giving them a sort of a 

 sudden twist In favourable seasons, where the soils are rich, the plants will often rise to the height of 

 eight or ten inches ; but in other circumstances, thev seldom attain more than four or five: and where 

 the lands are well managed they will often afford two or three gatherings, but the best cultivators seldom 

 take more than two, which are sometimes mixed together in the manufacturing. It is necessary that the 

 after-croppings, when they are taken, should be constantly kept separate from the others, as they would 

 injure the whole if blended, and considerably diminish the value of the produce. It is said that the best 

 method, where a third cropping is either wholly or partially made, is to keep it separate, forming it into an 

 inferior kind of woad. 



5973. The produce is mostly from about a ton to a ton and a half of green leaves. 

 The price varies considerably ; but for woad of the prime quality, it is often from twenty- 

 five to thirty pounds the ton, and for that of an inferior quality six or seven, and some- 

 times much more. 



5974. To prej>are it for the dyer, it is bruised by machinery to express the watery part ; 

 it is afterwards formed into balls and fermented, re-ground, and fermented in vats, where 

 it is evaporated into cakes in the manner of indigo. The haulm is burned for manure 

 or spread over the straw-yard, to be fermented along with straw-dung. 



5975. The use of woad in dyeing is as a basis for the black and other colours, 



5976. To save seed, leave some of the plants undenuded of their leaves the second 

 year, and when it is ripe, in July or August, treat it like turnip-seed. 



5977. The only diseases to which the woad is liable are the mildew and rust. When 

 young it is often attacked by the fly, and the ground obliged to be re-sown, and this 

 more than once even on winter-ploughed grass lands. 



Subsect. 6. Weld, or Dyers Weed. — Reseda I.uteola L. ; Dodccandria Trigynia E., 

 and Resedaceee Lindl. Gaude, Fr. ; Waud, Ger. {Jig. 802.) 



5978. Weld is an imperfect biennial, with small fusiform roots, and a leafy stem from 

 one to three feet in height. It is a native of Britain, flowers in June and July, and 

 ripens its seeds in August and September. It is cultivated in a few places in England, 

 and chiefly in Essex, for its spike of flowers, and sometimes also for its leaves, both of 

 which are used in dyeing. Its culture may be considered the same as that of woad, 

 only being a smaller' plant it is not thinned out to so great a distance. It has tins 

 advantage for the farmer over all other colouring plants, that it only requires to be 

 taken up and dried, when it is fit for the dyer. It is, however, an exhausting crop. 



5979. Weld will grow on any foil, but fertile loams produce the best crops. In Essex, 

 it is grown on a stiff loam, moderately moi^t. 



