MADDER. 



with a fine, liglit iiarrow, or ralie them 

 by liand, so as to leave them smooth 

 and even with the alleys : they are 

 then ready for planting. 



" Preparing Sets and Planting. — 

 Madder sets, or seed roots, are best 

 selected when the crop is dug in the 

 fall. The horizontal uppermost roots 

 (with eyes) are the kind to be used ; 

 these should be separated from the 

 bottom roots, and buried in sand, in 

 a cellar or pit. If not done in the 

 fall, the sets may be dug early in the 

 spring, before they begin to sprout. 

 They should be cut or broken into 

 pieces, containing from two to five 

 eyes each, i. e., three to four inches 

 long. The time for planting is as 

 early in spring as the ground can be 

 got m good order and severe frosts 

 are over, which, in this climate, is 

 Tisually about the middle of April. 

 With the beds prepared as directed, 

 stretch a line lengthwise the bed, and 

 with the corner of a hoe make a drill 

 two inches deep along each edge and 

 down the middle, so as to give three 

 rows to each bed, about two feet 

 apart. Into these drills drop the sets, 

 ten inches apart, covering them two 

 inches deep. Eight or ten bushels of 

 sets are requisite for an acre. 



•' After Culture. — As soon as the 

 madder plants can be seen, the ground 

 should be carefully hoed, so as to de- 

 stroy the weeds and not injure the 

 plants ; and the hoeing and weeding 

 must be repeated as often as weeds 

 make their appearance. If any of 

 the sets have failed to grow, the va- 

 cancies should be filled by taking up 

 parts of the strongest roots and trans- 

 planting them ; this is best done in 

 June. As soon as the madder plants 

 are ten or twelve inches high, the 

 tops are to be bent down on to the 

 surface of the ground, and all except 

 the tip end covered with earth shov- 

 elled from the middle of the alleys. 

 Bend the shoots outward and inward, 

 in every direction, so as in time to fill 

 all the vacant space on the beds, and 

 about one foot on each side. After 

 the first time covering, repeat the 

 weeding when necessary, and run a 

 single horse plough through the al- 

 ii K -i 



leys several times to keep the earth 

 clean and mellow. As soon as the 

 plants again become ten or twelve 

 inches high, bend down and cover 

 Ihern as before, repeating the opera- 

 tion as often as necessary, which is 

 commonly three times the first sea- 

 son. The last time may be as late as 

 September, or later if no frosts occur. 

 By covering the tops in this manner, 

 they change to roots, and the design 

 is to fill the ground as full of roots as 

 possible. When the vacant spaces 

 are all full, there will be but little 

 chance for weeds to grow ; but all 

 that appear must be pulled out. 



" The second year keep the beds free 

 from weeds ; plough the alleys and 

 cover the tops, as before directed, two 

 or three times during the season. The 

 alleys will now form deep and nar- 

 row ditches, and if it becomes difficult 

 to obtain good earth for covering the 

 tops, that operation may be omitted 

 after the second time this season. 

 Gare should be taken, when covering 

 the tops, to keep the edges of the beds 

 as high as the middle, otherwise the 

 water from heavy showers will run 

 off, and the crop suffer from drought. 



" The third year very little labour 

 or attention is required. The plants 

 will now cover the whole ground. If 

 any weeds are seen, they must be 

 pulled out, otherwise their roots will 

 cause trouble when harvesting the 

 madder. The crop is sometimes dug 

 the third year ; and if the soil and 

 cultivation have been good, and the 

 seasons warm and favourable, the 

 madder will be of good quality ; but 

 generally it is much better in quality, 

 and more in quantity, when left until 

 the fourth year. 



"Digging and Harvesting. — This 

 should be done between the 20th of 

 August and the 20th of September. 

 Take a sharp shovel or shovels, and 

 cut off and remove the tops, with half 

 an inch of the surface of the earth ; 

 then take a plough of the largest size, 

 with a sharp coulter and a double 

 team, and plough a furrow outward, 

 beam deep, around the edge of the 

 bed ; stir the earth with forks, and 

 carefully pick out all the roots, re- 



473 



