MAB 



MAG 



— Mr. Swift measured off a part of 

 his ground, and carefully weighed the 

 product when dried, which he found 

 to be over two thousand pounds per 

 acre, notwithstanding the seasons 

 were mostly very dry and unfavour- 

 able. With his present knowledge of 

 the business, he is confident that he 

 can obtain at least three thousand 

 pounds per acre, which is said to be 

 more than is often obtained in Cier- 

 many. The whole amount of labour 

 he estimates at from eighty to one 

 hundred days' work per acre. The 

 value of the crop, at the usual whole- 

 sale price (about fifteen cents per 

 pound), is from three hundred to four 

 hundred dollars. In foreign coun- 

 tries it is customary to make several 

 qualities of the madder, which is done 

 by sorting the roots ; but as only one 

 quality is required for the western 

 market, Mr. Swift makes but one, 

 and that is found superior to most of 

 the imported, and finds a ready sale." 



The presence of calcareous matter 

 in the soil is an essential to the pro- 

 duction of good dyeing madder. 



Madder is used in dyeing numerous 

 colours, as black, blue, red, olives, 

 and buffs, and alone forms the rich 

 Turkey reds. It contains several col- 

 ouring principles, the chief of which 

 is, however, Alizarine, an insoluble 

 crystalline, bright red body. 



MADDER, FIELD. Shcrardia ar- 

 vensis. An insignificant weed. 



MADDER, WILD. Rubiapcregri- 

 na. It yields an inferior madder root. 



MADEIRA CIDER. Mi.K new ci- 

 der with honey until it bears an egg ; 

 boil in a copper for one quarter of an 

 hour, skim, cool, barrel, and bottle in 

 March. It will be as strong as Ma- 

 deira wine in si.x months. 



MADEIRA NUT. The walnut. 



M .\ D I A. Madia satira, some- 

 times called Gold of Pleasure, which 

 see. A composite plant inhabiting 

 South America, the seeds of which 

 yield an abundance of good table oil. 

 Boussingault obtained 41 per cent, 

 in an analysis, and 26] per cent, by 

 the common press. It is extensively 

 cultivated in Germany, is a summer 

 crop, maturing in 127 days from seed , 



in Alsace, and yielding 2500 pounds 

 of seeds per acre, or 635 oil, and 1700 

 of excellent oil -cake for fattening 

 stock. The soil should be rich and 

 in good tilth, and the seeds sown in 

 drills in spring, and the young plants 

 kept clean from weeds. 



MAGMA. A thick fluid, or mud. 

 Thick, feculent matters from solu- 

 tions. 



MAGGOT. The larva of dipterous 

 and other insects. The fly in sheep. 



MAGNESIA. An alkaline earth, 

 very similar to lime, sp. gr. 23, the 

 protoxide of mairncsium. It is spa- 

 ringly soluble in pure water, but unites 

 freely with most acids. Its equiva- 

 lent is 20 (or magnesium 12, oxygen 8), 

 symbol Mg. O. Calcined magnesia 

 is the true oxide, common magne- 

 sia being the carbonate, or mild mag- 

 nesia. Caustic or calcined magne- 

 sia is much more injurious to plants 

 than lime, from its retaining the caus- 

 tic quality longer, and not uniting 

 with carbonic acid so readily. It also 

 forms a harder mortar with water, 

 and is more apt to cake about the 

 stems and roots of herbage ; but mild 

 magnesia (the carbonate) is of ser- 

 vice to vegetation, being found in the 

 ashes of most plants, in all probabil- 

 ity replacing lime. The carbonate of 

 magnesia is slightly soluble, and, like 

 mild lime, is freely dissolved by wa 

 ter, containing carbonic acid in solu 

 tion. 



The sulphate of magnesia, Epsom 

 salt, is the most important salt. Sil- 

 icates of magnesia are abundant in na- 

 ture, forming serpentine, soapstone, 

 &c. 



MAGNESIAN LIMESTONE. 

 Limestone rocks containing magne- 

 sia ; they abound above the coal for- 

 mation. As the magnesia is to be re- 

 garded as injurious when lime is 

 wanted for farming, its amount may 

 be discovered by the following means : 

 Take 100 grains of the rock, add four 

 times its weight of strong muriatic 

 acid, filter the clear solution, and add 

 clear limewater ; it will precipitate 

 all the magnesia as a white powder, 

 which may be collected, dried, and 

 weighed. 



475 



