MADDER. 291 



three feet apart, and may be put Into the ground any time between the first of April and the 

 first of June : early sowing is the best. The young plant will require its first hoeing about the 

 middle of May, or when the leaf is two inches long. In a few words, and omitting details, it 

 is sufficient to say that the plant may be treated like Indian corn. The treatment of the teasel 

 when grown, is thus : it is to be gathered when it is just out of blossom, or when the petal is 

 ready to fall : this is the exact period when the curved awn of the chaff has the finest elasticity, 

 and the crop must be gathered at once. At the time it is gathered the teasel head is full of 

 sap, which requires to be evaporated ; and this must be done in a way which shall prevent the 

 least mouldiness or mildew. The drying is cfTected in a crib, like a corn crib, only the spaces are 

 ■wider, as more air is required to circulate through it than for the drying of corn. Scaffoldings 

 are placed across these, so as to form several tier of them, one above the other. They are 

 placed about two feet apart ; the pieces are laid across each other, in an open net-work. Here 

 being exposed freely to currents of air the heads dry rapidly. An acre of land may yield, by 

 proper attention, 75,000 heads : their price varies in market from eight to twelve shillings per 

 1000. 



MADDER. 



This plant, like the hop, requires a rich, mellow soil. The land must be underdrained, and 

 trenches must be formed for carrying off superfluous water. The fields are laid out in beds, 

 and it is planted so that the root may stand at equal distances from each, that the weeds may 

 be more easily extirpated. The original color, madder red, may be changed into many shades 

 by chemical agents. 



Madder has the following composition : 



Potassa 20-30 18-07 



Soda, 11-04 7-91 



Lime, 24-00 19-84 



Magnesia, 2-60 2-50 



Peroxide of iron 0-82 2-28 



Phosphoric acid, 3-62 3- 13 



Sulphuric acid, 2-56 1-45 



Chlorine 3-27 8-93 



Sile.x 1 ■ 16 3-63 



Carbonic acid, 25-83 21-35 



Carbon, 4-13 11 • 48 Koechlin. 



The essential elements which are required for madder, are potash, soda and lime. Stable 

 manure is regarded as suitable to meet the wants of this plant. A true calcareous soil may be 

 regarded as the best for the plant. 



