1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEK. 



9 



Madder. 



Soil and Peepaeation, — The soil should be a 

 deep, rich, sandy loam, free from weeds, roots, 

 stones, &c., a.d coDtaiDing a good portion of 

 Tegetabl'' earth. Alluvial boitoui lauU is the 

 most suitable; but it must not be wet. If (dd 

 upland is used, it should receive a heavy coating 

 of vegetable earth, (from decayed wood and 

 leaves.) The land should be plowed very deep 

 in the fall, and early in the spring apply about 

 one hundred loads of well rotted manure to the 

 acres, spread even'y, and plowed in deeply, then 

 harrow until quite fine and free from lumps. 

 Next, plow the land info he'^s fon^ feet wide, 

 leaving alleys between, three feet wide, then har- 

 row the beds with a fine light harrow, or rake 

 them by h^nd so as to leave them smooth, and 

 even with the alleys ; they are then ready for 

 planting. 



Prepabing sets akd Plaktixg. — Madder sets, 

 or seed roots, are >est selected when the crop is 

 dug in the fall. The horizontal uppermost roots 

 (with eye.s) 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, be- 

 fore they begin to sprout. They should be cut 

 or broken into pieces, containing from two to 

 five eyes each ; i. e , three or four inches ong. 

 The time for p'anting is as early in spring as the 

 ground can be got in good order, and severe 

 frosts are over, which, in this climate, is usually 

 about the mid ile of April. With the beds pre- 

 pared as directed, stretch a line lengthwise the 

 bed, and with the comer of a hoe, make a drill 

 two inche* 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. 



Aftee Cult0ee — As soon as the madder plants 

 can be seen. the. ground should be carefully hoed, 

 so as to destroy the weeds and not injure the 

 plant ; and the hoeing and weeding must be re- 

 peated 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 roos and transplanting 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 upon the surface of the 

 ground, and all except the tip end, covered with 

 earth shoveled 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 plow 

 through the alleys several times to keep the earth 

 clean and mellow. As soon as the plants again 

 bee me ten or twelve inches high, bend down 

 and cover them up as before, repeating the ope- 

 ration as often as necessary, wi ich is commonly 

 three times the first season. The last tirue may 

 be as late as September, or later if no frosts oc- 



cur. 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 tull, there will be little 

 chance for weeds to grow ; but alhthat appear 

 must be pulled out. 



The Second Yeae.— Keep the beds free from 

 weeds; plow the alleys and cover the tops, as 

 before directed, twj or three times during the 

 season. The alleys will now form deep an.i nar- 

 row ditches, and if it is difficult to obtain good < arth 

 for covering the tops, the operation uiay be omit- 

 ted after the second time this season. Care should 

 be taken, when covering the tops, to keep the 

 edges of the beds as high as the middle ; other- 

 wise the water from the heavy showers will run 

 oflF, and the crop suflfer from drouth. 



The Thiet> Year. — Very little labor or atten- 

 tion 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 scASons 

 warm and favorable, the madder will be of good 

 quality ; but generally, it is much better in qual- 

 ity, 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 within half an 

 inch of the surface of the earth ; then take a 

 plow of the largest size, with a sharp coulter 

 and a double team, and plow a furrow outward, 

 beam deep, around the edge of the bed ; stir the 

 earth with forks, and careful'y p'ck out all the 

 roots, removing the earth from the bottom of the 

 furrow; then plow another furrow beam deep, as 

 before, and pick over and remove the earth in 

 the same manner ; thus proceeding until the 

 whole is completed. « 



Washing and Deying. — As soon as possible 

 after digging, take the roofs to some running 

 stream to be washed. If there is no running 

 stream convenient, it can be done at a pump. 

 Take large, round sieves, two and a half or three 

 feet in diameter, with the wire about as fine as 

 wheat sieves, or, if these cannot be had, get from 

 a hardware store suflBcient screen-wire of the 

 right fineness, and make frames or boxes about 

 two and a half feet long and the width of the 

 wire, on the bottom of which nail the wire. In 

 these sieves or boxes, put half a bushel of roots 

 at a time and stir thera about in the water, pull- 

 ing the bunches apart so as to wash them clean; 

 than, having a platform at hand, lay them on it 

 to dry. (To make the platform, take two or 

 three common boards, so as to be about four feet 

 in width, and nail cleets across the under side.) 

 On these spread the roots about two inches thick 

 for drying in the sun. Carry the plaff rms to a 

 convenient place, not far from the house, and 

 place them side by side, in rows east and west, 

 and with their ends north and south, leaving 



