WELD. 



cafe, the colour is more flowly imbibed, and proves lefs 

 durable. 



With a view to economy, the wreaker (hades of colour 

 are dyed in the fame bath, after the ftronger are finifhed. 

 A golden yellow, more or lefs orange, is given by a weak 

 madder bath, after the welding. 



Silk is dyed of a golden-yellow, generally with weld 

 alone, accordiug to the following procefs : the ftuff is firft 

 boiled in foap-water, alumed and wafhed, then paffed twice 

 through a weld bath, in which, the fecond time, feme alkali 

 is diffolved, which gives a rich golden hue to the natural 

 yellow of the weld. The colour is further deepened by a 

 little annotto. The folutions of lime with weld give to filk 

 a bright clear yellow. In order to dye cotton yellow, 

 Berthollet diredts firft to cleanfe it with wood afhes and 

 water, to rinfe, alum, and dry without further rinfing, and 

 then to pafs it through a yellow bath, in which the weld is 

 fomewhat more than the weight of the cotton. When the 

 colour has iufficiently taken, the cotton is thrown into a 

 bath of fulphate of copper and water, and kept there for an 

 hour ; after which it is boiled with white foap-water, and, 

 laftly, wafhed and dried. In order to obtain a deeper 

 jonquil-yellow, the aluming is omitted, and, inftead of this 

 operation, a little verdigrife is added to the weld bath, and 

 the cotton finifhed with foda. 



Weld is particularly preferred to all other fubftances in 

 giving the lively green lemon-yellow. It is, however, ex- 

 penfive ; and it is alfo found to degrade and interfere with 

 madder colours more than other yellows. We may here 

 add, that the fine delicate yellow, obtained from weld, is 

 much ufed by the London paper-ftainers, and fold in the 

 form of hard lumps, confiding chiefly of chalk faturated with 

 the colouring matter. Meitrs. CoUard and Frafer have 

 given the following improved procefs : — Diffufe any quan- 

 tity of fine whiting in boiling water ; add to it one ounce of 

 alum for every pound of whiting, which will occafion a 

 brifk effervefcence, and ftir thefe materials well together till 

 the gas is wholly difengaged. On the other hand, boil in a 

 feparate veflel fome weld with water juft fufficient to cover 

 it, for fifteen minutes, filter the yellow deco£tion, and then 

 mix it with the whiting and alumine in fuch proportions, 

 that the earths may appear to be faturated with the colour- 

 ing matter. Then let the mixture remain a day at reft, and 

 at the bottom will be the precipitated earth firmly united 

 with the colour, and of a fine yellow tinge, which may be 

 conveniently dried on chalk-ftones. 



The weld yellow is a water colour, and is never mixed 

 with oil. 



Weld, in Agriculture, is a plant which is not unfre- 

 quently cultivated in the field by the farmer as a crop, for 

 the purpofe of giving and affording a briglit yellow and 

 lemon colour to woollens, filks, cotton, and thread, as well 

 as for its ufe in the manufafture of check and fuftian, and 

 in fome other intentions. It is for the flower-ftems that 

 it is principally grown, as being ufeful in the procefs of 

 dyeing thefe feveral articles. It is often known by the 

 names of laoold and dyer's tveed. 



It may be noticed, that in the growth and culture of this 

 plant, the foils moft fuicable are thofe of the fertile mellow 

 kinds, whether of the loamy, fandy, or gravelly forts ; but 

 it may be grown with fuccefs on fuch as are of a poorer 

 quality ; but in the former, the plants will rife to a much 

 greater height, and produce much larger leaves and fteras, 

 than in the latter defcription of lands. 



It has, however, been ftated, that the foil moft fuitable 

 to it, in EfFex, is the ftrong ftifF loam moderately moift. 



but not wet. A foil rather moift, but mellow, feems the 

 moil fuitable and proper for it. 



It is neceffary, in the preparation of the ground, that 

 there (hould be a tolerable degree of finenefs produced in 

 the mould of the foil, which may be effeaed by repeated 

 ploughings given in the more early fpring months, and fuit- 

 able harrowings. The furface of the land in the feed furrow 

 fhould be left as level as poflible, that the feed may be dif- 

 perfed more evenly over it, and with greater regularity and 

 exaftnefs. 



In this, as in many or indeed moft other cafes, the feed 

 fhould be collefted from the beft plants, and thofe which 

 have remained upon the ftems till rendered perfeftly ripe ; 

 as fuch only vegetates perfeftly, and the plants in fuch cafes 

 fhould not be left ftand too long, as the feed is liable to fhed. 

 It fhould be perfeftly frefh when ufed, as old feed never 

 comes up well, or in fo regular a manner. 



In regard to the proportion of feed which is neceffary, it 

 is commonly from about two quarts to a gallon the acre, 

 according to circumftances, when fown alone : but when 

 mixed with other crops, a little more may be required, 

 which (hould be blended with a little fand, or fome other 

 fuch material, at the time of fowing it on the land, as ren- 

 dering it capable of being fown more evenly. 



It may be obferved in refpeft to the time of fowing, that 

 this fort of crop may be put into the ground either in the 

 fpring, as about the latter end of April or beginning of 

 May ; or in the latter end of fummer, as the beginning of 

 Auguft ; being moftly fown in conjunftion with other crops 

 in the firft period ; but when fown alone at the latter feafon, 

 the produce is in general tlie beft and moft full. Some of 

 the writers in the Effex Report on Agriculture fpeak of the 

 culture of this fort of crop as fimply that of tranfplanting 

 from the feed-beds about Midfummer. The feed, in thefe 

 cafes, is fown in the beds in the early fpring, for raifing 

 the plants. In the county of Norfolk, it is faid, that they 

 fow it in the month of April with barley, in the proportion 

 of from a quarter to half a peck to the acre, in the manner 

 of clover, and frequently with clover at the fame time, to 

 be mown or fed in the following year, after the weld is. 

 pulled. 



It is moftly fown broad-caft, whether grown in mixture 

 with other plants or alone ; and as the feeds are of a very 

 fmall fize, it requires an expert feedfman to perform the 

 bufinefs with regularity and exaftnefs, which is a matter of 

 much importance to the fuccefs of the crop, as, where the 

 plants ftand too clofely together, much unneceffary trouble 

 and expence muft be incurred in the thinning them out by 

 the hoe afterwards ; and where they ftand too thinly upon 

 the ground, there muft be a great lofs from the deficiency 

 of plants. That the fowing may be executed with more 

 regularity, it is the cuftom with fome to blend other fub- 

 ftances, fuch as the above, with the feed that has nearly the 

 fame weight, as by this means they fuppofe it may be 

 effefted with greater exaClnefs, facility, and readinefs. 



It is ifated that weld, when grown with other forts of 

 crops, fuch as barley, buck-wheat, beans, peas, clover, or 

 grafs-feeds, is ufually put in after them ; in fome cafes im- 

 mediately, but in others not till fome time has elapfed.. 

 With the firft and fecond forts, when fown fo late as the 

 beginning of May, it is moftly the praftice to fow it direftly 

 afterwards, giving the land a flight harrowing with a very 

 light clofe-tined harrow to cover it in. The barley being 

 fown under furrow, the weld-feed with fome is immediately 

 fown over the furface, and lightly harrowed in, and then 

 rolled. Where the barley feeding is performed fo early as 



Marchj 



