MADDER ROOT. 209 



in the history of Fustic, the name being applied to two dis- 

 tinctly different woods, leading to the assumption that they 

 are products of the same tree, but of different ages; 

 whereas one is tropical American, the other European, and 

 they belong to two distinct Natural Orders. In commercial 

 matters many such errors arise, and are fostered for long 

 periods. The remaining dye-stuffs consist of roots, leaves, 

 flowers, and even the entire plant of some species. 



Madder Eoot. Rubia tinctorum. (Nat. Ord. Galiaceae.) 

 (Plate XY. fig. 80.) 



Madden is one of the most important dyes known. There 

 are several distinct species used, but the European madder 

 is from Rubia tinctorum and probably R. peregrina. This 

 plant is extensively cultivated in Southern Europe and in 

 Holland. We receive very large quantities of the root 

 from Smyrna, Trieste, Leghorn, and other Mediterranean 

 ports, packed usually in square bales covered with cloth 

 made of horsehair, or partly wool and horsehair. We also 

 receive great quantities of a less valuable description from 

 Holland, which is generally if not always in powder, under 

 the name of ground madder, packed in very large casks. 



The dyeing qualities of the madder-plant were known 

 both to the Greeks and Romans. Dioscorides states that 



