372 



MADDER. 



Madder is only cultivated in the south of France. The production 

 was divided among the following departments in 1871 : 



Cwts. 



Vaucluse '. .. .. .. 177,009 



Bouches du Ehone 41,720 



Drome .. 19,992 



Gard 18,343 



Ardeche 6,524 



According to the official statistics of France, the madder crop in 

 1871 covered an area of 11,659 hectares (29,14:7 acres). The average 

 yield was 22-61 cwts. per hectare. The total production, 263,588 cwt., 

 valued at over 665,000/. 



The foreign demand for French madder is diminishing consider- 

 ably, but for reds and rose tints madder is still preferred to the 

 artificial alizarine for violets ; however, the latter produces, much 

 more economically, shades fully as rich as those obtained from the 

 plant. 



The madder preparation, known as garancine, which is largely im- 

 ported from the South of France, is formed by moistening the ground 

 root with sulphuric acid, and afterwards subjecting the same to boil- 

 ing heat by means of steam. By this process the colouring principle 

 is altered and improved, and a large proportion of it rendered soluble 

 in water. 



Madder is largely cultivated in Holland. The annual yield of 

 roots in Zealand is 14,500,000 lbs. It is in the islands of Schowen 

 and Duiveland, and in the zone of land comprised between the 

 mouths of the West Escouit and the confines of Belgium, that they 

 cultivate the best roots, and those most in esteem for their colouring 

 matter. The average yield per hectare is, for the bi-annual plant, 

 2000 to 3000 kilogrammes; for the triennial, 3500 to 6000 kilo- 

 grammes. Seventy-eight machines worked by steam pulverize the 

 madder, or dry and beat the roots in Zealand. In 1863 there was 

 delivered 11,000 casks of 500 or 600 kilogrammes each, of pulverized 

 madder, and 1,500,000 kilogrammes of roots. 



In Bussia madder grows wild in the south of the country of the 

 Don Cossacks, and in the provinces of the Caucasus. The principal 

 centre where it is cultivated is Kouban, in the Bakou Government, and 

 in the neighbourhood of Derbend, the average production of late 

 years has been from 200,000 to 300,000 pouds (of 36 lbs.) per annum. 

 It constitutes a very important branch of commerce in the Caucasus, 

 and the roots sell at 7 to 8 roubles the poud. It is exclusively 

 employed in the native factories of the interior of Eussia. The 

 rapid extension of the aniline colours has, however, had a damaging 

 effect on the native production. Although madder is cultivated on 

 a large scale in the interior of Russia, the importation from Central 

 Asia is continually increasing, and taking the place of cochineal. 

 After the madder of Astrakan, Derbend, and of the Trans Caucasus 

 (known as Persian), the best is that of Kohkand; next comes that 

 of Bokhara, and lastly, that of Khiva. 



In 1871, 3541 cwt. of madder roots, valued at 7082Z., were shipped 



