PREPARATION OK WOA1J AT PARSON DROVE. 
147 
In the early spring the land intended for Woad cultivation is 
ploughed once or twice and well broken up ; the held is divided 
into stretches twelve feet wide, with a trench two feet wide between 
each stretch ; these stretches are very carefully harrowed so as to 
keep the land quite light, and the held is left until April or May, 
when the seed is sown. It takes about three bushels of seed to an 
acre, artificial manure being drilled in at the same time ; the 
greatest care is necessary throughout its earlier cultivation, as the 
young plants are very tender and easily bruise, but they quickly 
become quite hardy, and in a few weeks are ready to be pricked 
out into oven rows, less than a foot between each plant. In a 
short time the crop is weeded. This is dono entirely by hand ; the 
men lie down in the trenches and spud up the weeds, drawing 
them into the trench as they go on ; one man on each side can 
weed to the middle of the stretch without damaging the plants ; 
the field is weeded two or three times at intervals and always with 
the same care, a field of Woad in J uly being an extremely clean- 
looking crop. About the first week in August the leaves are ready 
for picking. Each one is gathered separately, as free from dirt 
as possible, .and placed in a willow skep ; these when full are 
taken straight to the mill and the leaves crushed immediately, as 
if left uncrushed they rapidly heat and become useless. There 
are usually two or three pickings of the leaves, and the crop is 
well weeded after each picking. The lower leaves being the first to 
mature, are naturally the first to be picked. It is usual not to tako 
the leaves from plants intended for seed, as they develop more fruit 
if left untouched. The first picking produces the best Woad. 
The mill is a round structure, very roughly built of sods placed 
diagonally in a herring-bone fashion to a height of four feet : this 
is lined inside with wood and surmounted by a roof of hurdles 
thatched with straw. The walls of the mill and couching shed are 
much thicker at the bottom than at the top, and both these build- 
ings at Parson Drove are practically identical with those used at a 
much earlier period. The floor of the mill is circular, about 
twenty-four feet in diameter, and paved with slabs of stone ; it is 
surrounded by a platform, three feet high and four feet broad. 
Attached to a central pillar are three poles, each of which forms 
the shaft to one of the crushers ; these crushers or rollers, which 
resemble paddle-boxes, and are made of wood heavily shod with 
