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the plants to fupport their fhoots would be much too 
great to be pradiied in general ; therefore the other 
method of turning the haulm over from one interval 
to the other will be found of great ufe, for hereby it 
is kept from decaying, and by fo doing the fun is al- 
ternately admitted to each fide of the roots, which is 
of more confequence to the growth of the Madder 
than moil people conceive ; and from many repeated 
trials I have found, that where the haulm has decayed 
or rotted in fummer, it has greatly retarded the 
growth of the roots. There have been fome igno- 
rant pretenders who have advifed the cutting off the 
haulm in fummer, in order to ftrengthen the roots ; 
but whoever praftifes this, will find to their coft the 
abfurdity of this method ; for I have fully tried this 
many years ago, and have always found that every 
other root, upon which this was praftifed, was at leaft 
a third part fmaller than the intermediate roots, whole 
haulm was left entire. The firft occafion of my making 
this experiment was, becaufe the plants had been fet 
too near each other, and the feafon proving moift had 
increafed the number and ftrength of the fhoots, fo 
that they were fo thick, as that many of them began 
to rot ; to prevent which, I cut off the fhoots of every 
other plant to give room for fpreading the others 
thinner, but loon after this was done, the plants pro- 
duced a greater number of fhoots than before, but 
they were weaker, and the effeCt it had upon the roots 
was as before related ; fince which time I have fre- 
quently repeated the experiment on a few roots, and 
have always found the effeCt the fame. 
As foon as the haulm of the Madder begins to decay 
in autumn, the roots may be taken up for ufe, be- 
caufe then the roots have done growing for that fea- 
fon, and will then be plumper and lefs liable to fhrink 
than if they are dug up at another feafon •, for I have 
always found, that roots of every kind of plant, 
which are taken out of the ground during the time of 
their growing, are very apt to fhrink, and lofe more 
than half their weight in a fhort time ; whereas, when 
they are taken up foon after their leaves decay, they 
will not foon after fhrink much. 
When the feafon for digging up the Madder root is 
come, it fhould be done in the following manner, viz. 
a deep trench fhould be dug out at one fide of the 
ground next to the firft row of Madder to make a fuf- 
ficient opening to receive the earth, which muft be 
laid therein in digging up the row of roots, fo that 
it fhould be at leaft two feet broad, and two fpits and 
two fhovellings deep, and fhould be made as clofe as 
poffible to the roots, being careful not to break or cut 
the roots in doing it •, then the row of roots muft be 
carefully dug up, turning the earth into the trench 
before-mentioned. In the doing of this there fhould 
be to every perfon who digs, two or three perfons to 
take out the roots, that none may be loft, and as 
much of the earth fhould be fhaken out of the 
roots as poffible ; and after the principal roots are 
taken up, there will be many of the long fibres re- 
maining below •, therefore, in order to get the roots 
as clean as poffible* the whole fpot of grouud fhould 
be dug of the fame depth as the firft trench, and the 
pickers muft follow the diggers to get them all out to 
the bottom. As the digging of the land to this 
depth is neceffary, in order to take up the roots 
with as little lofs as poffible, it is a fine preparation 
for any fucceeding crop •, and I have always found , 
that the ground where Madder has grown, produced 
better crops of all kinds than land of equal goodnefs, 
which had not the like culture. 
After the roots are taken up, the fooner they are car- 
ried to the place of drying, the finer will be their co- 
lour •, for if they lie in heaps, they are apt to heat, 
which will difcolour them ; or if rain fhould hap- 
pen to wet them much, it will have the fame effedt, 
therefore no more roots fhould be taken up than can 
be carried under fhelter the fame day. 
The firft place, in which the roots fhould be laid to 
dry, muft be open on the fides to admit the air, but 
covered on the top to keep out the wet. If a build- 
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ing is to be ereCted new, fuch as the tanners have for 
drying their fkins will be as proper as any, for thefe 
have weather-boards from top to bottom at equal 
diftances to keep out the driving rain, but the fpaces 
between being open admit the air freely and if, in-*-- 
ftead of plank floors or ftages above each other, they 
are laid with hurdles or bafket-work . upon which the 
roots are laid to dry, the air will have freer paflkge 
to the under fide of the roots, which will dry them 
more equally. 
In this place they may remain four or five days, by 
which time the earth which adhered to the roots will 
be fo dry as to eafily rub off, which fhould be done 
before the roots are removed to the cold ftove, for 
the flower the roots are dried, the Ids they will 
fhrink, and the better will be the colour of the Mad- 
der •, and the cleaner the toots are from earth, the 
better the commodity will be for ufe when prepared. 
After the roots have laid a fufficient time in this place, 
they fhould be removed into another building called 
the old ftove, in which there fhould be conveniencies 
of flues palling through different parts of the floor 
and the fide-walk ; in this the roots fhould be laid 
thin upon the floors, and turned from time to time 
as they dry, taking thofe roots away, which are neareft 
to the flues which convey the greateft heat, placing 
them in a cooler part of the room, and removing 
fuch of them as had been in that fituation to the 
warmer, from whence the other are taken. The con- 
ftant care in this particular will be of great fervice &o 
the quality of the Madder ; for when this is properly 
conducted, the roots will be more equally dried, and 
the commodity, when manufactured, will be much 
fairer and better for ufe. 
When the outfide of the roots have been fufficiently 
dried in this cold ftove, they fhould be removed to 
the threfhing floor, which may be the fame as in a 
common barn where Corn is threlhed. The floor of 
this fhoufd be fwept, and made as clean as poffible ; 
then the roots fhould be threfhed to beat off their 
fkins or outfide coverings ; this is the part which is 
prepared feparately from the inner part of the root, 
and is called mull, which is fold at a very low price, 
being the worft fort of Madder, fo cannot be ufed 
where the permanency or beauty of the colours are re- 
garded j thefe hulks are feparated from the roots, and 
pounded by themfelves, which are afterward packed 
up in feparate cafks, and fold by the title of mull. If 
this is well prepared, and not mixed with dirt, it may 
be fold for about fifteen fhillings per hundred weight, 
at the price which Madder now bears •, and this, as 
is fuppofed, will defray the whole expence of drying 
the crop. 
After the mull is feparated from the roots, they muft 
be removed to the warmer ftove, where they muft be 
dried with care ; for if the heat is too great, the roots, 
will dry too faft, whereby they will lofe much in 
weight, and the colour of the Madder will not be 
near fo bright ; to avoid which, the roots fhould be 
frequently turned, while they remain in this ftove, 
and the fires muft be properly regulated. If fome 
trials are made by fixing a good thermometer in the 
room, the neceffary heat may be better afcertained 
than can be done any other way ; but this will require 
to be greater at fome times than at others, according 
as the roots are more or lefs lucculent, or the wea-* 
ther more or lefs cold or damp •, but it will always 
be better to have the heat rather lefs than over hot; 
for, though the roots may require a longer time to 
dry with a flow heat, yet the colour will be better. 
When the roots are properly dried in this ftove, they 
muft be carried to the pounding-houfe, where they 
muft be reduced to powder in the manner before re- 
lated ; but whether it is neceffary to feparate the kraps 
from the gemeens, as is now praCtifed by the Dutch, 
the confumers of Madder will be better judges than 
myfelf. 
There has been fome objections of late mentioned fio 
the introducing, or rather retrieving the culture of 
Madder in England, which it may be proper byre to 
u P * take 
^40 
