421 
• „ 
But in 1582 he says, “ thus was Wo ad brought in, and came to good per- 
fection, to the great loss of the French, our old enemies.” * 
Wo ad is cured by throwing it into a mill, constructed with a heavy iron 
ribbed roller, something like that which is used for bruising bark and other 
substances: by this process it is cut and bruised to a pulp. It is then laid 
in small heaps, pressed close and smooth; and as the crust formed on the 
outside cracks, it is closed again to preserve the strength of the substance. 
After laying about a fortnight in this state, the heaps are broken up: the 
outside worked into a mass, and the whole formed by the hand, and some¬ 
times by wooden moulds, into oval balls; which are then dried on hurdles 
under a shed exposed to the sun. They turn black, or of a dark brown on 
the outside, when well manufactured; and are valued in proportion to their 
specific weight, and when of a purplish cast in the inside. 
Woad which is propagated for use, is sown upon fresh land which is in 
good heart, for which the cultivators of Woad pay a large rent; they gene¬ 
rally choose to have their land situated near great towns, where there is 
plenty of dressing, but they never stay long on the same spot, for the best 
ground will not admit of being sown with W oad more than twice; for if it 
is oftener repeated, the crop seldom pays the charges of culture, 8rc. 
Those who cultivate this commodity, have gangs of people who have 
been bred to this employment, so that whole families travel about from place 
to place, wherever their principal fixes on land for the purpose; but these 
people go on in one track, just as their predecessors taught them; nor have 
their principals deviated much from the practice of their ancestors, so that 
there is a large field for improvement, if any of the cultivators of Woad were 
persons of genius, and could be prevailed on to introduce the garden cul¬ 
ture so far as it may be adapted to this plant; this I know from experience, 
having made numbers of trials in the culture of this plant, therefore I shall 
insert them here for the benefit of those who may have ingenuity enough 
to strike out of the old beaten track. 
As the goodness of Woad consists in the size and fatness of the leaves, 
the only method to obtain this, is to sow the seed upon ground at a proper 
season, and allow the plants proper room to grow, as also to keep them 
clean from weeds; which, if permitted to grow, will rob the plants of their 
* Voy. 2. l6l. edit. 1 599 . 
