Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/159

MAD oeen in a state of tillage for several years, and which is at least 24 or S feet deep, being perfectly clear from all v-Teds. It is necessary to plough the land thoroughly, before the commencement of winter, dur- ing which it should be laid in ridges, in order to melloio; and early in the ensuing spring, this valuable plant is propagated from slips, carefully taken from the old roots : these slips ought, according to the late celebrated Miller, to be set by the dibble, in rows at the distance of two or three feet from each other j though, in the opinion of Bfxhstein, they should be planted only six inches asunder. 7Vnd, as madder requires constant moisture, without which the young roots would shrivel and decay, it will be useful, before they are committed to the ground, to immerse them in a fluid paste made of the best garden mould and soft water. Besides, this tnms- plantation should be undertaken only in rainy weather, or v/hen there is reason to suppose that showers will speediiy follow. During the lirst summer, it will be sufficient to scuffle the plants v ith the Duiih hoe, as soon as the weeds appear : in the succeeding autumn, when the stalks or haulm begin to decay, they must be raked off the ground, and the interme- diate spaces carefuJiy dug with a spade, or turned up with a hoe- plough, the soil being laid over the roots or heads of the plants in a roundish ridge. In the ensuing summer, the same management must be repeated ; but, before the ground between the {slants is hoed, the haulm m.ust be laid over the next intermediate space for two or three weeks, at the expiration of wjiich it should be turned hack MAD [139 again on those intervals which have been ho: d ; care being taken to scuffle the soil, so that all weeds may be eradicated. In the follow- ing autumn, the haulm must be cleared, and the mould thrown up in ridges, similar to those of the iirst year. Early in the third spring, before the young sprouts appear, the ground should be well raked ; and, as soon as they are ready to be re- moved, they must be carefully t;iken off, at a distance from the crown of the parent plant. The culture of madder, during this sum- mer, varies little from that of the two preceding, tiie plant only being earthed up somewhat higher ; as it has now acquired more strength. As soon as the haulm begins to decay in autumn, the rqots must be taken up, carefully dried under an airy shed ; whence they should be conveyed as speedily as possible to a kiln ; and managed in a man- ner similar to that followed with malt or hops j because the beauty of the colour greatly depends on ti;e expedition with which it is pre- pared. From the kiln, the mad- der is conveyed to the pounding- house, where it is pidverized ^ in which state it is fit for use. Madder is employed in consi- derable quantities for dyeing a iine red colour, and likewise as a first tint for several other shades : — ^if wool be previously boiled in a so- lution of alum and tartar, and then immersed in a hot decodion of tar- tar only with this drug, it will ac- quire a very durable, though not beautiful red tinge. M. Makgraaff obtained from madder a permanent la/u- of a fine red colour, which iS aipicable to every purpose of painting. He dircds two ounces oi the puregt alum