ON THE CULTURE AND CURING OF MADDER.
BY MR. ARBUTHNOT.
Published by Order of the Rt. Hon. the Dublin Society.
Dublin.
PRINTED BY GRAISBERRY & CAMPBELL, 10, BACK-LANE. 1800.
THE Society desires it to be understood, that as a body, they are not responsible for any opinion or representation of facts contained in the following paper, and will be much obliged to any gentleman, farmer, or other person, that will be pleased to point out any error, or improvement in the several matters treated of, by letters addressed to their Acting Secretary, the Rev. Dr. LYSTER, Hawkins-street, Dublin.
ON THE CULTURE AND CURING OF MADDER.
BY MR. ARBUTHNOT.
IF it is required to establish a plantation of Madder, to which plants must be brought from a foreign country, they must be winter plants, which are pieces of the main root on which are many buds; these are to be had in the latter end of autumn or spring, when the crop is taken up. The best method is to pack them in sand, as the buds will shoot; the ground should be extremely rich, a sandy loom, and perfectly clean; furrows should be made about a foot asunder and about four inches deep; strew the pieces of root and any of the yellow shoots, that are broken off, just sufficiently to cover the bottom, and earth them. In the month of April there will appear numberless shoots, which should be kept very clean, and a little fine mould thrown over them to lengthen the stem, which are the spring plants; when the shoots are about six or eight inches above ground, they are fit to draw, but care must be taken to pull them up with as long a stem as possible, as that becomes the principal part of the crop; the earth must be loosened by an old trowel or any such like instrument to facilitate the drawing of the plants, but it must be done with care, as in a few days time there will be a fresh succession of plants like asparagus. The above are merely directions for the nursery, which may be dug up for crop when all the plants are obtained; for the repeated pulling will so weaken the roots, as to render them not worth standing for crop; for want of this precaution many people injure their crop by drawing plants from it, instead of planting a small patch as above described for a nursery. It must likewise be observed, that you will obtain the longest and best plants from the first year's growth, as the original plant or mother root is much deeper, than the crowns of the plants will be by earthing.
The land for the crop should be as for the nursery a rich mellow loam, either hazle, or black; it cannot be too rich, and must be perfectly clean; it must be ploughed as deep as the good soil will admit of the preceding year of planting. Soil, that will not admit of ploughing eighteen inches deep at least, is not fit for madder. It must be laid up in high four feet lands before winter, that it may be sufficiently dry for working in the spring; for unless the land is in exceeding good tilth when you plant, it is in vain to attempt it.
A, Fire place. B, Flue, full of holes to let out the heat. C, Hair cloth on laths, to hold the madder roots. D, The stove arched over, in which is the kiln 30 feet long.
The madder must be frequently turned, and will be dry enough for grinding in twenty four hours. The first time, that it goes under the stones, requires but a few minutes; it must be sifted and produces a very inferior species, which is the outward coat or rind. The remainder is returned to the stones, and is kept there till the eye tells you that the interior part begins to grind, which discovers itself by the paleness of the colour. If you require the best sort to be very fine, you continue this second grinding a little longer, in short till all the rind is pulled off; it must be then sifted, and the remainder put again under the stones and ground till fine enough for use. Each sort should be casked up separately, and kept in a dry place where no moisture can affect it; care should likewise be taken to press the madder well down in the casks.
There are various sorts of madder differing greatly from each other both in appearance, and value. The sort I prefer is the Turkey, being more vigorous, and of a darker green. It likewise produces abundance of seed, which the common sort does not; it puts out many vigorous and solid runners, whereas the runners of the common species are hollow, and produce none of the best part of the madder, which is contained in the woody part of the root.
My mills consisted of two vertical stones, that run on a bed stone, such as they use for grinding gunpowder, dye woods &c.
FINIS.