aised as a soiling crop, but the coloring matter is of so penetrating
and subtile a character, that the flesh, milk, and even the bones of
animals fed upon it are said to be tinged to a considerable degree
with it. The soils best adapted, and which should be selected for its
cultivation, are dry, fertile, and deep sandy loams; the roots are
long and fibrous, and descend to a depth of from two to three feet. It
may be propagated by seed, which, by some, is thought the best
method, but the more usual mode is by the division of, and
transplanting, the roots. The ground should be thoroughly and deeply
pulverised, clean, and well-manured for the preceding crop, that the
manure may be thoroughly rotted and incorporated with the soil: in
April or May the suckers will be fit for taking from the older
plantations--those of two or three years producing the best. The sets
should have roots four or five inches long. Mark out rows two feet
apart, with a line, and set the plant with a dibble, one foot apart in
the rows. The roots should be dipped in a puddle of fine rich earth
and water, beaten to the consistence of cream, previous to planting;
let the crown of the plant be clearly over ground, and secure the
earth well around the root, to keep out drought. The plantation
requires nothing more but to be kept perfectly clean and well-hoed
during the summer months; and after the top decays in the autumn, to
be earthed up by the plough for the winter, each year, till the plants
are three years old, when they are of the proper size and age for
lifting, which must be done by trenching the land two feet
deep--several hands accompanying the digger to pick out the roots,
which must be thoroughly cleaned and dried on a kiln till they are so
brittle as to break across, when they are fit to be packed in bags,
and sold to the dye-stuff manufacturers who grind and reduce them to
powder for use. The produce is variable; usually from eight to twenty
cwt. per acre, but as much as 3,000 to 6,000 lbs. is frequently
obtained. The forage amounts to about 15,000 lbs. the first year, and
7,500 lbs. the second year. In a new and good soil manure may be
dispensed with for the first crop. Some cultivators interline and grow
other crops between the rows, but the best cultivators state that such
a practice is objectionable. The breadth of land under this crop in
England is much reduced, in consequence of the reduction in price from
the competition of the Dutch