A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND MINES. M. MACARONI is a dough of fine wheat flour, made into a tubular or pipe form, of the thickness of goose-quills, which was first prepared in Italy, and introduced into commerce under the name of Italian or Genoese paste. The wheat for this purpose must be ground into a coarse flour, called gruau or semoule, by the French, by means of a pair of light mill-stones, placed at a somewhat greater distance than usual. This semoule is the substance employed for making the dough. For the mode of manufac turing it into pipes, see VERMICELLI. MACE is a somewhat thick, tough, unctuous membrane, reticulated, and of a yellowish brown or orange colour. It forms the envelope of the shell of the fruit of the Myristica moschata, the nutmeg. It is dried in the sun, after being dipped in brine; sometimes it is sprinkled over with a little brine, before packing, to prevent the risk of moulding. Mace has a more agreeable flavour than nutmeg, with a warm and pungent taste. It contains two kinds of oil; the one of which is unctuous, bland, and of the consistence of butter; the other is volatile, aromatic, and thinner. Mace is used as a condiment in cookery, and the aromatic oil occasionally in medicine. See NUTMEG. MACLE is the name given to certain spots in minerals, of a deeper hue than the main substance, and differing from it. Clay-slates may be macled with Iron Pyrites; -or it may be that the macle spots are some peculiar form of the same mineral matter supposed to proceed from some disturbance of the particles in the act of crystallisation. MACLES are twin crystals which are united, or which interpenetrate. MADDER (Gurance, Fr.; Krapp, Färberröthe, Germ.), a substance very extensively used in dyeing, is the root of the Rubia tinctorum, Linn. It is employed for the production of a variety of colours, such as red, pink, purple, black, and chocolate. The Erythrodanum or Ereuthodanum of the Greeks, of which Pliny says that it was named Rubia in Latin, and that its roots were used for dyeing wool and leather red, was probably identical with the Rubia tinctorum, since the description of its appearance and uses given by ancient authors can hardly apply to any other plant. It was cultivated in Galilee, Caria, and near Ravenna in Italy, where it was planted either among the olive trees or in fields destined for that purpose. Another species of rubia, viz. the R. manjista, grows in the mountainous regions of Hindostan, and the roots of this and an allied plant, the Oldenlandia umbellata, called by the natives chaya, have been in use in that country since the most remote period, for the purpose of producing the red and chocolate figures seen in the chintz calicoes of the East Indies. (See CALICO-PRINTING.) The peculiar process by which the colour called Turkey red is imparted to cotton, was probably invented originally in India, but the dyeing material generally employed in this process was not madder, but the chaya root. From India the art of dyeing this colour seems to have been carried to Persia, Armenia, Syria, and Greece; where it was practised for many centuries before it became known in the western part of Europe. In those countries, however, the root of the Rubia peregrina, called in the Levant Alizari, was the material to which dyers had recourse for this purpose, and large quantities of it are at the present day imported into Europe from Smyrna, under the name of Turkey roots. In the middle VOL III B ages, according to Beckmann, madder went by the name of Varantia or Verantia. The cultivation of madder was introduced into the province of Zealand, in Holland, in the reign of the Emperor Charles V., who encouraged it by particular privileges conferred on the inhabitants for the pu' pose. According to Macquer, however, it was to the Flemish refugees that the Dutch were first indebted for their knowledge of the method of preparing the plant. It is still grown very extensively in that part of Holland, and large quantities are annually exported thence into other countries. Until very recently indeed, the dyers of this country derived almost the whole of their supply of madder from Holland, and it was the discovery that Dutch madder was incapable of producing some of the finer colours more recently introduced, that first led to its being to some extent supplanted by madder grown in other countries. In the district of Avignon, in France, the cultivation of the plant commenced about the year 1666, under Colbert, but it was chiefly by the efforts of the Secretary of State, Bertin, towards the close of the last century, that it became firmly established there. The French dyers and printers are supplied with madder from Avignon and Alsace, and large quantities are also exported from France into England and other countries. Madder is also grown for the use of dyers in Silesia, Naples, and Spain. It was formerly more extensively cultivated in England than it is now, when it can be imported at a less expense than it can be raised. The Rubia peregrina grows wild in the south of England, but is not applied to any useful purpose. The The Rubia tinctorum is one of the least conspicuous and ornamental of our cultivated plants. In external appearance it bears great resemblance to the ordinary bed-straws or Galiums, with which it is also botanically allied. Some species of galium seem also to contain a red colouring matter, and one of them, the G. verum, is used in the Hebrides for dyeing. The R. tinctorum belongs to the class Tetrandria, order Monogynia, of the Linnæan, and the order Rubiacea, of the Natural system. It is a perennial plant, but has an herbaceous stem, which dies down every year. main part of the root, which extends perpendicularly downwards to a considerable depth, is cylindrical, fleshy, tolerably smooth, and of a pale carrot colour. On cutting it across transversely, it is found to consist externally of a thin cortical layer, or epidermis, to which succeeds a thick, spongy mass of cellular tissue, filled with a yellow juice, and in the centre runs a thin tough string of woody fibre, of a rather paler yellow colour than the enveloping cellular tissue, which may easily be peeled off. The root when freshly cut has a yellow colour, but speedily acquires a reddish tinge on exposure to the air. Many side roots issue from the upper part or head of the parent root, and they extend just beneath the surface of the ground to a considerable distance. It in consequence propagates itself very rapidly, for these numerous side roots send forth many shoots, which, if carefully separated in the spring, soon after they are above ground, become so many plants. From the roots spring forth numerous square-jointed stalks, which creep along the ground to the length of from 5 to 8 feet. Round each joint are placed in a whorl from 4 to 6 lance-shaped leaves, about 3 inches in length, and almost an inch wide at the broadest part. The upper surface of the leaves is smooth, but their margin and keel, as well as the four angles of the stem, are armed with reflexed prickles, so as to cause the plant to adhere to any rough object with which it comes in contact. The flowers, which are yellow, are arranged in compound panicles, which rise in pairs opposite to each other from the axils of the leaves. The calyx is very small. The corolla is small, campanulate, and 5-cleft. The flower contains 4 stamens, and 1 style. The fruit or berry is at first red, but afterwards becomes black. It consists of two lobes, each of which contains a seed. The Rubia tinctorum thrives best in a warm climate, and if grown in the north of Europe a warm sheltered situation should be chosen. A deep, dry soil, containing an abundance of humus, is best adapted for its cultivation. A rich loam, in which there is a large proportion of sand and but little clay, is preferable to the stiffer soils. As the plant requires to be left in the ground several years, it is not one which can be adapted to any system of rotation of crops, and its cultivation must be carried on independently. Land which has lain for a considerable time in grass is preferred to any other for the purpose. At all events it is well-not to allow it to follow on root crops. The finest qualities of madder grow in calcareous soils. In the district called Palud, which produces the best quality of French madder, the soil contains about 90 per cent. of carbonate of lime, and is moreover capable of yielding several successive crops of the plant; whereas the land which grows the second quality called rosée is richer, but less calcareous, and can only be made to grow madder alternately with other crops. The land must be well dug up with the spade about the beginning of autumn, and before winter. The manure used must be well rotten, and mixed with earth in a compost some time before it is used. Good stable-dung, which has heated to a certain degree and been turned over two or three times before it is mixed with earth, is the best. The dung should be put in layers with the earth, and if the whole can be well watered with urine or the drainings of the yard, and then mixed up by the spade, the compost will be much superior to fresh dung alone. The manure having been dug or ploughed in, the land is left over winter, and in spring it is turned over again, in order to destroy all weeds, and make the soil uniform to the depth of two feet at least. After having been harrowed flat it is ready for planting. Madder is generally grown from suckers or shoots, rarely from seeds. The shoots are prepared by cutting in the previous autumn, from the secondary roots of old plants, pieces at least 5 inches long and of the thickness of a quill, each length containing several joints for the development of buds, and preserving them through the winter in a dry place by covering them over with litter or leaves. Before planting, the land is in some districts laid in beds, about 3 feet wide, with deep intervals dug out with the spade, and the layers are set by means of a dibble or narrow trowel in rows, each bed containing two rows about 16 inches apart, and the layers being at a distance of 4 to 6 inches from each other. In other districts, furrows about 3 or 4 inches deep and 1 or 2 feet apart are made, and in these furrows the suckers are placed at a distance of 1 foot from one another, and the furrows are then filled up with soil by means of a rake. Should the weather be dry, the plants must be watered. A watering with diluted urine after sunset greatly assists their taking root. After 3 or 4 weeks they appear above the ground. When they have grown to the length of a finger they must be well weeded and earthed up with the hoe, and this process must be repeated 4 or 6 weeks later, taking care that the roots be well covered with earth, which very much promotes their growth. The stems and leaves should not be cut off, but allowed to die down, as winter approaches. Where the winter cold is very great the roots should in the course of November be covered up with earth to the depth of 2 or 3 inches, and an additional covering of litter is also advisable as a protection from the frost. Water must on no account be allowed to stand in the furrows between the rows during the winter. In spring the covering is removed, and the plant then sends up fresh stalks and leaves as in the first year. The same attention must be paid to weeding and earthing up during the second as the first year. A second winter and a third summer must clapse before the root is sufficiently mature to be taken up. The object of allowing the roots to remain for such a length of time in the ground seems to be to give time for the interior or woody part of the root to increase, for this part, though it is no richer in colouring matter than the outer or fleshy part of the root, yields a product of finer quality. In France, however, it is usual to gather the crop in 18 months after planting, that is, in the autumn of the second year. In Germany the roots are sometimes even taken up at the end of the first year, and it is to the product thus obtained that the special name of Röthe is applied, the term Krapp being restricted to that which has been in the ground the usual length of time. The root is the only part of the plant generally used. The East Indian product called munjeet seems, however, to consist entirely of the stalks of the madder plant. It is much inferior in quality to ordinary madder, and is comparatively poor in colouring matter. The time usually selected for taking up the roots is October or November. In doing so care must be taken to break and injure them as little as possible. The quantity of fresh roots obtained in France from one arpent of ground (of 48,000 square French feet) varies from four to six thousand pounds. In England an acre of ground will yield from 10 to 20 cwt., and in the south of Germany the produce of 1 morgen of land (equal to about 4075 square yards) amounts to 50 cwt. of dry roots. In warm climates the roots, as soon as they are taken out of the ground, are simply dried in the sun, and after having been separated from the earth &c., are broken into pieces and then brought to market. This kind of madder is called in the East Alizari, and in England Madder roots. It consists of short twisted pieces, a little thicker than a quill, reddish-brown, and rather rough externally. A transverse section of one of these pieces exhibits in the centre several concentric layers of pale yellowish-red woody fibre, surrounded by a thin reddish-brown layer of cellular tissue, the original volume of which has been much reduced by drying. Madder is also imported in this state from France, Naples, and Bombay. In France and Holland the cultivator generally dries his roots, after shaking out the earth as much as possible, partially in stoves. He then takes them to the threshing-floor, and threshes them with the flail, partly for the purpose of separating the small radicles and epidermis of the root, and partly in order to divide the latter into pieces about 7 or 8 centimetres in length. They are then sieved or winnowed, in order to remove what has been detached by threshing. The particles which are separated in this process are ground by themselves, and constitute an inferior kind of madder called Mull. The remainder is then handed over to the madder manufacturer, who proceeds to dry it completely in stoves heated to about 100° F., by means of furnaces so constructed as to allow an occasional current of fresh air to pass through. It is afterwards taken to a large sieve with different compartments, moved by machinery. The compartment with the narrowest meshes serves to separate the portion of epidermis, earthy particles, and other refuse matter which had been left adhering to the roots after the threshing. The compartments with wider meshes are for the purpose of separating the smaller roots from the larger ones, the latter being considered the best. In France this operation is called robage. The roots are then subjected to the process of grinding, by means of vertical millstones, and afterwards passed through sieves of different sizes, until they are reduced to a state of fine powder. When the larger and better roots are ground by themselves, the madder is called in France garance robée fine, or garance surfine, and it is marked with the letters 8 F. The smaller roots yield an inferior madder, which is called garance non robée, or mifine, and is marked M F. When the different kinds of roots are not separated from one another, but all ground together, the product is called garance petite robée, moins robée, or fine, and is marked FF. By far the greater portion of the madder consumed in France consists of this quality, since it is found to be perfectly well adapted for all the purposes to which madder is usually applied. The letter o is applied to the lowest quality of madder or mull, which is obtained by grinding the epidermis and other portions of the root which are detached after the first stoving, and during the process called robage. The qualities C F and CFO consist of mixtures of M F and o. There is also another quality which receives the designation s F F, and which is obtained by grinding separately the internal ligneous part of the root, previously deprived of the outer or cortical portion. This quality is employed for dyeing fine colours on wool and silk, as well as for the preparation of madder lakes. Other marks, such as S F F F, E X 8 F F F, &c., are also occasionally employed by French manufacturers and dealers, to distinguish particular qualities. In Holland the product obtained by grinding together the whole roots, after the separation of the mull, is called onber, whilst the term crop is applied to the internal part of the root ground separately. The Levant madder, usually called Turkey roots, is considered to be the finest quality imported into this country. It comes to us from Smyrna, and consists of the whole roots broken into small pieces and packed in bales. It is ground as it is without any attempt being made to separate the different portions of the root; and has then the appearance of a coarse dark reddish-brown powder. It is employed chiefly for the purpose of dyeing the finer purples on calico. Next to this comes the madder of Avignon, of which two varieties are distinguished in commerce, viz. Paluds and rosée. The first, which is the finest, owes its name to the district in which it is grown, consisting of a small tract of reclaimed marsh land in the neighbourhood of Avignon. Avignon madder is considered to be the best adapted for dyeing pink. It has the appearance, as imported into this country, of a fine, pale yellowish-brown or reddish-brown powder. The paler colour, as compared with that of ground roots, is owing to the partial separation of the external or cellular portion of the root during the process of grinding, as practised in France. The madders of Alsace, Holland and Naples, are richer in colouring matter than the two preceding kinds, but they yield less permanent dyes, and are therefore only employed for colours which require little treatment with soap, and other purifying agents after dyeing. Of late years, indeed, the employment of garancine, a preparation of madder, in the place of these lower descriptions, has become very general. All kinds of madder have a peculiar, indescribable smell, and a taste between bitter and sweet. Their colour varies extremely, being sometimes yellow, sometimes orange, red, reddish-brown, or brown, They are all more or less hygroscopic, so that even when closely packed in casks in a state of powder, they slowly attract moisture, increase in weight, and at length lose their pulverulent condition, and form a firm, coherent mass. This change takes place to a greater extent with Alsace and Dutch madders, than with those of Avignon. Madder, which has undergone this change is called by the French garance grappée. It is probable that some process of fermentation goes on at the same time, for madder that is kept in casks in a dry place, and as much out of contact with the air as possible, is found constantly to improve in quality for a certain length of time, after which it again deteriorates. Some kinds of madder, especially those of Alsace and Holland, when mixed with water and left to stand a short time, give a thick coagulum or jelly, which does not take place to the same degree with Avignon madder, The madder of Avignon contains so much carbonate of lime as to effervesce with acids. The herbaceous parts of the plant, when given as fodder to cattle, are found to communicate a red colour to their bones, a circumstance which was first observed about a hundred years ago, and has been employed by physiologists to determine the manner and rate of growth of bone. There exists no certain means of accurately ascertaining the intrinsic value of any sample of madder, except that of dyeing a certain quantity of mordanted calico with |
