MADDER, Rubia, a genus of plants of the natural order rubiacem, very nearly allied to the genus galium or bed-straw (q.v.), and differing from it chiefly in having a juicy fruit resembling two small berries growing together. The species are found in the tropical and warmer temperate parts, both of the old and new worlds, and are import, ant for the coloring matter of their roots. The tnost important is the COMMON MADDER or DvER's MADDEu (R. tinclorum), a native, probably, of the s. of Europe as well as of Asia; and now very extensively* cultivated in most European countries, and elso in the East Indies, China, etc. It is a perennial, with weak stems and whorls of 4-6 elliptic or lanceolate glossy leaves, the stem and leaves rough with sharp prickles; small green ish-yellow, flowers, and black fruit. Munjeet (q.v.), or INDIAN MADDER (R. munjista or rordifolia), ranks next to it in importance. The roots of R. peregrina and R. lucida are also used in some parts of the Levant. B. peregrina is found in the s.w. of England, and is called WILD MADDER. It is very similar to B. tinctorwm. The roots of R. rellrun and R. Chilensis are used in Chili and Peru.
There is no material of greater importance to dyers than madder (R. tinctorum), not only from the great beauty of the colors obtainable from it, but also from the ease with which it can be worked, and the great variety of its applications. Although the madder plant thrives best in warm climates, it may be, and is successfully cultivated in northern districts. The Dutch province of Zeeland has long been celebrated for the large.erops of madder produced there; and until about 40 years since, our dyers rarely used any other than Dutch madder, which was always sent ground and packed in large casks; but with the improvements in dyeing, it was discovered that the roots grown in warmer localities possessed not only much superior qualities, but could be made to produce other and more beautiful shades of color. Besides a genial temperature, madder requires a rich, deep soil and careful cultivation. It is usually propagated by cuttings or by shoots from the stocks of old plants; these are set about a foot apart, and in rows, 3 ft. from
each other; the planting takes place in spring; and sometimes the roots are lifted at the usual harvest-time for madder (Oct. or Nov.). In France and Germany the markets are supplied with one-year-old (called by the Germans riithe), 18 months old, and three years old, which is the best, and called by the Germans krapp, or madder par excellence. The roots are carefully raised with forks, to prevent breaking them as much as possible; and after the soil is thoroughly shaken off, they are dried in stoves, and afterwards thrashed with a flail to remove the loose skins and any remaining soil still adhering; they are then cut, or broken in pieces, and packed for sale, or they are sent to the mills to be ground. In Turkey and Italy, where the solar heat is great, the stove is dispensed with, the roots being dried in the sun. The more the roots are freed from the epider mis, the better the quality of the madder; hence, before it is ground in France, many manufacturers employ mechanical means, chiefly sieves worked by machinery, which rub off and separate the soft, dark-brown skin which covers the roots; this process is called robage. One-year-old roots cannot be profitably dressed in this way, and are therefore ground with the epidermis. Much of the inferior Dutch madder is also ground without dressing, and such is called mu/Z in trade. The grinding is effected in mills with vertical stones, and the meal is passed through sieves of different degrees of fine ness, which gives rise to various qualities in the market. These qualities are numerous, and have special marks to distinguish them, well known to merchants, but are of no general interest. The madder from Turkey and from India never comes to us ground; the roots are merely broken up into pieces an inch or two in length, and packed in bales. Very small quantities of madder occasionally reach us from Russia; it is the prod uce of the government of Baku, on the Caspian sea, and is said by our dyers to be the finest in the world.