peated his experiments, and find them to give correct results when modified in a certain way. His general plan is to expose the hydrate of copper to the action of solutions of the above-mentioned vegetable products. He first renders the solution alkaline; then adds solution of sulphate of copper to it; and either heats the mixture, or leaves it for some time in the cold. By pursuing his directions, I encountered contradictory results; but, by the following method, I have secured uniform success in applying the criteria, and have even arrived at a method of determining, by a direct test, the quantity of sugar in diabetic urine. I dissolve a weighed portion of sulphate of copper in a measured quantity of water, and make the solution faintly alkaline, as tested with turmeric paper, by the addition of potash lye in the cold; for, if the mixture be hot, a portion of the disengaged green hydrate of copper is converted into black oxide. This mixture, being always agitated before applying it, forms the test liquor. If a few drops of it be introduced into a solution of gum, no change ensues in the hydrate of copper, even at the boiling heat; which shows that a gummate of copper is formed, which resists decomposition. But the cupreous mixture without the gum is rapidly blackened at the boiling temperature. I do not find that the gummate is re-dissolved by an excess of water, as Trommer asserts. Starch and tragacanth compost like gum; in which respect I agree with Trommer. Starch, however, is already a perfect criterion in iodine water. Mr. Trommer says that solution of dextrine affords a deep blue colored liquid, without a trace of precipitate; and that, when his mixture is heated to 85° C., it deposites red grains of protoxide of copper, soluble in muriatic acid. I think these phenomena are dependent, in some measure, upon the degree of alkaline excess in the mixture. I find that solution of dextriné, treated in my way, hardly changes in the cold; but when heated slightly, it becomes green; and, by brisk boiling, an olive tint is produced. It thus betrays a tendency of transition into sugar. Solution of cane sugar, similarly treated, undergoes no change in the cold at the end of two days; and very little change of color, even at a boiling heat, if not too concentrated. Cane sugar, treated by Trommer in his way, becomes of a deep blue; it can be boiled with potash in excess, without any separation of orange-red oxide of copper. Starch or grape sugar has a marvellous power of reducing the green hydrate of copper to the orange oxide. I find, however, that it will not act upon the pure blue hydrate, even when recently precipitated; it needs the addition, in every case, of a small portion of alkali. Yet ammonia does not seem to serve the purpose; for, in using the ammonia sulphate of copper in solution, I obtained unsatisfactory results with the above vegetable products. The black oxide of copper is not affected by being boiled in solution of starch sugar. "If solution of grape sugar" (says Trommer) "and potash be treated with a solution of sulphate of copper, till the separated hydrate is re-dissolved, a precipitate of red oxide will soon take place at a common temperature, but it immediately forms if the mixture is heated. A liquid containing a hundred thousandth of grape sugar, even one millionth part," says he, gives a perceptible tinge (orange) if the light is let fall upon it." To obtain such a minute result, very great nicety must be used in the dose of alkali, which I have found it extremely difficult to hit. With my regulat ed alkaline mixture, however, I never fail in discovering an exceedingly small portion of starch sugar, even when mixed with muscovado sugar; and thus an excellent method is afforded of detecting the frauds of the grocers. I find that manna deoxidizes the green hydrate of copper slowly when heated, but not nearly to the same extent as grape sugar, which reduces it rapidly to the orange oxide. If an excess of the hydrate of copper test be used, there will be a deposite of green hydrate at the bottom of the vessel, under the orange oxide. To apply these researches to the sugar of diabetic urine: this should first be boiled briskly, to decompose the urea, and to dissipate its elements in the form of an ammonia, as well as to concentrate the saccharine matter, whereby the test becomes more efficacious; then add to the boiling urine, in a few drops at a time, the cupreous mixture, containing a known quantity of sulphate of copper, till the whole assumes a greenish tint, and continue the heat until the color becomes bright orange. Should it remain green, it is a proof that more hydrate of copper has been introduced than has been equivalent to the deoxidizing power of the starch sugar. I have found that one grain of sulphate of copper in solution, supersaturated very slightly with potash, is decomposed with the production of orange protoxide by about 3 grains of potato sugar; or, more exactly, 30 parts of the said sulphate, in the state of an alkaline hydrate of copper, pass altogether into the state of orange oxide, by means of 100 parts of granular starch sugar. Thus, for every 3 grains of sulphate so changed, 10 grains of sugar may be estimated to exist in diabetic urine. Acetate of copper may be used in the above experiments, but it is not so good as the sulphate. The chloride of copper does not answer. Specific gravity is also an important criterion applied to sugars. That of the cane and beet root is 1.577; that of starch sugar, in crystalline tufts, is 1.39, or perhaps 1.40, as it varies but a little with its state of dryness. At 1.342, sirup of the cane contains 70 per cent. of sugar. At the same density, sirup of starch contains 75 per cent. of concrete matter dried at 260 degrees Fahrenheit, and therefore freed from the 10 per cent. of water which it contains in the granular state. Thus another distinction is ob*tained between the two sugars, in the relative densities of their solutions at like saccharine contents per cent. No. 18-(1.) ON THE CULTIVATION OF DYERS' MADDER AS AN ARTICLE OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE-Br M. B. BATCHAM. (Rubia Tinctoria.) The quantity of madder consumed annually in the United States, and imported from abroad, is perfectly astonishing to those who have given no attention to the subject. Unfortunately, our public records do not give very exact information on the subject. Mr. Ellsworth, as the nearest approximation he could obtain, gives the amount of 5,000 tons. Estimating this at the low average price of ten cents per pound, it makes the round. sum of one million of dollars, paid annually to foreign countries for an article that can be produced as good and cheap at home-paid, too, by a people loaded down with indebtedness, and disgraced by the forfeiture of, plighted obligations. The cultivation of madder has heretofore been represented as a tedious and laborious operation, requiring much care and skill, as well as outlay of capital. The directions have been mainly gathered from foreign works, detailing the methods practised by the plodding Dutch in Holland and Germany. These accounts have appeared so frightful to Americans, that none of them have dared to undertake the business; and Yankee enterprise and labor-saving ingenuity have never been exercised upon it. It is true, the crop requires three or four years to arrive at maturity, and needs considerable labor and some knowledge; but the quantity of land it occupies, and the amount of labor it requires, are far less, in proportion to the value of the crop, than those of any other farm crop that can be named. These assertions are fully corroborated by the experience of an enterprising American farmer, Mr. Joseph Swift, of Erie county, Ohio, who has been engaged in the cultivation of madder for five years past. A detailed account of Mr. Swift's mode of culture, and its results, was obtained at his residence last winter, by the writer of this essay, and published in the New Genesee Farmer for March, 1843. From this account, it will be seen that, after having informed himself on the subject, and becoming satisfied that the business was practicable and profitable, he at once planted nine acres-a quantity that would astonish Mynheer Van Hollander. This he allowed to grow four seasons, and the crop was harvested and sold in the fall of 1842. The following are some of the results of his experience. The product of the best land was at the rate of 2,000 lbs. per acre; and he is certain that, with his present knowledge, he can obtain 3,000 lbs. per acre; which is more than the best average crops of Holland or Germany. The quality was superior to the average of imported madder. The labor required, including the whole time, with the digging, cleaning, threshing, &c., was from eighty to one hundred days' work per acre. The outlay, for buildings, fixtures, &c., did not exceed fifty dollars. The value of the crop was at the rate of fifteen cents per pound, at which price he sold most of it; notwithstanding the circumstance of its being unknown to purchasers, and all the prejudice that usually exists in such cases. The result, then, in figures, fairly stated, stands thus, for an acre of good land properly managed : By 2,000 lbs. of madder, at 15 cents per lb. per day Use of land 4 years, at $4 per year Grinding, packing, &c. $300 00 $75 00 16 00 9 00 100 00 Leaving a nett profit per acre of 200 00 Mr. Swift was one of the earliest settlers of that section of the country, having resided nearly thirty years on the farm he now occupies, which consists of about 400 acres of choice land, mostly alluvial, in the valley of the Vermilion river, seven miles from Lake Erie. At my request, he furnished me with the following practical directions for the cultivation of madder, which, he remarked, must be understood as intended for those who wish to cultivate only a few acres, and cannot afford much outlay of capital. Those who wish to engage in the business on an extensive scale, would need to adopt a somewhat different practice. Soil and preparation.-The soil should be a deep, rich, sandy loam, free from weeds, roots, stones, &c., and containing a good proportion of vegetable earth. Alluvial "bottom" land is the most suitable, but it must not be wet. If old upland is used, it should receive a heavy coating of vegetable earth, from decayed wood and leaves. The land should be ploughed very deep in the fall, and early in the spring apply about one hundred loads of well-rotted manure per acre, spread evenly and ploughed in deeply; then harrow till quite fine and free from lumps. Next plough the field into beds four feet wide, leaving alleys between three feet wide; then harrow the beds with a fine light harrow, or rake them by hand, so as to have them smooth and even with the alleys; they are then ready for planting. Preparing sets and planting.—Madder sets, or seed roots, are best selected when the crop is dug in the fall. The horizontal uppermost roots, with eyes, are the kind to be used; these should be separated from the bottom roots, and buried in sand in a cellar or pit. If not done in the fall, the sets may be dug early in the spring, before they begin to sprout. They should be cut or broken into pieces containing from two to five eyes each, i. e. three or four inches long. The time for planting is as early in spring as the ground can be got in good order and severe frosts are over, which in this climate is usually about the middle of April. With the beds prepared as directed, stretch a line lengthwise the bed, and with the corner of a hoe make a drill two inches deep along each edge and down the middle, so as to give three rows to each bed, about two feet apart. Into these drills drop the sets, ten inches apart, covering them two inches deep. Eight or ten bushels of sets are requisite for an acre. After culture. As soon as the madder plants can be seen, the ground should be carefully hoed, so as to destroy the weeds, and not injure the plants; and the hoeing and weeding must be repeated as often as weeds make their appearance. If any of the sets have failed to grow, the vacancies should be filled by taking up parts of the strongest roots, and transplanting them. This is best done in June. As soon as the madder plants are ten or twelve inches high, the tops are to be bent down to the surface of the ground, and all except the tip end covered with earth shovelled from the middle of the alleys. Bend the shoots outward and inward in every direction, so as in time to fill all the vacant space in the beds, and about one foot on each side. After the first time covering, repeat the weeding when necessary, and run a single horse plough through the alleys several times, to keep the earth clean and mellow. As soon as the plants again become ten or twelve inches high, bend down and cover them as before; repeating the operation as often as necessary, which is commonly three times the first season. The last time may be as late as September, or later if no frosts occur. By covering the tops in this manner, they change to roots, and the design is to fill the ground as full of roots as possible. When the vacant spaces are all full, there will be but little chance for weeds to grow; but all that appear must be pulled out. The second year.-Keep the beds free from weeds, plough the alleys, and cover the tops, as before directed, two or three times during the season. The alleys will now form deep and narrow ditches; and if it becomes difficult to obtain good earth for covering the tops, that operation may be omitted after the second time this season. Care should be taken in covering the tops to keep the edges of the beds as high as the middle; otherwise the water from heavy showers will run off, and the crop suffer from drought. The third year.-Very little labor or attention is required. The plants will now cover the whole ground. If any weeds are seen, they must be pulled out; otherwise, their roots will cause trouble when harvesting the madder. The crop is sometimes dug the third year; and if the soil and cultivation have been good, and the seasons warm and favorable, the madder will be of good quality; but generally it is much better in quality, and more in quantity, when left until the fourth year. Digging and harvesting.-This should be done between the 20th of August and the 20th of September. Take a sharp shovel, or shovels, and cut off and remove the tops within half an inch of the surface of the earth; then take a plough of the largest size, with a sharp coulter and a double team, and plough a furrow outward, beam deep, around the edge of the bed; stir the earth with forks, and carefully pick out all the roots, removing the earth from the bottom of the furrow; then plough another furrow, beam deep, as before, and pick over and remove the earth in the same manner; thus proceeding till the whole is completed. Washing and drying.-As soon as possible after digging, take the roots to some running stream to be washed. If there is no running stream convenient, it can be done at a pump. Take large round sieves, two and a half or three feet in diameter, with the wire about as fine as wheat sieves; or, if these cannot be had, get from a hardware store sufficient screen wire of the right fineness, and make frames or boxes about two and a half feet long and the width of the wire; on the bottom of which nail the wire. In these sieves, or boxes, put half a bushel of roots at a time, and stir them about in the water, pulling the bunches apart so as to wash them clean; then, having a platform at hand, lay them on it to dry. To make a platform, take two or three common boards, so as to be about four feet in width, and nail cleets across the under side. On these spread the roots about two inches thick, for drying in the sun. Carry the platforms to a convenient place, not far from the house, and place them side by side, in rows east and west, and their ends north and south, leaving room to walk between the rows. Elevate the south ends of the platforms about eighteen inches, and the north ends about six inches from the ground, putting poles or sticks to support them. This will greatly facilitate the drying. After the second or third day's drying, the madder must be protected from the dews at night, and from rain, by placing the platforms one upon another to a convenient height, and covering the uppermost one with boards. Spread them out again in the morning, or as soon as the danger is over. Five or six days of ordinarily fine weather will dry the madder sufficiently, when it may be put away till it is convenient to kiln-dry and grind it. Kiln-drying. The size and mode of constructing the kiln may be varied to suit circumstances. The following is a very cheap plan, and sufficient to dry one ton of roots at a time. Place four strong posts in the ground, twelve feet apart one way and eighteen the other; the front two 14 feet high and the others 18. Put girths across the bottom, middle, and top, and |