Woad - Weld.

American Farmer, 2.1.1829

J. S. Skinner, Esq.
New York, Dec. 21, 1828.
Sir, - Yours of the 7th inst. was duly received. In answer to the communication enclosed, I have to observe, that woad and weld are two different plants. Woad is the Isatis used for blue dyeing, and weld is the Reseda Luteola used for dyeing yellow. Raising of woad in the south will not answer, it having been cultivated in the middle states till competition has brought it below the expense of cultivation. Weld is a new article, recently in troduced, and might answer, if the consumers were within a reasonable distance; but the article is so light and bulky that it will not pay for much land transportation, nor even for distant water transit. Some teazles have been raised in South Carolina, but they grow so large and rank as to be of little value.

Should your correspondent be desirous of trying the weld, we can furnish him with seed. The cost is two dollars a pound, and one half pound will be sufficient for one sixth of an acre. We can also furnish him with instructions for planting, &c. the article is raised in the south of France, and transported to England.

I would recommend to our southern planters the cultivation of madder, and of Sicily sumach, (Rhus coriarius) as articles of more general consumption than the above, and as better suited to a southern climate.

Yours, truly,
WM. PARTRIDGE