210

DYEING.

this liquor are to be mixed such proportions of cochineal as maybe thought proper, and the stuffs dyed in (lie colour will acquire amost beautiful scarlet. The scarlet produced by gum lac, thoughnot so bright as cochineal, is more permanent; the best lac is thatwhich is of a blackish brown colour on the outside, and whitewithin. The process of preparing this colour is very difficult; butthe best method, we believe, is that of previously mixing the gumwith comfrey, or other mucilaginous roots. These should hedried, finely’pulverized, afterwards boiled for fifteen minutes inthe proportion of half a dram to a quart of water, then strainedthrough a linen cloth while hot, poured upon levigated gum-lac,and passed through a hair seive. The whole is then digested in amoderate heat for twelve hours; and the gum remaining at thebottom should be stirred seven or eight limes. The liquor thusimpregnated with a fine crimson colour, is afterwards poured intoa vessel, sufficiently capacious to hold four times the quantity,and tilled up with cold water. On adding a small proportion ot astrong solution of alum, the coloured mucilage subsides; and,should any tinge remain in the liquor ; it may he precipated bygradual additions of alum, till it become perfectly colourless. Assoon as the crimson mucilage has entirely subsided, the clear watermust be carefully decanted, the remainder filtered, and the fluidarts suffered to evaporate. If the w hole of the colour should note extracted by the first operation, it ought to he repeated, tillthe residuum changes to a pale straw-colour. In order to dyescarlet with this extract of gum-lac, the requisite proportion of thelatter dried and pulverized,-is to be put into an earthen or block-tin vessel; a little hot water poured upon it; and, when it is welljnoi'tene.l, a proper quantity of the composition added; thewhole being stirred with a glass pestle. By this means the pow-der, which before was of a dark, dusky, purple, acquires an ex-ceedingly bright scarlet colour. A solution of the crystals of tar-tar is then to be poured into the liquor, and as soon as it begins toboil, the cloth is to be repeatedly immersed in it, according to thecommon method. The remainder of the operation is to be pet-formed in the same manner as if cochineal had been employed.

Crimson is the colour produced by cochineal, with alutn andtartar only, without any solution of tin. For this dye, two ouncesand a half of alum, with an onnee and a half of white tartar, areto be taken, for every pound of wool; and being put into a caul-dron w ith a proper quantity of water, the solution should boil be-fore the stuff is dipped. The wool is then immersed into the boil-ing liquor, where it continues two hours; after which it is to betaken out, wrung gently, rinsed in water, and put into a bag. Afresh liquor is next prepared for the dye, in which an ounce offinely-powdered cochineal is used for every pound of wool: whenthis decoction boils, the stuff is immersed, and managed in the man-ner already directed for st arlet. For producing the finest crimsondye, however, the wool is again to be dipped in a weak lixivium,made of equal parts of sal-ammoniac anti pearl ashes. The prepara-tion of the ingredients for madder-red is always with alum and tar-tar, the proportions of which are by no means ascertained even by-dyers. The more general practice is, to put 5 ounces of alumand one of red tartar to every pound of worsted, a twelfth part ofacid water being likewise added, and the wool boiled for twohours in this solution, in which worsted is to be kept for a week ;but cloth will be sufficiently saturated in four days. A fresh li-quor is then prepared for dying this wool; and when the water isnearly boiling, half a pound of the finest madder is to be thrownin for every- pound of yvool; being carefully stirred and well-mixed in the copper, previously to immersing the stuff, yvhich isto be kept in the liquor for an hour; during which the latter must«ot boil, lest it should tarnish the colour.

The third primitive colour is Yellow, for obtaining yvhich thereare ten different ingredients ; but four of these only yield a goodand permanent dye, namely, dyers’- weed, or, as the dyers call it,weld, savory, dyers’, green-weed, and femt-greek. The first ofthese, namely, weld, in general affords the truest yellow, and istherefore prefei red to all the others. Savory and dyers’ green-yveed, being naturally somewhat green, are more advantageouslyemployed tor dyeing that colour; and the last yields differentshades of yellow. In )-der to dye worsted and stuffs yellow, theyundergo the usual preparation with tartar and alum, of the latter4 ounces are allowed to every pound of yvool, or S?51bs, to every100; of the former, one ounce is sufficient for yellow ; after dis-

solving both, the yvool is boiled in the same manner as in the pre-ceding colour. A fresh liquor is next to be made for the weldingor yellowing, in th- proportion of 5 or 6lbs. of dyers’-yveed to.every pound of stutf. Some inclose the drug in a clean yvoollcnhag, to prevent it from mixing with the cloth to be dyed ; and, inorder to keep the bag down in the copper, they lay a cross ol heavywood over it. Others boil the weld in the liquor, till the waterhas imbibed a'l its colour, and the drug sinks to the bottom,when the stuff is suspended in a net; others, again, take the weldout, as soon as it is boiled. According to the shade required, othervegetables are occasionally mixed with that drug. By varyingthe proportions of the salts employed, as well as the quantity ofcolouring ingredients, and the time of boiling, different shadesmay be produced.

The fourth primitive colour is that denominated by dyers, theFawn, or root colour. It is a kind of broyvn, and the processfor dyeing it is widely different from those just described; thewool merely requiring a simple immersion in water, as already di-rected for blue. The materials employed consist of the greenshell of the yvalnut, the root of the walnut tree, the bark of alder,santal or saunders-yvood, sumach, and soot. The green walnut-shells arc collected, yvhen the nuts are thoroughly ripe ; they areput into tubs or casks, which are afterwards filled with yvater, andare thus preserved till the succeeding year. Santal, or saiinders-wood, is much inferior to walmit-.-helis; because, il used in toolarge a quantity, it stiffens, and consequently injure.-, the wool, itis in general mixed yvith galls, sumach, and alder-bark, withoutwhich its colour could not be extracted : and though it yields verylittle yvith alum ami tartar, it is nevertheless used in large quanti-ties, on account of the solidity' of its colour, yvhich is naturally ayellow-reddish brown. The best of the different ingredients em-ployed in dyeing fayvn-colours, is the hark or rind of the vvalmit-tree. Its shades are uncommonly fine; its colours solid; and itrenders the vool dyed in it flexible and soft. A cauldron halffull of water is placed over the fire; ami as soon as it grows warm,bark is added in proportion to the quantity of Stull's intended to bedyed, and the lightness or depth of the shades required. It is thenboiled for about'a quarter of an hour, when the cloths, being pre-viously moistened with warm water, are immersed, frequentlyturnetl, and well stirred, till they have sufficiently imbibed thecolour. They are aired, dried, and dressed in the usual manner.Next to the rind or bark, 'the root of the walnut-tree is the bestdye for a fawn-colour: it also affords a variety of shades-, similarto those produced by the bark, for which it is frequently substi-tuted. The root, however, requires a different process: a caul-dron is filled about three parts full of river-watt r, into which theroot is immersed, after being tird up in a bag. When the liquoris very hot, the wool or stuff is plunged into if, repeatedly turned,and occasionally aired. r l he lighter stuffs are next to be dipped,till the colour, is completely extracted. During this operation,proper care should be taken to prevent the liquor from boiling, asin such case the first immersed would imbibe the whole of the co-lour. The process of dyeing with the bark of alder, is nearly thesame as that pursued with walnut-roots: the boiling of it is at firstnot verv material, as this drug very freely communicates its co-lour. It is chiefly used for worsted, imparting shades darkenedyvith copperas; and for yvool that is not required to be very dark,as it equally withstands the effects of the sun and rain. Sumachpossesses marly the same properties as the hark or rind of (lie wal-nut-tree ; its colour is not so deep, somewhat inclining to green,but is solid and permanent. Where dark colours are required,sumach is frequently substituted for nut-galls, in which case agreater proportion becomes necessary. These different sub-stances, however, are not unfrequently mingled together, and, asthey are of a similar nature, and differ otdy in degree, it is easyto obtain various shades. With respect to the method of com-pounding the different ingredients witli pulverized saunders-yvood;Albs, of the latter are to be put into a copper, with half a poundof powdered nut-galls, 12lbs. of alder-bark, and lOlbs. of sumach.The whole is to be boiled, when a small portion of yvater shouldbe added, to check the boiling : after immersing the cloth, stirring,and turning it repeatedly, it is aired, and washed in river-water.The quantities of these ingredients may be increased, or diminished.,according to the depth of the shade required. The last substanceemployed in dyeing the fawn-colour, is soot, which is not only less

solid