PREFACE.

STANDARD work on Dyeing, Calico Printing, and their

Auxiliary Arts has hitherto been a desideratum in Englishtechnological literature. In repeating this very common remarkwe must not be understood as undervaluing the writings of Ban-croft, O’Neill, Parnell, Napier, &c., nor the articles on CalicoPrinting contained in Dr. Ure’s “ Dictionary of Arts, Manu-factures, and Mines,” and in Muspratt’s “ Chemistry.” Butnone of these works and treatises, however meritorious, can besaid to cover the whole of the subject. Most of them, further,may in great measure be considered as possessing now a historicalrather than a practical value, having been written prior to thewonderful development which tinCtorial chemistry has experiencedwith the last few years. Manuals of Dyeing and Printing com-posed before the discovery of the coal-tar colours are now littlemore than literary curiosities.

To meet this want the author has undertaken the task of layingbefore the public in a compadt, and, it is hoped, useful form, adigest of the vast mass of information on the tinCtorial arts foundscattered in distinCt works, and in the scientific and technicaljournals of all nations. Much has been of necessity omitted.

To give the briefest notice of every process tried on a practicalscale, much more of every laboratory experiment on the produc-tion and application of colours, would require not a volume, buta library. The author’s objeft has been, therefore,—omitting