330
DYEING AND CALICO PRINTING.
cleared after dyeing, as described for Turkey-reds, becomes beautifullyscarlet, very nearly equal to good Turkey-red. Cloth not oiled, simply mor-danted in the ordinary manner for red madder shades, is dyed, by the aid ofnona, somewhat like madder but more yellowish, and this tinge remains afterclearing.
The dye material known as ouongkondau contains, according to theresearches of the chemists just named, about from one-third to one-half of thequantity of red colouring matter found in good Avignon madder, but theouongkondou, although less acid than mungeet, yet requires in dyeing anaddition of 3 per cent of carbonate of soda. The shades obtained are lessfast and less beautiful than those yielded by nona.
Hachrout is, if not identically the same as nona,—which may be the caseconsidering the large number of dialedts and different languages spoken inIndia,—at least so very similar thereto that Messrs. Kcechlin and Schwartzdetected no difference.
The horticultural experiments made with these plants in Java, by the careof the directeur des cultures in that island, prove that, with suitable nursingand careful selection of manures and soils, the plants are very greatly im-proved in their qualities as dye materials. The Javanese have discontinuedthe use of these materials, because the European trade imports to them farbetter goods and far faster dyed fabrics than they could manufacture, and atfar less cost.
The scientific researches on these substances are very incomplete ; thereare in the India Museum, formerly open to the public, when at old FyfeHouse, now at the India Office, a very large and interesting number ofsamples of various dye materials used all over India by the natives. It wouldadd much to our knowledge on this subjedt were some scientific chemist, whohas time and leisure, supplied with a sufficient quantity of all or some ofthem to complete an investigation into their properties.