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     A BOOK ON
     VEGETABLE
     DYES

     BY
     ETHEL M. MAIRET

     A.D. 1916

     PUBLISHED BY DOUGLAS PEPLER
     AT THE HAMPSHIRE HOUSE
     WORKSHOPS HAMMERSMITH W

     Price 5s. net.

     _PRINTED by DOUGLAS PEPLER
     at
     DITCHLING in the COUNTY of SUSSEX
     & PUBLISHED BY HIM AT
     THE HAMPSHIRE HOUSE WORKSHOPS
     HAMMERSMITH
     ON S. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S DAY
     A.D. MDCCCCXVI_

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

     IN PRINCIPIO ERAT VERBUM
     ET VERBUM ERAT APUD DEUM
     ET DEUS ERAT VERBUM.
     _Sc. Joannem_ 1.1.

     VIDITQUE DEUS CUNCTA QUÃ
     FECERAT: ET ERANT VALDE BONA.
     _Genesis._ 1.31.

MAN uses these good things, and when MAN first discovers how to make
anything, that thing which he makes is good.

For example: this book is printed upon one of the first iron presses
to be made in this country. The press is a good press; it would be
difficult to make a press which would enable the printer to print more
clearly. The wooden press was a good press & the printing from it has
not been surpassed.

Further, this quality of goodness of a first discovery may persist for
many years.

But there is a tendency to avoid _Quality Street_. We are choosing
rather _Quantity Street_ & the Bye paths of _Facility & Cleverness_;
we have become accustomed to the hum of the _Time & Labour saving_
machinery; and we are in danger of forgetting the use of good things:
indeed the tradition & practice of goodness has been lost in a
considerable number of trades.

For instance: a carpenter has become so used to buying his timber in
planks from a yard that he has nearly forgotten its relation to the
tree. The man who works to designs conceived by somebody else with
wood sawn by another man's machine must be deprived of the natural
strength of the tree.

And this is not an exception to, but an example of, the way we are
choosing to do things.

It is impossible to buy linen as good as that normally used by every
tradesman in the XVIII century. It is nearly impossible to get cloth,
paper, bread, beer, bacon and leather equal to that in common use 150
years ago.

IN VIEW OF THE BEGINNING it is desirable to record what still survives
of the traditions of making good things; and I shall endeavour to
publish the instructions & advice of men & women who still follow
these good traditions.

     Douglas Pepler.

CONTENTS

                                            PAGE
     I.    INTRODUCTION                        1
     II.   WOOL, SILK, COTTON AND LINEN       11
     III.  MORDANTS                           24
     IV.   BRITISH DYE PLANTS                 37
     V.    THE LICHEN DYES                    45
     VI.   BLUE                               63
     VII.  RED                                87
     VIII. YELLOW                            107
     IX.   BROWN AND BLACK                   122
     X.    GREEN                             133

CHAPTER I.

Dyeing has almost ceased to exist as a traditional art. In this 20th
century the importance of colour in our lives seems to be realized
less and less. It has been forgotten that strong and beautiful colour,
such as used to abound in all every day things, is an essential to the
full joy of life. A sort of fear or nervousness of bright colour is
one of the features of our age, it is especially evident in the things
we wear.

There is unfortunately good reason for it. We fear bright colour
because our modern colours are bad, and they are bad because the
tradition of dyeing has been broken. The chemist has invaded the
domain of the dyer, driven him out and taken over his business, with
the result that ugly colour has become the rule for the first time in
the history of mankind. It is not that chemists never produce
beautiful colour. Dyeing as a chemical science has not been studied
for the last 50 years without producing good results. But there is
this great difference between the chemical commercial dyes and the
traditional dyes--that with the commercial dyes it is very easy to
produce ugly colours, the beautiful colour is rare; but with
traditional dyes it is difficult to make an ugly colour, and good
colour is the rule.

It was in 1856 that mauve was produced from coal tar by an English
chemist, and this began a new era in dyeing. The discovery was
developed in Germany, and the result was the creation of a science of
chemical colouring.

The advantages of the new colours were ease and simplicity of use,
general reliability with regard to strength and composition, and
certainty in reproducing the same colour again without trouble. With
regard to fastness, to light and to washing there is practically
little difference between the two. It is more the method by which they
are dyed and not the dye itself (although of course in some cases
this is not so) that determines their fastness. The natural dyes are
more trouble and take longer time to prepare. Chemical colours can be
dyed now as fast as the natural colours, although at first this could
not be done. Some of the chemical colours as well as the natural, are
not fast to light and washing, and ought never to be used; but there
are natural colours, such as madder, some of the lichens, catechu
etc., which are as fast as any chemical dye, if not more so. BUT there
is this general difference between the results of the two
methods,--that when a chemical colour fades it becomes a different
colour and generally a bad one: when a natural colour fades, it
becomes a lighter tone of the same colour.

Since the middle of the 19th century our colour sense has been getting
rude shocks. At first came the hideous aniline colours, crude and
ugly, and people said, "How wonderful, are they really made out of
coal!" They were told to like them and they did, and admired the
chemists who made them. Then came more discoveries, and colour began
to go to the opposite extreme, and the fashion was muddy
indeterminate colours--'art' colours as they were called, just as
remote from pure good colouring in one direction as the early aniline
colours were in the other. We are now emerging from the mud colours,
as I would call them, to the period of the brilliant colouring of the
Futurist. Here we have scientific colouring used with real skill. The
Futurist has perhaps indicated a possible way in which chemical
colours may be used by the artist and is teaching people the value of
simple combinations of brilliant colour.

And yet do they satisfy the artist? Are they as beautiful as the
colours in a Persian Khelim? Is there a blue in the world as fine as
the blue in a Bokhara rug, or a red to touch the red of a Persian
brocade or Indian silk?--the new fresh colours as they come out of the
dyer's vat, not as they are after years of wear and tear, though that
is beautiful enough. And yet they are not more beautiful than the
colours once made by dyers in England. They are as brilliant as the
chemical colours, but they are not hard and unsympathetic and
correct. They are alive and varied, holding the light as no chemical
colour can hold it; and they are beautiful from their birth to their
old age, when they mellow, one with the other, into a blend of
richness that has never yet been got by the chemical dyer and never
will be.

Perhaps it is the scientific method that kills the imagination.
Dealing with exactly known quantities, and striving for precise
uniformity, the chemist has no use for the accidents and
irregularities which the artist's imagination seizes and which the
traditional worker well knew how to use.

William Morris says that "all degradation of art veils itself in the
semblance of an intellectual advance," and nothing is truer than this
with regard to the art of dyeing. As a tradition it is practically
dead in Britain, and is threatened with gradual extinction all over
the world. It will not recover itself as an art till individual
artists set themselves to make beautiful colours again, and ignore the
colour made for them by commerce and the chemists.

Handicraft workers should make their own colours. Leather workers
should dye their own leather, the embroiderers their own silks and
wools, the basket makers their own materials, the weavers and spinners
their own flax, cotton and wool; and until they do this the best work
will not be done. This is the necessity for the present. _If any craft
worker wants sound colour he must make it for himself, he cannot get
it done for him by artists._ The hope for the future is that dyeing
may be reinstated as a craft, co-operating with the other crafts and
practiced by craftsmen.

The way to beauty is not by the broad and easy road; it is along
difficult and adventurous paths. Every piece of craft work should be
an adventure. It cannot be an adventure if commerce steps in and says
"I will dye all your yarn for you; you will always then be able to
match your colour again; there need be no variation; every skein shall
be as all the others; you can order so many pounds of such a number
and you can get it by return of post; and you can have six or seven
hundred shades to choose from." It is all so easy, so temptingly
easy,--but how DULL! the deadly yards of stuff all so even and so
exactly dyed; so perfect that the commerce-ridden person says, "this
is almost as good as the stuff you can buy in a shop, it is as perfect
as machine made stuff."

What would have been the use of all this to the great colourists of
the world, the ancient Egyptians, the mediÃ¦val Italians or the great
Oriental dyers? They could not get six hundred shades to order; six
was more like their range, they did not need more, and in those they
could not command precise uniformity. They knew that the slight
variations caused by natural human methods add to the beauty and
interest of a thing, and that a few good colours are worth any number
of indifferent ones.

It is quite certain that a great many of the handicrafts that have
depended upon commercial dyes would produce _infinitely better work_
if they dyed their raw material themselves.

It may be objected that life is not long enough; but the handicrafts
are out to create more life, not out to produce quantity nor to save
time.

The aim of commerce is material gain; the aim of the crafts is to make
life, and no trouble must be spared to reach that end. It must always
be before the craft worker. Dyeing is an art; the moment science
dominates it, it is an art no longer, and the craftsman must go back
to the time before science touched it, and begin all over again.

The tradition is nearly lost in England.

It lingers in a few places in Scotland and Ireland. In Norway, Russia,
Central Asia, India and other places where science has not entered too
much into the life of the people, it is still practiced. Is dyeing as
a tradition to be doomed, as traditional weaving was doomed? Yes,
unless it be consciously studied again and remade into an art.

This book is intended for the use of craftsmen and others who are
trying to dye their materials by hand and on a small scale.
Information and recipes, useful to such workers, are to be found in
books and pamphlets dating onwards from the 17th century, and in this
book I have drawn largely upon these sources of dyeing knowledge, as
well as upon the traditions still followed by present workers, and
upon the experience of my own work.

All dyeing recipes, however, should guide rather than rule the worker;
they are better applied with imagination and experience than with the
slavishness of minute imitation. Every dyer should keep a record of
his experiments, for this will become invaluable as it grows, and as
one thing is learnt from another. The ideal way of working is not by a
too rigid accuracy nor by loose guess-work, but by the way which
practice has proved best: nevertheless, some of the greatest dyers
have done their work by rule-of-thumb methods just as others have
certainly worked with systematic exactness.

The dyer, like any other artist, is free to find his own methods,
subject to the requirements of good and permanent craftsmanship,
provided that he achieves the effects at which he aims. But it is
supremely important that he should aim at the right effects; or,
rather, at the use of the right materials, for if these are right the
effects may safely be left to take care of themselves. In order to
develop the taste and temperament of a good colourist, it is necessary
to use good colour and to live with good colour. In this book I
attempt to show where good colour can be obtained. But one may begin
to live with good colour which has been found by others.

This part of the dyer's education is not prohibitively costly, even in
these days of inferior colour. Indian and Persian embroideries are
still to be obtained, though care must be taken in their selection, as
most modern pieces are dyed with chemical dyes and are very ugly.
Persian Khelim rugs are cheap and often of the most beautiful colours.
Russian embroideries and woven stuffs, both old and new, are
obtainable, and are good in colour, as are most of the embroideries
and weavings of Eastern Europe and the East. What are popularly known
as "coffee towels" are often embroidered in the finest coloured silks.
Bokhara rugs and embroideries are still to be purchased, and many of
the weavings of the far East, although, alas, very few of the modern
ones are of good colour. I would say to dyers, do not be satisfied
with seeing beautiful coloured stuffs in museums. It is possible still
to get them, and to live with a piece of good colour is of much more
use than occasional hours spent in museums.

CHAPTER II.

WOOL SILK COTTON LINEN

     Various kinds of wool. Wool from goats. Fleeces. Wool
     dyeing. Scouring of wool. Silk, preparation for dyeing.
     Cotton, cleansing and galling of. Indian methods of
     preparing cotton and linen for dyeing. BANCROFT on the
     preparing of cotton and linen for dyeing. Linen. On water
     for dyeing.

ON WOOL.--The quality of wool varies considerably. British wools are
of various kinds:--

_Highland, Welsh and Irish_ wools are from small sheep, not far
removed from the wild state, with irregular short stapled fleeces.

_Forest or Mountain sheep_ (Herdwick, Exmoor, Blackfaced, Limestone,
Cheviot) have better wool, especially the Cheviot which is very thick
& good for milling.

_Ancient Upland_, such as South Down, are smaller sheep than the last
named, but the wool is softer and finer.

_Long Woolled sheep_ (Lincolns, Leicester) with long staple wool
(record length, 36 in.) and the fleeces weighing up to 12Â lbs. The
Leicester fleece is softer, finer and better than the Lincoln.

To the end of the 18th century _Spanish wool_ was the finest and best
wool in the world. Spanish sheep have since been introduced into
various countries, such as Saxony, Australia, Cape Colony, New
Zealand, and some of the best wools now come from the colonies.

_Alpaca, Vicuna and Llama_ wools are obtained from different species
of South American goats.

_Mohair_ is obtained from the Angora goat of Asia Minor.

_Kashmir_ wool is got from the Thibetan goat.

_Camel_ hair is the soft under wool of the camel, which is shed
annually. It is of a brown colour.

The colour of wool varies from white to a very dark brown black, with
all shades of fawn, grey and brown in between. The natural colours are
not absolutely fast to light but tend to bleach slightly with the sun.

Fleeces are of various kinds, the principal being: _Lambs_, 3 to 6
months growth, the finest, softest and most elastic of wool. _Hogs and
Tegs_: the first shearing of sheep that have not been shorn as lambs.
_Wethers_: all clips succeeding the first shearing.

Wool comes into the market in the following condition. 1) _In the
grease_, not having been washed and containing all impurities. 2)
_Washed_, with some of the grease removed and fairly clean. 3)
_Scoured_, thoroughly cleaned & all grease removed.

ON WOOL DYEING.--There are four principal methods of dyeing wool.

1st.--The wool is boiled first with the mordant and then in a fresh
bath with the dye. This method of dyeing is the most satisfactory and
gives brighter and faster colours than the other methods. It is not
necessary to throw away the solution after the mordanting has been
done, but it can be replenished for a fresh lot of wool; a separate
bath is used for the dye.

2nd.--The wool is boiled first with the dye and, when it has absorbed
as much of the colour as possible, the mordant is added to the same
bath, thus fixing the colour. This is called the "stuffing" and
"saddening" method; the "stuffing" being the boiling of the wool with
the dye stuff and the "saddening" the fixing the colour by the
mordant.

A separate bath can be used for each of these processes, in which case
each bath can be replenished and used again for a fresh lot of wool.

3rd.--The wool is boiled with the mordant and dye in the same bath
together. The colour, as a rule, is not so fast & good as with a
separate bath, though with some dyes a brighter colour is obtained.

4th.--The wool is mordanted, then dyed, then mordanted again
(saddened). This method is adopted to ensure an extremely fast colour.
The mordant in this case should be used rather sparingly.

Wool can be dyed either in the fleece, in the yarn or in the woven
cloth. Raw wool always contains a certain amount of natural grease.
This should not be washed out until it is ready for dyeing, as the
grease keeps the moth out to a considerable extent. Hand spun wool is
always spun in the oil to facilitate spinning. All grease and oil must
be scoured out before dyeing is begun, and this must be done very
thoroughly or the wool will take the colour unevenly.

The principal detergent known from earliest times is stale urine. In
the Highlands this is used in the proportion of 1 part to 5 of water.
It is the best scouring agent and leaves the wool soft and elastic.
Carbonate of soda is also used. But a good pure soap is the most
convenient scouring agent. A suds should be made with hot water, and
the wool, which has been soaked in warm water previously, should be
well squeezed and worked in the suds till all the grease is removed.
This should be done two or three times if needed, and then the wool
rinsed out thoroughly in clean water. Soda is apt to make the wool
harsh and should be avoided. A little Ammonia added to the washing
water helps.

To prevent yarn felting when it is scoured, it should be first steeped
in hot water and left to cool. Soft soap is best for long fine wool.
Urine for short wools; or urine and soda ash.

_Another way of cleansing wool._ Make a hot bath of 4 parts water and
1 part urine, enter wool, teasing it and opening it out to admit the
full action of the liquid. After 20 minutes immersion, remove and
allow to drain. Then rinse in clear running water and allow to dry.
Use no soap. The liquid can be used again. The wool often loses one
fifth of its weight in the process of washing.

_To soften yarn_--In a gallon of hot water dissolve half pound of
common soda, then add half-pint of sweet oil and stir well. A little
of this added to the washing water, for some colours, will soften the
yarn.

_To bleach wool_--The wool is suspended in a closed room on hoops, and
under the wool chafing dishes are placed with lighted coals on which
powdered sulphur is cast. The room door is afterwards shut so that the
smoke may be the longer retained to act on the wool, which is to
remain until it is entirely whitened.

ON SILK.--There are two kinds of silk, 1) _raw silk_ (reeled silk,
thrown silk, drawn silk), and 2) _waste silk_ or spun silk.

Raw silk is that directly taken from the cocoons. Waste silk is the
silk from cocoons that are damaged in some way so that they cannot be
reeled off direct. They are therefore carded and spun, like wool or
cotton.

Silk in the raw state is covered with a silk gum which must be boiled
off before dyeing is begun. It is tied up in canvas bags and boiled up
in a strong solution of soap for three or four hours until all the gum
is boiled off. If it is yellow gum, the silk is wrought first in a
solution of soft soap at a temperature just below boiling point for
about an hour, then put into bags and boiled. After boiling, the soap
is well washed out.

Generally speaking, the affinity of silk for dyes is similar but
weaker in character to that of wool. The general method for dyeing is
the same as for wool, except that in most cases lower temperatures are
used in the mordanting. In some cases, soaking in a cold concentrated
solution of the mordant is sufficient. The dyeing of some colours is
also at a low temperature.

_Of the preparation of raw silk._ For every pound of raw silk, take
Â¼Â lb. of soap; first put the silk into a bag, or so make it up that
tangling may be prevented, then let it boil together for 2 hours,
after which it must be very well cleansed, and so it is ready to dye
all sorts of colours, being first allomed.[1]

_How the boiled silk must be allomed._ In proportion to every pound of
silk, take Â¼Â lb. of Allom, melt in a little kettle or skillet, and
when melted, throw it in to a tub of water, into which put the silk to
steep, where let it lie a whole night.[1]

_To soften silk after dyeing._ Into a large vessel nearly full of
water, a solution of soap is poured, in the proportion of from 4 to 5
lbs. of soap for every 110Â lbs. of silk. The solution of soap is
strained through a cloth into the water and well mixed. The silk is
then introduced & left for about quarter of an hour after which it is
wrung out and dried.

ON COTTON.--Cotton is the down surrounding the seeds in pods of
certain shrubs and trees growing in tropical and semi-tropical
countries. It was first introduced into Europe by the Saracens and was
manufactured into cloth in Spain in the early 13th century. Cotton
cloth was made in England in the early 17th century. The colour of
cotton varies from deep yellow to white. The fibre differs in length,
the long stapled being the most valued. Cotton is difficult to dye and
requires a special preparation. It is first boiled with water till
thoroughly softened and wetted. Then alumed in the proportion of 1 of
alum to 4 of the cotton (see page 28). It is then galled. The galling
is done with different proportions of gall-nuts and other astringents
(such as tannic acid, myrobalams, sumach, catechu) according to the
quality of the astringents and the effect wished to be obtained. If
gall-nuts are used they are bruised, then boiled for about two hours
in a quantity of water. The bath is then allowed to cool till the hand
can bear it. The cotton is worked well in this solution and then left
for 24 hours. After which it is wrung out and dried.

Cotton is sometimes boiled in sour water in order to cleanse it:
sometimes an alkaline ley is used: the cotton must be boiled in it for
2 hours, then wrung out and rinsed in clean water and dried. Cotton
dyeing has been carried on for centuries in the East. In India "before
a cloth is ready to be dyed with a fast colour, it has generally to
undergo a preliminary process of preparation more or less elaborate,
the different stages of which may be recited as washing, bleaching,
dunging, galling, aluming, or mordanting, and again washing." (_A
Monograph on dyes and dyeing in the Bombay Presidency_, by C. G. H.
Fawcett, 1896.) It is washed first of all to remove all impurities,
whether those naturally belonging to the fibre or those purposely
introduced during the processes of spinning and weaving. The bleaching
removes grease, etc. This is done in India by the sun, air and
moisture. The dunging process consists of passing the cotton through a
hot solution of cow dung, which renders the dye fast. This is
sometimes replaced by substitutes, such as the phosphates of soda and
lime, silicates of soda, etc. The next operation of galling is an
important step in the Indian process of dyeing. It is applied to
cotton, linen and silk. Vegetable infusions containing tannin are
applied to the cloth. Those mostly used are myrobalams, pomegranate
rind, tamarisk galls, and pistachio galls. The cloth is then alumed,
washed, and is then ready to be dyed.

_Bancroft_ says:--"The fibres of linen or cotton when spun or woven
are prepared for the dyer by being first boiled in water with a
suitable proportion of potash (which for linen should be made caustic,
in order that it may act more strongly upon the oily and resinous
matters abounding in flax) and afterwards bleached by exposure upon
the grass to sun and air. But as this operation commonly leaves a
portion of earthy matter in the linen or cotton, it ought to be soaked
or steeped in water soured by sulphuric acid, to dissolve and remove
this earthy matter, taking care afterwards to wash or rinse off the
acid."

A few of the natural dye stuffs are capable of dyeing cotton direct,
without a mordant, such as Turmeric, Barberry bark, safflower,
annatto. For other dyes cotton has a special attraction, such as
catechu, fustic, logwood.

ON LINEN.--Linen is flax, derived from the decomposed stalks of a
plant of the genus of Linum. It grows chiefly in Russia, Belgium,
France, Holland, and Ireland. The plants after being gathered are
subjected to a process called "retting", which separates the fibre
from the decaying part of the plant. In Ireland and Russia this is
usually done in stagnant water, producing a dark coloured flax. In
Belgium, Holland and France, retting is carried out in running water,
and the resulting flax is a lighter colour. Linen is more difficult to
dye than cotton, probably on account of the hard nature of the fibre.
The same processes are used for dyeing linen as for cotton.

"Linen thread is dyed in the same manner as cotton, only, that
previous to its being purged like cotton thread, it is usual to boil
it in water, adding for every pound of thread a quarter pound of
chopped sorrel. Oil of vitriol is, however, more convenient and better
than sorrel."--D'Apligny.

_To Bleach Linen._--(For 13 to 15 yards linen) Boil Â½Â lb. soap and
Â½Â lb. soda in a gallon of water. Put it in a copper and fill up with
water, leaving room for the linen to be put in. Put in the linen and
bring to the boil. Boil for 2 hours, keeping it under the water and
covered. Stir occasionally. Then spread out on the grass for 3 days,
watering it when it gets dry. Repeat this boiling and grassing for 3
weeks. Your linen is then pure white.

_To bleach linen a cream colour._--Boil Â½Â lb. soap and Â½Â lb. soda in a
gallon of water. Fill copper up with water and put in linen. Boil for
2 hours. Repeat this once a day for 4 days. The linen should not be
wrung out but kept in the water till ready to be put into the fresh
bath.

ON WATER.--A constant supply of clean soft water is a necessity for
the dyer. Rain water should be collected as much as possible, as this
is the best water to use. The dye house should be by a river or
stream, so that the dyer can wash with a continuous supply. Spring and
well water is as a rule hard, and should be avoided. In washing, as
well as in dyeing, hard water is altogether injurious for wool. It
ruins the brilliancy of colour, and prevents the dyeing of some
colours. Temporary hardness can be overcome by boiling the water (20
to 30 minutes) before using. An old method of purifying water, which
is still used by some silk and wool scourers, is to boil the water
with a little soap, skimming off the surface as it boils. In many
cases it is sufficient to add a little acetic acid to the water.

_Berthollet_ says,--"Whenever, therefore, a water is limpid, when its
flow is constant, when it has no sensible taste, and dissolves soap
well, it may be regarded as very proper for dyeing." He also goes on
to say that for correcting water that is bad, sour water is
principally used, that is, water in which bran has been fermented.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] From a dye book of 1705.

CHAPTER III.

MORDANTS

     Definition of mordant. The principal mordants. The
     mordanting of silk and wool. Of linen and cotton.
     Astringents for cotton. Alum. Various examples of using
     alum for wool, silk, cotton and linen. Iron. Examples of
     iron mordants. Tin. Examples of tin mordants. Chrome.
     Examples of chrome mordants. Copper. Examples of copper
     mordants. General observations. Tannin and the galling of
     cotton and linen. Examples of various galling processes.

MORDANTS.--Dyes are divided into two classes. First, the _substantive_
dyes, which give their colour directly to the material with which they
are boiled: and second, the _adjective_ dyes, as they are sometimes
called. These latter include the greater number of dyes and require
the use of a mordant to bring out their colour.

There are thus two processes concerned with the dyeing of most
colours; the first is mordanting and the second is the colouring or
actual dyeing. The mordanting prepares the stuff to receive the
dye--(_mordere_, to bite.) The early French dyers thought that a
mordant had the effect of opening the pores of the fibres, so that the
dye could more easily enter; but according to Hummel and later dyers
the action of the mordant is purely chemical; and he gives a
definition of a mordant as "that body, whatever it may be, which is
fixed on the fibre in combination with any given colouring matter."
The mordant is first precipitated on to the fibre and combines with
the colouring matter in the subsequent dye bath. But, whether the
action is chemical or merely physical, the fact remains that all
adjective dyes need this preparation of the fibre before they will fix
themselves on it. The use of a mordant, though not a necessity, is
sometimes an advantage when using substantive dyes.

In early days the leaves and roots of certain plants were used. This
is the case even now in India and other parts where primitive dyeing
methods are still carried on. Alum has been known for centuries in
Europe. Iron and tin filings have also been used. Alum and copperas
have been known in the Highlands for long ages. Stale urine is also
much used in Scotland and Ireland, but perhaps more as a clearing
agent than as an actual mordant.

Silk and wool require very much the same preparation except that in
the case of silk high temperatures should be avoided. Wool is
generally boiled in a weak solution of whatever mordant is used. With
silk, as a rule, it is better to use a cold solution, or a solution at
a temperature below boiling point. Cotton and linen are more difficult
to dye than wool or silk. Their fibre is not so porous and will not
hold the dye stuff without a more complicated preparation. The usual
method of preparing linen or cotton is to boil it first with some
astringent. The use of astringents in dyeing depends upon the tannic
acid they contain. In combination with ordinary mordants, tannic acid
aids the attraction of the colouring matter to the fibre and adds
brilliancy to the colours. The astringents mostly used are tannic
acid, gall nuts, sumach and myrobalams. Cotton has a natural
attraction for tannic acid, so that when once steeped in its solution
it is not easily removed by washing.

ALUM. (_Aluminium sulphate._)--This is the most generally used of all
the mordants, and has been known as such from early times in many
parts of the world. For most colours a certain proportion of cream of
tartar should be added to the alum bath as it helps to brighten the
ultimate colour. The usual amount of alum used is a quarter of a pound
to every pound of wool. As a rule, less mordant is needed for light
colours than for dark. An excess of alum is apt to make the wool
sticky.

"For dyeing worsted and stuffs yellow, you make use of the usual
preparation, viz., of tartar and alum. You allow four ounces of alum
to every pound of wool, or twenty-five pounds to every hundred. With
regard to the tartar, one ounce to every pound is sufficient for
yellow, though it requires two for red."--Hellot.

The usual length of time for boiling with alum is from Â½ an hour to 1
hour; but some dyers give as much as 2Â½ hours.

_Various examples of mordanting with alum._--

_For silk._ Wet out the silk thoroughly with water and wring out. Then
work it about a little in a strong solution of alum, previously
dissolved in hot water, and steep for several hours (or over night).
Then wash well. It should not be allowed to dry before dyeing. "Silks
are always alumed in the cold, because when they are alumed in a hot
bath, they are apt to lose a portion of their lustre." _Berthollet._

_For wool._ Â¼Â lb. of Alum and 1 oz. Cream of tartar for every pound of
wool. This is dissolved and when the water is warm the wool is
entered. Raise to boiling point and boil for one hour. The bath is
then taken off the fire and allowed to cool over night. The wool is
then wrung out (not washed) and put away in a linen bag in cool place
for four or five days, when it is ready for dyeing.

_For cotton and linen._ After boiling in water (some use a sour water,
some an alkaline ley) the cotton is put into the alum bath, Â¼Â lb. of
Alum to 1Â lb. of cotton. The alum is dissolved in hot water with soda
in the proportion of 1 part soda to 16 of alum. (Some add a small
quantity of tartar and arsenic). The cotton is well worked in this
solution and left 24 hours. It is then washed, and afterwards galled.

_For linen._ Â¼Â lb. alum for every pound of linen. Boil for 2Â½ hours
and immediately put into the dye bath.

_For wool._ 6 to 8 per cent. of alum and 5 to 7 per cent. of tartar of
the weight of wool.

IRON. (_Ferrous Sulphate_, _copperas_, _green vitriol_)

Iron is one of the oldest mordants known and is largely used in wool
and cotton dyeing. It is almost as important as alum. With wool it
should be used in combination with cream of tartar. The temperature of
the mordanting bath must be raised very gradually to boiling point or
the wool will dye unevenly. A general method of dealing with copperas
is to boil the wool first in a decoction of the colouring matter and
then add the mordant to the same bath in a proportion of 5 to 8 per
cent. of the weight of wool: and continue boiling for half an hour or
so longer. With some dyes a separate bath is needed, such as with
Camwood or Catechu. If used for cotton, the cotton is first dyed in a
boiling decoction of the dye stuff and then passed through a cold
solution of ferrous sulphate. Probably the commonest way of applying
copperas in cotton dyeing is to prepare the cotton with tannin, pass
through clear lime water and then through a copperas solution. Great
care is needed in the using of copperas, as, unless it is thoroughly
dissolved and mixed with the water before the wool is entered, it is
apt to stain the wool. It also hardens wool if used in excess, or if
boiled too long.

Copperas is mostly used for the fixing of wool colours (Fustic etc.)
to produce brown shades by the "stuffing and saddening" method (see
page 14), the wool being boiled first in a decoction of the dye for
about an hour, and then for Â½ an hour with the addition of 5 to 8 per
cent. of copperas. If used for darkening colours, copperas is added to
the bath, after the dyeing, and the boiling continued for 15 to 20
minutes.

_Examples of various proportions for Mordanting._--

8 per cent. of copperas and 20 per cent. of cream of tartar is a
mordant used for some colours.

4 per cent. copperas, 10 per cent. cream of tartar gives good olive
colours with weld.

8 per cent. copperas without tartar with single bath method, for dark
olive brown with old fustic.

2 oz. copperas and 2 oz. cream of tartar to 2Â½Â lbs. wool.

2 oz. copperas, 1Â½ oz. oxalic acid to 2Â½Â lbs. wool.

TIN.--(_Stannous chloride_, _tin crystals_, _tin salts_, _muriate of
tin_.)

Tin is not so useful as a mordant in itself, but as a modifying agent
with other mordants. It must be always used with great care, as it
tends to harden the wool, making it harsh and brittle. Its general
effect is to give brighter, clearer and faster colours than the other
mordants. When used as a mordant before dyeing, the wool is entered
into the cold mordanting bath, containing 4 per cent. of stannous
chloride and 2 per cent. oxalic acid: the temperature is gradually
raised to boiling, and kept at this temperature for 1 hour. It is
sometimes added to the dye bath towards the end of dyeing, to
intensify and brighten the colour. It is also used with cochineal for
scarlet on wool, in the proportion of 6 per cent. of stannous chloride
and 4 per cent. of cream of tartar. Boil for 1 to 1Â½ hours. Then wash
well. The washing after mordanting is not always essential. Also 6 to
8 per cent. of oxalic acid and 6 per cent. of stannous chloride, for
cochineal on wool. This mordant produces bright fast yellows from old
fustic, by boiling the wool from 1 to 1Â¼ hours, with 8 per cent. of
stannous chloride and 8 per cent. of cream of tartar. One recipe
gives 2 oz. tin and 4Â¼ oz. cream of tartar to 2Â½Â lbs. wool in 10
gallons of water. It is not a suitable mordant alone for cotton, but
can be used to brighten the colour in combination with other mordants.
"The nitro-muriate of tin (dyer's spirit) although it produces good
yellows with quercitron bark, produces them in a much weaker degree
than the murio-sulphate of that metal, which is really the cheapest
and most efficacious of all the solutions or preparations of tin for
dyeing quercitron as well as the cochineal colours."-- _Bancroft._

CHROME. (_Potassium dichromate_, _Bichromate of Potash._)

Chrome is a modern mordant, unknown to the dyer of 50 years ago. It is
excellent for wool and is easy to use and very effective in its
action. Its great advantage is that it leaves the wool soft to the
touch, whereas the other mordants are apt to harden the wool. In
commercial dyeing it is now almost exclusively used, as it has proved
itself the most generally convenient. By some it is said not to be so
fast to light as the other mordants, but it produces brighter colours.
The wool should be boiled for one to one & a half hours with
bichromate of potash in the proportion of 2 to 4 per cent. of the
wool. It is then washed well and immediately dyed. Wool mordanted with
chrome should not be exposed to light, but should be kept well covered
with the liquid while being mordanted, else it is liable to dye
unevenly. An excess of chrome impairs the colour. 3 per cent. of
chrome is a safe quantity to use for ordinary dyeing. One recipe gives
1Â½ oz. of chrome to 2Â½Â lbs. of wool. It should be dissolved in the
bath while the water is heating. The wool is entered and the bath
gradually raised to the boiling point, and boiled for three quarters
of an hour.

In the dyeing of cotton, it is used for catechu browns and other
colours. The cotton is soaked in a decoction of catechu, and
afterwards passed through a boiling solution of chrome, or it is
worked for half an hour in a bath of chrome at 60Â°C., and then washed.
It is usual to wash wool or cotton after mordanting with chrome, but
some dyers do not think it necessary.

COPPER. (_Copper Sulphate_, _Verdigris_, _blue vitriol_,
_blue-stone_.)

Copper is rarely used as a mordant. It is usually applied as a
saddening agent, that is, the wool is dyed first, and the mordant
applied afterwards to fix the colour. With cream of tartar it is used
sometimes as an ordinary mordant before dyeing, but the colours so
produced have no advantage over colours mordanted by easier methods\.

EXAMPLES.--6 per cent. of copper is used as a mordant for weld to
produce an olive yellow. 4 to 5 per cent. is used with old fustic for
yellow. 10 per cent. of copper gives to wool a reddish purple with
cochineal.

Mordants should not affect the physical characteristics of the fibres.
Sufficient time must be allowed for the mordant to penetrate the fibre
thoroughly. If the mordant is only superficial, the dye will be
uneven: it will fade and will not be as brilliant as it should be. The
brilliancy and fastness of Eastern dyes are probably due to a great
extent to the length of time taken over the various processes of
dyeing. _The longer time that can be given to each process, the more
satisfactory will be the result._

Different mordants give different colours with the same dye stuff. For
example:--Cochineal, if mordanted with alum, will give a crimson
colour; with iron, purple; with tin, scarlet; and with chrome or
copper, purple. Logwood, also, if mordanted with alum, gives a mauve
colour; if mordanted with chrome, it gives a blue. Fustic, weld, and
most of the yellow dyes, give a greeny yellow with alum, but an old
gold colour with chrome; and fawns of various shades with other
mordants.

TANNIN.--(_Tannic Acid_.)--Tannins are used in the dyeing of cotton
and linen. Cotton and linen possess the remarkable power of attracting
tannins from their aqueous solution, and when these substances are
prepared with tannins, they are able to retain dyes permanently.
Cotton saturated with tannin, attracts the dye stuff more rapidly, and
holds it. Tannic acid is the best tannin for mordanting cotton and
linen, as it is the purest and is free from any other colouring
matter. It is, therefore, used for pale and bright shades. But for
dark shades, substances containing tannic acid are used, such as
sumach, myrobalans, valonia, divi-divi, oak galls, chestnut (8 to 10
per cent. of tannin), catechu.

Cotton and linen are prepared with tannin after they have been through
the required cleansing, and if necessary, bleaching operations. A
bath is prepared with 2 to 5 per cent. of tannic acid of the weight of
the cotton, and a sufficient quantity of water. For dark shades, 5 to
10 per cent. should be used. The bath is used either hot or cold. It
should not be above 60Â°C. The cotton is worked in this for some time,
and then left to soak for 3 to 12 hours, while the bath cools. It is
then wrung out and slightly washed.

The following gives the relative proportions of the various substances
containing tannin:--1Â lb. tannin _equals_ 4Â lbs. sumach, 18Â lbs.
myrobalans, 14Â lbs. divi-divi, 11Â lbs. oak galls.

A few examples taken from various recipes of cotton dyeing:--

     For 10Â lbs. cotton use 12 oz. tannin.
     For 50Â lbs. cotton use 10Â lbs. sumach.
     For 40Â lbs. cotton use 10Â lbs. sumach.
     For 20Â lbs. cotton use 2Â lbs. yellow catechu or black catechu.
     For 20Â lbs cotton spend 3Â lbs. of catechu with 3 oz. of blue
       vitriol.

Some recipes soak the cotton for 24 hours, others for 48 hours.

CHAPTER IV.

BRITISH DYE PLANTS

The introduction of foreign dye woods and other dyes during the 17th
and 18th centuries rapidly displaced the native dye plants, except in
certain out of the way places such as the Highlands and parts of
Ireland. Some of these British dye plants had been used from early
historical times for dyeing. Some few are still in use in commercial
dye work (pear, sloe, and a few others); but their disuse was
practically completed during the 19th century when the chemical dyes
ousted them from the market.

The majority of these plants are not very important as dyes, and could
not probably now be collected in sufficient quantities. Some few
however are important, such as woad, weld, heather, walnut, alder,
oak, some lichens; and many of the less important ones would produce
valuable colours if experiments were made with the right mordants.
Those which have been in use in the Highlands are most of them good
dyes. Among these are Ladies Bedstraw, whortleberry, yellow iris,
bracken, bramble, meadow sweet, alder, heather and many others. The
yellow dyes are the most plentiful, and many of these are good fast
colours. Practically no good red, in quantity, is obtainable. Madder
is the only reliable red dye among plants, and that is no longer
indigenous in England. Most of the dye plants require a preparation of
the material to be dyed, with alum, or some other mordant, but a few,
such as Barberry, and some of the lichens, are substantive dyes, and
require no mordant.

PLANTS WHICH DYE RED.--

     Potentil. _Potentilla Tormentilla._ Roots.

     Wild Madder. _Rubia peregrina._

     Lady's Bedstraw. _Galium verum._ Roots.

     Gromwell. _Lithospermum arvense._

     Marsh Potentil. _Potentilla Comarum._ Roots.

     Birch. _Betula alba._ Fresh inner bark.

     Bed-straw. _Galium boreale._ Roots.

     Common Sorrel. _Rumex acetosa._ Roots.

     Evergreen Alkanet. _Anchusa sempervirens._ With chloride of tin.

     Dyer's Woodruff. _Asperula tinctoria._ Roots.

PLANTS WHICH DYE BLUE.--

     Woad. _Isatis Tinctoria._

     Whortleberry or blaeberry. _Vaccinium Myrtillus._ Berries.

     Elder. _Sambucus nigra._ Berries.

     Privet. _Ligustrum vulgare._ Berries, with alum and salt.

     [2]Sloe. _Prunus communis._ Fruit.

     Red bearberry. _Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi._

     Dogs Mercury. _Mercurialis perennis._

     Yellow Iris. _Iris Pseudacorus._ Root.

     Devil's Bit. _Scabiosa succisa._ Leaves prepared like woad.

PLANTS WHICH DYE YELLOW.--

     Weld. _Reseda luteola._

     Meadow Rue. _Thalictrum flavum._ Roots.

     Marsh Marigold. _Caltha palustris._ Flowers.

     S. John's Wort. _Hypericum perforatum._

     Heath. _Erica vulgaris._ With Alum.

     Spindle tree. _Euonymus EuropÃ¦us._

     Buckthorn. _Rhamnus frangula_ and _R. cathartica._ Berries and
     Bark.

     [3]Dyer's Greenwood. _Genista tinctoria._ Young shoots and leaves.

     Kidney Vetch. _Anthyllis Vulnararia._

     Marsh Potentil. _Potentilla Comarum._

     Ling. _Calluna vulgaris._

     Yellow Centaury. _Chlora perfoliata._

     Hornbeam. _Carpinus Betulus._ Bark.

     Hedge stachys. _Stachys palustris._

     Polygonum Persecaria.

     Polygonum Hydropiper.

     Hop. _Humulus lupulus._

     Stinking Willy, or Ragweed. _Senecio JacobÃ¦a._

     Yellow Camomile. _Anthemis tinctoria._

     Common dock. _Rumex obtusifolius._ Root.

     [4]Sawwort.

     _Serratula tinctoria._

     Gorse. _Ulex EuropÃ¦us._ Bark, flowers and young shoots.

     Broom. _Sarothamnus scoparius._

     Bracken. _Pteris aquilina._ Roots. Also young tops.

     Way-faring tree. _Viburnum lantana._ Leaves, with alum.

     Bramble. _Rubus fructicosus._

     Nettle. _Urtica._ With alum.

     Bog Myrtle or Sweet Gale. _Myrica Gale._

     Teasel. _Dipsacus Sylvestris._

     Sundew. _Drosera._

     Barberry. _Berberis vulgaris._ Stem and root.

     Bog asphodel. _Narthecium ossifragum._

     Agrimony. _Agrimonia Eupatoria._

     Yellow corydal. _Corydalis lutea._

     Privet. _Ligustrum vulgare._ Leaves.

     Crab Apple. _Pyrus Malus._ Fresh inner bark.

     Ash. _Fraxinus excelsior._ Fresh inner bark.

     Pear. Leaves.

     Poplar. Leaves.

     Plum.  Leaves.

     Birch. Leaves.

     [5]Willow. Leaves.

PLANTS WHICH DYE GREEN.--

     Privet. _Ligustrum vulgare._ Berries and leaves, with
     alum.

     Flowering reed. _Phragmites communis._ Flowering tops,
     with copperas.

     Elder. _Sambucus nigra._ Leaves with alum.

     Nettle. _Urtica dioica_ and _U. Urens_.

     Lily of the valley. _Convalaria majalis._ Leaves.

     Larch. Bark, with alum.

PLANTS WHICH DYE BROWN.--

     Whortleberry. _Vaccinium Myrtillus._ Young shoots, with
     nut galls.

     Larch. Pine needles, collected in Autumn.

     Walnut. Root and green husks of nut.

     Water Lily. _NymphÃ¦a alba._ Root.

     Alder. _Alnus glutinosa._ Bark.

     Birch. _Betula alba._ Bark.

     Oak. _Quercus Rohur._ Bark.

     Red currants, with alum.

     Hop. _Humulus lupulus._ Stalks give a brownish red colour.

PLANTS WHICH DYE PURPLE.--

     Whortleberry or blaeberry. _Vaccinium myrtillus._ Berries.
     "It contains a blue or purple dye which will dye wool and
     silk without mordant."

     Deadly nightshade. _Atropa Belladonna._

     Sundew. _Drosera._

     Bryony. _Bryonia dioica._ Berries.

     Danewort. _Sambucus Ebulus._ Berries.

     Elder. _Sambucus nigra._ Berries, with alum, a violet;
     with alum and salt, a lilac colour.

     Dandelion. _Taraxacum Dens-leonis._ Roots. Dyes a magenta
     colour.

     Damson. Fruit, with alum.

PLANTS WHICH DYE BLACK.--

     Alder. _Alnus glutinosa._ Bark with copperas.

     Blackberry. _Rubus fruticosus._ Young shoots, with salts
     of iron.

     Dock. _Rumex._ Root.

     Iris. _Iris Pseudacorus._ Root.

     Meadowsweet. _Spirea Ulmaria._

     Oak. Bark and acorns.

     Elder. Bark, with copperas.

FOOTNOTES:

[2] "On boiling sloes, their juice becomes red, and the red dye which
it imparts to linen changes, when washed with soap, into a bluish
colour, which is permanent."

[3] "For giving very inferior yellow upon coarser woollens, the dyer's
broom, _genista tinctoria_, is sometimes employed, with the common
preparation of alum and tartar."

[4] Sawwort which grows abundantly in meadows affords a very fine pure
yellow with alum mordant, which greatly resembles weld yellow. It is
extremely permanent.

[5] "The leaves of the sweet willow, _salix pentandra_, gathered at
the end of August and dried in the shade, afford, if boiled with about
one thirtieth potash, a fine yellow colour to wool, silk and thread,
with alum basis. All the 5 species of Erica or heath growing on this
island are capable of affording yellows much like those from the
dyer's broom; also the bark and shoots of the Lombardy poplar,
_populus pyramidalis_. The three leaved hellebore, _helleborus
trifolius_, for dyeing wool yellow is used in Canada. The seeds of the
purple trefoil, lucerne, and fenugreek, the flowers of the French
marigold, the chamomile, _antemis tinctoria_, the ash, _fraxinus
excelsior_, fumitory, _fumaria officinalis_, dye wool yellow." "The
American golden rod, _solidago canadensis_, affords a very beautiful
yellow to wool, silk and cotton upon an aluminous basis."--Bancroft.

CHAPTER V.

THE LICHEN DYES

Some of the most useful dyes and the least known are to be found among
the Lichens. They seem to have been used among peasant dyers from
remote ages, but apparently none of the great French dyers used them,
nor are they mentioned in any of the old books on dyeing. The only
Lichen dyes that are known generally among dyers are Orchil and
Cudbear, and these are preparations of lichens, not the lichens
themselves. They are still used in some quantity and are prepared
rather elaborately. But a great many of the ordinary Lichens yield
very good and permanent dyes. The Parmelia saxatilis and P.
omphaloides, are largely used in the Highlands & West Ireland, for
dyeing brown of all shades. No mordant is needed, and the colours
produced are the fastest known. "Crottle," is the general name for
Lichens, in Scotland. They are gathered off the rocks in July and
August, dried in the sun, and used to dye wool, without any
preparation. The crottle is put into the dye bath with a sufficient
quantity of water, boiled up and allowed to cool and then boiled up
with the wool until the shade required is got. This may take from one
to three or four hours, as the dye is not rapidly taken up by the
wool. Other dyers use it in the following way:--A layer of crottle, a
layer of wool, and so on until the bath is full; fill up with cold
water and bring to the boil, and boil till the colour is deep enough.
Some of the finest browns are got in this way. The wool does not seem
to be affected by keeping it in the dye a long time. A small quantity
of acetic acid put in with the Lichen is said to assist in exhausting
the colour.

The grey Lichen _Ramalina scopulorum_, dyes a fine shade of yellow
brown. It grows very plentifully on old stone walls, especially by the
sea, and in damp woods, on trees, and on old rotten wood. Boil the
Lichen up in sufficient water one day, and the next day put in the
wool, and boil up again till the right colour is got. If the wool is
left in the dye for a day or more after boiling, it absorbs more
colour, and it does not hurt the wool, but leaves it soft and silky to
the touch, though apt to be uneven in colour. Some mordant the wool
first with alum, but it does not seem to need it.

The best known of the dye Lichens are Parmelia saxatilis, and Parmelia
omphalodes, which are still largely used in Scotland and Ireland for
dyeing wool for tweeds. The well known Harris tweed smell is partly
due to the use of this dye.

Other Lichens also known for their dyeing properties are:--Parmelia
caperata or Stone Crottle which contains a yellow dye, P.
ceratophylla, or Dark Crottle, and P. parietina, the common wall
lichen, which gives a colour similar to the colour of the lichen
itself, yellowish brown. In _Bancroft's_ "Philosophy of Permanent
Colours" is to be found the following--"Besides the lichens, whose
colour depends upon a combination with the ammonia, there are some
which afford substantive colours, less beautiful indeed, but more
durable, by merely boiling with water. One of these is the muscus
pulmonarius of Caspar Bauhine, or the lichenoides pulmonium
reticulatum vulgare marginibus peltiferus of Dillenius, called Rags
and Stone Rags, in the northern parts of England, which, without any
mordant, dyes a very durable dark brown colour upon white wool or
cloth, and a fine lasting black upon wool or cloth which has
previously received a dark blue from Indigo." The following occurs in
an old Scottish history.--"There is one excresence gotton off the
craigs which they call cork-lit, and make use thereof for litting, or
dyeing a kind of purple colour." Another lichen, taken from trees in
Scotland, was used for producing an orange tint, called Philamort. The
tree lichen was called wood-raw, or rags, to distinguish it from stone
lichen, or stone-raw. A deep red colour was got from the dull grey
friable lichen, common on old stone walls, which was scraped off, with
a metal scraper. The bright yellow lichen, growing on rocks and walls,
and old roofs, dyes a fine plum colour, if the wool is mordanted first
with Bichromate of Potash. There is a difficulty, however, in getting
enough of this lichen to make the dyeing with it practicable.

The colour of the plant is no indication of the colorific power. That
is often greatly modified by the conditions of its growth,--such as
climate, elevation above the sea, nearness or distance from the sea,
age, season when gathered, habitat. The best season for gathering most
lichens, is late summer and autumn.

In Sweden, Scotland and other countries, the peasantry use a lichen,
called _Lecanora tartarea_, to furnish a red or crimson dye.

In Shetland, the _Parmelia saxatilis_ (Scrottyie) is used to dye
brown. It is found in abundance on argillaceous rocks. It is
considered best if gathered late in the year, and is generally
collected in August. Immediately after being collected, an iron vessel
is filled with it, and stale urine then poured over it, till the
vessel is full. This is slowly boiled until the plant begins to assume
a mucillaginous appearance, which generally takes place in about 2
hours. When taken off the fire, it has the consistence of a thin
jelly, but it speedily hardens until it is nearly as thick as
porridge, and its colour becomes a dark rusty grey. It is then folded
in the cloth, layer by layer of Scrottyie and cloth alternately, and
all is boiled for about 20 minutes, in soft water, in which a little
alum has been dissolved. It is then taken off the fire and the cloth
washed in cold water, when the process of dyeing is complete. The
Scrottyie, taken from between the folds of the cloth, is used several
times for dyeing, on being treated again in the same manner.

The plant used in Shetland for the red dye is the _Lecanora tartarea_.
It is found abundantly on almost all rocks and also grows on dry
moors, along with _Cladonia sangiferina_. (If a particle of the latter
is allowed to be intermixed with the dye, it is supposed to be
spoiled.) The lichen, and the dye made from it, are called Korkalett.
This lichen is collected in May and June, and steeped in stale urine
for about 3 weeks, being kept at a moderate heat all the time. The
substance having then a thick and strong texture, like bread, and
being of a bluish black colour, is taken out and made into small cakes
of about Â¾Â lb. in weight, which are wrapped in dock leaves and hung up
to dry in peat smoke. When dry it may be preserved fit for use for
many years; when wanted for dyeing it is partially dissolved in warm
water till of the consistence of Scrottyie, the dyeing proceeds in the
same manner; 5Â lbs. of korkalett being considered sufficient for about
4 Scotch ells of cloth. The colour produced is a light red. It is
much used in the dyeing of yarn as well as cloth. The yarn is simply
boiled in it without folding as in the case of cloth.[6]

LinnÃ¦us mentions that a beautiful red colour may be prepared from
Lichen pustulatus, _Gyrophora pustulata_. _G. cylindrica_ is used by
Icelanders for dyeing woollen stuffs a brownish green colour. In
Sweden and Norway, _Evernia vulpina_ is used for dyeing woollen stuffs
yellow. Iceland moss, _Cetraria Islandica_, is used in Iceland for
dyeing brown. _Usnea barbata_ is collected from trees in Pennsylvania
& used for an orange colour for yarn.

_Lecanora tartarea_ (corcur of the Scottish Highlanders) dyes a
claret. It is usually prepared by pounding the lichen and mixing it
with stale chamberley, to which a little salt or kelp is added; this
mixture is kept for several weeks, and frequently stirred; being then
brought to the consistence of coarse paste, it is made up into balls,
with a little lime or burnt shells, and is kept ready for use. When
used, it is coarsely powdered and a small portion of alum is generally
added.

A general method for using lichens is suggested by Dr. Westring of
Sweden, in his "Experiments on Lichens for Dyeing Wools and Silks." He
says:

"The Lichens should be gathered after some days of rain, they can then
be more easily detached from the rocks. They should be well washed,
dried and reduced to a fine powder: 25 parts pure river water are
added to 1 of powdered lichen, and 1 part of fresh quick lime to 10
parts powdered lichen. To 10Â lbs. lichen Â½Â lb. sal ammoniac is
sufficient when lime and sal ammoniac are used together. The vessel
containing them should be kept covered for the first 2 or 3 days.
Sometimes the addition of a little common salt or salt-petre will give
greater lustre to the colours."[7]

This method can be followed by anyone wishing to experiment with
Lichens. Dr. Westring did not use a mordant as a rule. Where the same
species of Lichen grows on both rocks and trees, the specimens taken
from rocks give the better colours.

ORCHIL OR ARCHIL AND CUDBEAR are substantive or non mordant dyes,
obtained from Lichens of various species of Roccella growing on rocks
in the Canary Islands and other tropical and sub-tropical countries.
They used to be made in certain parts of Great Britain from various
lichens, but the manufacture of these has almost entirely disappeared.
They have been known from early times as dyes. They give beautiful
purples and reds, but the colour is not very fast. The dye is produced
by the action of ammonia and oxygen upon the crushed Lichens or weeds
as they are called. The early way of producing the colour was by
treating the Lichen with stale urine and slaked lime, and this method
was followed in Scotland. Orchil is applied to wool by the simple
process of boiling it in a neutral or slightly acid solution of the
colouring matter. 3% Sulphuric acid is a useful combination.
Sometimes alum and tartar are used. It dyes slowly and evenly. It is
used as a bottom for Indigo on wool and also for compound shades on
wool and silk. For cotton and linen dyeing it is not used. It is
rarely used by itself as the colour is fugitive, but by using a
mordant of tin, the colour is made much more permanent.

"Archil is in general a very useful ingredient in dyeing; but as it is
rich in colour, and communicates an alluring bloom, dyers are often
tempted to abuse it, and to exceed the proportions that can add to the
beauty, without, at the same time, injuring in a dangerous manner the
permanence of the colours. Nevertheless, the colour obtained when
solution of tin is employed, is less fugitive than without this
addition."[8]

Many of the British lichens produce colours by the same treatment as
is used for producing Orchil. Large quantities were manufactured in
Scotland from lichens gathered in the Shetland Islands and Western
Highlands. This was called Cudbear. The species used by the Scottish
Cudbear makers were generally _Lecanora tartarea_ and _Urceolaria
calcarea_; but the following lichens also give the purple colour on
treatment with ammonia.--_Evernia prunastri_, _Lecanora pallescens_,
_Umbilicaria vellea_, _U. pustulata_, _Parmelia perlata_; whilst
several others give colours of similar character, but of little
commercial value. The manufacture of Archil and Cudbear from the
various lichens is simple in principle. In all cases the plant is
reduced to a pulp with water and ammonia, and the mass kept at a
moderate heat and allowed to ferment, the process taking two or three
weeks to complete. The ammonia used to be added in the form of stale
urine, and additions of slaked lime were made from time to time.[9]
The general mode of treatment for the development from the dye lichens
of orchil and cudbear consists of the following steps:--

     1.--Careful washing, drying and cleaning, to separate
     earthy and other impurities.

     2.--Pulverisation into a coarse or fine pulp with water.

     3.--Regulated addition of ammonia of a certain strength
     and derived from various sources (putrid urine, gas
     liquor, etc.)

     4.--Frequent stirring of the fermenting mass so as to
     ensure full exposure of every part thereof to the action
     of atmospheric oxygen.

     5.--Addition of alkalis in some cases (e.g. potash or
     soda) to heighten or modify the colour; and of chalk,
     gypsum and other substances, to impart consistence.
     Various accessories are employed, e.g. the application of
     continued, moderate and carefully regulated heat during
     the process of fermentation.[10]

RECIPES FOR DYEING WITH LICHENS.

_To dye Brown with Crotal._

For 6Â¼Â lbs. (100 oz.) of wool. Dye baths may be used of varying
strengths of from 10 to 50 oz. of Crotal. Raise the bath to the boil,
and boil for an hour. A light tan shade is got by first dipping the
wool in a strong solution of Crotal, a darker shade by boiling for
half-an-hour, and a dark brown by boiling for two hours or so. It is
better, however, to get the shade by altering the quantity of Crotal
used. The addition of sufficient oil of vitriol to make the bath
slightly acid will be an improvement. (A very small quantity should be
used).

_To Dye Red with Crotal._--

Gather the lichen off the rocks--it is best in winter. Put layers of
lichen and wool alternately in a pot, fill up with water and boil
until you get the desired tint. Too much crotal will make the wool a
dark red brown, but a very pretty terra cotta red can be got. No
mordant is required.

_To Dye Pink from a bright yellow Lichen._ (_Parmelia parietina_).

Mordant the wool with 3% of Bichromate of Potash, then boil with the
lichen for 1 hour or more.

_To Dye Brown from Crotal._

Boil the wool with an equal quantity of lichen for 1 or 1Â½ hours. No
mordant is required.

_To dye red purple from Cudbear & Logwood._

Dye with equal quantities of Cudbear and Logwood, the wool having been
mordanted with chrome. A lighter colour is got by dyeing with 8Â lbs.
cudbear and Â½Â lb. logwood (for 30Â lbs. wool).

_To Dye Yellow on Linen with the Lichen Peltigera canina_ (a large
flat lichen growing on rocks in woods).

Mordant with alum, (Â¼Â lb. to aÂ lb. of linen) boil for 2 hours. Then
boil up with sufficient quantity of the lichen till the desired colour
is got.

LIST OF LICHENS USED BY THE PEASANTRY OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES FOR WOOL
DYEING.[11]

SHADES OF RED, PURPLE AND ORANGE.

_Roccella tinctoria._ Orseille. Grows in the South of France, on rocks
by the sea.

_Lecanora tartarea._ Crotal, Crottle, Corkur, Corcir, Korkir. Found in
the Scotch Highlands and Islands, growing on rocks; used for the
manufacture of Cudbear in Leith & Glasgow.

_L. parella._ Light Crottle, Crabs Eye Lichen. Found in Scotland,
France, and England, on rocks and trees, formerly celebrated in the
South of France in the making of the dye called Orseille d'Auvergne.

_L. hÃ¦matomma._--Bloody spotted lecanora, Black lecanora. Found in
Scotland on rocks and trees.

_Umbilicaria pustulata._--Blistered umbilicaria. Found on rocks in
Norway and Sweden.

_Isidium corallinum._ White crottle. Found on rocks in Scotland.

_I. Westringii._ Westring's Isidium. Norway and Sweden.

_Urceolaria calcarea._ Corkir, Limestone Urceolaria. Found in
Scotland, Western Islands, Shetland and Wales, growing on limestone
rocks.

_U. Scruposa._ Rock Urceolaria. Grows on rocks in hilly districts in
England.

_U. cinerea._ Greyish Urceolaria. In England, on rocks.

_Parmelia saxatilis._ Crottle, stane-raw, Staney-raw, (Scotland).
Scrottyie, (Shetland). Sten-laf, Sten-mossa, (Norway and Sweden).
Found on rocks and stones in Scotland, Shetland, and Scandinavia. In
winter the Swedish peasantry wear home made garments dyed purple by
this lichen. By the Shetlanders it is usually collected in August,
when it is considered richest in colouring matter.

_P. omphalodes._ Black Crottle, Cork, Corker, Crostil or Crostal,
(Scotch Highlands). Arcel, (Ireland). Kenkerig, (Wales).
Alaforel-leaf, (Sweden). Found on rocks, especially Alpine, in
Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Scandinavia. One of the most extensively
used dye-lichens. It yields a dark brown dye readily to boiling water,
and it is easily fixed to yarns by simple mordants. It is stated to
yield a red, crimson or purple dye.

_P. caperata._ Stone crottle, Arcel. Found in North of Ireland and
Isle of Man, on trees. Said to dye yarn brown, orange and lemon
yellow.

_P. conspersa._ Sprinkled parmelia. Found growing on rocks in England.

_Evernia prunastri._ Ragged hoary lichen. Stag's horn lichen. Found in
Scotland, on trees.

_Ramalina scopulorum._ Ivory-like ramalina. Scotland, on maritime
rocks. A red dye.

_R. farinacea._ Mealy ramalina. On trees in England.

_Borrera ashney._ Chutcheleera. India.

_Solorina crocea._ Saffron yellow solorina. In Scotland, on mountain
summits. The colouring matter is ready formed and abundant in the
thallus.

_Nephroma parilis._ Chocolate colored nephroma. Scotland, on stones.
Said to dye blue.

_Sticta pulmonacea._ On trees.

_Lecidea sanguinaria._ Red fruited lecidea. In Scotland, on rocks.

_Conicularia aculeata._ var. _spadicea_. Brown prickly cornicularia.
Canary Islands, Highland Mountains.

_Usnea barbata._ Bearded Usnea. Pennsylvania and South America. On old
trees. Stated to dye yarn orange.

_U. florida._ Flowering Usnea. Pale greenish yellow or reddish brown.

_U. plicata._ Plaited usnea. On trees.

SHADES OF BROWN

_Cetraria Islandica._ Iceland moss. Iceland heaths, and hills. It
yields a good brown to boiling water, but this dye appears only to
have been made available to the Icelanders.

_Parmelia physoides._ Dark crottle, Bjork-laf. Found in Sweden,
Scotland & Scandinavia, on rocks and trees.

_P. omphalodes._ In Scandinavia and Scotland. Withering asserts that
it yields a purple dye paler, but more permanent, than orchil; which
is prepared in Iceland by steeping in stale lye, adding a little salt
and making it up into balls with lime.

_Sticta pulmonacea._ Oak lung, Lungwort, Aikraw, Hazel-raw, Oak rag,
Hazel rag, Hazel crottle, Rags. Found on trees in England, Scotland,
North of Ireland, Scandinavia. It dyes wool orange and is said to have
been used by the Herefordshire peasantry to dye stockings brown. Some
species yield beautiful saffron or gamboge coloured dyes, e.g. _S.
flava_, _crocata_, _aurata_.

_For continuation of list see Appendix._

FOOTNOTES:

[6] T. Edmonston. _On the Native Dyes of the Shetland Islands_ 1841.

[7] The _Annales de Chimie_. Stockholm Transactions 1792.

[8] The Art of Dyeing. _Berthollet._ He gives minute directions for
the preparation of Archil. See page 365.

[9] Some British Dye Lichens. _Alfred Edge._

[10] From Dr. W. L. Lindsay, On Dyeing Properties of Lichens.

[11] From an article by Dr. Lauder Lindsay on the "Dyeing Properties
of Lichens," in the _Edinburgh Philosophical Journal._ July to October
1855.

CHAPTER VI.

[12]BLUE

INDIGO, WOAD, LOGWOOD.

"Notwithstanding the very great facility of dyeing wool blue, when the
blue vat is once prepared, it is far otherwise with regard to the
preparation of this vat, which is actually the most difficult
operation in the whole art of dyeing."--Hellot.

_INDIGO_

Indigo is the blue matter extracted from a plant, _Indigofera
tinctoria_ & other species, growing in Asia, South America and Egypt.
It reaches the market in a fine powder, which is insoluble in water.
There are two ways of dyeing with indigo. It may be dissolved in
sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol, thereby making an indigo extract.
This process was discovered in 1740. It gives good blue colours, but
is not very permanent. Darker colours by this method are more
permanent than the paler ones. It does not dye cotton or linen.

The other method is by the indigo vat process, which produces fast
colours, but is complicated and difficult. In order to colour with
indigo, it has to be deprived of its oxygen. The deoxydised indigo is
yellow, and in this state penetrates the woollen fibre; the more
perfectly the indigo in a vat is deoxydised, the brighter and faster
will be the colour. For the dyeing of wool, the vats are usually
heated to a temperature of 50Â°C. Cotton and linen are generally dyed
cold.

_Hellot_ says "when the vat, of whatsoever kind it be, is once
prepared in a proper state, there is no difficulty in dyeing woollens
or stuffs, as it is requisite only to soak them in clean warm water,
to wring them, and then to immerse them in the vat, for a longer or
shorter time, according as you would have the colour more or less
deep. The stuff should be from time to time opened, that is to say,
taken out and wrung over the vat and exposed to the air for a minute
or two, till it becomes blue. For let your vat be what it will, the
stuff will be green when taken out and will become blue when exposed
to the air. In this manner it is very proper to let the colour change
before you immerse your stuffs a second time, as you are thereby
better enabled to judge whether they will require only one or several
dips."--"The Art of Dyeing Wool," by _Hellot_.

The colour of the blue is brightened by passing the wool through
boiling water after it comes out of the dye. Indigo is a substantive
dye and consequently requires no mordant.

[13]1). TO MAKE EXTRACT OF INDIGO.--

Put 2Â lbs. of oil of vitriol into a glass bottle or jar, stir into it
8 oz. of powdered indigo, stirring briskly for Â½ hour, then cover up
and stir 4 or 5 times a day for a few days, then add a little powdered
chalk to neutralise the acid. It should be added slowly, little by
little, as the chalk makes the acid bubble up. Keep it closely corked.

2). TO MAKE EXTRACT OF INDIGO.--

4 oz. sulphuric acid, Â½ oz. finely ground Indigo. Mix like mustard,
and leave to stand over-night. Prepare the wool by mordanting with 5Â oz.
alum to 1Â lb. wool. Boil for Â½ hour and dye without drying.

3). TO DYE WOOL WITH INDIGO EXTRACT

For 4 to 6Â lbs. of wool. Stir 2 to 3 oz. of Indigo extract into the
water of the dye bath. The amount is determined by the depth of shade
required. When warm, enter the wool, and bring slowly to boiling point
(about Â½ hour) and continue boiling for another Â½ hour. By keeping it
below boiling point while dyeing, better colours are got, but it is
apt to be uneven. Boiling levels the colour but makes the shade
greener. This is corrected by adding to the dye bath a little logwood,
10 to 20 per cent. This should be boiled up separately, strained, and
put in the bath before the wool is entered. Too much should be
avoided however, as it dims the colour. It can be done in the same
bath, but better results are got by separate baths. Instead of logwood
a little madder is sometimes used; also Cudbear or Barwood.

4). TO DYE SILK WITH INDIGO EXTRACT.

Dye at a temperature of 40 to 50Â°C. in a bath with a little sulphuric
acid and the amount of indigo as is needed for the colour. Another
method is to mordant the silk first with alum by steeping it for 12
hours in a solution of 25 per cent. and then, without washing, to dye
with the Indigo Extract and about 10% of alum added to the dye bath.
By this means compound colours can be made by the addition of
cochineal, for purple, or old Fustic, Logwood, etc., for greys, browns
and other colours.

5). SAXON BLUE.--

Put into a glazed earthen pot 4Â lbs. of good oil of vitriol with 12
oz. of choice Indigo, stir this mixture very hastily and frequently in
order to excite a fermentation. It is customary with some Dyers to put
into this composition a little antimony or salt-petre, tartar, chalk,
alum and other things, but I find it sufficient to mix the oil and
Indigo alone, and the colours will be finer, for those neutral salts
destroy the acid of the vitriol and sully the colour. In 24 hours it
is fit for use. Then a copper of a good size is to be filled with fair
water (into which one peck of bran is put in a bag) and made pretty
warm, the bran after yielding its flower must be taken out, and the
Chymie, (Indigo Extract) mixed well with water in a Piggin, (a small
pot) is put in according to the shade required, having first put in a
hand-ful of powdered tartar; the cloth is to be well wet and worked
very quick over the winch (stick on which it is hung) for half an
hour. The liquor must not be made hotter than for madder red (just
under boiling point). The hot acid of the vitriol would cause the blue
to incline to green if too much heat was given. (From an old Dye
Book).

6). TO MAKE UP A BLUE VAT.--

Take 1Â lb. Indigo thoroughly ground, put this into a deep vessel with
about 12 gallons of water, add 2Â lbs. copperas, and 3Â lbs. newly
slaked lime, and stir for 15 minutes. Stir again after 2 hours and
repeat every 2 hours for 5 or 6 times. Towards the end, the liquor
should be a greenish yellow colour, with blackish veins through it,
and a rich froth of Indigo on the surface. After standing 8 hours to
settle, the vat is fit to use.

7). TURQUOISE FOR WOOL.--

Mordant with alum. For a pale shade use 1 teaspoonful of Indigo
Extract (see No. 2) for 1Â lb. of wool. Boil Â¼ hour.

8). BLUE FOR WOOL. (Highlands).

Take a sufficiency of Indigo. (For medium shade about 1 oz. to every
pound of wool). Dissolve it in about as much stale urine (about a
fortnight old) as will make a bath for the wool. Make it lukewarm. Put
in the wool and keep it at the same temperature till the dyeing is
done. For a deep navy blue it will take a month, but a pale blue will
be done in 3 or 4 days. Every morning and evening the wool must be
taken out of the dye bath, wrung out and put back again. The bath must
be kept covered and the temperature carefully attended to. Some add a
decoction of dock roots the last day, which is said to fix the blue.
The wool must then be thoroughly washed. This is a fast dye.

9). INDIGO VAT. (For small dyers).

Add to 500 litres of stale urine 3 to 4 kilos of common salt and heat
the mixture to 50Â° to 60Â°C., for 4 to 5 hours with frequent stirring,
then add 1 kilo of madder, 1 kilo of ground Indigo, stir well, and
allow to ferment till the Indigo is reduced.

10). SAXON BLUE. (_Berthollet_).

Prepare the wool with alum and tartar. A smaller or greater proportion
of the Indigo solution is put into the bath, (1 part of Indigo with 8
parts of sulphuric acid, digested for 24 hours), according to the
depth of shade wished to be obtained. For deep shades it is
advantageous to pour in the solution by portions, lifting out the wool
from the bath while it is being added. The cold bath acts as well as
the hot.

11). THE COLD INDIGO VAT WITH URINE.

Take 4Â lbs. of powdered Indigo and put it into a gallon of vinegar,
leaving it to digest over a slow fire for 24 hours. At the end of this
time the Indigo should be quite dissolved. If not dissolved pound it
up with some of the liquor adding a little urine. Put into it Â½Â lb.
madder, mixing it well. Then pour it into a cask containing 60
gallons of urine (fresh or stale). Mix and stir the whole together;
this should be done morning and evening for 8 days or until the
surface becomes green when stirred, and produces froth. It may be
worked immediately without any other preparation than stirring it 3 or
4 hours before-hand. This kind of vat is extremely convenient, because
when once prepared it remains so always until it is entirely
exhausted. According as you would have your vat larger or smaller you
reduce or enlarge the amount of the ingredients used in the same
proportion as the original. This vat is sooner prepared in summer than
in winter.

12). INDIGO VAT ON A SMALL SCALE FOR WOOLLENS AND COTTONS.--

Have a strong 9 gallon cask, put into it 8 gallons of urine, have a 4
quart pickle jar, into which put 1Â lb. ground Indigo and 3 pints of
best vinegar; put the jar into a saucepan filled with water, and make
it boil well for 2 hours, stirring it all the time. Let it stand in a
warm place for 3 days, then pour it into the cask; rake it up twice a
day for a month. It must be covered from the air.

13). BLUE VAT FOR WOOLLENS.--

For every 20 gallons of water add 5 oz. ground Indigo, 8 oz. of
potash, 3 oz. madder, and 4 oz. bran. Keep the solution at 140Â°F.;
after 24 hours the whole will have begun to ferment, then add 2 oz.
madder, stir and allow the whole to settle, after which the vat is
ready for use.

14). TO DYE INDIGO BLUE. Urine Vat.--

Prepare vat as follows:--To 3Â½ gallons of stale urine add 4Â½ oz. of
common salt, and heat the mixture to 125Â°F. (as hot as the hand can
bear). Keep at this heat for 4 to 5 hours, frequently stirring, then
add 1Â¼ oz. thoroughly ground Indigo and 1Â¼ oz. Madder, stir well and
allow to ferment till the Indigo is reduced. This is recognized by the
appearance of the vat, which should be of a greenish yellow colour,
with streaks of blue. Allow the vat to settle, when you can proceed
with dyeing. Process of dyeing the same as in No. 15.

15). TO DYE INDIGO BLUE.--Potash Vat.--

Into a pot 3 parts full of water put 1Â½ oz. Madder and 1Â½ oz. bran.
Heat to nearly boiling, and keep at this heat for 3 hours. Then add 5
oz. Carbonate of Potash; allow Potash to dissolve and let the liquor
cool down till luke-warm. Then add 5 oz. thoroughly ground Indigo,
stir well and leave to ferment for two days, occasionally stirring,
every 12 hours or so. Wool dyed in this vat must be thoroughly washed
after the colour is obtained.

_Process of Dyeing._--Into a vat prepared as above, dip the wool. Keep
it under the vat liquor, gently moving about a sufficient time to
obtain the colour required. A light blue is obtained in a few seconds,
darker blues take longer. Take out wool, and thoroughly squeeze out of
it all the dye liquor back into the vat. Spread out the wool on the
ground, exposed to the air till the full depth of colour is developed.
The wool comes out of the vat a greenish shade, but the oxygen in the
air darkens it, through oxydation, to indigo blue. The wool should now
be washed in cold water with a little acid added to it, and again
thoroughly rinsed and dried.

16). BLUE VAT FOR COTTON.--

In a clean tub put 10 pails of water, slacken 1 bushel of lime into
it, and cover while slackening; put 6Â lbs. ground Indigo in a pot and
mix it into a paste with hot water and then put 4 pails of boiling
water on to it, stir it, cover it, and leave it. In another pot, put
20Â lbs. copperas, pour 4 pails of water on this, stir it and leave it
covered. Pour 4 pails of water on the top of the lime that is
slackening, rake it up well and put in the melted copperas; rake it
well and put in the Indigo; stir well and leave covered for a couple
of days, stirring occasionally. Half fill a new vat with the mixture.
Rake it well and while you are raking, fill it up with clean water,
continue raking for an hour. Cover it over; it can be used the next
day. This is a colour that never washes out.

17). GLOUCESTERSHIRE INDIGO VAT.

Size 5 feet over the top: 7 feet deep, 6 to 7 feet at the bottom.

Take Â½ cwt. bran, Â¼ peck lime and 40Â lbs. indigo. Warm up to 180 to
200Â°F., rake it 4 times a day. If it ferments too much add more lime:
if not enough, more bran. An experienced eye or nose will soon tell
when it is ripe or fit to use, which should be in about 3 days.
Regulate the strength of the vat from time to time to the colour
required. No madder or woad is used when much permanency is wanted.

18). COLD INDIGO VAT FOR DYEING WOOL, SILK, LINEN AND COTTON.

1 part Indigo, 3 parts good quicklime, 3 parts English vitriol, and 1Â½
parts of orpiment. The Indigo is mixed with water, and the lime added,
stirred well, covered up, and left for some hours. The powdered
vitriol is then added, and the vat stirred and covered up. After some
hours the orpiment powder is thrown in and the mixture is left for
some hours. It is then stirred well and allowed to rest till the
liquid at the top becomes clear. It is then fit for dyeing.

_WOAD_

Woad is derived from a plant, _Isatis tinctoria_, growing in the North
of France and in England. It was the only blue dye in the West before
Indigo was introduced from India. Since then woad has been little used
except as a fermenting agent for the indigo vat. It dyes woollen cloth
a greenish colour which changes to a deep blue in the air. It is said
to be inferior in colour to indigo but the colour is much more
permanent. The leaves when cut are reduced to a paste, kept in heaps
for about fifteen days to ferment, and then formed into balls which
are dried in the sun; these have a rather agreeable smell and are of a
violet colour. These balls are subjected to a further fermentation of
9 weeks before being used by the dyer. When woad is now used it is
always in combination with Indigo, to improve the colour. Even by
itself, however, it yields a good and very permanent blue.

It is not now known how the ancients prepared the blue dye, but it has
been stated (Dr. Plowright) that woad leaves when covered with boiling
water, weighted down for half-an-hour, the water then poured off,
treated with caustic potash and subsequently with hydrochloric acid,
yield a good Indigo blue. If the time of infusion be increased, greens
and browns are obtained. It is supposed that woad was "vitrum," the
dye with which CÃ¦sar said almost all the Britons stained their bodies.
It is said to grow near Tewkesbury, also Banbury. It was cultivated
till quite lately in Lincolnshire. There were four farms in 1896; one
at Parson Drove, near Wisbech, two farms at Holbeach, and one near
Boston. Indigo has quite superseded it in commerce.[14]

"It is like the Indigo plant, but less delicate and rich. It is put in
vats with Indigo and madder to dye a never-fading dark blue on wool,
and was called woad-vats before Indigo was known." (Thomas Love). And
again "Woad, or what is much stronger, pastel, always dyed the blue
woollens of Europe until Indigo was brought over here."

Bancroft says "Woad alone dyes a blue colour very durable, but less
vivid and beautiful than that of Indigo."

_LOGWOOD_

(Bois de CampÃªche, Campeachy Wood)

Logwood is a dye wood from Central America, used for producing blues
and purples on wool, black on cotton and wool, and black and violet on
silk. It is called by the old dyers, one of the Lesser Dyes, because
the colour loses all its brightness when exposed to the air. But with
proper mordants and with careful dyeing this dye can produce fast and
good colours. Queen Elizabeth's government issued an enactment
entirely forbidding the use of logwood. The act is entitled "An Act
for the abolishing of certeine deceitful stuffe used in the dyeing of
clothes," and it goes on to state that "Whereas there hath been
brought from beyond the seas a certeine kind of stuff called logwood,
alias blockwood, wherewith divers dyers," etc., and "Whereas the
clothes therewith dyed, are not only solde and uttered to the great
deceit of the Queene's loving subjects, but beyond the seas, to the
great discredit and sclaunder of the dyers of this realme. For
reformation whereof, be it enacted by the Queene our Soveraygne Ladie,
that all such logwood, in whose handes soever founde, shall be openly
burned by authoritie of the maior." The person so offending was liable
to imprisonment and the pillory. This is quoted from "The Art of
Dyeing," by James Napier, written in 1853. He goes on to say, "Upwards
of eighty years elapsed before the real virtues of this dyeing agent
were acknowledged; and there is no dyewood we know so universally
used, and so universally useful." The principal use for logwood is in
making blacks and greys. The logwood chips should be put in a bag and
boiled for 20 minutes to Â½ hour, just before using. "Logwood is used
with galls and copperas for the various shades of greys, inclining to
slate, lavender, dove, and lead colour, etc. For this purpose you fill
a cauldron full of clean water, putting into it as much nut galls as
you think proper. You then add a bag of logwood, and when the whole is
boiled, having cooled the liquor, you immerse the stuff, throwing in
by degrees some copperas, partly dissolved in water."--Hellot. Hellot
is very scornful of logwood, naming it as one of the lesser dyes, and
not to be used by good dyers.

_RECIPES FOR DYEING WITH LOGWOOD._

1). BLACK FOR COTTON.--

After washing, work the cotton in a cold infusion of 30% to 40% of
Sumach, or its equivalent in other tannin matter[15] (ground gall
nuts, myrobalans, etc.) and let steep over-night. Squeeze out and
without washing pass through a bath containing a diluted solution of
lime water, or soda. Work in a cold solution of copperas for Â½ hour,
then back into the soda for a Â¼ hour at a temperature of 50Â° to 60Â°C.
Then wash. Dye in a freshly made bath of logwood with a small
proportion of old Fustic or Quercitron Bark. The cotton is introduced
into the cold dye liquor and the temperature gradually raised to
boiling. Boil for Â½ an hour. After dyeing, the cotton should be passed
through a warm solution of Bichromate of Potash. (5 grains per litre).
It is then washed and worked in a warm solution of soap and dried.
More Fustic makes a greener black.

When catechu is the tanning matter employed, the cotton should be
worked in a boiling decoction of it and allowed to steep till cold.

2). GREY DRAB FOR WOOL.

(10Â lbs.) Dissolve Â½ oz. Bichromate of Potash in water, and then boil
for Â½ hour; lift the wool and add 1 oz. logwood: boil for Â½ hour. Lift
out, wash and dry.

3). LOGWOOD GREY ON COTTON.

The cotton is worked in a weak decoction of logwood at 40Â° to 50Â°C.,
and then in a separate bath containing a weak solution of ferrous
sulphate or Bichromate of Potash. Wash.

4). GREEN BLACK FOR WOOL.--

Mordant wool with 3% Bichromate of Potash and 1% Sulphuric acid (or
4% Tartar) for 1 to 1Â½ hours. Then wash and dye with 35% to 50% of
Logwood. This gives a blue black. It is greened by adding 5% old
Fustic to the dye bath. The more Fustic the greener the black becomes.
If 3% to 4% alum is added to the mordanting bath, a still greener
shade is obtained. Sulphuric acid in the mordant produces a dead
looking blue black. Tartar yields a bright bluish black.

5). LOGWOOD BLUE FOR WOOL.

Mordant the wool for 1 to 1Â½ hours at 100Â°C., with 4% alum and 4 to 5%
cream of Tartar. Wash well and dye for 1 to 1Â½ hours at boiling
point with 15 to 30% logwood and 2 to 3% chalk. This colour is not
very fast, but can be made faster by adding 1 to 3% bichromate of
potash and 1% sulphuric acid. The brightest logwood blues are
obtained by dyeing just below boiling point. Long boiling dulls the
colour.

6). GREEN BLACK FOR WOOL.

Mordant with 2% Chrome and 25% sulphuric acid. Boil 1Â½ hours and
leave overnight. Dye with 40% logwood and 10% Fustic. Boil 1 hour.

7). LOGWOOD BLUE FOR WOOL.

Chrome 1%, Alum 3%, Tartar 1Â½%. Boil 1Â½ hours and leave over-night.
Dye with logwood 20% and Cudbear 1%. Boil one hour, then throw in 20
quarts of single muriate of tin, diluted with 20 to 30 gallons of
water. Immerse 15 minutes and wash.

8). FAST PURPLE FOR COTTON.

(For 20Â lbs. cotton.) Mordant with copperas. Wash slightly; then a
bath of muriate of tin. Dye with 4 to 5Â lbs. logwood.

9). FAST BLACK ON WOOL.--

Put wool into a strong logwood bath, the stronger the better, and boil
for 1 hour. Take out and drain, and put into a Bichromate of Potash
bath and keep at 150Â°F. for about 5 minutes. Then a bath of Fustic or
Quercitron. After which wash well in cold water.

10). BLACK FOR COTTON.--

(For 10Â lbs.) Steep cotton in hot decoction of 3Â lbs. Sumach and let
stay over night. Wring out and work for 10 minutes through lime water:
then work for Â½ hour in a solution of 2Â lbs. copperas. It may be
either washed from this, or worked again through lime water for 10
minutes. Dye for Â½ hour in a warm decoction of 3Â lbs. logwood adding
Â½Â pint chamber lye. Take out cotton and add to the same bath 2 oz.
copperas. Work 10 minutes, then wash and dry. 1Â lb. Fustic is added
for jet black.

11). FAST BLACK FOR WOOLLENS.--

(For 50Â lbs.) Mordant with 2Â lbs. chrome, 1Â lb. Tartar, 1 quart
Muriate of Tin. Boil 1 hour and wash well. Dye with 25Â lbs. logwood
and 3Â lbs. Fustic. Boil 30 minutes. Take out and add 1 pint Vitriol.
Return for 10 minutes, wash and dry.

12). JET BLACK FOR SILK.

(For 50Â lbs.) Mordant in hot solution of Nitro-Sulphate of Iron at
150Â°F., work for Â½ hour. Wash well, then boil up 18Â lbs. Fustic. Put
off the boil, enter silk and work for 30 minutes. Take out. Boil 16
lbs. logwood, put off the boil and decant the liquor into fresh bath,
add 1Â lb. white soap, enter and work from 30 to 40 minutes. Wash
well.

13). LAVENDER FOR WOOL.

(For 6Â¼Â lbs.) Mordant with 3 oz. Bichromate of Potash, for 45 minutes
and wash. Dye with 2 oz. madder, 1 oz. logwood. Enter the wool, raise
to the boil and boil for 45 minutes. The proportion of logwood to
madder can be so adjusted as to give various shades of claret to
purple.

14). BLACK FOR WOOL.

Mordant 6Â¼Â lbs. wool with 4 oz. Chrome. Boil for 45 minutes. Dye with
50 oz. logwood, 1 oz. Fustic. Raise to boil and boil for 45 minutes.

15). FAST CHROME BLACK FOR WOOL.

(For 40Â lbs. wool.) Dissolve 3Â lbs. copperas and boil for a short
time. Then dip the wool in this for Â¾ hour, airing frequently. Take
out wool and make dye with 24Â lbs. logwood. Boil for Â½ hour. Dip Â¾
hour, air wool, dip Â¼ hour longer and then wash in strong soap suds.

16). LIGHT SILVER DRAB FOR WOOL.

(For 50Â lbs. wool). Â½Â lb. logwood, Â½Â lb. alum. Boil well and enter
wool and dip for 1 hour.

17). A FAST LOGWOOD BLUE FOR WOOL.

(Highland recipe). Mordant with 3% Bichromate of Potash and boil wool
in it for 1Â½ hours. Wash and dry wool. Make a bath of 15 to 20%
logwood with about 3% chalk added to it. Boil the wool for 1 hour,
wash and dry. The wool can be greened by steeping it all night in a
hot solution of heather, or boiling it in heather till the desired
tint is obtained.

18). GREEN BLACK FOR WOOL.

(For 50Â lbs. wool). Boil 20 minutes with 1Â lb. chrome. Dye with 20
lbs. Fustic, 8Â lbs. logwood. Boil for Â½ hour.

19). SLATE PURPLE.

(For 80Â lbs. yarn). Mordant with 2Â lbs. chrome for 20 minutes. Dye
with 10Â lbs. logwood & 1Â lb. Cudbear. Boil for Â½ hour.

20). RAVEN GREY FOR WOOL.

(For 60Â lbs.) Dissolve 8 oz. Alum and work the wool very quickly for
Â½Â hour at boiling heat; then take it out and add to the same liquor 3
or 4Â lbs. copperas, & work it at boiling heat for Â½ hour. Then wash.
In another copper, boil 1 pailfull of logwood chips for 20 minutes. Put
the wool into this for Â½ hour; then return it into the alum and
copperas for 10 to 15 minutes.

21). DARK RED PURPLE WITH LOGWOOD FOR WOOL.--(For 2Â½Â lbs.)

Mordant with 10 oz. alum and 2Â½ oz. cream of tartar for 1 hour. Let
cool in the mordant, then wring out and put away for 4 or 5 days in a
linen (or other) bag in the dark.

Dye with 1Â lb. logwood, and Â½Â lb. madder. Boil up the logwood and
madder in a separate bath and pour through a sieve into the dye bath.
Enter the wool when warm and bring to boil. Boil from Â½ hour to 1Â½
hours. Wash thoroughly.

22). VIOLET WITH LOGWOOD FOR SILK.

The silk is washed from the soap and drained. For every pound of silk,
dissolve in cold water 1 oz. verdigris; when it is well mixed with the
water, the silk is immersed and kept in this liquor for an hour. This
does not give colour. It is then wrung & aired. A logwood liquor is
then made; the silk dipped in it when cold; it takes a blue colour
sufficiently dark. The silk is taken out and dipped in a clear
solution of alum; it acquires a red which produces a violet on the
silk just dyed blue. The quantity of alum is undetermined; the more
alum the redder the violet. The silk is then washed.

23). ORDINARY LOGWOOD PURPLE FOR WOOL.

(For 1Â lb.) Mordant wool with Â¼Â lb. alum and Â½ oz. tartar for 1 hour;
wring out and put away in a bag for some days. Dye with Â¼Â lb. logwood
for 1 hour.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] Early dyers were particular as to the naming of their colours.
Here is a list of blues, published in 1669.--"White blue, pearl blue,
pale blue, faint blue, delicate blue, sky blue, queen's blue, turkey
blue, king's blue, garter blue, Persian blue, aldego blue, and
infernal blue."

[13] I give here recipes for the simpler vats which can be used on a
small scale. The more complicated recipes can only be done in a
well-fitted dye house. I would refer the reader to those in "The Art
of Dyeing" by Hellot, Macquer and D'Apligny, and "Elements of the Art
of Dyeing" by Berthollet.

[14] Woad, pastel and Indigo are used in some dye books to mean the
same dye, and they evidently have very much the same preparation in
making.

[15] See page 36.

CHAPTER VII.

RED.

KERMES, COCHINEAL, LAC-DYE, MADDER.

_KERMES._

Kermes, or Kerms, from which is got the "Scarlet of Grain" of the old
dyers, is one of the old insect dyes. It is considered by most dyers
to be the first of the red dyes, being more permanent than cochineal
and brighter than madder. In the 10th century it was in general use in
Europe. The reds of the Gothic tapestries were dyed with it, and are
very permanent, much more so than the reds of later tapestries, which
were dyed with cochineal. Bancroft says "The Kermes red or scarlet,
though less vivid, is more durable than that of cochineal. The fine
blood-red seen at this time on old tapestries in different parts of
Europe, unfaded, though many of them are two or three hundred years
old, were all dyed from Kermes, with the aluminous basis, on woollen
yarn."

Kermes consists of the dried bodies of a small scale insect, _Coccus
ilicis_, found principally on the ilex oak, in the South of Europe. It
is said to be still in use in Italy, Turkey, Morocco and other places.

William Morris speaks of the "Al-kermes or coccus which produces with
an ordinary aluminous mordant a central red, true vermilion, and with
a good dose of acid a full scarlet, which is the scarlet of the Middle
Ages, and was used till about the year 1656, when a Dutch chemist
discovered the secret of getting a scarlet from cochineal by the use
of tin, and so produced a cheaper, brighter and uglier scarlet."

Kermes is employed exactly like cochineal. It has a pleasant aromatic
smell which it gives to the wool dyed with it.

The following recipe for its use is from an old French dye book:--

20Â lbs. of wool and Â½ a bushel of bran are put into a copper with a
sufficient quantity of water, and suffered to boil half-an-hour,
stirring every now and then. It is then taken out to drain. While the
wool is draining the copper is emptied and fresh water put in, to
which is added about a fifth of sour water, four pounds of Roman Allum
grossly powdered and two pounds of red Tartar. The whole is brought to
boil, and that instant the hanks are dipped in, which are to remain in
for two hours, stirring them continually. When the wool has boiled two
hours in this liquor, it is taken out, left to drain, gently squeezed
and put into a linen bag in a cool place for five or six days and
sometimes longer. This is called leaving the wool in preparation.
After the wool has been covered for five or six days, it is fitted to
receive the dye. A fresh liquor is then prepared, and when it begins
to be lukewarm, take 12 oz. of powdered Kermes for each pound of wool
to be dyed, if a full and well coloured scarlet is wanted. If the
Kermes was old and flat, a pound of it would be required for each
pound of wool. When the liquor begins to boil, the yarn, still moist,
(which it will be, if it has been well wrapped in a bag and kept in a
cool place) is put in. Previous to its being dipped in the copper with
the Kermes, a handful of wool is cast in, which is let to boil for a
minute. This takes up a kind of scum which the Kermes cast up, by
which the wool that is afterwards dipped, acquires a finer colour. The
handful of wool being taken out, the prepared is put in. The hanks are
passed on sticks continually stirring and airing them one after the
other. It must boil after this manner an hour at least, then taken out
and placed on poles to drain, afterwards wrung and washed. The dye
still remaining in the liquor may serve to dip a little fresh parcel
of prepared wool; it will take some colour in proportion to the
goodness and quality of the Kermes put into the copper.

_Another Recipe for Dyeing with Kermes._--The wool is first boiled in
water along with bran for half-an-hour (Â½ bushel of bran for 20Â lbs.
of wool) stirring it from time to time. Drain. Next boil for 2 hours
in a fresh bath with a fifth of its weight of alum and a tenth of
Tartar. Sour water is usually added. It is then wrung, put into a bag
and left in a cool place for some days. The Kermes is then thrown into
warm water in the proportion of 12 oz. to every pound of wool. When
the liquor boils, a handful of waste wool is thrown in, to take up the
dross of the Kermes, and removed. The wool is then put in and boiled
for an hour. It is afterwards washed in warm water in which a small
quantity of soap has been dissolved. Then washed and dried.

     "To prepare wool for the Kermes dye, it is to be boiled in
     water with about â
 of its weight in alum, and half as
     much of Tartar, for the space of two hours and afterwards
     left in the same liquor four or five days, when being
     rinsed, it is to be dyed in the usual way with about 12
     oz. of Kermes for every pound of wool. Scarlets, etc.,
     given from Kermes, were called grain colours, because that
     insect was mistaken for a grain. Wool prepared with a
     nitro-muriatic solution of tin (as is now practised for
     the cochineal scarlet) and dyed with Kermes takes a kind
     of aurora, or reddish orange colour."--Bancroft.

_COCHINEAL_

The dried red bodies of an insect (_Coccus Cacti_) found in Mexico are
named Cochineal.

RECIPES FOR DYEING.

1). SCARLET FOR WOOL.

For each pound of wool put 20 quarts of water. When the water is warm,
add 2 oz. Cream of Tartar, 1Â½ drachms of powdered Cochineal. When the
liquor is nearly boiling, put in 2 oz. of Solution of Tin (which the
Dyers call Composition for Scarlet). As soon as it begins to boil, the
wool, which has been wetted, is dipped and worked in the liquor for an
hour and a half. A fresh liquor is then prepared, 1Â½ oz. of starch is
put in and when the water is warm 6Â½ drachms of Cochineal. When nearly
boiling 2 oz. of solution of tin is put in. It must boil, and then the
wool is put in and stirred continually for 1Â½ hours. It is then taken
out, wrung and washed. The Scarlet is then in its Perfection.

2). COCHINEAL FOR COTTON.

Prepare 50Â lbs. of cotton with 15Â lbs. Sumach, 10Â lbs. Alum. Dye with
2Â¼Â lbs. of Cochineal. Leave for 24 hours in the Sumach; lift; winch 2
to 3 hours in a hot solution of Alum; wash in two waters, then boil up
the cochineal; put off the boil, enter cotton & winch till colour be
full enough; then wash and dry.

3). ORANGE RED FOR WOOL.

     1). Mordant wool with Alum.

     2). Dye in a bath of weak Fustic. Wash and Dry.

     3). Put into cold water, Cream of Tartar, Tin, Pepper and
     Cochineal. When warm, enter the wool and boil.

4). PINK WITH COCHINEAL FOR WOOL.

(For 60Â lbs. wool). 5Â lbs. 12 oz. alum. Boil and immerse wool for 50
minutes. Then add 1Â lb. Cochineal and 5Â lbs. cream of tartar. Boil and
enter wool while boiling, till the required colour is got.

5). SCARLET FOR WOOL.

(For 100Â lbs.) 6Â lbs. of Tartar are thrown into the water when warm.
The bath is stirred briskly and when hot Â½Â lb. powdered cochineal is
added and well mixed. Then 5Â lbs. of clear solution of Tin is
carefully mixed in. When it is boiling the wool is put in and moved
briskly. After 2 hours it is taken out, aired and washed.

The second bath. When the water is nearly boiling 5Â¾Â lbs. of powdered
cochineal is put in. A crust will form on the surface which will open
in several places. Then 13 to 14Â lbs. of solution of tin is poured in.
After this is well mixed, the wool is entered and stirred well. Boil
for an hour, then wash and dry.

These two processes can be done together with good result. The colour
can be yellowed by fustic or turmeric. More tartar in the second bath
increases the colour. The scarlet may be brightened by common salt.
Alum will change the scarlet to crimson, the wool being boiled in a
solution of it for one hour.

6). CRIMSON FOR WOOL.

Mordant with 2Â½ oz. alum and 1Â½ oz. tartar for everyÂ lb. of wool. Then
dye with 1 oz. cochineal. Solution of tin is sometimes added. Also
salt.

7). VIOLET FOR WOOL.

Mordant with 2 oz. alum for 1Â lb. wool. Dye with 1 oz. cochineal and 1
oz. of solution of iron in which the wool is kept till the shade is
reached.

8). SCARLET WITH COCHINEAL, FOR WOOL.

(For 100 oz. clean wool). Put 6 oz. Oxalic acid, 6 oz. Stannous
Chloride (Tin Crystals), 8 oz. powdered cochineal in a bath containing
about half the quantity of water required to cover wool. Boil 10
minutes, then add sufficient water to cover wool. Enter the wool, work
well in the dye and boil for Â¾ hour, after which take out the wool,
wash and dry.

9). PURPLE, FOR WOOL.

(For 2Â½Â lbs. wool). Mordant with Bichromate of Potash, 1Â½ oz. in 10
gallons of water. Dye with 6 to 8 oz. cochineal. With alum mordant (4
oz.) a crimson colour is got. With tin mordant (2 oz.) a scarlet. With
iron mordant (2 oz.) a purplish slate or lilac.

10). SCARLET, FOR WOOL.

Mordant the wool for 1 to 1Â½ hours with 6% stannous chloride and 4%
cream of tartar. Wash. Dye with 5 to 12% of ground cochineal for 1 to
1Â¼ hours. To dye the wool evenly, enter it in both the mordant and the
dye when the water is warm, and raise gradually to boiling.

11). SCARLET, FOR WOOL.

Fill the dye bath half full of water, add 6 to 8% of Oxalic acid, 6%
of stannous chloride and 5 to 12 per cent. ground cochineal, boil up
for 5 to 10 minutes, then fill up the dye bath with cold water.
Introduce the wool, heat up the bath to the boiling point in the
course of Â¾ to 1 hour and boil Â½ hour. Washing between mordanting and
dyeing is not absolutely essential. The addition of tartar up to 8 per
cent. increases the intensity and yellowness of the colour.

In order to obtain bright yellow shades of scarlet it is usual to add
a small proportion of some yellow dye to the bath.

Wool mordanted with 10 per cent. of Copper sulphate and dyed in a
separate bath with cochineal gives a reddish purple, or claret colour.

With ferrous sulphate as mordant very good purplish slate or lilac
colours can be got. Mordant and dye in separate baths. Use 8 per cent.
of ferrous sulphate and 20 per cent. of tartar.

12). CRIMSON FOR SILK.

Mordant the silk by working for Â½ hour in a concentrated solution of
alum, then leave to steep over night. Wash well and dye in a fresh
bath containing 40 per cent. of cochineal. Enter the silk at a low
temperature and heat gradually to boiling.

13). SCARLET FOR SILK.

After boiling and washing, the silk is first slightly dyed with yellow
by working it for Â¼ hour at 50Â°C., in a weak soap bath containing
about 10 per cent. of Annatto; it is then well washed. Mordant the
silk by working it for Â½ hour, then steeping it over night in a cold
solution of 40 per cent. of nitro-muriate of tin. Wash and dye in a
fresh bath with a decoction of 20 to 40 per cent. of cochineal and 5
to 10 per cent. cream of tartar. Enter the silk at a low temperature
and heat gradually to boiling. Brighten in a fresh bath of cold water,
slightly acidified with tartaric acid. Good results can also be
obtained with the single bath method with cochineal, stannous chloride
and oxalic acid.

With the use of iron mordants very fine shades of lilac may be
obtained on silk with cochineal.

_LAC DYE._

Like Cochineal and Kermes, Lac is a small scale insect, _Coccus
lacca_. It is found in India, Burmah and other Eastern countries; it
was introduced into England in 1796.

The method of dyeing with lac is very much the same as with cochineal;
it yields its colour less readily however, and should be ground into a
paste with the tin solution employed and a little hydrochloric acid
and allowed to stand for a day before using. It is said to be a faster
dye than cochineal, but is often used in combination with it, being a
fuller colour though not so bright.

A good fast scarlet is produced by the following recipe:--For 100Â lbs.
wool. 8Â lbs. lac, previously ground up with part of the tin spirits, 5
lbs. cochineal, 5Â lbs. tartar, 20Â lbs. tin spirit.

_MADDER._

Madder consists of the ground up dried roots of a plant, (Rubia
tinctorum) cultivated in France, Holland, and other parts of Europe,
as well as in India. Madder is not much used for silk dyeing, but for
wool, linen and cotton it is one of the best dyes. It is also used
largely in combination with other dyes to produce compound colours.
When used for cotton the colour is much improved by boiling in a weak
solution of soap after the dyeing. The gradual raising of the
temperature of the dye bath is essential in order to develop the full
colouring power of madder; long boiling should be avoided, as it dulls
the colour. If the water is deficient in lime, brighter shades are got
by adding a little ground chalk to the dye bath, 1 to 2 per cent.

Berthollet distinguishes two kinds of madder red on cotton, one of
which is given in No. 4. The other is the well-known Turkey red or
Adrianople red, a very difficult and complicated dye, but one of the
most permanent dyes known. Madder reds are said to be not so beautiful
as those from Kermes, lac or cochineal, but my experience has been
that with care, the finest reds can be got with madder.

Birch leaves are used in Russia to improve the colour of madder. They
are added to the dye bath.

RECIPES FOR USE OF MADDER.

1). RED FOR WOOL.

For 100 oz. (6Â¼Â lbs.) wool.

Mordant 8 oz. Alum and 2 oz. Tartar. Boil the wool in the mordant for
one hour and wash in cold water. Dye: 50 oz. Madder. Enter the
mordanted wool, raise to boil and boil gently for one hour. Wash
thoroughly in cold water and dry. If the water is very soft, a small
quantity of lime or chalk added to the dye bath improves the shade.
Alder bark or alder leaves added to the dye bath darkens the colour.
The best results are obtained when the dye bath is maintained just
under the boiling point.

2). REDDISH BROWN FOR WOOL.

Mordant with 3% bichromate of potash and dye with Madder. Good
results can be got by the single bath method. (See page 14, No. 3.)

3). BROWNISH RED FOR WOOL.

Mordant the wool with 6 to 8 per cent. of alum and 5 to 7 per cent. of
tartar. Dye with 60 to 80% of Madder. Begin the dyeing at about
40Â°C., and raise the temperature of the bath gradually to 80Â° to
100Â°C., in the course of an hour, and continue the dyeing about an
hour. Wash and dry. The colour can be brightened by adding a small
proportion of stannous chloride to the mordant or it can be added to
the dye bath towards the end of the dyeing.

Brighter shades are got by keeping the temperature at about 80Â°C., and
prolonging the dyeing process. After dyeing, the colour can be
brightened by working the wool at 70Â°C., in a weak soap bath, or a
bath containing bran.

4). BRIGHT RED FOR COTTON.[16]

(For 22Â lbs.). The cotton must be scoured, then galled in the
proportion of 1 part of nut galls to 4 of cotton, and lastly alumed in
the proportion of 1 of alum to 4 of cotton. To the solution of alum is
added one twentieth of solution of soda ley (Â½Â lb. ordinary soda to 1Â¾
pints water). It is then dried slowly and alumed again. Then dried
slowly again. The more slowly the drying takes place the better the
colour. The cotton is then ready to be dyed.

Heat the water of the dye bath as hot as the hand can bear; mix in
6Â½Â lbs. madder and stir carefully. When thoroughly mixed, put in the
cotton & work for Â¾ hour without boiling. Take it out & add about a
pint of soda ley. The cotton is then returned to the bath and boiled
for 15 to 20 minutes. It is then brightened by passing it quickly
thro' a tepid bath with a pint of ley in it. It is then washed and
dried.

5). BRIGHT ORANGE RED FOR WOOL.

For 1Â lb. scoured fleece, mordant with 4 oz. alum and 1 oz. cream of
tartar. Dissolve the mordant, enter the wool and raise to boiling
point and boil for 1 hour. Allow the wool to cool in the mordant. Then
wring out and put in a linen bag in a cool place for 4 or 5 days. Soak
8 oz. madder over night in water and boil up before using. Put into
dye bath, enter wool when warm, bring gradually to the boil and boil
for Â¾ hour.

6). BRIGHT RED FOR WOOL.

Mordant 1Â lb. wool with 5 oz. of Alum, and 1 oz. of Tartar; leave to
drain and then wring out; put into a linen bag and leave in a cool
place for several days. (The wool should still be damp when taken out
to dye; if it is dry, damp with warm water). If the Tartar is
increased a cinnamon colour is got. Dye with Â½Â lb. of madder for every
pound of wool. The water should not boil, but kept just below boiling
for an hour; then boil up for 5 minutes before taking out and washing.

With sulphate of copper as a mordant, madder gives a clear brown
bordering on yellow (one part of sulphate of copper and 2 parts of
madder).

7). RED FOR SILK.

The silk is mordanted over night with alum, by steeping it in a cold
concentrated solution; wash well and dye in a separate bath with 50
per cent. of madder. Begin dyeing at a low temperature and gradually
raise to 100Â°C. The addition of bran tends to give brighter colours. A
small quantity of Sumach could be added if a fuller colour is wanted.
After dyeing, wash and then brighten in a boiling solution of soap, to
which a small percentage of stannous chloride has been added.
Afterwards wash well.

By mordanting with Copperas, either alone or after an Alum bath,
violet and brown shades can be got.

8). RED WITH MADDER FOR WOOL.

Pound up carefully without heating some roots of madder. Mordant the
wool with Alum, adding some cayenne pepper. Dye with the madder,
adding cream of tartar to the dye bath. Birch leaves improve the
colour.

9). MADDER RED FOR COTTON.

Take a piece of white cotton, about 20 yards. Melt in some water 1Â lb.
of potash; boil the cotton in this for 20 minutes, then rinse it. Put
4Â lbs. of the best Sumach in the copper and fill it up with boiling
water, and boil for 10 minutes. Put to cool and work the cotton well
in this for an hour. Take it out and give it a scalding hot alum and
sugar of lead bath for half-an-hour; rinse in two waters; put it back
in the sumach for half-an-hour; then alum again for 20 minutes. Rinse.
Put 2Â lbs. of madder into hot water and boil gently for a few minutes.
Put in the cotton, work well and boil for half-an-hour gently. After,
give it a hot alum for 20 minutes, and rinse. Put 1Â lb. fresh madder
in the copper, put in the cotton and boil for 20 minutes. Then wash.

10). RED FOR COTTON.

Scour the cotton. Then gall in the proportion of 1 of gall nuts to 4
of cotton. Then alum in the proportion of 1 of alum to 4 of cotton,
with a little soda and tartar added. Dissolve the alum, etc., and put
in the cotton, and boil half-an-hour. Cool down and ring out. Then dry
slowly. Repeat the aluming. Put madder into water and when hot dip in
cotton for Â½ hour, keeping it under boiling point, then boil up for Â¼
hour and wash. Dry.

11). MADDER RED FOR COTTON & LINEN.

(For 1Â lb.) 1st Mordant.--Boil 1 oz. ground gall nuts in 5 quarts of
water for Â½ hour. Put in thread and soak for 24 hours. Dry.

2nd Mordant.--Melt 2 oz. of alum, â
 oz. of Turmeric, and Â½ oz. of
gum Arabic in two quarts of water, over a slow fire. Let cool. Melt 1
oz. soda, 1 oz. arsenic, Â¼ oz. potash (crushed) in a bath, and when
dissolved, add the alum, turmeric and gum Arabic mixture. Stew Â½ hour.
Put in thread, which should be covered with the liquid, and let it
soak for 24 hours. Dry.

1st. Bath.--Put 2 oz. Madder into 10 quarts of water, heat up to
boiling but do not let it boil. Put in thread and stir well for 1
hour.

2nd. Bath.--Put 3 oz. Madder in 10 quarts of water; treat as in first
bath, from which the thread should be taken and put straight into the
2nd. bath. Stir for 1 hour. Soak for 24 hours; wash and dry.

3rd. Bath.--Put 3 oz. Madder in 10 quarts water; repeat the process
described for 2nd. bath. The thread should be washed in cold water &
lastly in warm water in which a little soft soap has been dissolved.
When drying do not wring the skeins as this is likely to make the
colour uneven.

There are a few other red dyes of minor importance which should be
mentioned.

_BRAZIL WOODS_, various leguminous trees, including lima, sapan and
peach wood, dye red with alum and tartar, and a purplish slate colour
with bichromate of potash. They are not fast colours.

Some old dyers used Brazil wood to heighten the red of madder.

_CAMWOOD_, _BARWOOD_, _SANDALWOOD or SANDERSWOOD_, are chiefly used in
wool dyeing, with other dye woods such as Old Fustic, and Logwood for
browns. They dye good but fugitive red with bichromate of potash, or
alum.

_RED from LADIES BEDSTRAW._

The crushed roots of this plant are used. Mordant the wool with either
alum or bichromate of potash. The red with alum is an orange red, with
chrome, a crimson red. Make the dye bath with 30 to 50% of bedstraw
roots and boil the mordanted wool in it for an hour.

_RED for COTTON._

For 10Â lbs. cotton boil 3Â lbs. Sumach, let the cotton steep in this
over night: wring out and work in red spirits (1 gill to a gallon of
water). Wring out and wash well. Boil up 3Â lbs. limawood (or Brazil or
Peach wood) and 1Â lb. fustic. Work the cotton in this Â½ hour, as warm
as the hand can bear; add 1 gill red spirits and work 15 minutes
longer. Wash.

FOOTNOTE:

[16] This recipe can also be used for linen, but linen takes the
colour less easily than cotton, and should have the various operations
repeated as much as possible.

CHAPTER VIII.

YELLOW.

WELD. OLD FUSTIC. TURMERIC. QUERCITRON. DYER'S BROOM. HEATHER,
AND OTHER YELLOW DYES.

"There are ten species of drugs for dyeing yellow, but we find from
experience that of these ten there are only five fit to be used for
the good dye--viz. Weld, savory, green wood, yellow wood and
fenugrec". "Weld or wold yields the truest yellow, and is generally
preferred to all the others. Savory and green wood, being naturally
greenish, are the best for the preparation of wool to be dyed green:
the two others yield different shades yellow".--Hellot.

_WELD_

Weld, _Reseda luteola_, an annual plant growing in waste sandy places.
The whole plant is used for dyeing except the root. It is the best and
fastest of the yellow natural dyes.

     Hellot's directions for dyeing with weld are the
     following:--"Allow 5 or 6Â lbs. of weld to every pound of
     stuff: some enclose the weld in a clean woollen bag, to
     prevent it from mixing in the stuff; and to keep the bag
     down in the copper, they put on it a cross of heavy wood.
     Others hold it in the liquor till it has communicated all
     its colour, and till it falls to the bottom: the stuff is
     then suspended in a net, which falls into the liquor, but
     others, when it has boiled, take out the weld with a rake
     and throw it away."

The plant is gathered in June and July, it is then carefully dried in
the shade and tied up into bundles. When needed for dyeing it is
broken up into pieces or chopped finely, the roots being discarded and
a decoction is made by boiling it up in water for about Â¾ hour. It
gives a bright yellow with alum and tartar as mordant. With chrome it
yields an old gold shade; with tin it produces more orange coloured
yellows; with copper and iron, olive shades. The quantity of weld used
must be determined by the depth of colour required. The dye bath is
prepared just before dyeing, the chopped weld being put into weighted
bags and boiled in soft water for Â½ to 1 hour. 2% of Stannous
chloride added to the mordant gives brilliancy and fastness to the
colour. Bright and fast orange yellows are got by mordanting with 8%
Stannous chloride instead of alum. With 6% copper sulphate and 8%
chalk, weld gives a good orange yellow. Wool mordanted with 4% of
ferrous sulphate and 10% tartar and dyed in a separate bath with weld
with 8% chalk, takes a good olive yellow. 8% of alum is often used
for mordant for weld. The dye bath should not be above 90Â°C. It is
good to add a little chalk to the dye bath as it makes the colour more
intense, while common salt makes the colour richer and deeper.

     "Woollen dyers frequently add a little stale urine or lime
     and potash to the water in which it is boiled. They
     commonly employ 3 or 4 oz. of alum and one of tartar for
     each pound of the wool. Tartar is supposed to render the
     yellow colour a little more clear and
     lively."--Bancroft.

Weld is of greater antiquity than most, if not all other natural
yellow dyes. It is cultivated for dyeing in France, Germany and Italy.
It is important for the silk dyer, as it dyes silk with a fast colour.
The silk is mordanted in the usual way with alum, washed and dyed in a
separate bath of 20 to 40% weld, with a small quantity of soap added.
After dyeing, the colour is brightened by working the silk for 10
minutes in a fresh soap bath with a little weld added to it. Wring out
without washing.

RECIPES FOR DYEING WITH WELD.

1). YELLOW FOR SILK.

Scour the silk in the proportion of 20Â lbs. soap to 100Â lbs. of silk.
Afterwards alum and wash. A bath is made of 2 parts weld for 1 of
silk, and after Â¼ hour's boiling, it is filtered through a cloth into
another bath. When this bath is cooled a little, the silk is immersed
and turned about till dyed. The weld is in the meantime boiled up
again with a little pearl ash, and after being strained, it is added
to the first bath (part of the first bath having been thrown away)
until the desired colour is got. The bath must not be too hot. If more
golden yellows are wanted, add some annotto to the second bath.

2). YELLOW FOR COTTON.

Scour the cotton in a lixivium of wood ashes, wash and dry. It is
alumed with Â¼ of its weight of alum. After 24 hours it is taken out of
the bath and dried without washing. A weld bath is prepared with 1Â¼
parts weld to 1 of cotton, and the cotton dipped in till the shade is
got. It is then worked in a bath of sulphate of copper (Â¼ copper to 1
of cotton) for 1Â½ hours. It is next thrown, without washing, into a
boiling solution of white soap (Â¼ soap to 1 cotton). It is boiled for
1 hour, then washed and dried.

3). DEEP YELLOW FOR COTTON OR LINEN.

2Â½ parts of weld for 1 of cotton, with a little copper sulphate added
to the bath. The cotton is well worked in this till the cotton has the
desired colour. It is then taken out and a little soda ley is poured
in. It is returned and worked in this for Â¼ hour, then washed and
dried.

4). OLD GOLD FOR WOOL.

Mordant with 2% chrome and dye with 60% of weld in a separate bath.
3% of chalk adds to the intensity of colour.

5). YELLOW FOR WOOL.

Boil wool with 4% of alum for 1 to 2 hours, and dye in a separate
bath of 50 to 100% weld for 20 minutes to an hour at 90Â°C.

6). YELLOW FOR WOOL.

Mordant with alum and tartar, and dye with 5 or 6Â lbs. of weld for
everyÂ lb. of wool. Common salt deepens the colour. If alum is added to
the dye bath, the colour becomes paler and more lively. Sulphate of
iron inclines it to brown.

7). WELD YELLOW FOR SILK.

Work the silk (1Â lb.) for an hour in a solution of alum, 1Â lb. to the
gallon, wring out and wash in warm water. Boil 2Â lbs. weld for Â½ hour;
strain and work the silk in this for Â½ hour. Add 1 pint alum solution
to the weld bath and return the silk; work ten minutes, wring out and
dry.

_OLD FUSTIC._

Fustic is the wood of _Morus tinctoria_, a tree of Central America. It
is used principally for wool. It does not produce a fast dye for
cotton. With Bichromate of Potash as mordant, Old Fustic gives old
gold colour. With alum it gives yellow, inclining to lemon yellow. The
brightest yellows are got from it by mordanting with Tin. With copper
sulphate it yields olive colours. (4 to 5% copper sulphate and 3 to 4%
tartar). With ferrous sulphate, darker olives are obtained (8%
ferrous sulphate). For silk it does not produce as bright yellows as
weld, but can be used for various shades of green and olive. Prolonged
dyeing should always be avoided, as the yellows are apt to become
brownish and dull. The chips should be tied up in a bag and boiled for
Â½ hour before using. It is still better to soak the wood over-night,
or boil up in a small vessel and strain into the dye bath. The
proportion of Fustic to be used for a good yellow is 5 to 6 parts to
16 parts of wool.

RECIPES FOR DYEING WITH OLD FUSTIC.

1). OLD GOLD FOR WOOL. Boil the wool with 3 to 4% Chrome for 1 to 1Â½
hours. Wash, and dye in a separate bath for 1 to 1Â½ hours at 100Â°C.
with 20 to 80% of Old Fustic.

2). LIGHT YELLOW FOR SILK. Work the silk for Â¼ to Â½ hour at 50Â° to
60Â°C. in a bath containing 16% alum and a decoction of 8 to 16% of
old Fustic. For dark yellow the silk is mordanted with alum, washed
and dyed for about an hour at 50Â°C., with 50 to 100% of Fustic. The
colour can be made faster and brighter by working the silk in a cold
solution of nitro-muriate of Tin for an hour.

3). BRIGHT YELLOW FOR WOOL. Mordant wool with 8% of stannous chloride
for 1 to 1Â½ hours, and 8% of tartar. Wash, and dye with 20 to 40% of
Fustic at 80Â° to 100Â°C. for 30 to 40 minutes.

4). OLD GOLD FOR WOOL. Mordant 6Â¼Â lbs. (100 oz.) wool with 3 oz.
chrome, for Â¾ hour and wash. Dye with 24 oz. Fustic & 4 oz. madder for
45 minutes.

5). YELLOW FOR WOOL. Mordant 6Â¼Â lbs. wool with 3 oz. chrome, for Â¾
hour and wash. Dye with 6 oz. Fustic, 2 drachms logwood. Boil Â¾ hour.

6). BRIGHT YELLOW FOR WOOL. (Single bath method). Fill the dye bath
Â½Â full of water, add 2% oxalic acid, 8% stannous chloride, 4% tartar
and 40 per cent. of Fustic. Boil up for 5 or 10 minutes, then fill the
bath with cold water. Put in the wool & heat up the bath to boiling in
the course of Â¾ to 1 hour, & boil for Â½ hour.

7). YELLOW FOR WOOL. (Single bath). 4% stannous chloride, 4% oxalic
acid and 50% Fustic.

8). YELLOW FOR SILK. (5Â lbs.) Work the silk through an alum solution
of 1Â lb. to a gallon of water. Wash in warm water. Boil 2Â lbs. Fustic
for Â½ hour in water and in this work the silk for Â½ hour. Lift and add
1 pint of the alum solution. Work 10 minutes longer, then wash and
dry.

9). FUSTIC YELLOW FOR SILK. (5Â lbs.) Alum the silk. Boil up 3Â lbs.
Fustic and work silk in it while hot for Â½ hour. Lift, add 2 oz. red
spirits. Work for 15 minutes. Wash out in cold water. Work 10 minutes
in a soap solution. Wring out and dry.

10). BUFF COLOUR ON WOOL. (45Â lbs.) Boil 4Â½Â lbs. Fustic and 1Â½Â lbs.
madder. Add 7Â lbs. alum and boil up together. Allow to cool a little,
enter wool and boil for Â½ hour.

11). YELLOW FOR WOOL. Mordant with alum and tartar. Solution of tin
increases the colour; salt makes it deeper. 5 or 6 oz. Fustic for
every pound of wool.

_TURMERIC_

Turmeric is a powder obtained from the ground up tubers of _Curcuma
tinctoria_, a plant found in India and other Eastern countries. It
gives a brilliant orange yellow, but it has little permanence. It is
one of the substantive colours and does not need any mordant. Cotton
has a strong attraction for it, and is simply dyed by working in a
solution of Turmeric at 60Â°C. for about Â½ hour. With silk and wool it
gives a brighter colour if mordanted with alum or tin. Boiling should
be avoided. It is used sometimes for deepening the colour of Fustic or
Weld, but its use is not recommended as although it gives very
beautiful colours, it is a fugitive dye. As Berthollet says "The shade
arising from the Turmeric is not long of disappearing in the air."

_QUERCITRON._

Quercitron is the inner bark of the _Quercus nigra_ or _Q. tinctoria_,
a species of oak growing in the United States and Central America. It
was first introduced into England by Bancroft in 1775 as a cheap
substitute for weld. He says, "The wool should be boiled for the space
of 1 or 1Â¼ hours with one sixth or one eighth of its weight of alum;
then without being rinsed, it should be put into a dyeing vessel with
clean water and also as many pounds of powdered bark (tied up in a
bag) as there were used of alum to prepare the wool, which is to be
then turned in the boiling liquor until the colour appears to have
taken sufficiently: and then about 1Â lb. clean powdered chalk for
every 100Â lbs. of wool may be mixed with the dyeing liquor and the
operation continued 8 or 10 minutes longer, when the yellow will have
become both lighter and brighter by this addition of chalk."

QUERCITRON FOR SILK. _Bancroft._

1 to 2Â lbs. of bark to every 12Â lbs. silk according to shade required.
The bark, tied up in a bag, should be put into the dyeing vessel
whilst the water is cold, as soon as it gets warm the silk, previously
alumed, should also be put in and dyed as usual. A little chalk should
be added towards the end of the operation. A little murio sulphate of
tin is used where more lively shades of yellow are wanted.

Boil at the rate of 4Â lbs. bark to every 3Â lbs. of alum & 2Â lbs. murio
sulphate of tin with a suitable quantity of water, for 10 to 15
minutes. Reduce the heat so that the hand can bear it, put in the silk
and dye till it has acquired the shade. By adding suitable proportions
of sulphate of indigo to this yellow liquor and keeping it well