f A BOOK ON 
 
 VEGETABLE 
 
 DYES 
 
 BY 
 
 
 ETHEL M.MAIRET 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1916 
 
 PUBLISHED BY DOUGLAS PEPLER 
 
 AT THE HAMPSHIRE HOUSE 
 WORKSHOPS HAMMERSMITH W 
 
 Price 55,- hit. 
 
MO O 
 
 
 A' 
 
 Lu- A 
 
 __ at 
 
 DITCH LING in the CO UNTT fS USSEX 
 
 ear T U<BLISHED BTHIM^T 
 THS H4MPSHI<H HOUSS ITO<HKSHOTS 
 
 HAMMSRSMITH 
 
 O^J. JOHWJTHE BAPTISTS DAT 
 
 A.D. MDCCCCXVl 
 
 
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PUBLISHERS NOTE 
 
 IN PRINCIPIO ERAT VERBUM 
 ET VERBUM ERAT APUD DEUM 
 
 ETDEUS ERAT VERBUM. &Joanneml.i. 
 VIDITQUE DEUS CUNCTA QV& 
 
 FECERAT: ET ERANT VALDE BONA. 
 
 genesis.1.21. 
 
 s'- 
 
 M AN 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 pres's was a good 
 press & the printing from it has not been surpassed. 
 
 Further, this quality of goodness of a first disco- 
 very may persist for many years. 
 
 ,'J270i 
 
 
 
But there is a tendency to avoid Quality Street. 
 We are choosing rather Quantity Street & the Bye 
 paths of Facility & Cleverness; we have become ac- 
 customed 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 nor- 
 mally used by every tradesman in the XVIII cen- 
 tury. It is nearly impossible to get cloth, paper, 
 bread, beer, bacon and leather equal to that in com- 
 mon use 1 50 years ago. 
 
 IN VIEW OF THE BEGINNING it is des- 
 irable 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. -><J -\r: r {is 
 Douglas Pepler. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION I 
 
 II. WOOL, SILK, COTTON AND LINEN 1 1 
 
 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 2oth century the 
 importan ce 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 dye- 
 ing/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 pro- 
 ducing good results. But there is this great differ- 
 ence 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 devel- 
 oped 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 repro- 
 ducing 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 fast- 
 ness. 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 i gth 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 chemi 
 cal dyer and never will be. 
 
 Perhaps it is the scientific method that kills the 
 imagination. Dealing with exactly kno wn quan- 
 tities, and striving for precise uniformity,the chem- 
 ist has no use for the accidents and irregularities 
 which the artist's imagination seizes and which the 
 tradition al worker well knew how to use. 
 
 William Morris says that " all degradation of art 
 veils itself in the semblance of an intellectual ad- 
 vance." 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 ex- 
 tinction all over the world. It will not recover it- 
 self 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. Th e 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 al- 
 ways 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 mediaeval 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 uni- 
 formity. 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 handi- 
 crafts that have depended upon commercial dyes 
 would produce Infinitely better Work if they dyed their 
 raw material themselves. 
 
 It may be obj ected that life is not long enough ; 
 but the handicrafts are out to create more life, not 
 out to produce quantity nor to save time. 
 
8 
 
 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 traditonal 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 1 7th 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 up- 
 on 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 slavish- 
 ness of minute imitation. Every dyer should keep 
 a record of his experiments, for this will become in- 
 valuable 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 
 
10 
 
 take care of themselves. In order to develop the 
 taste and temperament of a good colourist, is is ne- 
 cessary to use good colour and to live with good col- 
 our. 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 prohibit- 
 ively costly, even in these days of inferior colour. 
 Indian and Persian embroideries are still to be ob- 
 tained, 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 fmestcoloured 
 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 satis- 
 
1 1 
 
 fied with seeing beautiful coloured stuffs in muse- 
 ums. It is possible still to get them, and to live with 
 a piece of good colour is of much more use than oc- 
 casional 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 dye ing. 
 
 ON WOOL. The quality of wool varies con- 
 siderably. British wools are of various kinds : 
 
 Highland^ Welsh and Irish wools are from small 
 sheep, not far removed from the wild state, with ir- 
 regular short stapled fleeces. 
 
12 
 
 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, 36in.) andthe 
 fleeces weighing up to 1 2 Ibs. The Leicester fleece 
 is softer, finer and better than the Lincoln . 
 
 To the end of the 1 8th century Spanish w^/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 Zea- 
 land, 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. 
 
 Cameth&ir is the soft under wool of the camel, 
 which is shed annually. It is of a brown colour. 
 
'3 
 
 The colour of wool varies from white to a very 
 dark brown black,with all shades of fawn, grey and 
 brown in between. Th e 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, i ) 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 prin- 
 cipal methods of dyeing wool. 
 
 i st. The wool is boiled first with the mordant and 
 then in a fresh bath with the dye. This method of 
 dy eing 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 
 
14 
 
 for a fresh lot of wool ; a separate bath is used for 
 the dye. 
 
 and. The wool is boiled first with the dye and, 
 when it has absorbed as much of the colour as possi- 
 ble, the mordant is added to the same bath, thus fix- 
 ing the colour. This is called the " stuffing " and 
 " saddening " method ; the " stuffing " being the 
 boiling of the wool with the dye stufFand the " sad- 
 dening " the fixing the colour by the mordant. 
 
 A separate bath can be used for each of these pro- 
 cesses, 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 ad- 
 opted to ensure an extremely fast colour. The mor- 
 dant 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 
 
IS 
 
 grease keeps the moth out to a considerable extent. 
 Hand spun wool is always spun in the oil to facilit- 
 ate 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 i 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. 
 
i6 
 
 Another Way of cleansing wool. Make a hot bath of 
 4 parts water and i 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 ofwashing. 
 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 wash- 
 in g water, for some colours, will soften the yarn. 
 T^o 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, i) 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 darn- 
 
1 7 
 
 aged 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 tempera- 
 ture just below boiling point for about an hour, thei 
 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 Ib. of soap ; first put the silk into a 
 bag, or so make it up that tangling may be preven- 
 ted,then let it boil together for 2 hours,after which 
 
i8 
 
 it must be very well cleansed,and so it is ready to dye 
 all sorts of colours, being first allomed.* 
 HoVo the boiled silk must be allowed. In proportion 
 to every pound of silk, take Ib. 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. * 
 
 To soften silk after dyeing. Into a large vessel nearly 
 full of water,a solution of soap is poured,in the pro- 
 portion of from 4 to 5 Ibs. of soap for every 1 1 o Ibs. 
 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 surround- 
 ing the seeds in pods of certain shrubs and trees 
 growing in tropical and semi-tropical countries. 
 It was first introduced intoEurope by the Saracens 
 and was manufactured into cloth in Spain in the 
 early 1 3th century. Cotton cloth was made in 
 England in the early iyth century. The colour 
 of cotton varies from deep yellow to white. The 
 
 *From a dye book of 1 70 5. 
 
'9 
 
 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 i 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 as- 
 tringents (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 al- 
 lowed 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 Last. 
 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, 
 
20 
 
 bleaching, dunging, galling, aluming, or mordant- 
 ing, and again washing." (A Monograph on dyes and 
 dyeing in the Bombay Presidency y C.Cf.H.Fawcett, 
 1896.) It is washed first of all to remove all impuri- 
 ties, 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 re- 
 placed by substitutes, such as the phosphates of soda 
 and lime, silicates of soda, etc. The next operation 
 of galling isfcn 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 
 
21 
 
 and resinous matters abounding in flax) and after- 
 wards 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 sul- 
 phuric acid, to dissolve and remove this earthy mat- 
 ter, taking care afterwards to wash or rinse off the 
 acid." 
 
 A few of the natural dye stuffs are capable of dye- 
 ing cotton direct, without a mordant, such as Tur- 
 meric, Barberry bark, safflower, annatto. For other 
 dyes cotton has a special attraction, such as catechu, 
 fustic, logwood. ji 
 
 ON LINEN. Linen is flax, derive^ from the 
 decomposed stalks of a plant of the genus of Linum. 
 It grows chiefly in Russia, Belgium, France, lipl- 
 land, 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. 
 
 \, 
 
22 
 
 The same processes are used for dyeing linen as for 
 cotton. 
 
 " Linen thread is dyed in the same manner as cot- 
 ton, only, that previous to its being purged like cot- 
 ton 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 ' Aptigny 
 
 To Bleach Linen. (For 1 3 to 1 5 yards linen) Boil 
 I Ib. soap and | Ib. 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. 
 
 . T0 bleach linen a cream colour. Boil |lb. soap and 
 I Ib. 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 sh ould 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 over- 
 come 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 offthe surface 
 as it boils. In many cases it is sufficient to add a little 
 acetic acid to the water. 
 
 Eertholletsxy^ "Whenever, therefore, a water 
 is limpid, when its flow is constant, when it has no 
 sensible taste, and dissolves soap well, it may be re- 
 garded 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. 
 
2 4 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MORDANTS 
 
 Definition of mordant. The principal mordants. The mordant- 
 ing 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 
 
25 
 
 the second is the colouring or actual dyeing. The 
 mordanting prepares the stuffto 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 phy- 
 sical,the fact remains that all adjective dyes need this 
 preparation of the fibre before they will fix them- 
 selves on it. The use of a mordant, though not a ne- 
 cessity, is sometimes an advantage when using sub- 
 stantive 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 High- 
 
26 
 
 Ian ds 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 pre- 
 paration except that in the case of silk high temper- 
 atures 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 pre- 
 paration. 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 col- 
 ouring 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. *)-li\\isis\.\\e most 
 
2 7 
 
 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 | an hour to i hour ; but some dyers give as 
 much as 2 1 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 
 
28 
 
 water, and steep for several hours (or over night) . 
 Then wash well. It should not be allowed to dry be- 
 fore 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." Bert ho I let. 
 
 ForVoool. lb. of Alum and i 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 offthe 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. Ib. of Alum to i Ib. of 
 cotton. The alum is dissolved in hot water with 
 soda in the proportion of i part soda to 1 6 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. \ Ib. alum for every pound of linen. 
 Boil for 2 1 hours and immediately put into the dye 
 bath. 
 
2 9 
 
 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, copper as, 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 temp- 
 erature of the mordanting bath must be raised very 
 gradually to boiling point or the wool will dye un- 
 evenly. A general method of dealing with cop- 
 peras 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 percent, 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 stufFand 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 cop- 
 peras solution. Great care is needed in the using of 
 
3 
 
 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 col- 
 ours (Fustic etc.) to produce brown shades by the 
 "stuffing and saddening"method (seepage 14), the 
 wool being boiled first in a decoction of the dye for 
 about an hour, and then for | an hour with the add- 
 ition 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 1 5 to 
 20 minutes. 
 
 Examples of Various proportions for Mordanting. 
 
 8 percent, of copperas and 20 per cent of cream 
 of tartar is a mordant used for some colours. 
 
 4 per cent, copperas i o 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 2\ Ibs. 
 wool. 
 
 2 oz. copperas, i|oz. oxalic acid to 2| Ibs. wool. 
 
3 1 
 
 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 mor- 
 danting bath, containing 4 per cent, of stannous 
 chloride and 2 per cent, oxalic acid : the temper- 
 ature is gradually raised to boiling, and kept at this 
 temperature for i 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 cochi- 
 neal for scarlet on wool, in the proportion of 6 per 
 cent, of stannous chloride and 4 per cent, of cream of 
 tartar. Boil for i to 1 1 hours. Then wash well. 
 The washing after mordanting is not always essen- 
 tial. 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 i to ij hours, with 
 8 per cent, of stannous chloride and 8 per cent, of 
 
32 
 
 cream of tartar. One recipe gives 2 oz. tin and 4! 
 oz. cream of tartar to 2\ Ibs. wool in i o gallons of 
 water. It is not a suitable mordant alone for cotton, 
 but can be used to brighten the colour in combina- 
 tion 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 effi- 
 cacious of all the solutions or preparations of tin for 
 dyeing quercitron as well as the cochineal colours" 
 Bancroft. 
 
 CHROME. (Potassiumdichromate. 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 u se 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 ex- 
 clusively used, as it has proved itself the most gener- 
 ally 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 
 
3.3 
 
 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 or- 
 dinary dyeing. One recipe gives 1 1 oz. of chrome 
 to 2| Ibs. 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 60 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 
 
34 
 
 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 th e col- 
 ours so produced have no advantage over colours 
 mordanted by easier methods. 
 
 EXAMPLES. 6 per cent of copper is used as a mor- 
 dant for weld to produce an olive yellow. 4 to 5 
 per cent, is used with old fustic for yellow. i o per 
 cent, of copper gives to wool a reddish purple with 
 cochineal. 
 
 Mordants should not affect the physical charac- 
 teristics of the fibres. Sufficient time must be allow- 
 ed forthe 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 begfoen to eachprocess^ the more 
 satisfactory will be the result. 
 
 Different mordants give different colours with 
 the same dye stuff. For example : Cochineal, if 
 
35 
 
 mordanted with alum, will give a crimson colour ; 
 with iron, purple ; with tin, scarlet ; and with 
 chrome or copper, purple. Logwood, also , if mor- 
 danted with alum, gives a mauve colour; if mordant- 
 ed 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. (Dannie 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 sub- 
 stances are prepared with tannins, they are able to 
 retain dyes permanently. Cotton saturated with 
 tannin, attracts the dye stuffmore rapidly, and holds 
 it. Tannicacid 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, 
 chesnut (8 to i o per cent of tannin) , catechu. 
 
 Cotton and linen are prepared with tannin after 
 they have been through the required cleansing, and 
 
36 
 
 if necessary, bleaching operations. A bath is pre- 
 pared 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 i o per cent, should be 
 used. The bath is used either hot or cold. It 
 should not be above 60 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 : i Ib. 
 tannin equals 4 Ibs. sumach, 1 8 Ibs. myrobalans, 14. 
 Ibs. divi-divi, 1 1 Ibs. oak galls. 
 
 A few examples taken from various recipes of 
 cotton dyeing : 
 
 For i o Ibs. cotton use 1 2 oz. tannin. 
 50 10 Ibs. sumach. 
 40 rolbs. 
 20 2 Ibs. yellow catechu or 
 
 black catechu. 
 
 20 spend 3 Ibs. of catechu with 302. 
 of blue vitriol. 
 
 Some recipes soak the cotton for 24 hours, others 
 for 48 hours. 
 
37 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 BRITISH DYE PLANTS 
 
 The introduction of foreign dye woods and other 
 dyes during the 1 7th and 1 8th centuries rapidly dis- 
 placed the native dye plants,except in certain out of 
 the way places such as the Highlands and parts of J 
 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 practic- 
 ally completed during the i gth century when the 
 chemical dyes ousted them from the market. 
 
 The majority of these plants are not very import- 
 ant as dyes, and could not probably now be collected 
 in sufficient quantities. Some few however are 
 important, suchaswoad, 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, bram- 
 ble, 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 re- 
 quire a preparation of the material to be dyed, with, 
 alum, or some other mordant, but a few,such as Bar- 
 berry, and some of the lichens, are substantive dyes, 
 and require no mordant. 
 
 PLANTS WHICH DYE RED. 
 
 Potentil. Potentilla Tormentilla. Roots. 
 Wild Madder. Rubiaperegrina. 
 Lady'sBedstraw. Galiumverum. Roots. 
 Gromwell. Lithospermum arvense. 
 Marsh Potentil. Potentilla Comarum. Roots. 
 Birch. Betulaalba. Fresh inner bark. 
 Bed-straw. Gallium boreale. Roots. 
 
39 
 
 Common Sorrel. Rumexacetosa. Roots. 
 Evergreen Alkanet. Anchusa sempervirens. 
 
 With chloride of tin. 
 Dyer's Woodruff. zAsperula tinctoria. Roots. 
 
 PLANTS WHICH DYE BLUE. 
 
 Woad. Isatis Tinctoria. 
 
 Whortleberry or blaeberry. Vaccinium Myrtillus. 
 
 Berries. 
 
 Elder. Sambucus nigra. Berries. 
 Privet. Ligustrum tulgare. Berries, with alum 
 
 and salt. 
 
 * Sloe. Prunus communis. Fruit. 
 Red bearberry. Arctostaphylos Ul>a-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. 
 
 * "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." 
 
4 o 
 
 Meadow Rue. Thalictrumjiavum. Roots. 
 
 Marsh Marigold. Caltha palustris. Flowers. 
 
 S. John's Wort. Hypericum perforatum. 
 
 Heath. Brica vulgaris. With Alum. 
 
 Spindle tree. Euonymus Europtzus. 
 
 Buckthorn. Rhamnus frangula and 2^. cath- 
 artic a. Berries and Bark. 
 
 f" Dyer's Greenwood. Genista tmctona. Young 
 shoots and leaves. 
 
 Kidney Vetch. Anthyllis Vulnararia. 
 
 Marsh Potentil. Potentilla Comarum. 
 
 Ling. Calluna vulgar is. 
 
 Yellow Centaury . Ghlora perfoliata. 
 
 Hornbeam. Carpinus Betulus. Bark. 
 
 Hedge stachys. Stachys palustris. 
 
 Polygonum Persecaria. 
 
 Polygonum Hydropiper. 
 
 Hop. Humulus lupulus. 
 
 Stinking Willy, or Ragweed. Senecio yacobcea 
 
 Yellow Camomile. Anthemis tinctoria. 
 
 Common dock. Rumex obtusifolius. Root. 
 
 t "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 1 
 
 J Saw wort. Serratula tmctoria. 
 Gorse. Ulex Europ<zus. Bark, flowers and 
 
 young shoots. 
 
 Broom. Sarothamnusscoparius. 
 Bracken. Pteris aquilina. Roots. Also young 
 
 tops. 
 Way-faring tree. Viburnum lantana. Leaves, 
 
 with alum. 
 
 Bramble. Rubusfructicosus. 
 Nettle. Urtica. With alum. 
 Bog Myrtle or Sweet Gale. Myrica Gale. 
 Teasel. Dipsacus Syhestru. 
 Sundew. Drosera. 
 
 Barberry. Berberis^Dulgaris. Stem and root. 
 Bog asphodel. S^arthecium ossifragum. 
 Agrimony. Agrimonia Eupatoria. 
 Yellow corydal. Corydalis lutea. 
 Privet. Ligustrum vu/gare. Leaves. 
 Crab Apple. Pyrus Malus. Fresh inner bark. 
 Ash. Fraxtnus excelsior. Fresh inner bark. 
 Pear. Leaves. 
 
 J Sawwort which grows abundantly in meadows affords a 
 very fine pure yellow with alum mordant, which greatly resem- 
 bles weld yellow. It is extremely permanent," 
 
42 
 
 Poplar. Leaves. 
 
 Plum. 
 
 Birch. 
 
 Willow. 
 
 PLANTS WHICH DYE GREEN. 
 
 y Privet. Ligustrum vu/gare. Berries and leaves, 
 with alum. 
 
 Flowering reed. Phragmites communis. Flower- 
 ing tops, with copperas. 
 
 Elder. Sambucus nigra. Leaves with alum. 
 
 Nettle. Urtica dioica and U. Urens. 
 
 "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 grow- 
 ing on this island are capable of affording yellows much like those 
 from the dyer's broom; also the bark and shoots of the Lombardy 
 Tpop\ar y populuspyramida/is. The three leaved hellebore, helleborus 
 trifoliusy for dyeing wool yellow is used in Canada. The seeds of 
 the purple trefoil,lucerne,andfenugreek,the flowers of the French 
 marigold, the chamomile, antemis tinctoria, the ash,fraxinus ex- 
 celsior^ fumitory ,fumaria officinalis, dye wool yellow." "The 
 American golden rod, solidago canademis, affords a very beautiful 
 yellow to wool, silk and cotton upon an aluminous basis." 
 Bancroft. 
 
43 
 
 Lily of the valley. Con^alaria majalis. Leaves. 
 Larch. Bark, with alum. 
 
 PLANTS WHICH DYE BROWN. 
 
 Whortleberry. V actinium My r til I us. Young 
 shoots, with nut galls. 
 
 Larch. Pine needles, collected in Autumn. 
 
 Walnut. Root and green husks of nut. 
 
 Water Lily. Nymphcea alba. Root. 
 
 Alder. Alnus glutinosa. Bark. 
 
 Birch. Eetula alba. Bark. 
 
 Oak. Quercus Robur. Bark. 
 
 Red currants, with alum. 
 
 Hop. Humulus lupulus. Stalks give a brown- 
 ish red colour. 
 
 PLANTS WHICH DYE PURPLE. 
 
 Whortleberry or blaeberry. Vactinium myr- 
 tillus. Berries. " It contains a blue or purple 
 dye which will dye wool and silk without 
 mordant." 
 
 Deadly nightshade. Atropa Belladonna. 
 
 Sundew. T)rosera. 
 
 Bryony. Bryonia diolca. Berries. 
 
 Danewort. Sambucus Ebulus. Berries. 
 
44 
 
 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. 
 
 v Alder. Alnus glutmosa. Bark with copperas. 
 Blackberry. Rubusfruticosus. Young shoots, 
 
 with salts of iron. 
 Dock. Rumex. Root. 
 Iris. Iris Pseudacorus. Root. 
 Meadowsweet. Spirea Ulmaria. 
 Oak. Bark and acorns. 
 Elder. Bark, with copperas. 
 
45 
 
 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 Cud- 
 bear, 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 
 
46 
 
 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 crot- 
 tle, 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 
 wcods, 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 
 
47 
 
 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 pro- 
 perties 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 boil- 
 ing with water. One of these is the muscus pulmo- 
 nariusof Caspar Bauhine, or the lichenoides pulmo- 
 
nium reticulatum vulgare marginibus peltiferus of 
 Dillenius, called Rags and Stone Rags, in the north- 
 ern 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 isoneexcresencegotton 
 off the craigs which they call cork-lit, and make use 
 thereof for litting, or dyeing a kind of purple col- 
 our." Another lichen, taken from trees in Scot- 
 land, 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 stonewalls, 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 mor- 
 danted 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 
 
49 
 
 the conditions of its growth, such as climate,elev- 
 ation 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 
 
5 
 
 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 al- 
 most 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 | Ib. 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; 5lbs. of kor- 
 kalett being considered sufficient for about 4 Scotch 
 
5* 
 
 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.* 
 
 Linnaeus mentions that a beautiful red colour may 
 be prepared from Lichen pustulatus, Gyrophora 
 pustulata. G. cyllndrica is used by Icelanders 
 for dyeing woollen stuffs a brownish green colour. 
 In Sweden and Norway, Everm'a vu/pma 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 tar tare a (cor cur of the Scottish High- 
 landers) dyes a claret. It is usually prepared by 
 pounding the lichen and mixing it with stale cham- 
 berley , to which a little salt or kelp is added ; th is 
 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. 
 
 *T. Edmonston. On the Native Dyes of the Shetland Islands 1841. 
 
52 
 
 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 powd er : 25 parts pure river water 
 are added to i of powdered lichen, and I part of fresh 
 quicklimeto 10 parts powdered lichen. To iqlbs. 
 lichen |lb. sal ammoniac is sufficient when lime and 
 sal ammoniac are used together. The vessel con- 
 taining them should be kept covered for the first 2 
 or 3 days. Sometimes the addition of a little com- 
 mon salt or salt-petre will give greater lustre to the 
 colours."* 
 
 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 spe- 
 cies of Lichen grows on both rocks and trees, the 
 specimens taken from rocks give the better colours. 
 
 ORCHIL OR ARCHIL AND CUDBEAR are substan- 
 tive or non mordant dyes, obtained from Lichens of 
 
 * The Annales de Chimie. Stockholm Transactions 1792. 
 
S3 
 
 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 manu- 
 facture 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 pro- 
 ducing the colour was by treating the Lichen with 
 stale urine and slaked lime, and this method was fol- 
 lowed in Scotland. Orchil is applied to wool by 
 the simple process of boiling it in a neutral or slight- 
 ly acid solution of the colouring matter. 3 ^Sul- 
 phuric 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 communi- 
 
54 
 
 cates 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, "-j- 
 
 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. E^er- 
 maprunastri^ Lecanora pallescens^ ~Umbilkaria t vellea 
 U. pustulata^ Par me Ha 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 
 
 t The Art of Dyeing. Berthollet. He gives minute directions for 
 the preparation of Archil, see page 365. 
 
55 
 
 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. The general mode of treatment for the 
 development from the dye lichens of orchil and 
 cudbear consists of the following steps : 
 
 i. 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 cer- 
 tain 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. pot- 
 ash or soda) to heighten or modify the colour ; 
 and of chalk, gypsum and other substances, to 
 
 Some British Dye Lichens. Alfred Edge. 
 
56 
 
 impart consistence. Various accessories are em- 
 ployed, e.g. the application of continued, mode- 
 rate and carefully regulated heat during the pro- 
 cess of fermentation. J 
 
 RECIPES FOR DYEING WITH LICHENS. 
 
 To dye Brown with Crotal. 
 
 For 6^ Ibs. ( i oo oz.) of wool. Dye baths may be 
 used of varying strengths of from ioto5o 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 boil- 
 ing 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 acidwill be an improvement. 
 (A very small quantity should be used) . 
 
 To Dye Red with Crotal. 
 
 Gather the lichen offthe rocks it is best in win- 
 ter. Put layers of lichen and wool alternately in a 
 
 J From Dr. W. L. Lindsay, On Dyeing Properties of Lichens. 
 
57 
 
 pot, fill up with water and boil until you get the de- 
 sired tint. Too much crotal will make the wool a 
 dark red brown, but a very pretty terra cotta red can 
 begot. No mordant is required. 
 
 To T)ye Pin\ from a bright yellow Lichen. (Parmelia 
 parietina). 
 
 Mordant the wool with 3 % of Bichromate of 
 Potash,then boil with the lichen for i hour or more. 
 
 To Dye Brown from Crotal. 
 
 Boil the wool with an equal quantity of lichen for 
 i or 1 1 hours. No mordant is required. 
 
 To dye red purple from Cudbear & Logwood. 
 
 Dye with equal quantities of Cudbear and Log- 
 wood, the wool having been mordanted with 
 chrome. A lighter colour is got by dyeing with 
 8 Ibs. cudbear and | Ib. logwood (for 30 Ibs. wool) . 
 
 To Dye Yellow on Linen with the Lichen Peltigera 
 canina (a large flat lichen growing on rocks in 
 woods). 
 
 Mordant with alum, (^lb. to alb. of linen) boil 
 for 2 hours. Then boil up with sufficient quantity 
 of the lichen till the desired colour is got. 
 
58 
 
 LIST OF LICHENS USED BY THE 
 
 PEASANTRY OF DIFFERENT 
 
 COUNTRIES FOR WOOL 
 
 DYEING.* 
 
 SHADES OF RED, PURPLE AND ORANGE. 
 
 Roccella tinctorta. Orseille. Grows in the South 
 of France, on rocks by the sea. 
 
 Lecanora tartar ea. Crotal, Crottle, Corkur, Cor- 
 cir, 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. hcematomma. Bloody spotted lecanora, Black 
 lecanora. Found in Scotland on rocks and 
 trees. 
 
 * From an articl e by Dr. Lauder Lindsay on the "Dyeing Pro- 
 perties of Lichens," in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal. July 
 to October 1855. 
 
59 
 
 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 Urceo- 
 laria. Found in Scotland, Western Islands, 
 Shetland and Wales, growing on limestone 
 rocks. 
 
 U. Scruposa. Rock Urcolaria. 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 pea- 
 santry wear home made garments dyed purple 
 by this lichen. By the Shetlanders it is usually 
 collected in August,when it is considered rich- 
 est in colouring matter. 
 
6o 
 
 P. omphalodes. Black Crottle, Cork, Corker,Cros- 
 til or Crostal, (Scotch Highlands) . Arcel, Ire- 
 land). 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. caper ata. 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 grow- 
 ing on rocks in England. 
 
 Evernia prunastri. Ragged hoary lichen. Stag's 
 horn lichen. Found in Scotland, on trees. 
 
 Ramalina scopulorum. Ivory-like ramalina. Scot- 
 land, on maritime rocks. A red dye. 
 
 R.farinacea. Mealy ramalina. On trees in 
 England. 
 
 Eorrera ashney. Chutcheleera. India. 
 
6i 
 
 Solorina crocea. Saffron yellow solorina. In Scot- 
 land, 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 prick- 
 ly cornicularia. Canary Islands, Highland 
 Mountains. 
 
 Usnea barbata. Bearded Usnea. Pennsylvania 
 and South America. On old trees. Stated to 
 dye yarn orange. 
 
 U.forida. Flowering lusnea. Pale greenish yel- 
 low 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 
 
62 
 
 water, but this dye appears only to have been 
 made available to the Icelanders. 
 Parmelia physoides. Dark crot tie, 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. 
 crocata^ aurata. 
 
 For continuation of list see Appendix. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 en'f/d f : : 
 
 *BLUE 
 INDIGO, WOAD, LOGWOOD. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the very great facility of dye- 
 ing 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 opera- 
 tion in the whole art of dyeing." He I lot. 
 
 INDIGO 
 
 INDIGO is the blue matter extracted from a plant, 
 Indigofera tinctoria & other species,growing in Asia, 
 
 * 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." 
 
6 4 
 
 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 dis- 
 solved in sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol, thereby 
 making an indigo extract. This process was dis- 
 covered in 1 740. It gives good blue colours, but is 
 not very permanent. Darker colours by this me- 
 thod 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 deoxy dised indigo 
 is yellow, and in this state penetrates the woollen 
 fibre ; the more perfectly the indigo in a vat is de- 
 oxydised, the brighter and faster will be the colour. 
 For the dyeing of wool, the vats are usually heated 
 to a temperature of 50 C. Cotton and linen are 
 generally dyed cold. 
 
 jZi?//0/says " when the vat, of whatsoever kind it 
 be, is once prepared in a proper state, thereisno 
 difficulty in dyeing woollens or stuffs, as it is requi- 
 site only to soak them in clean warm water,to wring 
 them, and then to immerse them in the vat, fora 
 
65 
 
 longer or shorter time, according as you would have 
 the colour more or less deep. The stuffshould 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 col- 
 our 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 conse- 
 quently requires no mordant. 
 
 f- 1). To MAKE EXTRACT OF INDIGO. 
 Put 2 Ibs. of oil of vitriol into a glass bottle or jar, 
 stir in to it 8 oz. of powdered indigo, stirring briskly 
 
 1 1 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, Macquerand D'Appligny, and "Ele- 
 ments of the Art of Dyeing " by Berthollet. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 for I 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, | oz. finely ground Indigo. 
 Mix like mustard, and leave to stand over-night. 
 Prepare the wool by mordanting with 5 oz. alum to 
 i Ib. wool. Boil for | hour and dye without drying. 
 
 3). To DYE WOOL WITH INDIGO EXTRACT 
 
 For 4 to 6 Ibs. 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 | hour) and continue boiling 
 for another | 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 add- 
 ing 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 
 
6 7 
 
 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 log- 
 wood a little madder is sometimes used ; also Cud- 
 bear or Barwood. 
 
 4). To DYE SILK WITH INDIGO EXTRACT. 
 
 Dye at a temperature of 40 to 50 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 
 1 2 hours in a solution of 25 per cent, and then, with- 
 out washing, to dye with the Indigo Extract and 
 about i o % of alum added to the dye bath. By this 
 means compound colours can be made by the addi- 
 tion of cochineal, for purple, or old Fustic, Log- 
 wood, etc., for greys browns and other colours. 
 
 5). SAXON BLUE. 
 
 Put into a glazed earthen pot 4lbs. of good oil of 
 vitriol with 12 oz. of choice Indigo, stir this mix- 
 ture 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 
 
68 
 
 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 i Ib. Indigo thoroughly ground, put this 
 into a deep vessel with about 1 2 gallons of water, 
 add 2lbs. copperas, and 3 Ibs. newly slaked lime, and 
 stir for 15 minutes. Stir again after 2 hours and re- 
 peat every 2 hours for 5 or 6 times. Towards the 
 
6 9 
 
 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 i tea- 
 spoonful of Indigo Extract (see No. 2) for i Ib. of 
 wool. Boil ^ hour. 
 
 8). BLUE FOR WOOL. (Highlands). 
 
 Take a sufficiency of Indigo. (For medium 
 shade about i 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 luke- 
 warm. 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. 
 
7 
 
 9). INDIGO VAT. (For small dyers). 
 
 Add to 500 litres of stale urine 3 to 4 kilos of com- 
 mon salt and heat the mixture to 50 to 60 C., for 
 4 to 5 hours with frequent stirring, then add i kilo 
 of madder, i 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, ( i 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 solu- 
 tion by portions, lifting out the wool from the bath 
 while it is being added. The cold bath acts as well 
 as the hot. '* fin 
 
 n). THE COLD INDIGO VAT WITH URINE. 
 
 Take 4 Ibs. 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 I Ib. madder, mixing it well. Then pour 
 
7' 
 
 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 re- 
 duce 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, havea4quartpicklejar, into which put 
 i Ib. 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. 
 
72 
 
 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 I4OF. ; 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 3! gallons of stale 
 urine add 4^ oz. of common salt, and heat the mix- 
 ture to 125 F. (as hot as the hand can bear). Keep 
 at this heat for 4 to 5 hours, frequently stirring, 
 then add i^ oz. thoroughly ground Indigo and 
 i ^ oz. Madder, stir well and allow to ferment till the 
 Indigo is reduced. This is recognized by the ap- 
 pearance 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. Pro- 
 cess of dyeing the same as in No. 15. 
 
 15). To DYE INDIGO BLUE. Potash Vat. 
 Into a pot 3 parts full of water put i|oz. Madder 
 and 1 1 oz. bran. Heat to nearly boiling, and keep 
 at this heat for 3 hours. Then add 5 oz. Carbonate 
 
73 
 
 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 
 1 2 hours or so. Wool dyed in this vat must be tho- 
 roughly washed after the col our 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 de- 
 veloped. The wool comes out of the vat a green- 
 ish 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. 
 
 1 6). BLUE VAT FOR COTTON. 
 
 In a clean tub put 10 pails of water, slacken i 
 
 bushel of lime into it, and cover while slackening ; 
 
 put 6 Ibs. ground Indigo in a pot and mix it into a 
 
74 
 
 paste with hot water and then put 4 pails of boiling 
 water on to it, stir it, cover it, and leave it. In an- 
 other pot, put 20 Ibs. 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 LNDIGO VAT. 
 
 Size 5 feet over the top: 7 feet deep, 6 to 7 feet 
 at the bottom. 
 
 Take|cwt. bran, peck lime and 40 Ibs. indigo. 
 Warm up to 1 80 to 200 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. 
 
75 
 
 1 8). COLD INDIGO VAT FOR DYEING WOOL, 
 SILK, LINEN AND COTTON. 
 
 i part Indigo, 3 parts good quicklime, 3 parts 
 English vitriol, and i| 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 or- 
 piment 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. 
 
 f!9f" 
 
 \ WOAT) 
 
 Woad is derived from a plant, Isatistinctoria^ 
 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 incolour to indigo but the colour is much 
 more permanent. The leaves when cut are reduc- 
 ed to a paste, kept in heaps for about fifteen 
 
76 
 
 days to ferment, and then formed into balls which 
 are dried in the sun; these have a rat her agreeable 
 smell and are of a violet colour. These balls are sub- 
 jected 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 im- 
 prove 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 subse- 
 quently 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 Caesar said al- 
 most 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 Bos- 
 
77 
 
 ton. Indigo has quite superseded it in commerce."* 
 " 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 strong- 
 er, 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 Campeche, 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. 1 1 
 is called by the old dyers, one of the Lesser Dyes, 
 because the colour loses all its brightness when ex- 
 posed to the air. But with proper mordants and 
 with careful dyeing this dye can produce fast and 
 
 * Woad, pastel and Indigo are used in some dye books to mean: 
 the same dye,and they evidently have very much the same prepara- 
 tion in making. 
 
78 ' 
 
 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 
 onlysolde 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 im- 
 prisonment 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 dye- 
 wood we know so universally used, and so univer- 
 sally useful." The principal use for logwood is in 
 
79 
 
 making blacks and greys. The logwood chips 
 should be put in a bag and boiled for 20 minutes 
 to | 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 log- 
 wood, 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 FO^ DTEING with LOGWOOD. 
 
 i). 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* (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 I hour, then back into 
 
 * See page 36 
 
8o 
 
 the soda for a | hour at a temperature of 50 to 60 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 boil- 
 ing. Boil for I an hour. After dyeing, the cotton 
 should be passed through a warm solution of Bi- 
 chromate 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. 
 
 ( i o Ibs.) Dissolve | oz. Bichromate of Potash in 
 water,iand then boil for | hour ; lift the wool and 
 add i oz. logwood : boil for | hour. Lift out, wash 
 and dry. 
 
 3). LOGWOOD GREY ON COTTON. 
 
 The cotton is worked in a weak decoction of log- 
 wood at 40 to 50 C., and then in a separate bath 
 containing a weak solution of ferrous sulphate or 
 Bichromate of Potash. Wash. 
 
8i 
 
 4.) GREEN BLACK FOR WOOL. 
 
 Mordant wool with 3 % Bichromate of Potash 
 and i % Sulphuric acid (or 4 % Tartar) for i to i| 
 hours. Then wash and dye with 3 5 % 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 i to i \ hours at 1 00 C., 
 with 4 % alum and 4 to 5 % cream of Tartar. Wash 
 well and dye for i to i| hours at boiling point with 
 1 5 to 3 o % logwood and 2 to 3 % chalk. This col- 
 our is not very fast, but can be made faster by adding 
 i to 3 % bichromate of potash and i % sulphuric 
 acid. The brightest logwood blues are obtained 
 by dy eing j us t below boiling point. Long boiling 
 dulls the colour. 
 
 6). GREEN BLACK FOR WOOL. 
 
 Mordant with z% Chrome and 2$% sulphuric 
 
82 
 
 acid. Boil 1 1 hours and leave over night. Dye 
 with 40 % logwood and 10 % Fustic. Boil i hour. 
 
 7). LOGWOOD BLUE FOR WOOL. 
 
 Chrome i % , Alum 3 % , Tartar i \ % . Boil 
 1 1 hours and leave over-night. Dye with log- 
 wood 20 % and Cudbear i % . Boil one hour, 
 then throw in 20 quarts of single muriate of tin, di- 
 luted with 20 to 30 gallons of water. Immerse 1 5 
 minutes and wash. 
 
 8). FAST PURPLE FOR COTTON. 
 
 (For 20 Ibs. cotton.) Mordant with copperas. 
 Wash slightly ; then a bath of muriate of tin. Dye 
 with 4 to 5 Ibs. logwood. 
 
 f f ^ ^ t rJir'r 
 
 9). FAST BLACK ON WOOL. 
 
 Put wool into a strong logwood bath,the stronger 
 the better, and boil for i hour. Take out and drain, 
 and put into a Bichromate of Potash bath and keep 
 at 1 50 F. for about 5 minutes. Then a bath of Fus- 
 tic or Quercitron. After which wash well in cold 
 water. 
 
 i o) . BLACK FOR COTTON. 
 
 (For i o Ibs.) Steep cotton in hot decoction of ? 
 
 'j n i : ' * ^ v *- * *J i WJiiBi? luw 
 
 O 
 
83 
 
 Ibs. Sumach and let stay over night. Wring out and 
 work for 10 minutes through lime water : then 
 work for | hour in a solution of 2 Ibs. copperas. It 
 may be either washed from this, or worked again 
 through lime water for i o minutes. Dye for \ hour 
 in a warm decoction of 3 Ibs. logwood adding \ pint 
 chamber lye. Take out cotton and add to the same 
 bath 2 oz. copperas. Work i o minutes, then wash 
 and dry. i Ib. Fustic is added forjet black. 
 
 11). FAST BLACK FOR WOOLLENS. 
 
 (For 50 Ibs.) Mordant with 2 Ibs. chrome, i Ib. 
 Tartar, i quart Muriate of Tin. Boil i hour and 
 wash well. Dye with 25 Ibs. logwood and 3 Ibs. 
 Fustic. Boil 30 minutes. Take out and add i 
 pint Vitriol. Return for i o minutes, wash and dry. 
 
 12). JET BLACK FOR SILK. 
 
 ( For 50 Ibs.) Mordant in hot solution of Nitro- 
 Sulphate of Iron at 1 50 F., work for \ hour. Wash 
 well, then boil up 1 8 Ibs. Fustic. Put off the boil* 
 enter silk and work for 30 minutes. Take out. 
 Boil 1 6 Ibs. logwood, put off the boil and decant the 
 liquor into fresh bath,add i Ib. white soap, enter and 
 work from 30 to 40 minutes. Wash well. 
 
8 4 
 
 1 3) . LAVENDER FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For 6^ Ibs.) Mordant with 3 oz. Bichromate 
 of Potash, for 45 minutes and wash. Dye with 2 
 oz. madder, i 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 6 Ibs. wool with 4 oz. Chrome. Boil 
 for 45 minutes. Dye with 50 oz. logwood, i oz. 
 Fustic. Raise to boil and boil for 45 minutes. 
 
 1 5). FAST CHROME BLACK FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For 40 Ibs. wool.) Dissolve 3 Ibs. copperas and 
 boil for a short time. Then dip the wool in this for 
 ^ hour, airing frequently. Take out wool and make 
 dye with 24 Ibs. logwood. Boil for | hour. Dip 
 f hour, air wool, dip hour longer and then wash in 
 strong soap suds. 
 
 fto sifciT 1 33li/ mm. or TO! ;{T~ W Lrin . f I \z i^Jfl^ 
 1 6). LIGHT SILVER DRAB FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For 50 Ibs. wool ) . \ Ib. logwood, \ Ib. alum. 
 Boil well and enter wool and dip for i hour. 
 
85 
 
 17). A FAST LOGWOOD BLUE FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( Highland recipe) . Mordant with 3 % Bichro- 
 mate of Potash and'boil wool in it for 1 1 hours. 
 Wash and dry wool. Make a bath of 1 5 to 20 % 
 logwood with about 3 / chalk added to it. Boil the 
 wool for i 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. 
 
 1 8). GREEN BLACK FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For 50 Ibs. wool ) . Boil 20 minutes with i Ib. 
 chrome. Dye with 20 Ibs. Fustic, 81bs. logwood. 
 Boil for I hour. 
 
 19). SLATE PURPLE. 
 
 ( For 80 Ibs. yarn) . Mordant with 2 Ibs. chrome 
 for 20 minutes. Dye with i o Ibs. logwood & i Ib. 
 Cudbear. Boil for | hour. 
 
 20). RAVEN GREY FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For 60 Ibs.) Dissolve 8 oz. Alum and work the 
 wool very quickly for | hour at boiling heat ; then 
 take it out and add to the same liquor 3 or 4 Ibs. cop- 
 peras, & work it at boiling heat for | hour. Then 
 
86 
 
 wash. In another copper, boil i pailfull of logwood 
 chips for 20 minutes. Put the wool into this for \ 
 hour ; then return it into the alum and copperas for 
 i o to 15 minutes. 
 
 21). DARK RED PURPLE WITH LOGWOOD 
 FOR WOOL. (For 2 Jibs.) Mordant with 1002. 
 alum and 2 J oz. cream of tartar for i 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 i Ib. logwood, and \ Ib. 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 J 
 hour to 1 1 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 i 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 
 
8 7 
 
 alum ; it acquires a red which produces a violet on 
 the silk just dyed blue. The quantity of alum is un- 
 determined ; the more alum the redder the violet. 
 The silk is then washed. 
 
 23). ORDINARY LOGWOOD PURPLE FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For lib.) Mordant wool with \ Ib. alum and | 
 oz. tartar for i hour ; wring out and put away in a bag 
 for some days. Dye with \ Ib. logwood for i hour. 
 
 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 i oth 
 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. Ban- 
 croft 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 iltcis, 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: 
 
 20 Ibs. of wool and | 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 pow- 
 dered and two pounds of red Tartar. The whole is 
 brought to boil, and that instant the hanks are dip- 
 ped in, which are to remain in for two hours, stir- 
 ring 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 pre- 
 pared, and when it begins to be lukewarm, take 1 2 
 oz. of powdered Kermes for each pound of wool to 
 
9 o 
 
 _lj t/v .f ( * I ^X 
 
 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 dip- 
 ped 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, ac- 
 quires 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 I^ermes. The 
 wool is first boiled in water along with bran for half- 
 
9 1 
 
 an-hour (| bushel of bran for 20 Ibs. of wool) stir- 
 ring it from time to time. Drain. Next boil for 
 2 hours in a fresh bath with a fifth of its weigh t 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 after- 
 wards washed in warm water in which a small quan- 
 tity 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 -^ 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 1 2 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. 
 
92 
 
 COCHINEAL 
 
 The dried red bodies of an insect (Coccus Cacti) 
 found in Mexico are named Cochineal. 
 
 RECIPES FOR DYEING. 
 i). SCARLET FOR WOOL. 
 
 For each pound of wool put 20 quarts of water. 
 When the water is warm, add 2 oz. Cream of Tartar, 
 1 1 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, 
 1 1 oz. of starch is put in and when the water is warm 
 6| 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 
 1 1 hours. It is then taken out, wrung and washed. 
 The Scarlet is then in its Perfection. 
 
 2). COCHINEAL FOR COTTON. 
 
 Prepare 50 Ibs. of cotton with 1 5 Ibs. Sumach, i o 
 Ibs. Alum. Dye with 2^ Ibs. of Cochineal. Leave 
 
93 
 
 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 offthe boil,enter cotton & 
 winch till colour be full enough ; then wash and dry. 
 
 3). ORANGE RED FOR WOOL. 
 
 i ) . Mordant wool with Alum. 
 
 2). Dye in a bath of weak Fustic. 
 Wash and Dry. 
 
 3) . Put into cold water, Cream of Tar- 
 tar, Tin, Pepper and Cochineal. 
 When warm, enter the wool 
 and boil. 
 
 4). PINK WITH COCHINEAL FOR WOOL. 
 
 (For6olbs. wool). 5lbs. 12 oz. alum. Boil and 
 immerse wool for5o minutes. Then add i Ib. Coch- 
 ineal and 5 Ibs. cream of tartar. Boil and enter wool 
 while boiling, till the required colour is got. 
 
 5). SCARLET FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For 100 Ibs.) 6 Ibs. of Tartar are' thrown into 
 the water when warm. The bath is stirred briskly 
 and when hot | Ib. powdered cochineal is added and 
 well mixed. Then 5 Ibs. of clear solution of Tin is 
 carefully mixed in. When it is boiling the wool is 
 
94 
 
 put in and moved briskly. After 2 hours it is taken 
 out, aired and washed. 
 
 The second bath. When the water is nearly 
 boiling 5! Ibs. of powdered cochineal is put in. A 
 crust will form on the surface which will open in 
 several places. Then 13 toi^lbs. of solution of tin 
 is poured in. After th is 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 in- 
 creases 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 a| oz. alum and i| oz. tartar for 
 every Ib. of wool. Then dye with i oz. cochineal. 
 Solution of tin is sometimes added. Also salt. 
 
 7). VIOLET FOR WOOL. 
 
 Mordant with 2 oz. alum for lib. wool. Dye 
 with i oz. cochineal and i oz.of solution of iron in 
 which the wool is kept till the shade is reached. 
 
95 
 
 8). SCARLET WITH COCHINEAL, FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For i oo oz. clean wool) . Put 6 oz. Oxalic acid, 
 6 oz. S tannous C hloride ( Tin Crystals ) , 8 oz. pow- 
 dered 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 | 
 hour, after which take out the wool, wash and dry. 
 
 9). PURPLE, FOR WOOL. 
 
 ( For 2 1 Ibs. wool) . Mordant with Bichromate 
 of Potash, 1 1 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 i to i| hours with 6 % stan- 
 nous chloride and ^% cream of tartar. Wash. Dye 
 with 5 to 12 % of ground cochineal for i to i \ hours. 
 To dye the wool evenly,enter it in both the mordant 
 and the dye when the water is warm,and raise gradu- 
 ally to boiling. 
 
9 6 
 
 1 1). 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 i o 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 | to i hour and boil | 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 pur- 
 plish 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 | hour in a con- 
 centrated solution of alum, then leave to steep over 
 
97 
 
 night. Wash well and dye in a fresh bath contain- 
 ing 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 hour at 50 C., 
 in a weak soap bath containing about I o per cent, of 
 Annatto; it is then well washed. Mordant the silk 
 by working it for | 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 i o 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 chlo- 
 ride and oxalic acid. 
 
 With the use of iron mordants very fine shades of 
 lilac may be obtained on silk with cochineal. 
 
 LAC DTE 
 
 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 read- 
 ily however, and should be ground in to 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 i oo Ibs. wool. 8 Ibs. lac, previously 
 ground up with part of the tin spirits, 5 Ibs. cochin- 
 eal, 5 Ibs. tartar, 20 Ibs. tin spirit. 
 
 MADDER 
 
 MADDER consists of the ground up dried roots of 
 a plant, (Rubiatinctorum) cultivated in France, 
 U Holland, and other parts of Europe, as well as in In- 
 v dia. JMadder 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 grad- 
 
99 
 
 ual raising of the temperature of the dye bath is 
 essential in order to develop the full colouring pow- 
 er 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, i 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. 
 i). RED FOR WOOL. 
 
 Forioooz. (6^1bs.) wool. 
 
 Mordant 8 oz. Alum and 2 oz. Tartar. Boil the 
 wool in the mordantfor one hour and wash in cold 
 water. Dye: 50 oz. Madder. Enter the mordanted 
 wool, raise to boil and boil gently for one hour. 
 
IOO 
 
 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 j ust 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 1 4, 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 40 C., and 
 raise th e temperature of the bath gradually to 8 o to 
 1 00 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 temper- 
 ature at about 80 C., and prolonging the dyeing 
 process. After dyeing, the colour can be brightened 
 
101. 
 
 by working the wool at 70 C. , in a weak soap bath, 
 or a bath containing bran. 
 
 4). BRIGHT RED FOR COTTON.* 
 
 ( For 2 2 Ibs) . The cotton must be scoured, then 
 galled in the proportion of i part of nut i^alls to 4 of 
 cotton, and lastly alumed in the proportion of i of 
 alum to 4 of cotton. To the solution of alum is added 
 one twentieth of solution of soda ley (| Ib. ordinary 
 soda to j | 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 6| Ibs. madder and stir carefully. 
 When thoroughly mixed, put in the cotton & work 
 for | 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 bypassing it quickly thro* a tepid bath 
 with a pint of ley in it. It is then washed and dried. 
 
 * This recipe can also be used for linen, but linen takes the colour 
 less easily than cotton, and should have the various operations re- 
 peated as much as possible. 
 
T02. 
 
 5). BRIGHT ORANGE RED FOR WOOL. 
 
 For i Ib. scoured fleece, mordant with 4 oz. alum 
 and i oz. cream of tartar. Dissolve the mordant, 
 enter the wool and raise to boiling point and boil for 
 I 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 n ight in 
 water and boil up before using. Put into dye bath, 
 enter wool when warm, bring gradually to the boil 
 and boil for | hour. 
 
 6). BRIGHT RED FOR WOOL. 
 
 Mordant i Ib. wool with 5 oz. of Alum, and i 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 | Ib. of madder for every pound of wool. 
 The water should not boil, but kept j ust below boil- 
 ing 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) . 
 
io 3 
 
 7). RED FOR SILK. 
 
 The silk is mordanted over night with alum, by 
 steeping itin 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 iooC. The addition of 
 bran tends to give brighter colours. A small quan- 
 tity of Sumach could be added if a fuller colour is 
 wanted. After dyeing, wash and then brighten in 
 aboiling solution of soap, to which a small percent- 
 age of stannous chloride has been added. After- 
 wards 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, add- 
 ing 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 i Ib. of potash ; boil the cotton 
 
IO4 
 
 in this for 20 minutes, then rinse it. Put 4 Ibs. 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 2 Ibs. 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 i Ib. fresh madder in 
 the copper, put in the cotton and boil for 20 min- 
 utes. Then wash. 
 
 10). RED FOR COTTON. 
 
 Scour the cotton. Then gall in the proportion 
 of i of gall nuts to 4 of cotton. Then alum in the 
 proportion of i of alurn 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 - hour, keeping it under boil- 
 ing point, then boil up for hour and wash. Dry. 
 
it). MADDER RED FOR COTTON & LINEN. 
 
 ( For i Ib.) i st Mordant. Boil i oz. ground 
 gall nuts in 5 quarts of water for | hour. Putin 
 thread and soak for 24 hours. Dry. 
 
 2nd Mordant. Melt 2 oz. of alum, ^ oz. of Tur- 
 meric, and | oz. of gum Arabic in two quarts of 
 water, over a slow fire. Let cool. Melt i oz. soda, 
 I oz. arsenic, ^ oz. potash (crushed) in a bath, and 
 when dissolved, add the alum, turmeric and gum 
 Arabic mixture. Stew | hour. Put in thread, 
 which should be covered with the liquid, and let it 
 soak for 24 hours. Dry. 
 
 i st. Bath. Put 2 oz. Madder into i o quarts of 
 water, heat up to boiling but do not let it boil. Put 
 in thread and stir well for i hour. 
 
 2nd. Bath. Put 3 oz. Madder in i o quarts of 
 water ; treat as in first bath , from which the thread 
 should be taken and put straight into the 2nd. bath. 
 Stir for i 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 
 
io6 
 
 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 import- 
 ance which should be mentioned. 
 
 'BRAZIL WOOT>S, various leguminous trees, 
 including lima, sapan and peach wood, dye red with 
 alum and tartar, and a purplish slate colour with bi- 
 chromate of potash. They are not fast colours. 
 
 Some old dyers used Brazil wood to heighten the 
 red of madder. 
 
 CAMWOOD, BARWOOT), SANDAL- 
 WOOD 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. 
 
 ^EDfrom LADIES BEDSTRAW. 
 
 The crushed roots of this plant are used. Mor- 
 dant 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. 
 
io 7 
 
 COTTON 
 
 For i o'lbs. cotton boil 3 Ibs. Sumach, let the cot- 
 ton steep in this over night : wring out and work in 
 red spirits ( i gill to a gallon of water) . Wring out 
 and wash well. Boil up 3 Ibs. limawood (or Brazil 
 or Peach wood) and i Ib. fustic. Work the cotton in 
 this I hour, as warm as the hand can bear ; add i gill 
 red spirits and work 1 5 minutes longer. Wash. 
 
 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 fen u- 
 
io8 
 
 grec". "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 y ellow". 
 
 Hellot. 
 
 > 
 
 WELD 
 
 Weld, Reseda fated/a, 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 6 Ibs. 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 
 
109 
 
 I hour. It gives a bright yellow with alum and tar- 
 tar 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 | to i 
 hour. 2 % of Stannous chloride added to the mor- 
 dant gives brilliancy and fastness to the colour. 
 Bright and fast orange yellows are got by mordant- 
 ing 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 i o % 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 90 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 
 
I 10 
 
 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, wash- 
 ed 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 i o 
 minutes in a fresh soap bath with a little weld added 
 to it. Wring out without washing. 
 
 x ; 
 
 RECIPES FOR DYEING WITH WELD. 
 
 i). YELLOW FOR SILK. 
 
 Scour the silk in the proportion of 20 Ibs. soap to 
 loolbs.ofsilk. Afterwards alum and wash. A bath 
 is made of 2 parts weld for i of silk, and after ~ 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 
 
1 1 1 
 
 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 ^ of its weight of 
 alum. After24 hours it is taken out of the bath and 
 dried without washing. A weld bath is prepared 
 with imparts weld to i of cotton, and the cotton dip- 
 ped in till the shade is got. It is then worked in a 
 bath of sulphate of copper ( copper to i of cotton) 
 for 1 1 hours. It is next thrown, without washing, 
 into a boiling solution of white soap. ( soap to i 
 cotton) . It is boiled for i hour, then washed and 
 dried. 
 
 3.) DEEP YELLOW FOR COTTON OR LINEN. 
 
 2|partsofweld for i of cotton, with a little cop- 
 per 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 ^ 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 i to 2 hours, and 
 dye in a separate bath of 50 to 100 % weldfor2o 
 minutes to an hour at 90 C. 
 
 6). YELLOW FOR WOOL. 
 
 Mordant with alum and tartar, and dye with 5 or 
 6 Ibs. of weld for every Ib. 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 ( I Ib.) for an hour in a solution of 
 alum, i Ib. to the gallon, wring out and wash in 
 warm water. Boil 2 Ibs. weld for | hour ; strain 
 and work the silk in this for | hour. Add i 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, in- 
 clining 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 brown- 
 ish and dull. The chips should be tied up in a bag 
 and boiled for \ 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. 
 i). OLD GOLD FOR WOOL. Boil the wool with 
 3 to 4 % Chrome for i to i| hours. Wash, and 
 
 J 
 
dye in a separate bath for i to 1 1 hours at 1 00 C. 
 with 20 to 80 % of Old Fustic. 
 
 2). LIGHT YELLOW FOR SILK. Work the silk 
 for \ to I hour at 50 to 60 C. in a bath containing 
 1 6 % alum and a decoction of 8 to 1 6 % of old Fus- 
 tic. For dark yellow the silk is mordanted with 
 alum, washed and dyed for about an hour at 50 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 i to 1 1 hours, 
 and 8 % of tartar. Wash, and dye with 20 to 40 % 
 of Fustic at 80 to 1 00 C. for 30 to 40 minutes. 
 
 4). OLD GOLD FOR WOOL. Mordant 6 Jibs. 
 ( i oo oz.) wool with 3 oz. chrome, for | hour and 
 wash. Dye with 24 oz. Fustic & 4 oz. madder for 
 45 minutes. 
 
 5). YELLOW FOR WOOL. Mordant 6 Jibs, wool 
 with3oz. chrome, for | hour and wash. Dye with 
 6 oz. Fustic, 2 drachms logwood. Boil | hour. 
 
 6). BRIGHT YELLOW FOR WOOL. (Single bath 
 method). Fill the dye bath \ 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 | to i hour, & 
 boil for hour. 
 
 7). YELLOW FOR WOOL. (Single bath). 
 stannous chloride, 4 % oxalic acid and 50% Fustic. 
 
 8). YELLOW FOR SILK. (5 Ibs.) Work the 
 silk through an alum solution of i Ib, to a gallon of 
 water. Wash in warm water. Boil 2 Ibs. Fustic 
 for | hour in water and in this work the silk for | 
 hour. Lift and add i pint of the alum solution. 
 Work i o minutes longer, then wash and dry. 
 
 9). FUSTIC YELLOW FOR SILK, (jibs.) Alum 
 the silk. Boil up 3 Ibs. Fustic and work silk in it 
 while hot for | hour. Lift, add 2 oz. red spirits. 
 Work for 15 minutes. Wash out in cold water. 
 Work i o minutes in a soap solution. Wring out 
 and dry. 
 
 10). BUFF COLOUR ON WOOL. (45 Ibs.) Boil 
 4! Ibs. Fustic and 1 1 Ibs. madder. Add 7 Ibs. alum 
 and boil up together. Allow to cool a little, enter 
 wool and boil for i hour. 
 
n6 
 
 11). YELLOW FOR WOOL. Mordant with 
 alum and tartar. Solution of tin increases the col- 
 our ; 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 6oC. for about | 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 Fus- 
 tic or Weld, but its use is not recommended as al- 
 though 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 1 775 as a cheap substi- 
 tute for weld. He says, " The wool should be boiled 
 for the space of i or i 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 i Ib. clean powdered 
 chalk for every i oo Ibs. of wool may be mixed with 
 the dyeing liquor and the operation continued 8 or 
 i o minutes longer, when the yellow will have be- 
 come both lighter and brighter by this addition of 
 chalk." 
 
 QUERCITRON FOR SILK. Bancroft. 
 
 i to 2 Ibs. of bark to every 12 Ibs. 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. 
 
n8 
 
 A little murio sulphate of tin is used where more 
 lively shades of yellow are wanted. 
 
 Boil at the rate of 4 Ibs. bark to every 3 Ibs. of alum 
 & 2 Ibs. murio sulphate of tin with a suitable quan- 
 tity 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 liq- 
 uor and keeping it well stirred, various and beautiful 
 shades of Saxon green may be dyed. 
 
 By dissolving different proportions of copperas or 
 copperas and alum in the warm decoction of bark, 
 silk may in the same way be dyed of all the different 
 shades of olive and drab colours. 
 
 FOR COTTON AND LINEN. Soak the yarn in a 
 liquor made by dissolving \ of its weight of alum in 
 the necessary water, to which it will be highly ad- 
 vantageous to add at the rate of i Ib. potash or 10 oz. 
 chalk for every 6 or 7 Ibs. alum. The yarn is taken 
 out and dried well : being afterwards rinsed, it is to 
 be dyed in cold liquor made by boiling i \ Ibs. of the 
 plant for each Ib. of yarn,which, after having receiv- 
 ed a sufficient body of colour,is to be taken out of the 
 dyeing liquor and soaked for an hour and more in a 
 
solution of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) contain- 
 ing at the rate of 3 or 4 oz. for every pound of yarn : 
 it is then removed without being washed, put into a 
 boiling solution of hard soap, containing 3 or 4 oz. 
 soap for each pound of yarn. Stir well and boil for 
 about | hour or more. Then wash and dry. 
 
 And again, take a sufficient quantity of acetate of 
 alumina. This is made by dissolving 3 Ibs. alum in 
 a gallon of hot water, then adding i Ib. sugar of lead, 
 stirring well for 2 or 3 days, afterwards adding about 
 2 oz. potash and 2 oz. powdered chalk, (carbonate of 
 lime) , mix with warm water and soak linen or cot- 
 ton well in this for 2 hours, keeping warm; squeeze 
 out, dry; soak again in mordant, squeeze; dry; soak 
 in lime water, dry; this mordanting and liming can 
 be repeated if a fast yellow is required : it should 
 then be well washed. 1 2 to 1 8 Ibs. of Quercitron 
 bark, for every i oo Ibs. cotton or linen, is tied up in a 
 bag and put in cold water, and slightly heated. The 
 cotton is put in, stirring for an hour to an hour and a 
 half while the water gets warm : then the liquor is 
 heated to boiling point and the cotton boiled a few 
 minutes only. Slow raising to boiling point gives 
 the best colour. Instead of using acetate of alumina, 
 
120 
 
 the cotton can be impregnatedwith some astringent 
 such as galls or my robalans ( i Ib. in 2 or 3 gallons of 
 water with a little soda) . Macerate the cotton an 
 hour or two in this and dry, then a solution of alum 
 ( 8 Ibs. alum, i Ib. chalk, in 6 gallons of water) soak 
 cotton 2 hours, and dry, then soak in lime water and 
 dry. Second time in alum and dry. Then wash 
 and dye slowly in the Quercitron. This is a lasting 
 yellow for cotton or linen. 
 
 OTHER YELLOW DTES. 
 
 "Root of the dock, bark of the Ash tree, leaves of the al- 
 mond, peach and pear trees, all give good yellow dyes, more 
 or less fine according to the time they are boiled and in propor- 
 tion to the Tartar and alum used. A proper quantity of alum 
 brings these yellows to the beautiful yellows of the weld. If 
 the Tartar is in greater quantity, these yellows will border on 
 the orange, if too much boiled they take brown shades." From 
 a dyeing book, 1778. 
 
 f| BARBERRY. The roots and bark of Berberis 
 Vulgaris, used principally for silk dyeing, without a 
 mordant. The silk is worked at 50 to 60 C. in a 
 solution of the dye wood slightly acidified with suL 
 phuric, acetic or tartaric acid. For dark shades, 
 mordant with stannous chloride. 
 
121 
 
 DTERS BR OM. genista tinctoria. 
 The plant grows on waste ground. It should be 
 picked in June or July & dried. It can be used with 
 an alum and tartar mordant and gives a good bright 
 yellow. It is called greening weed and used to be 
 much used for greening blue wool. 
 
 PRIVET LEAVES, Ligustrum^ulgare, dye 
 a good fast yellow with alum and tartar. 
 
 HEATHER. Most of the heathers make a 
 yellow dye, but the one chiefly used is the Ling, 
 Calluna vu/gan's. The tips are gathered just before 
 flowering. They are boiled in water for about half 
 an hour. The wool, previously mordanted with 
 alum, is put into the dye bath with the liquor,which 
 has been strained. It is then covered up closely and 
 left till the morning. Or the wool can be boiled in 
 the heather liquor till the desired colour is obtained. 
 
 RECIPES : i ) . YELLOW FOR WOOL. For 6^ Ibs. 
 mordant with 5 oz. alum for i hour and wash. Boil 
 up 8 oz. heather twigs leaves and flowers. Enter the 
 wool and boil for i hour. Wash in cold water & dry. 
 
 2). GOLDEN YELLOW FOR WOOL. For 6 Ibs. 
 mordant with 3 oz. bichromate of potash for J^hour 
 
122 
 
 Wash in cold water. Dye with 50 oz. heather and 
 boil for 45 minutes. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 BROWN AND BLACK. 
 
 CATECHU. ALDER BARK. SUMACH. 
 
 WALNUT. PEAT SOOT. LOGWOOD, 
 
 AND OTHER DYES 
 
 CATECHU. 
 
 Catechu, (Cutch) is an old Indian dye for cotton. 
 It can be used for wool, and gives a fine rich brown. 
 It is obtained from the wood of various species of 
 Areca, Acacia, and Mimosa trees. Bombay Cate- 
 chu is considered the best for dyeing purposes. 
 
 Catechu is soluble in boiling water. It is largely 
 used by the cotton dyer for brown, olive, drab, grey, 
 and black. True ordinary method of dyeing cutch 
 brown on cotton is to steep the cotton in a hot solu- 
 
I2 3 
 
 tion of catechu, containing a small addition of cop- 
 per sulphate, and leave it in the solution for several 
 hours. To 7 or 8 gallons of water put i Ib. catechu 
 and boil till all is dissolved, then add I toaozs.of 
 sulphate of copper and stir. It is then put into a 
 boiling chrome bath (3 % ) for | hour. For deep 
 shades the dyeing and chroming operations are re- 
 peated, With alum mordanted cotton, the colour 
 is a yellowish brown, with tin it becomes still yel- 
 lower. With iron it is brownish or greenish grey. 
 When catechu only is used, a darker shade of brown 
 is got by adding to the catechu 6 % of its weight of 
 copper sulphate. When mordants are used, they 
 may be applied before or after the chrome bath, the 
 cotton being worked in their cold solution. 
 
 i). CATECHU BROWN FOR COTTON, (lolbs.) 
 Work the cotton at a boiling heat for 2 hours, or 
 steep for several hours in a cool liquid, in 2 Ibs. cate- 
 chu. (To each 7 or 8 gallons of water put i Ib. of 
 catechu, and boil till all is dissolved, then add 2 oz. 
 sulphate of copper and stir) . Wring out and then 
 work for | hour in a hot solution of chrome, 6 oz. 
 Wash in hot water. If soap is added the colour is 
 
124 
 
 improved. Any depth of colour can be got by re- 
 peating the operations. 
 
 2). BROWN FOR COTTON. Soak cotton in 
 warm water. Boil for | hour in a solution of cate- 
 chu, in the proportion of i oz. of catechu to 5 oz. of 
 cotton. Put it into a 3 % solution of chrome for | 
 hour and boil. Then repeat these two operations 
 till the colour is obtained. Then boil in a bath of 
 Fustic. 
 
 3). BROWN FOR COTTON. (loolbs.) Boil 
 20 Ibs. catechu in water : dissolve in the liquid i o 
 Ibs. alum and let it settle : enter the yarn into the 
 hot liquid and after working well take out and enter 
 into a fresh bath of boiling water with 4 Ibs. of 
 chrome. Rinse and soften with oil and soap. 
 
 4). CREAM COLOUR FOR COTTON WITH CAT- 
 ECHU, (i i Ibs). Boil out | oz. of catechu in 
 water, and dissolve 2 Ibs. 3 oz. curd soap in the clear 
 liquid. Enter the cotton at 1 90 F. and work for 
 an hour. 
 
 5.) CATECHU FAST BROWN. (50 Ibs.) Steep 
 yarn over-night in a decoction of 10 Ibs. cutch. 
 
I2 5 
 
 Lift &work in a hot solution of chrome,rinse & dry. 
 
 6). LIGHT FAST CATECHU BROWN FOR COT- 
 TON. (5olbs.) Boil 20 Ibs. catechu in one boiler 
 and 5 Ibs. chrome in another. Enter in the catechu 
 bath first, work 20 minutes, and wring out : then 
 through the chrome i o minutes, and wring out. 
 Through catechu again, then chrome. Repeat 
 this till dark enough, finishing with catechu. 
 
 7.) LIGHT CATECHU BROWN FOR COTTON. 
 (20 Ibs). 3 Ibs. of catechu and 3 oz. copper sulph- 
 ate, boil up, and put into a bath of warm water. 
 Enter cotton and work for | hour ; wring out. In 
 another bath of hot water dissolve 8 oz. of chrome. 
 Enter cotton when boiling, and work for | hour. 
 Then wash. 
 
 8). CATECHU BLACK FOR COTTON. Work 
 the cotton in a hot decoction of catechu, allowing it 
 to steep in the bath till cold, then work it in a cold 
 solution of iron. Wash, and dye in a cold or tepid 
 bath of logwood, and finally pass through a solution 
 ofchrome. 
 
 9). CATECHU BROWN FOR WOOL. The wool 
 is boiled for i to i| hours, with 10 to 20 % catechu, 
 
126 
 
 then sadden with 2 to 4 % of copper sulphate, fer- 
 rous sulphate, or chrome, at 80 to 100 C., in a sepa 
 rate bath for | hour. 
 
 10). CATECHU STONE DRAB, (zolbs. cotton) 
 Work the cotton for \ hour with 2 pints catechu 
 ( i Ib. catechu to 7 or 8 gallons water ; boil and add 2 
 oz. copper sulphate) in hot water, lift and add 2 oz. 
 copperas in solution. Work for hour and wash. 
 Add 2 oz. logwood to a bath of warm water & work 
 cotton in this for 10 minutes. Lift and add |oz. alum 
 Work 10 minutes ; wring out and dry. 
 
 The bark and twigs of alder are used for dyeing 
 brown and black. For i Ib. wool use i Ib. alder bark. 
 Boil the wool with it for 2 hours, when it should be 
 a dull reddish brown. Add | oz. copperas for every 
 pound of wool for black. 
 
 SUMACH 
 
 Sumach is the ground up leaves and twigs of the 
 Rhus coriaria growing in Southern Europe. It dyes 
 wool a yellow and a yellow brown, but it is chiefly 
 used in cotton dyeing. 
 
127 
 
 WALNUT 
 
 The green shells of the walnut fruit and the root 
 are used for dyeing brown. The husks are collected 
 when the fruit is ripe, put into a cask and covered 
 with water. In this way they can be kept for a year 
 or more ; it is said the longer they are kept the better 
 colour they give. Without a mordant the colour is 
 quite fast, but if the wool is mordanted with alum a 
 brighter and richer colour is got. When used they 
 are boiled in water for hour, then the wool is enter- 
 ed and boiled till the colour is obtained. Long boil- 
 ing is not good as it makes the wool harsh. It is 
 much used as a "saddening' * agent ; that is for dark- 
 ening other colours. William Morris says : 
 
 "The best and most enduring blacks were done with this simple 
 dye stuff, the goods being first dyed in the indigo or woad vat till 
 they were a very dark blue, and then browned into black by means 
 of the walnut root." 
 
 " Of all the ingredients used for tbe brown dye, the walnut 
 rind is the best. Its shades are finer, its colour is lasting, it 
 softens the wool, renders it of a better quality, and easier to 
 work. To make use of this rind, a copper is half filled, and 
 when it begins'to grow luke-warm. the rind is added in propor- 
 tion to the quantities of stuffs to be dyed and the colour intended. 
 The copper is then made to boil, and when it has boiled a 
 
128 
 
 quarter-of-an-hour, the stuffs which were before dipped in 
 warm water, are put in. They are to be stirred and turned 
 until they acquire the desired colour." James Haigh, 1797. 
 
 *PEA T SOOT gives a good shade of brown to 
 wool. Boil the wool for i to 2 hours with peat soot. 
 Careful washing is required in several changes of 
 water. It is used sometimes for producing a hazel 
 colour, after the wool has been dyed with weld and 
 madder. 
 
 OAK BARK. Mordant with alum and dye in 
 a decoction of oak bark. 
 
 ONIONSKINS. (Brown.) Mordant the wool 
 with alum and a little cayenne pepper. Boil it up 
 lightly and keep warm for 6 days. Drying 2 or 3 
 times in between makes the colour more durable. 
 Dry. Boil a quantity of onion skins, and cool ; then 
 put in wool and boil lightly for half-an-hour to an 
 hour; then keep warm for a while. Wring out 
 and wash. 
 
 MADDER for BROWN. (For 2\ Ibs. wool). 
 Mordant with 2 oz. copperas and 2 oz. cream of tar- 
 tar. Dye with madder. 
 
I2g 
 
 MADDER, ETC., for FRENCH BROWN. 
 (For 50 Ibs. wool.) Mordant with 1 1 Ibs. chrome. 
 Dye with 6 Ibs. Fustic, i Ib. madder, | Ib. cudbear, 
 i Ib. Tartar. If not dark enough add 8 oz. logwood. 
 Boil for | hour. Wash and dry. 
 
 FOR BLACK THREAD. (From an old Dutch 
 book on Dyeing. 1583)." Take a quantity of broken 
 or bruised galls and boil them in water in a small pot 
 and when they have a little boiled, take out all the 
 galls and put into the same pot so much Copperas as 
 ye had of galles and put therewith a little gumme of 
 Arabic and then give it again another boiling. So 
 let it boil a little, and with the said dye ye shall col- 
 our therein your thread, then take it forth and ye 
 shall see it a fair shining black." 
 
 (for 6 Ibs. wool). Mordant 
 with 3 oz. Chrome for 45 minutes and wash in cold 
 water. Boil for | hour, in a bag, 5 oz. madder, 4 oz. 
 Fustic, | oz. logwood. Enter the wool, raise to the 
 boil, and boil for 45 minutes. By altering the pro- 
 portions of madder & fustic various shades of brown 
 can be got. 
 
 K 
 
A gOOT) SL^C^for cotton, (20 Ibs.) to stand 
 milling and scouring. Steep all night with 6 Ibs. of 
 Sumach, pass through lime liquor and sadden with 
 copperas ; repeat in each of the last 2 tubs, adding 
 more lime and copperas to each. Pass through log- 
 wood and wash. Soften with a little oil and soda ash. 
 
 A gOOT> BLACK for cotton, (20 Ibs.) Ina 
 tub of cold water add 5 Ibs. sumach , give a few turns 
 and let it steep in it all night ; then in another tub of 
 cold water add a few pails of lime water, wring out ; 
 in another tub add 2 Ibs. dissolved copperas and a 
 pailful of old Sumach liquor. Enter, give 6 turns, 
 wring out. In lime tub put two pails more lime 
 liquor. Scald 2 Ibs. logwood, i Ib. Fustic in water; 
 enter cotton, give i o turns, sadden with a little cop- 
 peras in the same liquor. Soften with a little oil and 
 soda ash. 
 
 BLACK FOR LINEN AND COTTON. 
 
 The yarn is first of all scoured in the ordinary way, 
 galled, alumed, and then turned through a bath of 
 weld. It is then dyed in a decoction of logwood to 
 which one fourth part of sulphate of copper must be 
 
added for one part of yarn. It is then washed. It 
 is dyed in a bath made with one part of madder for 
 two of yarn. The yarn is then turned through a 
 bath of boiling soap water, washed and dried. 
 
 DOESKIN BLACK. (For i oo Ibs. wool.) 
 CamwoodS %. Boil for 50 minutes. Then add 
 Chrome 3 % , Alum i % , Argol i % . Boil for 50 
 minutes, take out of dye and allow to stand over- 
 night. Dye in 45 % logwood, 8 % Fustic, 4 % 
 Sumac. Boil for 1 1 hours, wash and dry. A fast 
 permanent colour. 
 
 G3(EEN BLACK FOR WOOL. Mordant 
 with 2 % Chrome and 25 % Sulphuric acid. Boil 
 1 1 hours ; and leave over-night. Dye with 40 % 
 logwood, and 10 % Fustic. Boil i hour. Wash. 
 
 BROWNISH BLACK FOR WOOL. (For 
 i Ib.) Mordant with 3 per cent. Chrome. Dye 
 with 2 oz. Fustic, 2 oz. logwood, i oz. madder, and 
 i oz. copperas. 
 
 BROWN FOR WOOL. Mordant a| hours 
 with alum ; dye with pine needles (larch) collected 
 in Autumn when they drop. 
 
132 
 
 "BLACK is obtained from the whole plant of 
 Spirea Ulmaria^ but especially the roct. It is ga- 
 thered then dried in the sun, and a strong decoction 
 made by boiling for some hours, (a large handful to 
 3 pin ts of water) . After it has boiled slowly for 2 
 to 3 hours, stale urine is added to supply the loss by 
 evaporation. Then set aside to cool. The cloth 
 to be dyed, is rubbed strongly with bog iron ore, 
 previously roughened and moistened with water. 
 It is then rolled up and boiled in the decoction . This 
 is of a brilliant black. A fin e black is said to have 
 been formerly obtained from the roots of Angelica 
 Sylvestris" (Edmonstone on the Native Dyes of 
 the Shetland Islands, 1841.) William Morris says ; 
 
 " Black is best made by dyeing dark blue wool with brown ; 
 and walnut is better than iron for the brown part, because the 
 iron-brown is apt to rot the fibre ; as you will see in some 
 pieces of old tapestry, or old Persian carpets, where the black 
 is quite perished, or at least in the case of the carpet gone 
 down to the knots. All intermediate shades of flesh colour 
 can be got by means of weak baths of madder and walnut 
 "saddening ;" madder or cochineal mixed with weld gives us 
 orange, and with saddening (walnut) all imaginable shades 
 between yellow and red, including the ambers, maize- 
 colour, etc." 
 
 Note: For other recipes for Black, see Chapter V on Logwood. 
 
'33 ... 
 
 From a Dye Book of 1705. "Black may be compared to 
 Night and Death, not only because all other colours are deep- 
 ened and buried in the Black Dye, but that as Death puts an 
 end to all Evils of Life, tis necessary that the Black Dye 
 should remedy the faults of other colours, which have been 
 occasioned by the deficiency of the Dyer or the Dye, or the 
 change of Fashion according to the times and caprice of man." 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 GREEN 
 
 Green results from the mixing of blue and yellow 
 in varying proportions according to the shade of 
 colour required. Eerthollet says : 
 
 "Many different plants are capable of affording green colours; 
 such as, the field broom grass, Bromus secalinus; the green berries 
 of the berry bearing alder, Rhamnus frangula\ wild chervil, Charo- 
 phyHumsi/vestre- purple clover, Trifoliumpratense; common reed 
 Arundo phragmites; but these colours have no permanence."* 
 
 * Note page 42 on British plants which dye green. 
 
'34 
 
 Hellot says: " It is impossible to obtain more than one colour 
 from a mixture of blue and yellow, which is green ; but this colour 
 comprehends an infinite variety of shades, the principal of which 
 are the Yellow green, the Light green, the Gay green, the Grass 
 green, the Laurel green, the Molequin green, the Deep green, the 
 Sea green, the Celadon green, the Parrot green, and, I shall add, 
 the Duck-wing green, and the Celadon green with Blue. All 
 these shades and the intermediate ones are made after the same 
 manner and with the same ease. The stuffor wool dyed blue, 1 ight 
 or dark, is boiled with Alum and Tartar, as is usually done to make 
 white stuffyellow, and then with Weld, Savory, or Greening 
 Wood. The Weld and the Savory are the two plants that afford 
 the finest greens." 
 
 Another old Dye book says: 
 
 " If you would dye your goods green, you must first dye them 
 yellow with Broom or Dyer's Weed, otherwise Yellow Weed; 
 after which put them into the Blue vat." 
 
 Every dyer has his particular yellow weed with 
 which he greens his blue dyed stuff. But the best 
 greens are undoubtedly got from weld and fustic. 
 
 The wool is dyed first in the blue vat ; then washed 
 and dried ; then after mordanting dyed in the yellow 
 bath. This method is not arbitrary as some dyers 
 consider a better green is got by dyeing it yellow be- 
 fore the blue. But the first method produces the 
 fastest and brightest greens as the aluming after the 
 
>35 
 
 blue vat clears the wool of the loose particles of indi- 
 go and seems to fix the colour. 
 
 If a bright yellow green is wanted, then mordant 
 with alum after the indigo bath ; if olive green, then 
 mordant with chrome. 
 
 The wool can be dyed blue for green in 3 different 
 ways : i st . in the indigo vat (see page 6 8 et seq.) ; 
 2nd. with Indigo Extract (see pages 65 67) ; 3rd. 
 with logwood, the wool having been previously 
 mordanted with chrome (see p. 8 2, No. 7, and p. 8 5 
 No. 1 7) . For a good bright green, dye the wool a 
 rather light blue, then wash and dry ; green it with 
 a good yellow dye,such as weld or fustic,varying the 
 proportion of each according to the shade of green 
 required. Heather tips, dyer's broom, dock roots, 
 poplar leaves, saw wort are also good yellows for 
 dyeing green. If Indigo Extract is used for the blue ? 
 fustic is the best yellow for greening, its colour is less 
 affected by the sulphuric acid than other yellows. 
 
 Bancroft gives many recipes for dyeing green 
 with quercitron. He says : 
 
 "Wool which has been first properly dyed blue in the com- 
 mon indigo vat may be made to receive any of the various 
 shades of green which are usually given in this way from weld, 
 by boiling the blue wool (after it has been well rinsed) in water, 
 
i 3 6 
 
 with about one eighth of its weight in alum, and afterwards 
 dyeing it unrinsed with about the same quantity of Quercitron 
 bark and a little chalk which should be added towards the end 
 of the process. 
 
 In the same way cloth that has previously received the pro- 
 per shade of Saxon blue, may be dyed to a beautiful Saxon 
 green: it will be proper to add about 3 Ibs. chalk with 10 to 12 
 pounds of alum for the preparation liquor for I oo Ibs. weight 
 of wool which is to be turned and boiled as usual for about an 
 hour, and then without changing the liquor, I o or 12 Ibs. of 
 Quercitron bark, powdered and tied up in a bag, may be put 
 into it, and the dyeing continued. When the dyeing has con- 
 tinued about 1 5 minutes, it will be proper to add another Ib. 
 of powdered chalk, stirring it well in, and to repeat this add- 
 ition once, twice or three times at intervals of 6 or 8 minutes. 
 The chalk does not merely answer the purpose of decomposing 
 the acid left in the wool by the sulphate of indigo, but it helps 
 to raise the colour and to render it more durable." 
 
 According to Bancroft, Quercitron is the yellow 
 above all others for dyeing greens. He says : 
 
 "The most beautiful Saxon greens may be produced 
 very cheaply and expeditiously by combining the lively yellow 
 which results from Quercitron bark, murio sulphate of tin and 
 alum, with the blue afforded by indigo when dissolved in sulphuric 
 acid, as for dyeing the Saxon blue". 
 
 For a full bodied green he says " 6 or 8 Ibs of powdered bark 
 should be put into a dyeing vessel for every hundred Ibs. wool with 
 
"37 
 
 a similar quantity of water. When it begins to boil, 6 Ibs. murio- 
 sulphate of tin should be added (with the usual precaution) and a 
 few minutes afterwards 4 Ibs. alum : these having boiled 5 or 6 min- 
 utes, cold water should be added, and then as much sulphate of Ind- 
 igo as needed for the shade of green to be dyed, stirring thoroughly. 
 The wool is then put into the liquor and stirred briskly for about ^ 
 hour. It is best to keep the water just at the boiling point." 
 
 RECIPES FOR DYEING GREEN. 
 
 i). BOTTLE GREEN FOR SILK WITH FUSTIC. 
 (5 Ibs.) Dissolve 2 Ibs. alum and i Ib copperas in 
 water; work the silk in this for | hour ; wash in 
 warm water. Work for | an hour in a decoction of 
 6 Ibs. Fustic. Lift, and add 2 oz. Indigo Extract, 
 Work 20 minutes. Wash and dry. 
 
 2). GREEN FOR WOOL WITH FUSTIC. |lb. of 
 wool is mordanted with ^ oz. chrome and Joz. 
 Cream of Tartar for | an hour to i hour. Soak over- 
 night in water, 3 oz. Fustic and a| oz. logwood, and 
 boil for 2 hours. Strain, and enter wool. Boilfor 
 2 hours. 
 
 3). GREEN FOR LINEN WITH LARCH BARK. 
 Mordant 4 Ibs. linen with |lb.alum. Boil for 2^ 
 hours ; wring out but do not dry. Boil up a quantity 
 of of larch bark and boil linen in thisfor 2\ hours. 
 
138 
 
 4). FUSTIC GREEN FOR WOOL, (jolbs.) 
 Mordant wool with 1 1 Ibs. alum. Soak5olbs. 
 Fustic over-night, and boil up. Enter the wool 
 and boil for half-an-hour or more. Add Extract of 
 Indigo in small quantities at a time, till the desired 
 colour is got. 
 
 5). SAXON GREEN FOR WOOL. Mordant the 
 wool with alum and tartar for half-an-hour ; it is 
 then taken out and aired, but not washed. The 
 bath is refreshed with cold water, and half the 
 amount of the solution of Indigo which is to be used 
 is well mixed in. The wool is entered and rapidly 
 stirred for 5 or 6 minutes, without boiling. It is 
 taken out and the rest of the Indigo solution is well 
 mixed in. The wool is put in and boiled for ten 
 minutes ; then taken out and cooled. The bath is 
 then three - quarters emptied and filled up with a 
 decoction of fustic. When the bath is very hot, the 
 wool is put in until the desired shade ofgreen is got. 
 
 6). GREEN WITH QUERCITRON FOR WOOL. 
 Dye the wool blue in the Indigo vat. Wash well. 
 For i oo parts of wool, put 3 parts of chalk and i o or 
 1 2 of alum. Boil the wool in this for i hour. Then 
 
139 
 
 to the same bath, add 10 or 12 parts of Quercitron, 
 and continue the boiling for ^ hour. Then add i part 
 of chalk, and this addition is repeated at intervals of 
 6 to 8 minutes till a fine green colour is brought out. 
 
 7). GREEN WITH QUERCITRON FOR COTTON. 
 Fi rst , the cotton is dyed a sky blue colour by means 
 of indigo dissolved by potash and orpiment ; then it 
 is passed through a strong decoction of sumach, in 
 which it is left until well cooled. It is then dried, 
 passed through the mordant of acetate of alumina, 
 dried again, washed, worked for 2 hours in tepid 
 bath of Quercitron, (26^1bs.to i lolbs. cotton). 
 
 8). GREEN WITH INDIGO EXTRACT & WELD 
 FOR WOOL. Mordant i Ib. wool with 4 oz. alum 
 and | oz. cream of tartar. Dye blue with sufficient 
 quantity of Indigo Extract. Wash and dry. Pre- 
 pare a dye bath with weld which has been previous- 
 ly chopped up and boiled. Enterwooland boilfor 
 half-an-hour or more. 
 
140 
 APPENDIX 
 
 LICHENS USED FOR DYEING WOOL BROWN. 
 Continued from page 62 
 
 S. scrobiculata. Aik-raw, Oak rag. Found on 
 trees in Scotland and England. 
 
 Gyrophora deusta. Scorched looking gyrophora. 
 Found on rocks in Scandinavia. Linnasus 
 states that it furnishes a paint called "Tousch," 
 much used in Sweden. 
 
 G. cylindrica. Cylindrical gyrophora. On rocks in 
 Iceland. Greenish brown. Also G. deusta. 
 
 Alectoria jubata. Horse hair lichen, Rock hair. 
 On fir trees in England, pale greenish brown. 
 
 Parmeliaparietina. Common yellow wall lichen, 
 Wag-massa, Wag-laf. England and Sweden 
 on trees, rocks, walls, palings. Used to dye 
 Easter eggs. Used in Sweden for wool dying. 
 
 Cetraria juniperlna. En-mossa. On trees in Scand- 
 inavia 
 
 Borreraflavicans. Yellow borrera. On trees in 
 Germany, gamboge yellow. 
 
Lecanora candelaria. Ljusmassa. On trees in 
 Sweden. 
 
 Evernia favicans. Wolf's-bane evernia. On 
 trees in Scandinavia, gamboge yellow. 
 
 Lecidea afro-sirens. Map lichen. On rocks Scan- 
 dinavia. 
 
 Lepraria chlorina. Brimstone coloured lepraria. 
 Scandinavia, on rocks. 
 
 L. lolithus. Viol-massa. Sweden, on stones. 
 
 Gives to stones the appearance of blood stains. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Prof. G. Henslow. Uses of British Plants. 
 
 Dr. Plowright. British Dye Plants. (Journal of the Royal 
 
 Horticultural Society, Vol. 26. 1901.) 
 Sowerby. Useful Plants of Great Britain. 
 Sowerby. English Botany. 
 
 Professor G. S. Boulger. The Uses of Plants. 1889. 
 Alfred Edge. Some British Dye Lichens. (Journal of the 
 
 Society of Dyers and Colourists. May 1914). 
 J. J. Hummel. The Dyeing of Textile Fabrics. 
 
I 4 2 
 
 Clement Bolton. A Manual of Wool Dyeing. 1913. 
 W. Crooks. Dyeing and Tissue Printing. 1882. 
 Rawson, Gardiner and Laycock. A Dictionary of Dyes, 
 
 Mordants, 1901. 
 
 James Haigh. The Dyer's Assistant. 1778. 
 James Napier. A Manual of Dyeing Receipts. 1855. 
 James Napier. A Manual of the Art of Dyeing. 1853. 
 A Profitable Boke. (On Dyeing). Translated from the 
 
 Dutch. 1583. 
 Darwin and Meldola. Woad. (" Nature ", Nov. 1 2, 
 
 1896). 
 
 Mrs. Anstruther Mackay. Simple Home Dyeing. 
 English Encyclooedia. Dyeing. 1802. 
 Gardiner D. Hiscock. 2Oth Century Book of Recipes, 
 
 Formulas and Processes. 1907. 
 F. J. Bird. The Dyer's Hand Book. 1875. 
 Hurst. Silk Dyeing and Printing. (Technological Hand 
 
 Book. 1892). 
 
 Smith. Practical Dyers' Guide. 1 849. 
 
 T. Sims. Dyeing and Bleaching. (British Manufacturing 
 Industries. 1877.) 
 
 David Smith. The Dyers' Instructor. 1857. 
 The Dyer and Colour Maker's Companion. 1859. 
 Thomas Love. The Practical Dyer and Scourer. 1854. 
 Knecht, Rawson and Lowenthal. A Manual of Dyeing. 
 1893. 
 
'43 
 
 Berthollet. The Art of Dyeing. 1824. 
 
 George Jarmain. On Wool Dyeing. 6 Lectures. 1876, 
 
 Hellot, Macquer, M. le Pilleur D'Apligny. The Art of 
 
 Dyeing Wool, Silk and Cotton. (Translated from the 
 
 French, 1789. New Edition, 1901.) 
 The Art of Dyeing. (Translated from the German. 1705. 
 
 Reprint 1913.) 
 
 R. P. Milroy. Handbook on Dyeing for Woollen Home- 
 spun Workers. (Congested Districts Board for Ireland). 
 Dr. W. L. Lindsay. On the Dyeing Properties of Lichens. 
 
 (Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, 1855). 
 T. Edmonston. "On the Native Dyes of the Shetland 
 
 Islands." (Transactions of Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 
 
 Vol.1. 1841). 
 Edward Bancroft. The Philosophy of Permanent Colours, 
 
 1794. 
 Francheville. On Ancient and Modern Dyes, 1767. 
 
 (Royal Academy of Sciences, Berlin). 
 Parneirs Applied Chemistry. Article on Dyeing. 
 William Morris. "Of Dyeing as an Art." (Essays by 
 
 Members of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, 
 
 '90S)- 
 William Morris. "The Lesser Arts of Life." (From 
 
 Architecture, Industry and Wealth. 1902). 
 Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopoedia. 1830. Dyeing. 
 Sansome. " Dyeing." 1888. 
 John M. Thomson. The Practical Dyer's Assistant. 1 849, 
 
144 
 
 GLOSSARY AND INDEX. 
 
 A. Adjective dyes. 24. 
 Dyes which require a 
 mordant. 
 
 Alder bar\, 126. 
 
 Alizarin. The chief col- 
 uring principle of mad- 
 der. It is also the name 
 for an extensive series of 
 chemical colours pro- 
 duced from authracene, 
 oneof the coal tar hydro- 
 carbons, discvrd., 1868. 
 
 Alkalineley,2%. 
 
 Alum, 26 29. 
 
 Aluminium sulphate, 2 6 . 
 
 Aniline^. Discovered, 
 1826 (a nie, Span, indigo) . 
 First prepared from in- 
 digo by means of caustic 
 potash. Found in coal 
 in 1 834. Manufactured 
 on a large scale after Eer- 
 kin's discovery of mauve 
 
 Anatta, (Anotto, Ar- 
 notto, Roucon), in. 
 A dye obtained from the 
 pulp sorrounding the 
 seeds of the Bixa or e lia- 
 na ; chiefly used in dye- 
 ing silk an orange col- 
 our, but is of a fugitive 
 nature. SX\J A^vhc-rf 
 
 ^ 7 ., "&\A / \AAjL' y 
 
 Archil, 52,53,54. 
 
 Argol. The tartar de- 
 posited from wines 
 completely fermented, 
 and adhering tothe sides 
 of casks as a hard crust. 
 When purified it be- 
 comes Cream of Tartar. 
 
 Astringents, 19,26. 
 
 B. barberry, 41, 120. 
 Barwood, 106. 
 
 Beck. A large vessel or 
 tub used in dyeing. 
 
 Bichromate of Potash, 32. 
 
Black, 122 123 ; from 
 logwood, 79 85. 
 
 Black Dye Plants, 44. 
 
 Blue, 63 ; from Indigo, 
 66-75 ; from lichen, 61 
 from logwood,'79 85 
 
 Blucblac^i. 
 
 Blue Dye Plants, 3 9. 
 
 Blue stone, 33. 
 
 Blue vitro/, 3 3 3 6. 
 
 Boisde Gampeche,^*]. 
 
 Boisjaune, Fustic, yellow 
 wood. 
 
 Brazilwoods, 1 06. 
 
 British DyePlants, 37-44. 
 
 Broom, 41, 134. 
 
 Brown, 1 2 2 133, from 
 lichens, 45 49,51,56, 
 57,60 62, 140; from 
 madder, 102, 106; from 
 weld, 112 ; from woad,76 
 
 Brown Dye Plants, 43. 
 
 Buff, n S , 
 
 C. Campeachy Wood, 77 
 Camwood, 1 06, 131. 
 Garthamus. Safflower, an 
 annual plant cultivated 
 in S. Europe, Egypt and 
 Asia for the red dye from 
 its flowers. 
 
 Catechu, 33, 35, 36, 122-6 
 Caustic Soda. Carbonate 
 of soda,boiledwith lime. 
 Chestnut, 35. 
 Chrome, 32, 33. 
 
 Cinnamon, 102. 
 
 Claret,- 51, 84. 
 
 GoalTiar Colours. Colours 
 obtained by distillation 
 and chemical treatment 
 from coal tar, a product 
 of coal during the mak- 
 ing of gas. There are ov- 
 er 2,000 colours in use. 
 Cochineal, 92 7, 132. 
 
 Copper, a 5. 
 
 Copper sulphate, 33. 
 L 
 
146 
 
 Copperas, 29,30,129. 
 
 Corcur^^i. 
 
 Cotton,i%; the dyeing of, 
 
 19 ;without mordant, 21 ; 
 
 method in India, 19, 20 ; 
 
 the mordanting of, 26. 
 Cream, from catechu, 124 
 Cream of Tartar, 28 32, 
 
 34. Seeargol. 
 Crimson,^\ 96, 106;. 
 
 from lichens, 49, 60. 
 Crottle, 46, 5 6 6o> 62. 
 Cudbear, 45,52,54,55, 
 
 57,58,67,85,129. 
 
 P. ^-Detergent, 15. A 
 cleansing age,nt. 
 
 D/J0. Generally applied 
 to immersing cloth etc. 
 in the blue vat. 
 
 Divi-divi, 35,36. The 
 dried pods of Gtesalpina 
 coriana, growing in the 
 West Indies and S. Am- 
 erica. They contain 2 o 
 to 35 % tannin and a 
 
 brown colouring matter 
 ^,40,44,50,69,120, 
 
 , 80, 1 1 8, 126. 
 Dyers Broom, 40, 1 2 1 , 
 
 135- 
 
 Dyer s Spirit, 32. Aqua 
 fortis, 10 parts; Sal Anx- 
 moniac, 5 parts ; Tin, 2 
 parts ;dissolved together 
 
 T)yers Weed, 40, 1 34. 
 
 E. Enter-., To eater 
 
 wool, to put it into th^, 
 
 dye or mordant liquor.. 
 
 Extract of Indigo, 6 5, 6 9,. 
 
 F. Felting JLO prevent,^ 
 
 Fenugrec, Fenugreek, 107 
 Trigonnzllafcenugrcecum . 
 
 Ferrous sulphate, z 9 . 
 
 Flavin. A colouring mat- 
 ter extracted from quer- 
 citron. 
 
 Fleece, various kinds of, 13 
 
 Flesh colour, 132. 
 
H7 
 
 Full, to. To tread or beat 
 cloth for the purpose of 
 cleansing and thicken- 
 ing it. 
 
 Fuller s Herb. Saponaria 
 officinalis. A plant used 
 in the process of fulling. 
 
 Fullers Thistle or Teasle. 
 Dipsacusfullonum. Used 
 for fulling cloth. 
 
 Fustet. Young fustic. Ven- 
 etian Sumach. Rhuscot- 
 inus. It gives a fine oran- 
 ge colour, which has not 
 much permanence. 
 
 Fustic, 1 1 3 1 1 6, 130, 
 'SMSS- 
 
 G. galls, Gall nuts, ^b, 
 129. Oak galls produced 
 by the egg of an insect, 
 the female gall wasp. An 
 excrescence is produced 
 round the egg, & the in- 
 sect, when developed, 
 pierces a hole & escapes. 
 
 Those gall nuts which 
 are not pierced contain 
 most tannic acid. The 
 best come from Aleppo 
 and Turkey. 
 
 (gramme or Gram. About 
 1 5! grains (Troy). 
 
 Green, 133-9; with fustic 
 1 3 7-8; with weld, 139. 
 
 Green Dye Plants, 42. 
 Green Vitriol, 29. 
 Greenwood, 107,108,134 
 Greening Weed, 121. 
 
 Grey, 67,79; from log- 
 wood, 80,85. 
 
 H. Hazel colour, 128. 
 Heather, 40, 85, 1 2 1 , 1 3 5. 
 I. Iceland moss, 51,61. 
 /W/g-s, 63-75, 1 3 5- 1 3 9. 
 
 Indigo TLxtract, 6470; 
 for green, 1 3 5 139. 
 
 30. 
 
148 
 
 K. Kermes, 8791. 
 Kilo. Kilogramme. Equals 
 
 50. 
 
 L. ^,97,98. 
 0^,43,131,137. 
 Lavender, 84. 
 Lesser *Dye, 77,79. 
 
 Lichen, 4562, 1 40. 
 Lilac, 95, 96, 97. 
 Z///7&Z /FW, 1 06, 1 07. 
 
 Linen, 2 i ; to bleach, 22 ; 
 the mordanting of, 26; 
 various kinds of, 2 1 . 
 
 Litre, 80. Nearly i| pints 
 
 Lixiviation. The process 
 of separating a soluble 
 substance from an insol- 
 uble by the percolation 
 of water. 
 
 Lixivium. (Lye). A term 
 
 often used in old dye 
 books. Water impreg- 
 nated with alkaline salts 
 extracted by lixiviation 
 from wood ashes. 
 
 31, 137. 
 
 Lye or Ley. Any strong 
 alkaline solution, espec- 
 ially one used for the 
 purpose of washing, 
 such as soda lye, soap lye 
 
 M. ^Madder, 38,98 
 105, 132. 
 
 Magenta, 44. 
 Maize, 132. 
 
 Mercerised Cotton. Cot- 
 ton prepared by treating 
 with a solution of caus- 
 tic potash or soda or cer- 
 tain other chemicals. 
 Discovered by John 
 Mercer in 1844. 
 
 Milling. The operation 
 of fulling cloth. 
 
149 
 
 Mordants, 24; general re- 
 markson, 34; primitive 
 mordants, 25. 
 
 Muriate of Tin, 3 1 . 
 
 Myrobalans, 26, 35, 36. 
 The fruit of several spe- 
 cies of trees, growing in 
 China & the Eastlndies, 
 containing tannic acid, 
 (25 \Q% tannin). 
 
 O. 0^128. 
 
 Oil of Vitriol, 64, 65, 67. 
 
 Sulphuric acid. 
 Old Fustic, see Fustic. 
 Old(}old, 109, 112 1 14 
 Olive, 109, 1 13, 1 18,135. 
 Onionskins, 128. 
 
 Orange, 91,93,102,106, 
 109, 1 20, 132; from li- 
 chens, 48, 51,58, 602. 
 
 0^/7,45,5255. 
 Organzine. Twisted raw 
 
 silk from best cocoons, 
 
 used for warp. 
 
 Orseille,^. 
 Oxalic Acid, 30,31. 
 
 P. Pastel,-]*]. Woad. 
 Peach, 1 20. 
 Peachwood, 106107. 
 
 ear,^\, 120. 
 
 Pear I ash. Carbonate of 
 Potash. 
 
 Peat Soot, 128. 
 
 Persian "Barries. The 
 dried unripe fruit of va- 
 rious species of Rham- 
 nus. Also called French 
 berries, Grains of Avig- 
 non. 
 
 Thilamort, 48. 
 
 Pink, 93; from lichen, 57 
 
 Plum colour, from lichen, 
 
 48. 
 Poplar, 42, 135. 
 
 Potassium Carbonate. 
 (Potashes) . Carbonate 
 of Potash has been 
 known since ancient 
 
150 
 
 times as a constituent of 
 the ashes of land plants, 
 from which it is obtain- 
 ed by extraction with 
 water. In most cases 
 Sodium Carbonate, 
 which it strongly re- 
 sembles, can be used in 
 its place. 
 
 Potassium die hr ornate, 32. 
 Privet, 39, 41, 42, 121. 
 
 Purple ', from lichens, 53, 
 57 -60, 62; with coch- 
 ineal, 95, 96 ; with log- 
 wood, 82,85,86,87.. 
 
 Purple Dye Plants , 43 . 
 
 Q. Quercitron, 116 
 1 20 ; for green, 1 35 
 
 '37- 
 
 R. #^,87107; from 
 lichens, 48-5 1, 53, 56, 
 58>6o. 
 
 Red Dye Plants, 3%. 
 
 Red Spirits. Tin spirits. 
 Applied to tin mordants 
 generally. A solution 
 of Stannous chloride. 
 
 Red woods. Camwood, 
 Barwood, Sanderswood 
 (Santal, Sandal, Red 
 Sanders) , Brazil wood, 
 Sapan wood, Peach 
 wood. 
 
 Retting, 2 1 . 
 
 Roucou. Anatta, Arnotto. 
 
 S. Sanaalwood or Saun- 
 derswood, 106. 
 
 Sadden, to, saddening, 14, 
 30,34,127,130, 132. 
 To darken or dull in col- 
 our. 
 
 Sapan wood, 106. 
 Savory, 107,108. 
 Sawwort$ 41,135. 
 
 Saxon blue, 67, 70, 1 3 6. 
 The dye made by Indigo 
 dissolved in oil of vitriol 
 
15* 
 
 Saxongreen, 1 1 8, 136, 138 
 Scarlet, 88,91,92,93,9^ 
 
 95' 96, 97> 9 8 - 
 
 Scarlet of Grain, 87. 
 
 Scotch elL 37*2 inches. 
 Scour ', #?. To wash. 
 Scroop. The rustling 
 property of silk. 
 
 ) 1 6 i8;toalum,i8; 
 general method of dye- 
 ing, 17; to mordant, 26; 
 the preparation of, 17; 
 to soften, 1 8 ; various 
 kinds of, 1 6. raw, 1 6, 17 ; 
 waste, 1 6. 
 
 Silver drab) 84. 
 
 iS70*, 39. 
 
 *SW<z ^. Carbonate of 
 
 soda. 
 Soda ley, 101 . 
 
 Sour Itoa ter , 2 8 . To ev- 
 ery gallon of water, add 
 i gill vitriol ; stir thor- 
 oughly. Stuffsteeped in 
 
 this should be covered 
 with the liquor, other- 
 wise it will rot. 
 (2). Water in which 
 bran has been made to 
 grow sour. 24 bushels 
 of bran are put in a tub, 
 about 10 hogsheads of 
 nearly boiling water is 
 poured into it ; acid fer- 
 mentation soon begins, 
 and in 24 hours it is rea- 
 dy to use. 
 
 (3). Throw some hand- 
 fuls of bran into hot wa- 
 ter and let it stand for 24 
 hours, or till the water 
 becomes sour, when it is 
 fit for use. 
 
 Stannous Chloride, 3 1 . 
 
 Staple ', ii,i2. A term 
 applied to cotton and 
 wool, indicating length 
 of fibre. 
 
 Stuffing and Saddening^ 14, 
 30- 
 
152 
 
 Substantfae Dye, 24, 52, 
 65, 1 1 6. A dye not re- 
 quiring a mordant. 
 
 Sulphuric Acid) 64, 66, 
 67,70, 120, 131. 
 
 Sumach, 26, 35, 36, 126. 
 Leaves and twigs of sev- 
 eral species of Rhus, 
 containing Tannic acid. 
 It is sold in the form of 
 crushed leaves or as a 
 powder, (15 20% 
 tannin). 
 
 T. Tannic Acid, 26, 35. 
 Tannin, 35, 36. 
 Tin,i\, 32. 
 Tin crystals, 3 1 . 
 Tin salts, 3 1 . 
 
 Tram. Slightly twisted 
 raw silk, used for weft. 
 
 Turkey Red, 99. 
 Turmeric, 1 1 6. 
 Turquoise, 69. 
 
 Tyrian purple. A purple 
 colour obtained from 
 certain shell fish, such as 
 Buccinum & Purpura. 
 It is mentioned by Pliny 
 as being discovered in 
 1400 B.C. It was a 
 lost art in the middle 
 ages. 
 
 V. Valonia,^^. Acorn 
 cups of certain species 
 of oak from S. Europe, 
 containing 25-35 % ^ 
 tannicacid. 
 
 Vegetable al\ali. Potash. 
 
 Verdigris, 33. Acetate 
 of copper. 
 
 Violet, 86, 94, 103. 
 Vitrum, 76. 
 
 W. Walnut,^, 127, 
 132. 
 
 Water for dyeing, 2 3 . 
 Weld, 1 07 112,1 20, 
 
'53 
 
 Wet ouf, to. To damp, 
 before putting the yarn 
 or cloth into the dye. 
 
 Woad, 39, 7577. 
 
 Wool) 1 1 ; to bleach, 16 ; 
 to cleanse, 15, 16 ; long 
 staple wool, 12 ; various 
 kindsof,ii,i2,i3. 
 
 Wool Dyeing^ general me- 
 thods, 13 16. 
 
 Y. Yarn^ to soften,- 1 6, 
 
 Yellow ) 107 122; from 
 lichens, 51, 57, 140 ; 
 from sumach, 126. 
 
 Te } i 7ow f Dye Plants^ 39. 
 Yellow Weed, 1 3 4. 
 Yellow Wood) 107. 
 
 ERRATA 
 
 page 59. Rock Urcolaria 
 shld. beRockUrceolaria 
 
 page 6 1 . Flowering lus- 
 nea shld. be Flowering 
 Usnea. 
 
 page 144. (printed with- 
 out being corrected). 
 
 Add: Alder bark^ 43, 
 44, 100, 126. 
 
 Almond^ 120. 
 
 Amber ^ 132 
 Argol, 1 3 1. 
 
 41, 120. 
 Barwood^ 67, 1 06. 
 Correct: 
 
 authracene to anthracene 
 ante to anil 
 Roucon to Roucou 
 sorrounding to surroun- 
 ding 
 
 Printed by 'Douglas Pepler at Ttitchling 
 
A WOOD CUT ILLUSTRATION FROM 
 THE DEVIL'S DEVICES (see advert.) 
 
BOOKS 
 Published by DOUGLAS PEPLER 
 
 AT THE 
 
 HAMPSHIRE HOUSE WORKSHOPS 
 HAMMERSMITH 
 
 COTTAGE ECONOMY BY WILLIAM 
 
 COBBETT with an INTRODUCTION 
 
 BY G. K. CHESTERSON 
 
 Price 2s. 6d. net (Postage 3d.) 
 
 A REPRINT of a STANDARD WORK 
 Which should be of use, in these days, to 
 Many beside Cottagers. 
 
 A CAROL AND OTHER RHYMES 
 By EDWARD JOHNSTON 
 
 Price is. net. (Postage 2d). 
 
 BOOK ON VEGETABLE DYES 
 By ETHEL M.MAIRET 
 
 Price 55. net (Postage 4d.) 
 
THE DEVIL'S DEVICES or Control 
 versus Service by DOUGLAS PEPLER, 
 
 with Wood-cut Illustrations by Eric Gill. 
 Price 2s. 6d. net The first 200 copies wil be 
 numbered and signed. Price 35. 6d. net. 
 
 This book contains an account of a cinema- 
 tograph entertainment in Satan's Circuit; a 
 crafty devil ; and an appreciation of No. 27, 
 an English working-man. 
 
 THE REVIEWERS ON THE DEVIL'S 
 DEVICES. 
 
 WHAT WILL THEY SAY NEXT ? 
 
 But we believe that the effecl: upon most peo- 
 ple will be what it certainly is upon one reader, 
 who is NOT IN THE LEAST SHOCK- 
 ED, but is considerably 
 
 BORED. 
 
 . O. Review. 
 
 A verse may find him who a sermon flies, 
 and there is likely to be here and there one, 
 who seeing in a booksellers window the red 
 cover and the black,, the very black, cart thereon, 
 will incontinently purhcase. 
 
 The New Witness. 
 
 His arguments are closely logical when ha 
 chooses to make them so, though their sequence 
 and arrangement are bewilderingly haphazard. 
 
 The Herald. 
 
The whole effedl is of a hotch-potch com- 
 posed in a lunatic asylum ; and the pictures 
 
 seem madder than the letterpress 
 
 Much to the irritation of my wife, for supper 
 was waiting, I read on till I had read the book 
 
 right through 
 
 The " mad " author of this book is Douglas 
 Pepler, the " mad " artist is Eric Gill. When I say 
 " mad " I am, for the moment, taking it for 
 granted that the world is sane. 
 
 Labour Leader. 
 
 (and so on very nicely for several columns.) 
 Land and Water. 
 
 The drama is skilfully unfolded (though the 
 author fails over the spelling of Nietzsche, page 
 
 29) and interspersed with wood-cuts 
 
 and a still more excellent account of the passing 
 of the poor man's parlour. 
 
 The (Cambridge Magzine. 
 
 The author has marked with the toe of his 
 boot the moral weakness on which the Devil 
 depends for his power over the modern world. 
 
 Red Feather. 
 
 Mr. Pepler perpetually DROPS into dialogue 
 with 
 
 FATAL 
 RESULTS. 
 
 New Age. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
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 (D6471slO)476B 
 
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 University of California 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY