J1CSB LIBRARY

 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 IX TWO PARTS. 
 
 1UET FIRST, CONTAISTISfr 
 
 A GENERAL PLAN OF DYING 
 
 WOOL AND YTOOLLES, COTTON AND LINEN CLOTHS- 
 
 YARN AND THREAD. 
 
 ALSO, DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 MILLING AND FINISHING, 
 STAMPING AND BLEACHING CLOTHS, 
 
 PART SECOND, CONTAIS3 
 
 MANY USEFUL RECEIPTS 
 ON DYING, STAINING, PAINTING, &c, 
 
 BY ELIJAH BEMISS. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED AND IMPROVED, 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 PUBLISHED BY EVERT DUYCKINCK, 
 
 102 KBAHL-STRSET,
 
 <ct of Aew-l'ori-, 5.?. 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the fifteenth Jay of De- 
 ceiiibu-, in the tb.ii ty -ninth year of the Independence of the United 
 States of America, 'Evert fhtyckinck, of the said district, hath de- 
 posited in this office the title of R hook, the right -whereof he claims 
 as proprietor in the words following, to wit : 
 
 " The Uver's Companion. In two parts. Part first, containing a 
 general plan of dying Wo61 and V.'ooUen, Cotton aud Linen Cloths, 
 Yarn anil Thread. Also, directions for Milling and Finishing, 
 Stamping and Bleaching Ciotlis. Pavt Second, contains many use- 
 ful receipts on Dying, Staining, Paint'ng, Sec. By Elijah Bemiss. 
 Second Edition, enlarged ai.d improved." 
 
 In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, en- 
 titled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the 
 s of iiii.ps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of 
 >, (luring the times therein mentioned." And also to an 
 ..milled, " An ac!, supplementary to an act, entitled, An act for 
 i he encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, 
 ks, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, dur- 
 ing the tiii.es therein mentioned; and extending the benefits thereof to 
 the arts of desiguirig, engraving, and etching historical and other 
 
 THERON RUDD, 
 
 C'erk of (fie Southern District of J\*e~ t s>-York. 
 
 ., PRINTER.
 
 I N 1) E X. 
 
 PART FIRST. 
 
 Page. 
 
 To set a Blue Vat of 12 Barrels, 5 
 A'at raid Utcnsds for Dying, . 6 
 To fit Cloths for Dying, , . . 7 
 Other methods for Blue, . 9,10 
 Directions to be observed in 
 
 common Colouring, 
 To clean a Copper, . 
 A General Rule, 
 
 Pal 
 
 12 
 
 ibid 
 
 London Brown, ...... 
 
 For Reddish Brown, . 
 For Spanish Ill-own, 
 For London Smoke, 
 Cinnamon Brown, 
 For Smoke Brown, 
 For Liver Brown, 
 For Olive Brown, 
 
 For Blue, ibid For Light Snuff Brown, 
 
 For Navy Bine, 13 For Dark Snuff Brown, 
 
 ibid 
 . 37 
 . 58 
 . ilml 
 
 . ibid 
 
 . 51) 
 
 39, 40 
 
 Prussian Blue. Compound or 
 Chy mick, 14 
 
 Another method for Blueing 
 or Compound, ibid 
 
 Prussian Blue, 15 
 
 Fni- Green, .... 15, 10, 17 
 
 For BoUleGresn, 18 
 
 For Olive Green, 19 
 
 For 
 
 For Yellow, 
 
 19, 20, 21 
 
 Buff Yellow, 21 
 
 To lake the Colour out of 
 Ciotli, .... 21 
 
 Scarlet Red, . 
 
 "2. 23 
 
 Crimson Red 24 
 
 For Red with Redwood or 
 
 Nicaragua, 25 
 
 Crimson Red with Redwood, ibitl 
 For Red with Madder, ... 26 
 
 For Snuff Brown, . 41, . 
 For Bat-wins; Mro-.vn, ... 43 
 
 For Slate Brown, 44 
 
 For Dove or Lead Brown, . ibid 
 For Pearl r-r Silver Givy, . . 45 
 
 Brown, . 
 Brown, 
 
 For Drab Brown, ..... i';:.l 
 
 For Drab, ...... 46, 47 
 
 For Forest Cloth, ..... 47 
 
 For L ; ver Drab, ..... 4S 
 
 For Light Liver Drab, . . . ibirt 
 
 For a Madder Drab, . 
 
 For a Green Drab, . 
 
 For a Reddisli Drab, . 
 
 For Li?ht Drab, ..... 50 
 
 For Yellow Drab, ..... ibid 
 
 For a Dark Yellow Dr.ib, 
 
 . ibid 
 
 For Merroon Red 27J For a Forest Brown, . . . .ibid 
 
 "bid For a Dark Forest Brown, . 51 
 
 28 ~ 
 
 . 
 
 For Paris Mud, 
 
 
 Polished Red with Madder, 
 For Portable Red, 
 
 For Claret Red, 29 
 
 For Claret, ibid 
 
 For Madder Red to be dyed a 
 
 Claret, ibid 
 
 For Scarlet to be dyed Claret 
 
 or .'lily dark Colour, ... 30 For Black, . . . 5 ; , 54, 55, 5f, 
 For Cherry Colour, . . . . ibid Bine, on Cotton and Lir.cn, . 57 
 For Violet Colours, .... 31tBlue, on do ''old, . . . . ^ 
 
 For Pink Colour, ibidj 'Mue, on do. Hot, . . . 
 
 For Flesh Colour, .... 33 To take the Colour out of ! 
 
 For a R-ivcn Colour, 
 For Crow with Copperas, . . 
 For Crow with Blueing Com- 
 pound, \ . 
 
 For Crow with Blue Vitriol, . :>; 
 
 For Orange Colour, .... ibid 
 
 For Brown, ....... 3.3 
 
 For London Brown, or Cor- 
 
 IHMU with Camwood, . . . ibid 
 For London Brown, or Cor- 'Yi-llow, on do. Mot, 
 
 beau with Xirara^u:;, ... ,35 Oransre ' 'o'o'ir, on <!o. 'lo 
 London Brown, or Corbeau Flr^i Colour, on do. Hot, 
 
 v.-ith Redwood, 
 
 Cotton and Linen. !' 
 For Green on Silk. Hot, . ibid 
 Green, on Cotton and Linen.' 
 
 Hot, 
 
 ibid 
 61 
 
 ibidiUed, on do. Cold,
 
 ] 
 
 h Brown, ou Cotton 
 ar.tl Linen. Hot, .... 
 i'lumb Colour or Purple, on 
 Silks Hot 
 
 'age. 
 61 
 ibid 
 
 ibk 
 
 64 
 
 ibid 
 
 65 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 67 
 68 
 ibid 
 
 70 
 ibid 
 
 71 
 7S 
 
 74 
 7~> 
 TCi 
 77 
 ibid 
 78 
 ibicl 
 79 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 ibi." 
 80 
 ibid 
 81 
 ibi.- 
 93 
 83 
 ibid 
 84 
 
 ibid 
 
 85 
 ibid 
 
 SG 
 ibid 
 ib 
 R 
 ibi 
 
 Observations on Manulaetu*- 
 ing Cloth, . .... 
 
 90 
 
 91 
 
 105 
 
 ibid 
 
 % 
 
 159 
 
 15* 
 155 
 
 15$ 
 
 103 
 
 1GG 
 169 
 171 
 173 
 177 
 179 
 180 
 18-2 
 18:3 
 184, 
 186 
 
 1SS 
 ibid 
 
 ISO 
 UK) 
 
 I9t 
 192 
 
 209 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 Introduction, 
 
 Purple, on Cotton or Linen. 
 Cold, 
 
 Blue Dvni tT , .... 
 
 Preparing goods for Blue, and 
 an explanation of the Dye- 
 Stuffs, ... 
 
 Hi-own, 011 do. Cold, . . . 
 Dove or Lead Colour, on do. 
 Cold, 
 
 Preparation of Lime, . . . 
 of Sour Liquors, . . . 
 To set a Vat of 24 Barrel?, as 
 practised in America, . . 
 To know when a Dye has 
 
 Olive, on do. Colt!, .... 
 Olive, on Silk, Cotton oi-Lin- 
 
 Light Olive, ou Cotton and 
 Linen. Hot, ... . . . 
 Colon,-, on do. I!'/', . 
 Black, on do. Hot,. . . . 
 Black, on do. Coid, . . . 
 crvalioiis, 
 Directions tor dressing ( 
 For Fulling Ciolhs, .... 
 1'or thin Clot'js, 
 
 The \Voad or Pastel Vat, . 
 Another method for Blue, as 
 practised in America, . . 
 Of setting and working a Vat 
 as practised at Paris ia 
 France, 
 
 The Cold Vat with Urine, . 
 Hot Vat with Urine, . . - 
 Re-heating of the Vat with 
 Urine, 
 
 To dress Silk and Cotl-in, &c. 
 Observations on Colours and 
 Uye-Su.its, .... 
 Prussian i51ue, .... 
 
 Blue Vat with Garden- Woad 
 or Pastul-Woad, .... 
 The Vat set to work, . . . 
 To set a Field Woad Vat, . 
 The Manufacturing of Pastel 
 or GardenAVoad as prac- 
 tised in France, .... 
 Powder of Woad, .... 
 Of making Indigo in America, 
 On Yellow D\ing, .... 
 Of Weld, .' 
 
 Scarlet ilud, . . . 
 
 
 Madder Red, .... 
 
 ..... 
 
 Cherry Colour, . . . 
 Violet Colours, .... 
 Pink Colours, .... 
 Flesh Colour, .... 
 Brown, 
 
 OF Turmeric, .... 
 
 Of Fustic, 
 
 CVirbeau witli Camwood, 
 Corl.-i-aii with Nicaragua, 
 Co: beau writ Redwood, 
 London Smoke, . . . 
 Cinnamon Brown, . . 
 O ! :\v Drown, .... 
 Snuff Brown, .... 
 te, Dove, or 
 . Pearl or Silver 
 y and Drab, . . . 
 
 
 Of the Grains of Avignon, . 
 Of Red, ... 
 
 Of Flame-Coloured Scarlet, . 
 For Scarlet as practised in 
 America, 
 Composition for Scarlet, . . 
 To prepare or Granulate the 
 Tin, 
 
 Of Scat let of Grain, \ . . 
 Preparation of the Wool for 
 Scarlet of Grain, .... 
 Liquor for the Kermes, . . 
 Flame-Coloured Scarlet MS 
 practised at Leeds and in 
 France, 
 
 > i -)* with Copperas, . 
 Crow, with Compound of 
 i.iil 
 
 'row, w>th Bl'ie Vitriol, 
 Slack 
 
 < 'olouring Silk, . . . . 
 Dying Cot ton and Linen, 
 - -I; --I strit situation of 
 tfae Dyer's Business, . 
 
 NVater for the preparation of 
 
 Reddening, 
 
 Statist of Gorn-Lticque, . .
 
 234 
 
 ibid 
 
 Page. 
 
 Of the Red of Madder, . . 220 
 
 For Crimson, 229 
 
 For Languedoc Crimson, . . 
 The naturalCriruson inGrain, 
 Scarlet, of the Dying of Flock 
 
 or Goat's Hair, .... 
 The Theory of the Dissolu- 
 tion of Flock, . . . . . 240 
 Scarlet of Archil, and the 
 
 manner of using it, . . 243 
 
 Bastard Scarlet by Archil, . 246 
 
 J'ted of Brazil or Redwood, . 247 
 
 Of Brown, 252 
 
 Of Black 253 
 
 For Black, 254 
 
 Another method for Black, . 255 
 
 On the M isture of Colours, . 2.VJ 
 On Mixing Colours three by 
 
 three, ibid 
 
 Of Purple, 260 
 
 Of Orange, ibid 
 
 Of the Mixture of Colours 
 
 three by three ibid 
 
 For Fawn Colour and Silver 
 
 Grey, 261 
 
 For Silver Grey, ibid 
 
 For Tobacco or Snuff Colour, 262 
 Of Colours which will endure 
 
 Milling, ibid 
 
 Page. 
 
 Remarks on Indigo, . . . 262 
 
 Of Camwood, 263 
 
 Of Cochineal, ibid 
 
 Of Brazil or Redwood, . . ibid 
 
 Of Nicaragua Wood, . . . ibid 
 
 Of Bat-wood, 264 
 
 Chyir.ical History of Saun- 
 
 ders, ibid 
 
 Of Yellow Woods and Drug*, ibid 
 
 Of Fustic 2C5 
 
 Of Logwood as a Colouring 
 
 Bn, ibid 
 
 Of Barki in General, ... 267 
 To preserve Dye-Stuffs from 
 
 Injury, 68 
 
 The Cultivation of Tensles, . ibid 
 
 Of Sorting Wool, .... iG9 
 Of Scouring or Washing of 
 
 Wool, 271 
 
 Of Manufacturing Cloth, . . ':72 
 Of Milling Cloth, .... ibid 
 Another method for Scour- 
 ing 273 
 
 Of Finishing Cloth, .... 274 
 Of Sulphuring and Wh'.ten- 
 
 ing Woollen Cloth, . . .. 275 
 To know when Cloth lias been* 
 well Milled, Finished and 
 
 Dyed, ,276 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 To .Tack or harden Leather, 
 for Horseman's Caps, Hol- 
 sters, &C 279 
 
 To makeVarnish for Leather, ibif 
 
 To make Liquid Blacking for 
 Boots and Shoes, .... ibic 
 
 To prepare Feathers, Fur, 
 and Hair, to receive Red, 
 Yellow or Green, .... ibi< 
 
 To Colour Feathers, Fur, &c. 
 Red, 28C 
 
 To Dye Brussels Red, . . . ibi<] 
 
 To Colour Fet.thers, Fur, 
 Hair, and Woollen or Silk, 
 Blue of any shade, . . , ibid 
 
 Por Blue on Brussels. . . . ibid 
 
 To Colour Feathers, &c. Yel- 
 low and Green, .... 281 
 
 For Green on Brussels and 
 Feathers, ibid 
 
 For Light Green on Woollen, ibid 
 
 To Colour Hats Green on 
 the under side, ibid 
 
 To Colour Feathers, &c. 
 Black, ibid 
 
 To Lacker Brass and Tin- 
 Ware, 
 
 To soften Steel for engrav- 
 ing, &c 
 
 To nifike Oil-Cloth for Hats, 
 Umbrellas, &c 
 
 To make Oil-Cloth for Car- 
 pets, 
 
 The Chinese method for ren- 
 dering Cloth v .ter-proof, . 
 
 To bo'd'Oil for Paint'ng, . . 
 
 To rnaku Stone Colour, . . 
 
 To make Pearl Colour, . . 
 
 To make deep Blue, . , . 
 
 To make Sea Green, . . . 
 
 \ erdigrease Green, .... 
 
 Orange Colour for Carpets, . 
 
 I'o Sl.u-k Verdigrease, . . 
 
 To make Ver million, . . . 
 
 Of Rose Lake, commonly 
 called Rose Pii.k, .... 
 r Prussian Blue, .... 
 
 I'o lay Gold Leaf on Carved 
 -ir Moulding Work, . 
 
 Painting with Milk, . , , , 
 
 282 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 '-'S3 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 il/d 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 284 
 ibid 
 
 2S5 
 28G
 
 Kesinous Milk IVisi 
 
 Page. 
 
 
 To Stain Cherry a -Mahogany 
 
 Colour, ibid 
 
 To make Cbei ry-v> ood the 
 
 OF" Mahogiiny, ibid 
 For a dark Muhogaiiv (..''ilo-ir, ibid 
 To Stain White Wood Ma- 
 
 botany Colour, .... ibid 
 To Stain any kind of White 
 
 Wood a 'l):uk Led, or 
 
 Mahogany CO'.-IMP, . CSS 
 To 'iinke M ! 1 OH 
 
 White Wood of any kind, ibid 
 Jle.t Stain for Woo-J, . . . ibid 
 To make Green on anv kind 
 
 of White Wood, .... ibid 
 
 To Stain Green, ib:d 
 
 n a Light Orange Co- 
 
 Cure for the Asthma, . . 
 A certain Cure for the Itch, . 
 Cure for the Salt Rheum, . 
 Cure for thi in, . 
 
 Good Cider as easily made as 
 
 bad, 
 
 ..iking Apple Br.v 
 
 Cniv.ui*. Wine, ..... 
 Artificial Claret, ..... 
 Gooseberry Wine, .... 
 
 Kaspberrv Wine, 
 
 Damson Wine, 
 
 Wine of Grapes, 
 
 Wi".e 6f Strawberries or 
 
 -.ibersies, 
 
 \ sho-t way for "herry Wine, 
 Rh,,-k Cherry Wine, . . . 
 
 , i:>'.d Mead, 
 
 To Stain Wood Black, . . ibiJ Beer without Malt, . . . . 
 
 ul either I Good common Bt er, . . . 
 
 . Tainted, . . . ibid; For preserving Apples thro' 
 
 1.89, the Winter, 
 
 To make Amber or Copal .To Pickle Cucumbers green, 
 ibid -To Pickle French Bean% 
 
 To Pi.-kie W:ili.uts, . 
 To I'ickle Mushrooms, 
 T^emon and Orange Peel, 
 
 A Polish for Mahogany Fur- 
 
 riit'ire, ibid 
 
 ( iliit- t -i- ("ac, . ibid 
 
 .-k I ik I'owder, iiiidlTo preserve Fi-uii Green, 
 
 iw, . . . 2dO| Raspberries, . . . 
 
 .. ko ibid' Barberries, . . . . 
 
 C'i:-e for tb D- ijisy, . 290, 91 'uirants, 
 
 Wtilnuts, green, . . 
 
 . >;iliobiii, 29 ;i, -'.'-^ Cherries,. . . . . 
 
 Cu e fir the Dysi-ntary, C94, 295^To (;andy Cherries, 
 
 For the Dysentery and Cho- 
 lera, or Vomiting, . . 
 
 - Xntho'iy'sFire, 
 
 .iption, 
 
 the Heart Burn, . 
 ^lone, . . . 
 !m!i?n method oi'Guring Spit 
 
 '. . . 297 
 ; Hitters, to pre- 
 ve'it the Fever and Ague, 
 
 '! other fall levers, . ibi 
 
 To Candy Pears, Plumbs, 
 
 I ;>ricot"s, kc 
 
 ibjdjOf JeJliea 
 
 ibid >To make Butter, . . . . 
 
 -''.<'< To preserve Eggs, .... 
 
 
 
 'To Destroy Bugs, Plica, Ants, 
 
 in tender plants, 
 
 To kill Lioo on Cattle, . . . 
 
 To rid II' uses of Bugs, . . 
 
 TTo preserve Wheat and Hye 
 
 C'ire for 'ovns, ibid from the Weavil, . 
 
 >ke niiElectric Machine, ibid, To preserve I"dianCorn from 
 
 To Cure Children in the wont ' Bii-ds, 
 
 . of Intoxication, . . '208 For Inoculating i 
 
 ! . . . . . ibid 
 fallen dowi, ibid 
 
 To take a Film off a II 
 
 Eve, 
 
 for Sheep Riti"", 
 
 A Cuve for Frost Bitten Feet, ibid'To find due North, and South, 
 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 
 300 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 303 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 30* 
 ibkl 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 ibnl 
 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 506 
 ibid 
 
 ibid 
 ibid 
 
 307 
 ibid
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE design of " The Dyer* s Companion," 
 is to furnish an easy and uniform system of dy- 
 ing for the use of practitioners, and those who 
 wish to be benefitted by that and other arts in- 
 troduced in this work. During an employment 
 of several years in the clothier's business, 1 hud 
 to combat with many difficulties for the want of 
 an assistant of this kind; and I am veil per- 
 suaded the greater part of my fellow-functiontrs 
 have laboured under the same embarrass- 
 ments, as there has not been to my know- 
 ledge, any book of this nature ever befon pub- 
 lished in the United States a work which I 
 humbly conceive will not only be serviceable to 
 the practitioners, but to the country at large. 
 
 The author's attempt to improve the useful- 
 arts, and to promote manufactures, he hopes 
 will meet the approbation and encouragement 
 of his fellow-citizens ; and that the plainness of 
 his plan, will be excused, as he is an unlettered 
 country dyer. His long practise in dying and 
 dressing cloth, ike. has given him great oppor- 
 tunity for making improvements therein. These 
 arts admit of still greater improvement, if proper 
 attention is paid to recording arc! securing our 
 discoveries; but other wise it must be expected 
 that they will remain with us in a state of in- 
 fancy. 
 
 The art of dying is still far from having arriv- 
 ed at a state of perfection even in Europe, and 
 probably will not in our age. This considera- 
 tion ought not to discourage us, but to increase 
 our ambition ; for it must be acknowledged 
 that great improvements have been made and 
 are still making in this countn . 
 
 Those to whom the anther is in the small- 
 est degree indebted for promoting the usefulness 
 of this work, will please to accept his thanks j 
 tbeir future favors are rtqutsted, vut!. a hope 
 that we may continue to live in brotherly love.
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 By contributing our mutual aid towards gain- 
 ing and supporting our independence of Great- 
 Britain, and other foreigi> countries, to whom ia 
 arts and manufactures we have too long bowed 
 the knee ; we shall promote our own interests 
 and our countrv's welfare and glory. 
 
 In the First Part it is attempted to have the 
 Receipts for dying woollen, silk, cotton and linen 
 goods, arranged in the best order ; which is fol- 
 lowed by directions for the management of co- 
 louring, &c. The different operations of dye- 
 stuff are then attempted to be shewn, together 
 with directions for dressing cloth ; closing with 
 some observations on the present situation of 
 our business. 
 
 The Second P&rt contains several useful arts 
 and discoveries, Collected from various sourc- 
 es, which will be found to be extremely bene- 
 ficial to the public in general. 
 
 The author having for several j T ears practised 
 in the greatest part of the arts inserted in this 
 work, pledges himself for the truth of his asser- 
 tions. He has endeavoured to use the plainest 
 language, and to point out every part of the pro- 
 cesses, so that no one should be disappointed 
 who attempts to follow his directions. 
 
 Many master mechanicks refuse to give re- 
 ceipts to their apprentices unless they will pay 
 for them, and at a high price. There are many 
 receipts in this book, which, to the personal 
 kno v ledge of the author, have been sold for 
 twenty and thirty dollars each ; and the pur- 
 chaser prohibited from communicating the re- 
 ceipt to any other person. By this means, 
 useful discoveries are sometimes wholly lost ; 
 and our improvement in arts and manufactures 
 m:ike but slow progress. 
 
 Should this attempt meet with reasonable 
 encouragement the work will be enlarged and 
 amended, in future editions, as the author may 
 find time and means for the purpose.
 
 'fifty 
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 RECEIPTS, &c; 
 
 t 
 
 1. To set a blue Vat of twelve Barrels. 
 
 FOR a vat of twelve barrels; fill the vat abotit 
 half full of water, scalding hot ; dissolve 
 eight pounds of potash in eight gallons of warm 
 water ; fill the copper with water ; add one half 
 of the potash lie, with five pounds of madder, 
 and four quarts of wheat bran ; heat this with a 
 moderate fire, nearly to boiling heat, often stir- 
 ring it turn this into the vat. Take five pounds 
 of indigo, wet it with one gallon of thepotash lie, 
 and grind it well : then fill your copper with wa- 
 ter, and add the remainder of your potash lie, 
 when cool, (being careful in pouring it off, as 
 the sediment is injurious to th dj'e) ; add 
 this compound of indigo, See* and four pounds 
 of woad ; stir this continually over a moderate 
 fire, until it boils ; then turn it into the vat, and 
 stir, rake or plunge well, until well mixed toge- 
 ther ; cover it close and let it stand two hours ; 
 then add four ounces of borax, rake well, and 
 let it stand twelve hours. 
 
 If it does not come to work, then take two 
 quarts of unslacked lime, and six quarts of wa- 
 ter, putting them into a vessel proper for the 
 purpose, and stirring well ; after standing till 
 well settled, take the lie of the lime, and rake 
 again, cover close, and let it stand two hours. 
 The symptoms of the dye being fit to worjc 7
 
 DYER'S COMPAXIOK. 
 
 may be known by the rising of a fine copper- 
 coloured scum, on top of the dye, and likewise, 
 a fine froth rising, called the head ; your dye 
 will look green, and your cloth dipt in it, before 
 it comes to the air, will look green also. 
 
 Form of a Vat and other Utensils necessary for 
 J3lue Dying. 
 
 1st. The Vat ought to be made of pineplank, 
 ^t least two inches thick : it should be five feet 
 Jong, and the width sufficient for containing the 
 quantity required ; the largest end down, and 
 about three feet in the ground ; hooped with 
 large iron hoops as far as it stands in the ground ; 
 and all above ground covered with wooden 
 hoops ; the top covered tight with a thick cover 
 so as to exclude the cold air. A small lid should 
 be made to open and shut at pleasure for the 
 purpose of admitting the dye into the vat, stir, 
 ring, raking, &c. It is absolutely necessary to 
 cover close, so as to confine the heat and steam 
 from the time you begin to empty your liquor, 
 until your vat is full. The liquor should be con- 
 veved from the copper to the vat by a spout or 
 trunk, and after stirring, be immediately cover- 
 ed close. 
 
 2d. The Rake is of an oval form, with a 
 handle through the middle, of sufficient length 
 to reach the bottom of the vat with ease. 
 
 3d. The Screen or Raddle, to prevent the 
 
 v ds from sinking upon the sediment. This 
 isil is placed about ten or twelve inches from 
 bottom of the vat. It should be as large as 
 the top of the vat will admit, and filled with net- 
 ting or splinters ; it should be hung by three 
 cords from the top, so as to be easily taken out 
 when necessary, and a weight in the middle suf- 
 ficiem to keep it down.
 
 DYER S COMPANION. 7 
 
 4th. The Cross-Bar, or stick across the vat. 
 This should be about one inch in diameter, and 
 placed about six inches from the top, and across 
 the middle of the vat. 
 
 5th. The Handlers, Claws or Hooks, are for 
 managing the cloth in the dye, (for no air must 
 come to the cloth while in the dye). The claws 
 are made with wooden handles ; the hooks of 
 iron in an oval form, half round, and notches in 
 the hooks like saw teeth, tor the purpose of 
 catching hold of the cloth. 
 
 To fit Cloths >for Dying. 
 
 In the first place scour the grease we!! out of 
 the cloths. Take about thirty yards of cloth to 
 a fold or draft, having prepared, in your copper,, 
 about two barrels of water, with four ounces of 
 pearlash therein ; in this liquor run raid prepare 
 your cloth for the vat about eight or ten minutes; 
 then roll it out and let it drain, T !>; : i". !,! it up 
 smooth on the side of the vat, that it may go in 
 open ; toss the end over the cross- bar, and let a 
 person on the other side with his hanulers b^ 
 ready ^to poke it clown, and let it be done quid: 
 and lively. When the cloth is all in the ' 
 take the other end back again, by pulling it hand 
 over hand, very lively, till you arriv 
 other. Then shift sides, and manage in this 
 manner till ready for taking out ; which will b-:- 
 in ten or twelve minutes, if the dye is ripe and 
 hot. But judgment must be used in this case ; 
 when the dye is weak and cool, it is necessary to 
 keep the cloth in an hour or more : 
 
 In taking the cloth out of the vat, it is neces- 
 sary to use dispatch. The utensils for this pur- 
 pose are two crooked irons passed just abovte 
 the vat, so that two men may put the cloth there - 
 orij as taken out of the vat ; then a windlass for
 
 8 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 the purpose of wringing the cloth as dry as con- 
 veniently can be clone. Hang your cloth then in 
 the open air, till it is perfectly cool. At the 
 same time, if you have more cloth, prepare it as 
 described before in the copper of pearlash water. 
 This process must be observed every time the 
 cloth is dipped in the vat. Two dippings are 
 commonly sufficient for colouring the first time ; 
 then air and rince, and this will be a pretty good 
 blue and full and manage as you do cloths to- 
 prepare them for colouring. However, your dye 
 must not be crowded too fast at first. 
 
 If you find your dye does not colour fast 
 enough, coyer and rake, and let it stand an hour 
 or two ; being careful to keep the vat covered, 
 excepting when the cloth is in : work the dye 
 till it is cool, then heat it again. If all your cloths 
 are not coloured for fulling ; heat your dye again 
 in the copper or other utensil, nearty to boiling 
 t, then turn it into the vat and cover it up ; 
 add two pounds of pearlash, rake well, and let it 
 stand ten or twelve hours ;,then rake it, and let 
 it stand two hours, when it will be fit for work. 
 Let the dye be worked as long as it will colour 
 well ; then manage as before until the dye is re- 
 duced. Recruit as before in setting, and man- 
 age in the same manner till your cloths are all 
 coloured. Only omit two pounds of potash and 
 one pound of indigo out of the quantity; and 
 the dye must stand to come to work, which will 
 probably be sooner than at first ; caution must 
 be used about working it too soon. 
 
 The cloths when fulled and prepared for co- 
 ipuring, must be managed as at first, and run 
 till they suit. After you have done colouring, 
 open your vat, rake well, and give the dye all 
 the air you can. Let it stnnd, and it may be 
 kept good for many years, if rightly managed : 
 After it has been recruited several times, it v
 
 B?ER'S COMPANION. 9 
 
 be necessary to dip off the dye carefully so as 
 not to disturb the sediment or lees, and throw 
 the lees away. When the dye has been stand- 
 ing a long time, it is necessary to throw _avvay 
 the lees, for they will have a tendency to injure 
 the dye, and the colour will not be so bright if 
 they remain in the vat. The dye will not come 
 to work so soon as if the sediment had remain- 
 ed in the vat, and it ought not to be disturbed 
 excepting when it is necessary to dispense with 
 so me of the lees. 
 
 The dyer being careful to manage according 
 to these directions, will have the best mode of 
 dying cloth blue, known by me. 
 
 To color yarn or wool in this dye, the yam- 
 must be hung loose in the dye, and the wool be 
 put loose into a nett and then immersed. 
 
 When the goods are dyed, have them imme- 
 diately rinced in clear water ; when dryed, take 
 twelve gallons of warm water to one pound of 
 hard soap dissolved, and one pint of beef gall ; 
 wet the cloth with this, and let it run in the mill 
 eight or ten minutes, then rince it with fair wa- 
 ter till perfectly clean, and it will prevent the 
 goods from crocks, &c. if the color is not struck 
 through the cloth and cuts light in the middle, 
 to 20 yards take half pint of color, put in 
 your copper of boiling hot water, run one hour, 
 and rince well. 
 
 3d ANOTHER METHOD FOR JBLU, 
 The best to dye Yarn or Woo). 
 
 TO set a tub of 6 gallons, take five gallons of 
 good old sig,to whiG&add 2 gills of spirits.half 
 a pound- of good indigo made fine j put it in- -a 
 B 3
 
 10 BYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 bag, wet it and rub it out in the dye, then 
 two ounces of pearlash, and 2 ounces of good 
 madder ; stir and mix it all together, let it stand 
 24 hours ; then add half a pint of wheat bran, 
 stir it up till well mixed together, let it stand 24 
 hours longer, and if your dye does not come to 
 work by this time, stir it as often as once in two 
 or three hours, but do not apply your goods be- 
 fore your copper scum and froth rises, and the 
 dye looks greenish when dropping, and your 
 yarn or wool looks greenish when applied to tbe 
 dye, which are symptoms that your dye is in 
 good order for use ; but you must be cautious 
 not to crowd your dye too full,for many blue dyes 
 are destroyed in this way. Be careful also about 
 reducing your dye too low ; always keep indi- 
 go in the bag, rubbing it out when necessary ; 
 and you need not stop your dye to recruit it af- 
 ter it has come to work ; but make your addi- 
 tions when you take your goods out, as you find 
 it necessary. Wring cut the goods, stir your 
 'dye well together, cover it close, and place it 
 where it will keep lukewarm. It will not dye so 
 quick as the other dye, but it will make a superior 
 blue. It is commonly from two to three days 
 in colouring for a deep blue. 
 
 N. B. The yarn or wool should be wet in 
 warm sig, before it is- put in the dye, and 
 covered close, &c. 
 
 3d. ANOTHER METHOD FOR J3LU. 
 
 TAKE half a pail full of good ashes> two quarts 
 of stone lime, and as much sig as to run 
 through three gallons of liquor ; add two ounces
 
 COMPANION. ll 
 
 ofgood4ndigo made fine, four ounces of good 
 madder, and half a pint of wheat bran ; stir and 
 mix it well together, let it stand two days, then 
 stir it up, and put in half a pint of good emp- 
 tiues. Let it stand 24 hours, and your dye will 
 be fit for work. 
 
 Directions to be observed in common Colour* 
 ing. 
 
 EVERY person that understands his business 
 knows what utensils are necessary for the busi- 
 ness in colouring ; however, I will give a brief 
 description of those commonly used. 
 
 The first thing necessary is the copper kettle ; 
 I say copper kettle, because it is most common- 
 ly used in all hot dyes, and all hot dyes may be 
 coloured in the copper, and I shall mention no 
 other in the following receipts. Block tin of 
 brass, are better for red and yellow, than the cop. 
 
 fer ; and iron the best for black or green ; but this 
 leave to the discretion of those in practice. 
 The size ought to be from two to four barrels, 
 according as your business requires. In setting 
 thekettle,rcference should be had to convenience 
 of heating and working. 
 
 The Reel, as it is commonly called, which ^Ss 
 used for managing the cloth in the dye, is conduct- 
 ed ovt r and over in the dye, being turned by a 
 wench ; and the cloth is poked down and spread 
 open by a stick about three feet long. The cloth 
 always should be tended lively when in the dye. 
 (The time the cloth is to be in these dyes, will 
 hereafter be described. ) 
 
 When the cloth has been a sufficient time in 
 
 the dye, then reel or wind it up ; let it drain a few 
 
 minutes, then take it out in the open air, and 
 
 spread it till perfectly cool ; and this must be the 
 
 jnanagement.eve.ry time the.clothis dipped. Ne-
 
 12 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 yer add any dye-stuff or water when frs cloth is 
 in the dye ; but when added, stir and mix the 
 dye vvell together before the cloth is put in. The 
 cloths should be perfectly cool to prevent their 
 spotting, and for the brightness of colours have 
 the kettle vvell cleaned- To clean a copper, the 
 most common form I practise, is to rince the 
 dye well off, then take some ashes and a swab, 
 and rub it vvell and rince it clean, and it will an- 
 swer for most colours. But if it does not appear 
 bright enough,then take half a gill of oil of vitriol, 
 and rub in the same manner as before ;, rince 
 clean, &c. 
 
 To clean a Coppqr. 
 
 TAKE four ounces of allurn, two quarts of 
 vinegar, and two ounces of oil of vitriol ; put 
 them all together, heat them boiling hot, and put 
 them into your kettle ; wash it vvell with a swab, 
 rince it with water clean, and it will be fit for 
 any dyes. 
 
 A GEAERJL RULE. 
 
 T SHALL lay it down as a general rule, to take 
 A 20 yds. or 16 Ibs. weight for the quantity of 
 cloth, for which to proportion the dye-stuff. How- 
 ver,any quantity of cloth or goods may be colour, 
 cd by the followingreeeipts; only in the like pro- 
 portion as before mentioned : and another thing 
 is to be observed, the different states of the dyes, 
 by giving all your goods an equal chance in the 
 dye ; for most of colours the dye is good for 
 nothing for that colour after the colour is done. 
 
 *>h FOR BLUE. 
 
 TO 20 yds. of fulled cloth, take four pounds of 
 good logwood chips ; j&ll your copper with fair
 
 DEER'S COMPANION. t3 
 
 water, add the logwood, and boil well till the 
 strength is out ; then add one pound of good 
 madder and one pound of allum ; let it simmer 
 together fifteen minutes, but not boil, (for the 
 madder ought never to boil (run your cloth 
 twenty or thirty minutes, roll out and air it ; let 
 the dye simmer a few minutes, then run it again 
 as before, with the heat of tht- dye increasing, 
 about thirty minutes : air it, and the cloth will 
 then appear of a purple cast or shade. Then 
 take two ounces of verdigrease pulverized fine; 
 then take one pint of sig ; put them into a pro- 
 per vessel, and simmer them together with con. 
 stant stirring, till well mixed and dissolved ; 
 then add this to your dye, with twogallons of sig, 
 and two ounces of blue vitriol ; boil them mode- 
 rately together about 15 minutes, then stop your 
 dye from boiling, and stir well together, then run 
 your cloth about thirty minutes : run in this 
 manner till the colour suits, and you will have a 
 fine blue, but it will not be so durable as Indigo 
 blue. 
 
 5th. FOR WAVY BLUE. 
 
 TO twenty ^ yards of fulled cloth; fill yoirf 
 copper with fair water, heat it boiling hot, take 
 two pounds of copperas, half a pound of allum, 
 a quarter of a pound of argal, or red tartar pul- 
 verize these together, and put this compound 
 into the boiling water skim your dye, stop its 
 boiling, run your cloth twenty or thirty minutes, 
 air and run it again, as before, twenty minutes, 
 air and rince it in water ; shift your liquor from 
 the copper, rince your copper, fill it with fair 
 water, then add four pound of good logwood 
 chips, boil well twenty minutes, then slacken 
 your fire and add an half pound of good mad- 
 derj let it simmer fifteen minutes together
 
 14 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 with one ounce verdigrease made fine, as de- 
 scribed in receipt fourth, with sig, &c- then take 
 one gallon of sig and add with the .rest to the 
 dye, stir them well together, till the dye is well 
 mixed ; run your cloth again in this dye thirty 
 minutes, air it and add two ounces of pearl- 
 ash and run it again, with the dye well mixed 
 together handle in this manner, till your co- 
 lour pleases. This will he a good blue, rather 
 preferable to receipt No. 4- 
 
 6iA. PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 COMPOUND, or CHYMIC. This compound 
 or blueing is made thus : Take one pound of 
 good flotong indigo pulverized, f.mr pounds of 
 oil of vitriol, and two ounces of fine salt put 
 in a stone pot (or some earthen vessel) that 
 will contain six times the quantity of this com- 
 pound, or it will be liable to rise and run over. 
 First put in the vitriol, then the indigo, then the 
 salt ; stir this continually one hour, or till it 
 gets pretty well settled and cool for it will boil 
 and foment in a terrible manner. Let it stand 
 four days or a week, covered close, stirring it 
 now and then, as is most convenient. 
 
 VtA. ANOTHER METHOD FOR BLUEING, 
 OR COMPOUND. 
 
 TAKE one pound of common good indigo> 
 six rounds of oil of vitriol, half a pound of stont* 
 lime put these together (as described before) 
 in the pot and stir it This will be fit to use iu 
 forty eight hours. I have mixed it without 
 either lime or s -k ; but it requires more str r 
 sud longer standing before it it fit for use. T
 
 COMPANION, lv> 
 
 compound is used for dying Prussian blue,, 
 green and many other colours. 
 
 8/7* PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 FILL your copper with fair water, heat it 
 nearly boiling hot, then add of your blueing (as 
 is before mentioned) a little, and stir it well with 
 the water, run your cloth, roll out, air, and add 
 of your compound by little and little, till your 
 colour pleases. You may make in this dye, 
 any shade you wish of this kind of blue, and 
 very bright. 
 
 5ih. FOR GREEN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take six pound of 
 Fustick chips and boil them well, then add one 
 quarter pound .of allum, run your cloth till it is 
 a good yellow, then add of your blueing* about 
 half a gill at a time, stir and mix it well together 
 in the dye, run your cloth with a hot fire fif- 
 teen or twenty minutes, then air and add a little 
 of your blueing and run again in the same man- 
 ner as before, and add of your blueing, little by 
 little, till your colour suits. 
 
 If you have a considerable quantity of cloth 
 to colour, it will be necessary to boil your fus- 
 tick till your dye is strong ; then put it in a tub 
 for the convenience of dipping it off as it is pant- 
 ed to mix with the bluing. The quantity of 
 yellow dye to be dipped off, must be left- to the 
 discretion of the dyer, according to the quantity 
 of cloth in colouring ; let the chips remain in 
 
 * This compound of vitriol and indigo, is known by the 
 blueing chymick or aaxon Jiot,
 
 16 DVER'S COMPANION. 
 
 the kettle, and fill your copper with water, boil' 
 again, and yellow your cloth till a good yellow, 
 by adding alltnn every dipping then take the 
 chips out of the dye, then add of your blueing 
 run all your clothes, then add of your blueing 
 and yellow dye, having your dye hot and well 
 mixed together run your cloth, and add of 
 your compound and yellow dye, by little and lit- 
 tle, well mixed and stirred together ; and if the 
 colour does not appear bright enough, frequent- 
 ly add a little allum, keep it in much longer, and 
 this will give lustre to your colour. This is 
 the best method of dying a bright green, I be- 
 lieve in the world, or the best I ever knew. 
 
 Green requires the judgment of the dyer to 
 prevent one colour from overrunning the other, 
 otherwise the colour will appear dull, and never 
 can be made bright. But follow the receipt with 
 care and judgment, and you will have a very 
 fine green. 
 
 IQth. FOR GREEN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take five pounds of 
 good fustick chips, boil well, then add two 
 ounces of allum, run your cloth till a good yel- 
 low ; then add of your blueing half a pound, run 
 your cloth twenty or thirty minutes, then air, 
 ^nd add a little copperas and a little logwood ; 
 let it boil a few minutes, run again and handle 
 till your colour pleases. 
 
 \\th. FOR GREEN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth take four pounds of 
 fustick chips, boil well, then add two ounces of 
 pearlash, one ounce of allum, one ounce of squa- 
 fbrtis let it boil, stir and mix it well together,
 
 DYERS 
 
 then run your cloth till a good yellow ; air, and 
 add of your blueing, mix well with your dye, 
 run your cloth, and add of your blueing by little 
 and little, till your colour pleases. 
 
 12//;. FOR GREEK. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take four quarts of 
 wheat bran, wet it with vinegar, let it stand 
 twelve hours ; fill your copper with fair water, 
 put your bran in a bag and let it boil in the wa- 
 ter one hour, take it out, let it drain, and squeeze 
 it dry as you can ; then add two ounces of ar- 
 gal,^~ made fine, and one ounce of allum ; boil 
 well, run your cloth forty minutes, boiling ; 
 then air and rince, shift your liquor from your 
 copper, rince and fill with fair water ; then add 
 four pounds of fustick chips, boil well till the 
 strength is well out, then add a little allum, and! 
 run your cloth thirty minutes more ; then add 
 gradually, as much blueing as is necessary, and 
 sadden with a little copperas. 
 
 If the colour is not bright enough, shift your 
 dye from your copper, and fill with fair water ; 
 heat it nearly to boiling heat, add a little bluejing, 
 and handle till your colour pleases, 
 
 ISlh FOR GREEK, 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take five pounfls 
 of fustick chips, and boil well ; then add two 
 ounces of allum, and six ounces of compound 
 or blueing half of your blueing at a time; run 
 your cloth thirty minutes, then add the rest of 
 your blueing together with yellow dye and a lite 
 
 * This is called by some, Cradf r w Red T<?r?eri 
 C
 
 18 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 tie allum ; run again as before ; then add two 
 ounces of blue vitriol, boil well, and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 N. B. These green dyes are worth saving as 
 they are useful in many dyes, especially for bot 
 tie green in the first beginning. 
 
 1 4th. FOR BOTTLE 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take three pounds 
 of fustick chips, boil well, then add two ounces 
 of allum and your blueing ; stir and mix them well 
 together, then run your cloth thirty minutes, air 
 and run again till you have it a good deep green ; 
 then add two pounds of logwood, boil well, take 
 one quarter of a pound of verdigrease, pulverize 
 it, and put in a proper vessel with one pint of 
 vinegar ; let it simmer together with constant 
 stirring, till all dissolved ; then add it to the dye, 
 stir and mix it well together, run your clotn 
 with your dye hot, thirty or forty minutes ; then 
 air and sadden with copperas, till the colour is 
 dark enough. 
 
 Ifyour green goes off, shift your dye from your 
 copper, clean it well, rince your cloth ^yell, fill 
 your kettle with fair water, heat it boiling hot, 
 and add blueing by degrees till your colour 
 pleases. 
 
 15th. FOR BOTTLE GREE.V. 
 
 FOR twenty yards of cloth, fill your copper 
 with fair water, heat it belling hot ; take half a 
 pound of blue vitriol, and let it dissolve in the
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 19 
 
 water ; run your cloth 30 minutes, air and run 
 again as before ; then add three pounds of good 
 logwood chips and two pounds of fustick, and 
 boil well ; run your cloth, and handle till your 
 colour pleases ; and you will have a fine bottle 
 green, but it is more liable to fade than the other, 
 which will hold equal to a blue. 
 
 Or this, take one pound blue vitriol, heat your 
 copper with fair water, near boiling hot, run 
 your cloth, then air and run again as before ; then 
 air, run and shift your liquor, then add 6 pound 
 fustick and 4 pound logwood chips, boil well 
 and run again as above, &c. 
 
 l&tft. FOR OLIVE GREEM 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take six pounds of 
 fustick, boil well, then add a quarter of a pound 
 of allum, and a quarter of a pound of blueing; 
 run your cloth one hour, then add half a bushel 
 of butternut bark ; let it boil moderately till the 
 strength is well out ; run your cloth 30 minutes, 
 air, and run again ; then add one quarter of a pound 
 of copperas, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 When I have any bright green dye, as in re- 
 ceipt No. 9, I use it as a preparation for the 
 olive green. 
 
 Ittfi. FOR YELLOW. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take a quarter of a 
 pound of aquafortis, and as ivuch pewter or 
 block tin as the aquafortis will dissolve ; (first 
 pouring the pewter in a malted sta<e ; m > wa- 
 ter;) fill your copper with fair water, heat bjil-
 
 20 DYER'S 
 
 ing hot ; then add the compound of aqtiaforf&j 
 &c. with six ounces of argal, and half a pound 
 of allum ; boil well, run your cloth boiling forty 
 minutes ; then air and rince, and shift your li- 
 quor from your copper ; fill with fair water, 
 then take four pounds of good fustick, and a 
 quarter of a pound of turmerick, boil well, and 
 add half a pound of allum ; run your clotii thirty 
 minutes, and handle till your colour pleases; 
 
 18.^. FOR 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one pound p? 
 allum, fill your copper with fair water, heat boil- 
 ing hot, run your cloth boiling, three quarters oF 
 an hour; air, rince and shifty your liquor from 
 your copper ; rince and fill with fair water ; add 
 six pounds of good fustick, boil well, then addf 
 a quarter of a pound of allum, and two ounces 
 of aquafortis killed with pewter "as described in 
 receipt No. 17; stir and mix it well together 
 with your dye ; run your cloth and handle till 
 your colour suits your fancy. 
 
 The dyer must be exceeding careful in these 
 yellow dyes, that his copper utensils and cloth 
 are all clean ; for the yellow dyes are very easily 
 spoiled. It also requires great care about hand- 
 ling the cloths, that you do not touch them 
 against any thing that will spot them, for that 
 is not very easily mended- 
 
 N. B. The aquafortis must be put in a sound 
 earthen or glnss vessel, to contain n uch more 
 than the quantity of ;quafortis ; for it will boil 
 and fly, and appear to be red hot ^when yon put 
 5n the pewter or block tin ; and it must be fed 
 as long as it will dissolve it. Then Jet it stand 
 till cold ; and stopped with wax or glass stog-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION". 21 
 
 per and it will keep good for work, then apply 
 it to the dye. This is the way that aquafortis 
 must be used, except otherwise directed. Re- 
 member the pewter or block tin must be melted 
 and thrown into water, and it will dissolve the 
 better, &c. 
 
 BUFF YELLOW. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take four pounds 
 of good fu stick, boil well; then add a quarter 
 of a pound of the best madder and six ounces 
 of allum ; let it simmer together, but not boil, 
 (for the madder must not boil, but be near boil- 
 ing) run your cloth, and handle till your colour 
 pleases. 
 
 N. B. The yellow dye (after you have done 
 dying your yellow,) may be useful to all co. 
 lours that have yellow in them ; for green, 
 olive, &c. 
 
 SOf/;. TO TAKE THE COLOUR OUT OF CLOTH, 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take two pounds 
 of red tartar, four pounds of allum, three quar- 
 ters of a pound of cream of tartar, one pound of 
 white argal or tartar ; pulverize and mix them 
 together ; fill your copper with fair water, heat 
 boiling hot ; then add your compound, let it 
 boil, run your cloth one hour boiling ; and this 
 will completely destroy almost any colour or, 
 colours. 
 
 21s?. FOR YELLOW. 
 
 AFTER you have taken the colour out. The 
 cloth must be well rinced in water, For tweutv
 
 02 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 yards of cloth fill your copper with fair wate& 
 then add two pounds of fust'ick, (the best kind) 
 half a pound of ground turmerick, and one ounce 
 of aquafortis ; boil well, run your cloth, and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 ,33d TO TAKE THE COLOUR OUT OF 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take half a pound 
 of oil of vitriol, put in about one quart of cold 
 water, stir it till well mixed with the water ; put 
 it in your copper already filled, and boiling hot, 
 with fair water ; run your cloth thirty minutes, 
 air and rince, and you may make almost any co- 
 lour you please, on cloth that has had the colour 
 taken out in this way ; but you cannot if done in 
 the way of receipt No. 20 It must be observed, 
 that there cannot be any great quantity of cloth 
 or goods managed in these preparations at once^ 
 without shifting the liquor ; for the dye-stuff 
 that is extracted from the cloth will overpower 
 the preparation that dissolves the colour. I have 
 destroyed a black of the best kind find mat 
 good yellow, in this way. 
 
 23d. SCARLET RED. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one pound of 
 good fustick, a quarter of a pound of turmerick, 
 six ounces of aquafortis, and half a pound of ar- 
 g 1 or red t-irtar, which boil till the strength is 
 well out, (the copper being clean as possible, and 
 the water fairj then run your cloth two hows
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 with the dye boiling ; tlien air, rince and shift 
 your liquor from your copper, and fill with 
 clean water ; heat boiling hot, then take on^ 
 peck of wheat bran wet with vinegar, after sta. 
 ing twelve hours, put it in a bag, and boil v 
 one hour ; let it drain, and squeeze it as dry as 
 you conveniently can, run your cloth 30 minutes, 
 air, rinee and shift your liquor from your cop- 
 per ; clean your copper as clean as possible, fill 
 with fair water, and heat boiling hot ; then add 
 five ounces of cochineal made fine, one ounce of 
 red arsenick, two ounces and an half of aqua- 
 fortis, two ounces of gum armoniac ; boil this 
 together till the strength is well out ; then run 
 your cloth with the dye boiling, run till your 
 colour suits, and you will have a line scarlet >, 
 
 24?A. SCARLET RED. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one pecfc c'f 
 "wheat bran wet with vinegar, let it stand iv. elve 
 hours ; fill your copper with water, heat boiling 
 "iot ; put the bran pudding into a bag, let it 
 boil one hour, then run your cloth with the dyC 
 boiling forty minutes ; then add a quarter of a 
 pound of aquafortis, three quarters of a pound 
 of argal or red tartar ; run forty minutes more 
 with the dye boiling, then air, rince and shift 
 your liquor from your copper and fill w ith wa- 
 ter ; add one pound of fustick, and a quarter of 
 a pound of turmerick, boil this one hour ; then 
 run your cloth one hour with the dye boiling, 
 air, rince and shift the liquor from your copper ; 
 fill with water, heat boiling hot; then add six 
 ounces of cochineal pulverized, three ounces of 
 is, and one ounce of armoniac ; let it 
 A fifteen minutes ; run your cloth one
 
 DYERS COMPANION. 
 
 hour with your dye boiling, and you will have a 
 fine scarlet. 
 
 25th. CRIMSOJV .RED. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take three quar- 
 ters of a pound of allum, three quarters of a 
 pound of cream of tartar, and three quarters of a 
 pound of argal ; pulverize these and mix them 
 together ; fill your copper with fair water, heat 
 boiling hot, and add this compound ; stir and 
 mix it well with the boiling water ; then run 
 your cloth one hour boiling ; then air, rince and 
 shift your liquor ; nil with fair water, heat boil- 
 ing hot, then take half a pound of cochineal and 
 half a pound of cream of tartar mixed and pul- 
 verized together ; then add one half of the cochi- 
 neal and tartar ; run your cloth three quarters 
 of an hour with the dye boiling ; then air and 
 add of this compound by little and little, with 
 your dye boiling, till the colour is well raised on 
 the red \ then take half a pound of the spirits of 
 sal armoniac, and run your cloth three quarters 
 of an hour, and this will give it the crimson hue, 
 This is a true crimson, and permanent. 
 
 26i/z. FOR CRIMSOJV RED. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth ; take three quar- 
 ters of a pound of fustick, a quarter of a pound 
 of turmenck, five ounces of aquafortis, fill 
 your copper with water, add this and boil well, 
 till the s're'.rth is ^ell out ; run your cloth one 
 and an half hours with your dye boiling ; then 
 air, rince and snift your liquor from your c
 
 JDYJER'S COMPANION. "23 
 
 per, and wash clean : fill with fair water, heafc 
 boiling hot, then take four and an half ounces oF 
 cochineal, & four and an half ounces of cream of 
 tartar, pulverized together ; add this to the wa- 
 ter with a quarter of a pound of aquafortis, and 
 three ounces of turmerick, in which boil and 
 handle your cloth, run one hour, then take half 
 a pound of spirits of sal armoniaCj or good old 
 sig, to bloom with ; in this handle with the (tye 
 boiling, till your colour pleases. 
 
 BE WITH RED- WOOD OR NI- 
 CARAGUA. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth ; take ten pounds 
 of red- wood or Nicaragua chips, and boil mo- 
 tlerately in good clean water one hour ; then add 
 one pound of allum, run your cloth forty min- 
 utes, then air and let the dye steep in the same 
 manner as it did before ; and run again % adding 
 a little allum every time you dip ; and manage 
 in this form till your colour suits your fancy > 
 Red -wood or Nicaragua may be mixt together 
 or used separately, just as the dyer thinks fit and 
 proper. I commonly use both together, 
 
 3Bt/i. CRIMSON RED WITH RED-WOOD. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take eight pounds 
 of red- wood, boil well, but not fast, one- hour, 
 then add half a pound of allum, run your cloth 
 three quarters of an hour, air and let the dye sim- 
 mer in the same manner as before ; acid a little 
 allum and run your cloth, and manage in this 
 jbrra till the strength is well out of the dye ;
 
 20 JDYER,S COMPANION. 
 
 then add half a poimd of pearlash and handle 
 till your colour pleases. 
 
 The dyes for red, that are made of red- wood 
 and Nicaragua, must not be hurried and drove, 
 nor crowded too full, because it will destroy the 
 lustre of the red, and the colour will be dull. 
 It is necessary the copper and all the utensib 
 should be clean. 
 
 29/7;. J?OR RED WITH MADDER. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one peck of 
 wheat bran, boil it in a small kettle with eight 
 gallons of water, one hour ; then fill your cop- 
 per with water, boiling hot ; then add the liquor 
 of the bran, and three and an half pounds of al- 
 lum, one pound of red argal, boil and run your 
 cloth, (being well scoured and clean) one and 
 an half hours, boiling ; then air and rince your 
 cloth, and shift the liquor from your copper; 
 Jill with fair water, then add eight pound s_ of 
 madder that is good, and heat moderately, with 
 tt stirring, till near scalding hot; run your 
 cloth three quarters of an hour with a moderate 
 fire, then increase your lire, and bring it near a 
 boiling heat, but not boiling, for the madder 
 must not boil, if you intend to hax^e a good red ; 
 then run your cloth in this manner until the 
 strength is well out of the madder, and the co- 
 lour well raised on the red ; then shift your li- 
 quor from your copper ; fill with water, and add 
 two and an half pounds of the best Brazil, boil 
 well one hour, and add three quarters of a pound 
 of allum and run your cloth till your colour 
 suits, boiling between each dipping ; and this 
 will produce a good red. 
 This colour may be finished in the madder
 
 DYERS COMPANION. 27 
 
 3ye without shifting the dye, by adding two gal- 
 ions of lant or sig. After the colour is well 
 raised in the madder, run your cloth thirty min- 
 utes, and it will answer. 
 
 The best is with Brazil, but it is more lengthy, 
 and the colour is brighter than with the sig ; so 
 | leave it to the discretion of the dyer. 
 
 SO///. FOR MERROON RED. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take six quarts of 
 wheat bran, wet with vinegar, let it stand twelve 
 hours, and sour ; put it in a bag, fill your cop- 
 per with water, heat boiling hot, and boil the 
 pudding two hours ; then take it out and let it 
 drain ; squeeze as dry as you can conveniently ; 
 then add one and an half pounds of allum, and 
 half a pound of red argal made fine, run your 
 cloth one hour boiling, air and let it lie all night 
 and sour ; then rince your cloth, shift your li- 
 quor from your copper, and fill it with fair wa- 
 ter : when warm, add ten pounds of good mad- 
 der, and four quarts of wheat bran, constantly 
 stirring until it is near boiling, but not boiling, 
 for madder must not boil ; run your cloth and 
 manage in this manner till the strength is well 
 out of the dye, and the red well raised, tht n add 
 one gallon of lant or sig, and handle till your co- 
 lour pleases. 
 
 31st. FOR POLISHED RED WITH MADDER, 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take three and an 
 half pounds of nutgalls pulverized, put them in 
 the copper, and fill the copper about half full of
 
 IFER' 
 
 water, put the galls in, let it boil till the strei, 
 is well out ; then fill the copper with cold wa- 
 ter ; see that your dye it not hotter than scalding 
 hot ; then add five, six, or seven pounds of the 
 bf st madder, in proportion to the shade requuv 
 ed ; let it simmer with a small fire one hour, 
 with frequent stirring; then run your cloth thirty 
 tninutes, air and run again with the heat increas- 
 ing ; run till the strength is well out of the dye, 
 and the colour well raised on the red. The dye 
 must steep between each dipping, fifteen or 
 twenty minutes, with the heat increasing, but 
 not boiling, for it will destroy the substance of 
 the madder to let it boil. If your colour is not 
 dark enough, add a little potash or pearl- 
 ash, and handle till your colour pleases ; and 
 j*ou will have a fine polished red. 
 
 . FOR PORTABLE RJZQ, 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one pound of 
 iustick, and three quarters of a pound of allum, 
 iill your copper with water, heat boiling hot, run 
 your cloth, after the strength is out of the fus- 
 tick, run three quarters of an hour; shift your 
 copper, fill with fair water, and then add six 
 pounds of red-wood, let it boil moderately one 
 hour, then add three quarters of a pound of al- 
 lum, run your cloth 40 minutes; then air, and 
 let the dye simmer one and an half hours, and 
 run your cloth as before ; then air and take out 
 the chips, and add one and an half ounces of 
 cochineal, and three ounces of aquafortis ; rim 
 again with the dye boiling, 40 minutes; to 
 bloom, take six or eight ounces of spirits of sal 
 armoniac, or good old sig ; and your cloth will 
 be a good colour by handling in this half 3ft 
 hour.
 
 BYER'S COMPANION. 29 
 
 33d. FOR CLARET RED. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take two pounds of 
 Yustick chips, fill your copper with water, boil 
 well, then add one pound of allum, boil, run 
 your cloth one hour boiling, then air, rince and 
 shift your copper ; fill with fair water, add eight 
 pounds of red- wood, boil well, and add half a 
 pound of allum ; run your cloth one hour, then 
 air, let the dye steep one hour, and run again, 
 adding a little allum ; manage in this manner 
 until the strength is well out of the dye, and 
 the colour well raised on the red ; then add two 
 ounces of aquafortis, killed with pewter or 
 block tin, as described in receipt 18th, run 
 your cloth thirty minutes with the dye boiling ; 
 then add two gallons of sig to bloom, handle till 
 your colour pleases, and you will have a fine 
 cjaret red- 
 
 34r/f. FOR CLARET. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take twelve pounds 
 of barwood, boil well, then add half a pound of 
 allum, run your cloth until the strength is well 
 out pf the dye, about thirty minutes to a dipping, 
 boiling between each dipping as much as is ne- 
 cessary to get the strength put of the barwood : 
 \vhen the colour is well raised on the red, then 
 add a quarter of a pound of logwood, and a 
 quarter of a pound of copperas mixed together, 
 and handle until your colour pleases. 
 
 Z5M. FOR MADDER RED TO BE DYED A 
 CLARET. 
 
 $O twenty yards of cloth, take one pound of
 
 30 OVER'S COMPANION. 
 
 logwood, fill with fair water, boil well, run your 
 cloth, and sadden with copperas until your co- 
 lour pleases. 
 
 3&A. FOR SCARLET TO BE DYED CLA- 
 RET OR ANY DARK COLOUR. 
 
 TO colour twenty yards of cloth ; fill your 
 copper with water, heat boiling hot, then add 
 one pound of copperas ; run your cloth, air, and 
 run it again ; then shift your liquor from your cop- 
 per, rince it, and fill with water ; then add one 
 and an half pounds of logwood, boil well twen- 
 ty minutes, then run your cloth till your colour 
 pleases ; and you will have a fine claret that is 
 durable. 
 
 This is the only way that scarlet can be co- 
 loured a darker colour. By running it in the cop- 
 peras water first, you may dye it almost any dark 
 colour you please ; for the copperas will de- 
 stroy all the acidous power that the scarlet is 
 made by and depends upon ; but until the pow- 
 er of the acid is destroyed, you cannot strike any 
 colour through, so but that it will remain red in 
 the middle of the cloth. 
 
 I have coloured scarlet black completely 
 through, and almost all other dark colours, by 
 the help of copperas. 
 
 Nth. J?OR CHERRY COLOUR. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take seven and an 
 half pounds of barwood, boil well, and add a 
 quarter of a pound of allum : then run your 
 doth one hour ; air and add two pounds o(Bra*-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 31 
 
 , and boil till the strength is well out ; run 
 
 your cloth again as before till the colour is well 
 
 raised on the red, then add two quarts of 
 
 tlant, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 33//I. FOR VIOLET COLOURS. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take four pounds 
 )f Brazil, and one and a quarter pounds of log- 
 ^vood ; boil well? and add three quarters of a 
 pound of allum, then run your cloth thirty min- 
 utes, air, and let it steep till the strength is well 
 out ; then run again as before, then add three 
 quarts of lant or sig, with the dye hot and well 
 mixed together ; run your cloth, and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 Twenty shades of violet colour may be pro- 
 duced, by varying the logwood and brazilletto. 
 The further management of this dye, I have left 
 to the fancy of the, dyer, for the colour will be 
 beautiful, almost .qual to cochineal and indigo. 
 
 You may use peach-wood in part, instead of 
 all brazilletto, if you like. It will be less expen- 
 sive than all brazilletto ; but this I leave to your 
 own choice. 
 
 S9M. FOR PINK COLOUR. 
 
 FOR twenty yards of cloth, fill your copper 
 with fair water, heat boiling hot, then add two 
 pounds of allum, and one pound ofargal; in 
 this boil and run your cloth one hour, then air, 
 rince and shift your copper ; fill with water, and 
 add two pounds of madder. Let it heat mode- 
 rately, with often stirring, till near boiling hot,
 
 32 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 run your cloth one hour ; and you will Rave a 
 good colour of the kind. 
 
 40tA. FOR FLESH COLOUR. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take oneandanhali' 
 bushels of black birch, and half a bushel of 
 hemlock bark, boil well till the strength is well 
 out ; then add a quarter of a pound of allum, 
 run your cloth one hour, and handle, and yoti 
 will have a good colour of the kind. 
 
 41s?. FOR OR4JVGE COLOUR. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take two pound's 
 of fustick chips, 3 ounces of argal, and half a 
 pound of allum, boil till the strength is well out 
 of the fustick, then run your cloth, with the dye 
 boiling, one hour ; then air, rince, and shift the 
 liquor from your copper, and fill with fair 
 water ; then add two and three quarters pounds 
 of red- wood, two and three quarters pounds 
 of madder, three quarters of a pound of 
 allum, and two ounces of aquafortis ; let it 
 boil moderately, with often stirring, till the 
 strength is well out ; then run your cloth one 
 hour ; then add one and an half ounces of arsen. 
 ick, and half an ounce of cochineal, and this will 
 bind the colour. In this run and handle till your 
 colour pleases. 
 
 42rf. FOR ORANGE. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take eight pounds of 
 fustick, and four pounds of red- wood, and boil
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 33 
 
 well ; then add half a pound of allum, run your 
 cloth thirty or forty minutes, then air, and let the 
 dye steep a while, then run again till the strength 
 is well out of the dye ; then add one gallon of sig 
 to bind ; and handle till your colour suits. 
 
 43d. FORBROWJV. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take two bushels 
 of butternut bark, fill with water, heat mode- 
 rately, let it steep, (but not boiling) till the 
 strength is well out of the bark ; then run your 
 cloth three quarters of an hour ; and air and run 
 again with the dye hot, but not boiling, (for 
 boiling the bark destroys part of the lustre of 
 the colour which the bark gives) but run in this 
 manner till the strength is well out of the dye, 
 then, air and take the bark out of your dye ; 
 then add a quarter of a pound of copperas and 
 two quarts of sig, and mix the dye well together; 
 run your cloth with your dye boiling fifteen or 
 twenty minutes, and handle in this manner till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 Various shades may be produced in this dye, 
 by varying the bark and copperas ; some-- 
 times more of one sort, and sometimes less ; 
 and thus by changing the order of them, different 
 shades will appear. Dry bark and green will 
 make a different shade; boiling and not boiling will 
 have the same effect. Thus I leave it to the dis- 
 cretion of the dyer, to vary them as he or bhe 
 pleases, to answer the shade or shades required 1 ? 
 
 FOR LOJv'D OJV BROWN OR CORBEAU WITU 
 CAMWOOD. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take five pounds. 
 D2
 
 34 OVER'S COMPANION. 
 
 of good ground camwood, fill your copper vvifh 
 fair water, heat boiling hot, let your camwood 
 boil a few minutes, then run your cloth one 
 hour ; air and run again in the same manner as 
 before ; air and add half an ounce of blue vitriol, 
 and a quarter of pound of oil of vitriol,* boil 
 well five or six minutes, then run your cloth 
 twenty or thirty minutes more ; then take one 
 pound of copperas dissolved in vinegar by con- 
 stant stirring on the fire, (but be sure and not 
 let it boil, for it will spoil the dye) then add the 
 copperas by little and little, the dye boiling, and 
 run as before, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 If it is not dark enough for the corbeau, take 
 two ounces of verdigrease made fine, and dis. 
 solved in sig or vinegar on the fire, by often stir- 
 ring, as described in receipt 4th ; add this with 
 one pound of logwood chips ; boil well, and 
 handle in this manner till your colour suits. 
 Sometimes it is required to be very dark, then 
 these darkening materhls must be applied 
 according to the judgment of the dyer, Scc 
 You may change this colour by adding a few 
 ounces of pearlash, to a bright purple, which 
 will be permanent. 
 
 * When oil of vitriol is applied to any hot liquor, you raust 
 before you put it in the dye, put seven-eighths of cold water 
 to it, and chen it will heat near boiling hot with the cold 
 water; but if you put in otherwise, it will make the hot 
 liqut r flv in a sh-.cking manner, and the dver will be in dan- 
 ger of being scalded ; and another thing to be observed, you 
 m ist raise your reJ for your body, with camwood before 
 .'ply your vitriol, cr your camwood <, ill be lost; for 
 cam .vood cannot run upon any other dye stuff; in what 
 c ir it is u-cd it must be first applied, other > ise it will 
 b* f no use ; yet camwood is the best dye-wood in the 
 world if ujsed rjght.
 
 45fA. FOR LONDON BROWN OR CORBEAU 
 WITH NICARAG UA. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take eight pounds 
 f Nicaragua, and half a pound of fustick ; boil 
 well, and add half a pound of allum, run your 
 cloth till the strength is well out of the dye, and 
 the colour well raised on the red, then add half 
 an ounce of blue vitriol, and half a gill of oil of 
 vitriol, and four quarts of sig, run your x cloth 
 30 minutes ; then add half a pound of logwood, 
 boil well, add one ounce of verdigrease, pulveriz- 
 ed and dissolved, as in receipt No. 4, run your 
 cloth twenty minutes ; then add copperas by lit- 
 tle and little to sadden ; and handle till your co* 
 lour pleases. 
 
 46th. LONDON BROWN OR CORBFAV 
 WITH RED-WOOD. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take two pounds 
 of fustick chips, boil well, and add one pound of 
 allum, run your cloth boiling three quarters of 
 an hour ; air and rince, and shift your copper, 
 then fill with water, arid add ten pounds of red- 
 wood chips ; let it boil moderately one hour ; 
 then add half a pound of allum, run your cloth 
 forty minutes, air, and let the dye steep one hour, 
 and run again as before ; and handle in this 
 manner till you have a good red ; (you must be 
 cautious not to drive the dye too fast, and add a 
 little allum now and then if necessary) and till 
 the strength is well out of the dye : then add one 
 gallonof sig or urine, run your cloth half an hour* 
 then add one and an half pounds of logwood 
 chips, boil '.veil, then add two ounces of yerdi- 
 grease jnade fine and dissolved in one pint of
 
 SG DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 vinegar, as described before, and handle till your 
 colour pleases. 
 
 47th. LONDON BROW.V. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take two pounds of 
 fustick and seven pounds of red- wood chips, 
 boil moderately one hour, then add half a pound 
 of allum, run your cloth three quarters of an 
 hour, then slacken the heat of your dye, and add 
 three pounds of madder ; let it stan'd and sim- 
 mer with often stirring half an hour, run your 
 cloth one hour, and if the strength is not out of 
 the dye, run again. The cloth must be a good 
 red before you sadden ; then add copperas to 
 sadden with by little and little, till your coloui 
 suits- 
 
 48/A. FOR LOJVDOJY 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take four pounds 
 of fustick chips, boil well, then add half a pound 
 of allum ; then run your cloth one hour boiling, 
 then air and rince, and shift your copper and fill 
 with fair water ; then add six pounds of red- 
 \vood chips, boil well, add half a pound of allum, 
 Rinyour cloth one hour, then add one and an half 
 pounds of madder, let it simmer half an hour, 
 then run your cloth one hour, then add three 
 quarters of a pound of logwood chips, boil well, 
 then add two gallons of sig ; then run your cloth, 
 and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 4,9th. FOR REDDISH BRG1> 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one ar.d anhajf
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. -St 
 
 pounds of fustick, boil well, and add a quarter 
 of a pound of allum, in which run your cloth 
 one hour boiling ; air and rince your cloth, shift 
 your liquor from your copper and fill with faip 
 water, then add nine pounds of red-wood ; let it 
 boil well, then add half a pound of allum, run 
 your cloth one hour, then add a quarter of a 
 pound of pearlash and a quarter of a pound 
 of allum ; run your cloth half an hour, and this 
 will be a good red ; then add one ounce of arse- 
 nick and a quarter of a pound of argal ; run* 
 your cloth three quarters of an hour, then add' 
 two gallons of good old sig, and handle till youu- 
 colour pleases, and you will have a line colauix 
 
 . FOR SPANISH BROWW. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one bushel of 
 butternut bark, and one bushel of walnut bark, 
 boil well, run your cloth one hour, then take the 
 bark out of the dye, and add half a pound of 
 copperas; run your cloth forty minutes ; then 
 air and rince, and shift your liquor from your 
 copper ; fill with fair \vater, and add two pounds 
 of fustick chips ; boil well, then add half a pound 
 of allum, run your cloth one hour, and air and 
 rince, and shift your liquor from your copper, 
 fill with fair water, and add eight pounds of red- 
 wood ; boil well and add half a pound of allum, 
 run your cloth one hour ; then add two ounces 
 of oil of vitriol, killed with the flower of brim- 
 stone; run your cloth half an hour ; then add 
 half a pound of logwood, and boil well, then add 
 two gallons of good old sig ; and handle till your 
 colour pleases.
 
 33 DYER'S 
 
 oh-/. -FOR LOA'DO.V SMOKE. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take eight pounds 
 of fustick chips, boil well, then add a quarter ot v - 
 a pound of allurn ; run your cloth half an hour, 
 then add one and an half bushels of good butter- 
 nut bark, boil moderately till the strength is well 
 out, then run your cloth one hour with the dye 
 hot ; then if the strength is well out of the dye, 
 take the bark and chips out of the dye, and add 
 three pounds of Nicaragua wood, or red- wood, 
 and one and an half pounds of logwood chips, 
 boil well thirty minutes ; then run your cloth 
 one hour, then add one gallon of sig, run twen- 
 ty minutes with the dye boiling, then add one 
 and an half or two pounds of copperas, and run 
 to your liking ; and this will be a colour equal 
 to a blue for strength, &c. 
 
 52 a. e/.v.\:4jv/o.'V BROWN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take four pounds 
 of fustick, and three pounds of red-wood chips, 
 or Nicaragua, boil well, then add half a pound 
 of allum ; run your cloth one hour, then slack 
 the heat of your dye, and add four pounds of 
 good madder ; let it simmer half an hour ; then 
 add half a pound of allum, run your cloth 
 one hour ; then ;;dd two ounces of copperas, 
 and two gallons of sig ; and handle with the dye 
 hot till your colour pleases. 
 
 53d. FOR SMOKE BROWA. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take six pounds of
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 39 
 
 fustick chips, and three pounds of ground cam- 
 wood, boil vvell till.the strength is well out ; then 
 run your cloth one hour, then add three and an 
 half pounds of coarse madder ; let it simmer 
 twenty minutes ; then run your cloth half an 
 hour ; then add half a pound of copperas, and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 54/A FOR LIVER BROWjV. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth) take eight pounds 
 of fustick chips, and two pounds of red- wood 
 chips, boil well one hour, and run your cloth 
 forty minutes ; then add four pounds of mull, 
 or coarse madder, and two quarts of rotten wood 
 of oak, boil moderately, and run your cloth one 
 hour ; then add six or eight ounces of copperas, 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 SBtK. FOR OLIVE BROWN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take five pounda 
 of fustick chips, boil well, run your cloth one 
 hour, then add one bushel of butternut bark ; 
 boil well, but moderately, one hour ; then run 
 your cloth one hour, or till the strength is vvell 
 out of the dye ; then take the bark and chips 
 out of the dye, and add six ounces of copperas-, 
 and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 56M. FOR OLIVE BRO WN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take six pounds ojf 
 fustick chips, and one pound of logwood, boil.
 
 40 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 well, and run your cloth half an hour ; then acltf 
 one pound of madder, let it simmer half an hour, 
 then run your cloth as before ; then add a quar- 
 ter of a pound of chymick or blueing, stir and 
 mix it well with the dye, and run your cloth 
 twenty minutes ; then add one and an half pounds 
 of logwood, and one gallon of sig ; run your 
 cloth as before, add six ounces of copperas, and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 57th. FOR OLIVE SROWW. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take seven pounds 
 offustick chips, three quarters of a pound of log- 
 wood, and half a pound of madder ; boil well 
 one hour, then run your cloth one hour, then add 
 half a pound of chymick or blueing, and run 
 your eloth twenty minutes; then add two quarts 
 of sig, and run again as before ; then add two 
 ounces of copperas, and handle till your colour 
 pleases. 
 
 S8t&. FOR A LIGHT S.VUFF BROW.V. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take eight pounds 
 of fustick chips, and four pounds of red- wood 
 or Nicaragua ; boil well an hour and a half, then 
 add a quarter of a pound of allum ; run your 
 cloth thirty minutes, then air and run again till 
 the strength is well out of the dye ; then add one 
 gallon of sig, run your cloth half an hour, then 
 take one peck of soqt scraped from the chimney, 
 put it into a tub, and put two pails full of your 
 dye to it ; stir it well together, and let it stand 
 and settle ; then pour off the liquor moderately,
 
 DTElTs COMPANION. 41 
 
 and add it to your dye ; run your cloth, and 
 handle till your colour suits. 
 
 tgth. FOR SWUFF BROW.V. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take four pounds of 
 fustick chips, a! id boil well ; then add a quarter 
 of a pound ofallum, and run your cloth half an 
 Lour ; add five pounds of red-wood, boil well, 
 and then add half a pound ofallum ; run your 
 cloth as before tiM the strength is well out of 
 your dye, then add a quarter of a pound of argaL, 
 and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 FOR DARK SNUFF BROWN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take six pounds of 
 fustick chips, and boil well, then add a quarter 
 of a pound ofallum ; run your cloth one hour, 
 then add two pounds of ground camwood, and 
 one and an half pounds of madder, and let it 
 simmer half an hour ; run your cloth one hour, 
 then add half a pound of copperas, or more, if 
 the colour is not dark enough ; and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 6 1 st. FOR SNUFF BROWN. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take three quarters 
 of a bushel of butternut bark, and three quarters 
 of a bushel of walnut bark, boil well one hour, 
 but moderately ; run your cloth one hour, then 
 if the strength is well out of the bark and dye, 
 E
 
 **. i> i Lii s c c 7,1 p A :: i o x . 
 
 take the bark out of the dye, and add one pound 
 of copperas to sadden widi ; run your cloth 
 three quarters of an hour, air and rince your 
 cloth and shift your liquor from your copper, 
 wash clean and fi!l with fair water; then add 
 four pounds of fustick chips, boil well, and then 
 add half a pound of allum : run your cloth half 
 an hour; then add five pounds of red- wood 
 chips, boil one hour, and add a quarter of a 
 pound of allum ; run your cloth three quarters 
 of an hour ; let it steep, and run till the strength 
 is well out of the dye. To sadden, take one 
 gallon of sig, and handle, &c. 
 
 G2d. FOR SWUFF BROWJ\\ 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one pound of 
 allum, boil, and run your cloth one hour, then 
 shift your liquor from your copper, and fill with 
 f:\ir water ; then add five pounds of ftistick, boil 
 well till the strength is well out, then run your 
 cloth thirty minutes; then add one bushel of 
 butternut bark, and five pounds of sumac ber- 
 ries, boil moderately one hour, and then run 
 your cloth forty minutes ; then add six ounces 
 of aquafortis, killed with p-'wter, as described 
 before in receipt No. 18; run your cloth with 
 the dye boiling one hour, and the colour wilt 
 be done. 
 
 63d. FOR SXUFF BROWtf. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take eight pounds 
 of fustick chips, boil well, and add a quarter of 
 a pound of allum ; run your cloth thirty min-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 43- 
 
 utcs, then add four pounds of red- wood chips or 
 two pounds oi' ground camwood ; boil well, and 
 run your cloth till the strength is well out of the 
 dye ; then add one gallon of sig, a quarter of a 
 pound of logwood, and an ounce of verdigrease, 
 prepared as in receipt 4th ; boil well, run your 
 cloth twenty minutes, then add two ounces of 
 copperas, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 64th. FOR StfUFF EROWM*. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take eight and an 
 half pounds of fu stick chips, four pounds cf 
 coarse madder, and three quarters of a pound of 
 logwood ; boil well till the strength is well out 
 of the dye-wood, but not fast ; or the madder 
 may be omitted till the strength is boiled out of 
 the logwood and fustick, and then let it simmer 
 a short time ; then add six ounces of allurn, run 
 your cloth one hour, air, and run j.gain, till 
 the strength is well out of the dye ; then add 
 half a pound of copperas to sadden, or more if 
 it is not dark enough; and handle till your co- 
 lour pleases. 
 
 BROW.V. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one and an 
 half pounds of fustick, and four pounds of good 
 logwood, boil well, and then add one and an 
 half pounds of good madder, and six ounces of 
 allum ; let it simmer half an hour, then run your 
 cloth one hour ; add eight or ten ounces of cop- 
 perns, and one quart of Umt., theft run and ban. 
 tile till your colour pleases*
 
 4*4 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 If you wish to alter the shade of this colour, 
 you may add five or six pounds of logwood, and 
 less fustick, and you may have the colour to 
 suit your fancy. 
 
 S6fA. fOR SLATE BROWN. 
 
 TO twenty ynrds of cloth, take one bushel of 
 butternut bark, boil well and run your cloth one 
 hour; then take out the bark, and add half a 
 pound of copperas ; run twenty minutes, air, 
 and run again, and add more copperas if it is not 
 dark enough ; for it requires to be very dark- 
 When dark enough, shift your copper, scour 
 oli-an, and rince your cloth ; fill with fair wateiy 
 }} ..t hot, then add three ounces of compound or 
 blueing; run your cloth twenty minutes, air* 
 and if your colour is not blue enough, add a lit. 
 tie more blueing ; and if it is not dark enough, 
 and the colour grows lighter, then add four or 
 six ounces of logwood, and one ounce of blue 
 iol; and handle till it suits your fancy. 
 
 KftA. FOR DOVE OR LEAD BROH'tf; 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take half a peck of 
 chesnut or maple bark, and two ounces of log- 
 wood, boil well, then add tn'o ounces of cop- 
 peras, and alittlecompound or blueing, (s:-.yhaif 
 an ounce) and stir your dye well together ; run 
 your cloth twenty minutes; then if you find 
 your colour wants altering, it may be done by 
 varying thus; If it is not dark enough, ad- 1 a 
 little more C'-pp'rrr.s if not bine enough, add a 
 little more blueing if not bright enough, add a
 
 DYER'S COMPANION'. 45 
 
 little more logwood ; run again, and if it requires 
 nothing, your colour will be finished. Silk may- 
 be dyed in this. 
 
 68J.4. FOR FEARL OR SILVER GREY. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take fokr quarts of- 
 wheat bran, put it in a bag, and fill your copper 
 with fair water, and boil the pudding an hour 
 and a half; then take it out, let it drain, and 
 squeeze it as dry as you can ; then add two 
 ounces of all urn, let it boil, and skim off the 
 scum that will rise, then run your cloth one hour; 
 odd four pounds oflogwood chips, put them in, 
 a bag, and boil well till the strength is well out, 
 then take the bag of logwood out of the dye, if 
 you do not, it will spot the cloth ; run your cloth 
 thirty minutes, then add half an ounce of blue 
 vitriol, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 It requires care with this colour, as well as all 
 other light colours, that you dp not let the cloth 
 touch any thing that will spot it, for there is not 
 much, if any, remedy for a light colour when 
 spotted ; and all light colours should be dried 
 with the backside to the sun ; for the sun is apt 
 to injjune the colour. 
 
 69/A. FOR LIGHT BROWJf. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take half a peck of 
 hemlock bark, with the moss taken oit> and two 
 ounces of logwood chips, boil well, run your 
 cloth twenty minutes, then add two ounces of 
 copperas, and handle till your colour pleases-, 
 E 2
 
 46 DYER'S COMPANION, 
 
 70//i. FOR ASH BROWN. 
 
 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take three quarts 
 of white ash bark, three 9unces of logwood chips, 
 boil well, run your cloth twenty minutes : then 
 add three ounces of copperas, and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 FOR^DRAB BROWJ\\ 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take a half peck o 
 jiesnut or maple bark, green or dry, two pounds 
 of fustick chips, and two ounces of logwood 
 chips : boil well, then add one ounce of com- 
 pound of blueing, run your cloth twenty min- 
 utes : then add two ounces of copperas, and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 72d. FOR DRAB. 
 
 TAKE chesnut, black birch, and yellow oak 
 ijark, half a peck of each, boil well, run your 
 cloth, then add three ounces of copperas; and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 73d. FOR DRAB. 
 
 TAKE one quarter of a pound of nutgalls, 
 ' jn;idv- iine, thenone quarter of a pound of fustick, 
 b-'nl ~U, run your cloth ; then add half an ounce 
 of blue vitriol, two ounces of copperas ; run 
 your cl -h fifteen minutes, then add half a gill of 
 oil of vitriol and one ounce of blueing, and stir-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 47 
 
 it well with the dye, run your oioth^ and handle 
 till your colour suits. 
 
 74f/z. FOR DRAB. 
 
 TAKE six ounces of nutgalls, pulverized-, 
 three ounces of the flour of brimstone, four 
 ounces of allum put them in fair water, run 
 your cloth one hour ; then sadden with black 
 flout, and handle till your colour suits. 
 
 TSfA. FOR DRAB. 
 
 TAKE one and an half pounds of fusticfc, one' 
 pound of logwood, one quart of rotten wood of 
 oak, boil well, then add one half pound of mad- 
 der, and four ounces of alluin, boil, run -your 
 cloth twenty minutes ; then add three ounces of 
 copperas and one quart of sig, and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 T&th. FOR DRA8. 
 
 TAKE one and an half pounds of fusticfc 
 thips, six ounces of log wood, boil well; then 
 add one quarter of a pound of allum, run your 
 cloth thirty minutes ; *hen ;,dd three ounces of 
 Copperas, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 77/A. FOR FOREST CLOTH. 
 
 TAKE two pounds of fustick chips, s
 
 48 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 ounces of logwood, boil well, then add seven 
 ounces of chyrnick, run your cloth twenty min- 
 utes ; then add three ounces of good madder, 
 two ounces of red tartar, made fine let it sim- 
 mer fifteen minutes, and run your cloth twenty 
 minutes : then add one gallon of sig, or lant, and 
 three ounces of copperas, and handle till your 
 colour pleases. 
 
 7Bl/t. FOR LIFER DRAB. 
 
 TAKE one pound of fustick chips, three 
 pounds of rotten wood of oak, three ounces of 
 barwood, two ounces of logwood chips, one 
 pound of madder, boil well, runyour cloth twen- 
 ty minutes ; then add six ounces of filings of iron, 
 ?3oil vyell, run your cloth fifteen minutes : then 
 add six ounces of logwood, and five ounces of 
 copperas, and handle till your colour pleases* 
 
 79th. FOR LIGHT LIVER DRAB. 
 
 TAKE two ounces of blue galls, one oune& 
 of logwood, two ounces of allum, one ounce of 
 cream of tartar, and two ounces of madder : run 
 your cloth fifteen minutes, then add one ounce 
 of copperas, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 FOR A MADDER DRAB. 
 
 TAKE three pounds of good madder, one 
 pound of fustick, let it simmer one hour ; then 
 add two ounces of alium, runyour cloth half an,
 
 DYER'S COMPAQ lOiV. 49 
 
 hour ; then add one pound six ounces of filings 
 of iron, boil well, run your cloth ; then add three, 
 ounces of logwood, and handle till your colour 
 pleases. 
 
 81s/. fOR A GREEN DRAB. 
 
 TAKE three quarters of a pound of fustick^ 
 one quarter of a pound of logwood chips, boii 
 well, thvii nddruill a pound of allum, two ounces 
 of blueing : mix it well with the dye, run your 
 cloth, thirty minutes ; then add one ounce of 
 copperas, and handle till your colour 
 your fancy. 
 
 82c/. fOR A REDDISH DRAB. 
 
 TAKE three ounces of allum, half a pound 
 of fu stick, six ounces 1 of logwood chips, two 
 ounces of madder,add two ounces of camwoodi 
 one and an half pints of rotten wood of oak ; boil 
 \vell half an hour, run your cloth one hour, ;iir, 
 sadden with jhree ounces of copperas : and 
 handle, till your colour pleases. 
 
 83tf. FOR REDDISH DR4B. 
 
 TAKE one and an half pounds of fustick, 
 boil well; th< n add one quarter of a pound of 
 allum, run your cloth boiling, one hour, then 
 air and rince and shift the liquor from your cop- 
 per, fill with fair water ; then add three and an 
 hall pounds of good mruldtr, two ounces of cam- 
 wood, let it simmer, fifteen minutes ; then run
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 your cloth twenty minutes, then add two ounces 
 of filings of iron, and handle till your colour 
 pleases- 
 
 8Wt. FOR LIGHT DRAB. 
 
 TAKE five ounces of fu stick chips, two 
 ounces* of good madder,t\vo ounces of allum, boil 
 well, run your cloth twenty minutes ; then had- 
 den with two ounces of copperas, and handle 
 till your colour pleast-s. 
 
 95t!i. fOR YELLOW DRAB. 
 
 TAKE three quarters of a pound of fustic!^ 
 two ounces of madder, two ounces of logwood, 
 boil well; then add one quarter of a pound of 
 allum, run your cloth one hour; then sadden 
 with two ounces of opperas, and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 FOR A DARK YELLOW DRAB; 
 
 TAKE two pound of fustick chips, five 
 ounces of logwood chips, boil well, then add 
 five ounces of madder and one quarter of a 
 pound of allum, run your cloth thirty minutes, 
 then add one quarter of a pound of copperas, and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 87*A. FOR A FOREST BRQJVjY. 
 
 TA KE six pounds of fustick chips, boil well :
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 5i 
 
 then add two ounces ofallum, run your cloth 
 fifteen minutes; then add two and an half pounds 
 of logwood, boil well, run your cloth thirty min- 
 utes, then sadden till your colour suits, with six 
 ounces of copperas. 
 
 FOR A DARK FOREST BROWN. 
 
 TAKE one and an half pounds of logwood, 
 three quarters of a pound of red argnl, and three 
 quarters of a pound of ailum, boil well, run your 
 cloth one hor^, boiling ; then add four pounds 
 of good fustic!: chips, boil well, run your cloth 
 half an hour, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 89/A. FOR PARIS MUD 
 
 TAKE your cloth, and dye it a bright lively 
 blue, but not deep ; then rince your cloth, and 
 iill your copper with fair water ; then add six 
 pounds of stone rag, or the moss of stone, boil 
 well, run your cloth one hour ; then add two 
 ounces of copperas, and one quart of sig, and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 FOR A RAVEN COLOUR. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take two quarts 
 of wheat bran, wet with vinegar; let it stand 
 t\vo days and sour, then fill your copper with 
 fair water, put the bran into a bug, boil well 
 one hour ; then take out the bag- and let it 
 clrain, then add one pound of ma'dcler and one
 
 $2 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 pound of allum ; run your cloth one ar 
 half hours, boiling: then air and fold it up 
 smooth, and wrap it up close, and let it lie twen- 
 ty-four hours ; then rince, and shift the liquor 
 from your copper, fill with fair water, then add 
 ei;;ht pounds of logwood chips, boil well till the 
 strength is well out ; then run your cloth one 
 hour ; then, if you find it necessary, add more 
 logwood if not, then add one quarter of a 
 poimd of copperas, and one gallon of lant, and 
 handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 If your colour is not dark enough, you may 
 use a little ashes, put with sig ; and take the lie 
 and put in the dye, with a little .copperas, and 
 run again. Lie and sig has the same effect, 
 and potash or pearlash. 
 
 9U/. FOR CROW, WITH COPPERAS. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one and an 
 half pounds of copperas, fill your copper with 
 water, heat boiling hot ; then run your cloth 
 twenty minutes, air, and run again as before, 
 then air and rince your cloth, shift the liquor 
 from your copper, and rince, fill with fair water, 
 heat, and add four pounds of logwood chips, 
 boil well, run your cloth half an hour, then air 
 and run again as before ; then, if your colour is 
 not dark enough, add one ounce of blue vitriol, 
 run again, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 2rf. FOR CRO W, \ VITH BL UEING 
 COMPOUND. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth fill your copper
 
 DYER'S COMPANION*. 53 
 
 with fair water, heat boiling hot, then add one- 
 pound of blueing, (made as in receipt No. 6, for 
 Prussian blue) add this at twice or three times, 
 run your cloth twenty minutes at a time, air and 
 stir the blueing well with the dye, before the 
 cloth is dipped in the dye ; then add two pounds 
 of logwood chips, boil well, then add one quar- 
 ter of a pound of verdigrease pulverized and dis- 
 solved in vinegar, as in receipt No. 4 ; then run 
 your cloth half an hour, then add half a pound 
 of copperas, run again, air, and if it is not dark 
 enough, add more copperas, and handle till you* 
 Colour suits your fancy. 
 
 93d. f OR CROW, WITH BLUE VITRIOL, 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth Fill your coppef 
 with water, heat scalding hot, take half a pound 
 of blue vitriol, let it dissolve, run your cloth for- 
 ty minutes, in two parts : then add five pounds 
 of logwood chips, boil well, run your cloth thir- 
 ty minutes, air and run again, and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 94fA. FOR BLACK. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth Fill your copper 
 with water, heat, and add three pounds of cop- 
 peras ; heat near boiling, run your cloth one 
 hour, then air and run again, boiling the time 
 as before : air and rince, and shift the liquor 
 from your copper (rince your copper cleanj and 
 fill with water, and add six pounds of logwood 
 chips, boil well, run your cloth thirty or forty 
 minutes, let it boil again fifteen or twenty min- 
 tUtes, then rtm sgain as before; then add
 
 54 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 one, quarter of a pound of blue vitriol, run your 
 cloth, boiling, three quarters of an hour ; then, 
 if it is not black enough, run again, and handle 
 till your colour pleases. 
 
 This is the best form to dye a black, I think, 
 in the world ; it is equal to any for brightness, 
 and without the least danger of rotting the cloth; 
 and the colour is lasting and permanent as a 
 blue or scarlet. 
 
 It is necessary to cleanse the colour or dye 
 stuff well put of the cloth, immediately. First 
 rince in fair water, then take a tub of warm wa- 
 ter, sufficient to handle, and wet the before-men- 
 tioned quantity of cloth ; then add half a pint 
 of the liquor of beef galls, mix it well with the 
 warm water, then handle your cloth in this till 
 it is well wet, then rince in water till it is clean- 
 This is a sure remedy against crocking. The 
 beef gall may be used in all cloths, in this man- 
 ner, that are liable to crock ; and it will prevent 
 their crocking, without the least danger of injur- 
 ing the colour. 
 
 9StK. FOR BLACK. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take three pounds 
 of logwood chips, one and an half pounds of su- 
 mac, of one season's growth, cut and dried : 
 boil well, run your cloth half an hour, then add 
 one ounce of blue vitriol, one quarter of a pound 
 of nutgalls, pulverized, boil well, run your cloth 
 fifteen minutes : then add one ounce of verdi- 
 grease, pulverized and dissolved in sig or vine- 
 gar, as described in receipt No. 4 : run your 
 cloth fifteen minutes, then add one pound of 
 copperas, handle, and if it is not black, then add 
 more copperas; and handle till your colour 
 pleases,
 
 COMPANION. 
 96/A. FOR BLACK. 
 
 \TO twenty yards of cloth, take six pounds of 
 logwood chips, one pound of dry alder bark 
 one and an half pounds of sumac, of one, sea- 
 son's growth, well cured and dried, one quarter 
 of apoundof fustick,boil well one hour, then rim 
 your cloth one hour, air and run again as before ; 
 then air, add one gallon of sig, and one and an half 
 pounds of copperas, run your cloth twenty min- 
 utes ; then if it is not black, add more copperas, 
 and if it is attended with a rusty brown, add two 
 pounds of common good brown ashes, run your 
 cloth, and handle till the strength is well out of 
 the dye. 
 
 Then, if it is not black, shift your liquor from 
 your copper, scour clean, rince your cloth, fill 
 your copper with fair water, then add one pound 
 of logwood chips, one quarter of a pound of al- 
 der bark and half a pound of argal ; then boil 
 well, run your cloth one hour, then sadden with 
 copperas, what is necessary, and handle. But 
 if it continues of a rusty cast, which logwood 
 causes, add one gallon of sig, or more ashes, 
 that which is most convenient, and handle till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 N. B. Silk may be dyed in this dye. It is 
 necessary to take the same method in cleansing 
 as in receipt No. 94, and all other dark colours 
 that are liable to crock, &c. 
 
 Vtih. FOR BLACK. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take three quarters 
 of a pound of blue vitriol, add to fair water, boil 
 \vell, run your cloth three quarters of an hour ; 
 tfcen add six pounds of logwood chips, and
 
 pound of fustick chips, boil one hour, run y15uV 
 cloth one hour, then add two ounces of verdi- 
 grease, pulverized and dissolved in vinegar, as 
 before described, and one gallon of sig, run youi> 
 cioth twenty minutes ; then add one pound of 
 copperas, and handle with the dye boiling, till 
 your colour pleases. 
 
 98/A. POR BLACK. 
 
 TO twenty yards of cloth, take one bushel of 
 butternut or chesnut bark, or both mixed to- 
 gether : boil till the strength is well out, then 
 run your cloth one hour, then sadden \yith cop- 
 peras till it is quite dark ; then air and rince, and 
 shift your copper, fill with fair water ; then add 
 four pounds of logwood chips, half a pound of 
 fustick chips, boil well till the strength is well 
 put, then run your cloth one hour ; air, and if it 
 is not black, or near a black, run again ; then 
 add one pound of copperas, and one gallon of 
 sig ; boil well, run your cloth boiling, and han- 
 dle till your colour suits your fancy. 
 
 The preceding Receipts are calculated for 
 twenty yards of fulled cloth ; but thin cloth may 
 be dyed as well as thick, and all kinds of woollen 
 goods, as yarn, woo), &c. Silks may be dyed 
 in most of the dyes before mentioned ; but the 
 dye requires to be stronger for silk than for 
 woollen. Those^dyes that will not answer for 
 silk, I shall mention hereafter.
 
 RECEIPTS 
 
 FOR COTTON ANJD LINEN, 
 
 COLD AND HOT. 
 
 99/A. SLUE FC& CoffoN, LINE*, YASX, ts'c. 
 
 TO a tub that will hold thirty- six pails of 
 water, take twelve pounds of stone-lime, 
 slack it, put it in, stir it ten or twelve minutes ; 
 then add six pounds of copperas, dissolved with 
 hot water, stir it as before ; then add six pounds 
 of indigo, ground fine, stir it incessantly two 
 hours ; for three-delays, stir it three or four times 
 in a day, then let it stand fifteen or twenty hours 
 before the yarn is put in, lay sticks across the 
 tub, to hang the yarn on, that it may not reach 
 the bottom'; move the yarn round every fit teen 
 minutes. Six hours is sufficient for the first co- 
 louring of the dye ; as the dye grows weaker, 
 longer time is required : rince and dry it in the 
 shade. 
 
 When the dye is reduced, then recruit in man- 
 ner and form as in setting, only when there is a 
 great quantity of sediment at the bottom, then 
 the dye must be dipped off, leaving the sedi- 
 ment in the bottom ; then throw away the sedi- 
 ment, shift the dye back, and if the tub is not 
 full enough, then add more water, (rain water is 
 required in this dye in setting and recruiting). 
 The dye must not be worked at too soon after 
 recruiting, or sitting, and it must not be crowd- 
 ed too full in colouring, but judgment mu< K ** 
 used by the dyer. &c. 
 
 F -2
 
 jS BVER'S 
 
 100/7*. BLUE FOR COTTON AND LI1\ 
 COLD. 
 
 TO set a tub of twelve gallons, take ten gal- 
 lons of good sig, to which add three gills of spi- 
 rits, one pound of good indigo, three ounces oi 
 pearlash, a quarter of a pound of good mad- 
 der, and a pint of wheat bran ; put the indigo in 
 a bag, and rub it in the dye till the indigo is dis- 
 solved, and stir the dye well together with the 
 ingredients ; let it stand twelve hours covered 
 close and kept warm, and manage it in the man- 
 ner and form as in receipt No. 2, till the dye 
 eomes to work. After the dye has come to 
 work, wet the yarn in hot water, withal, 
 pearlash in it ; let it cool, then put it in the 
 loose ; let it lie in the dye twelve hours? then 
 wring it out and let it air ; and if it is not dark 
 enough, then put it in again- There ought to 
 be something at the bottom to keep the yarn off 
 of the sediment. 
 
 f There may be a saving in colouring cotton or 
 linen, by first colouring brown or purple, as^I 
 shall hereafter mention. Silk may be dye<l in, 
 tjjis dye, but not in the blue vat 
 
 lOlat. BLUEFOR COTTOJfJND LINEN 
 HOT. 
 
 HEAT water sufficient for your yarn, say for 
 live pounds of cotton cr linen yarn, take five 
 ounces of blue vitriol, run your yarn or let it lie 
 in the dye one hour, then add three pounds of 
 good logwood chips, boil well, and put in the 
 yarn ; let it lie one hour, then air and add two 
 ounces of pearlash, let it lie thirty minutes; 
 then, if it is not dark enough, add a Uttie
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 5$ 
 
 vitriol ; put it in again, and you will have a good 
 looking blue, but it will not be so lasting a co- 
 lour as the two forms before mentioned. 
 
 To take the Colour out of Silk, Cotton^ or Linen f 
 when sfioltccl or another colour in iviihed.Hot. 
 
 TO one barrel of hot water, take half a gill of 
 oil of vitriol, put in the goods ; run them fifteen 
 minutes, air and nnce them in fair water imme- 
 diately, lest it should endanger the goods. 
 
 1 have reduced black without injuring it, an^l 
 raade a yellow of it in this form, 
 
 103d. FOR GREEK O.Y SILK HOT, 
 
 TAKE two pounds of filstick, boil well, till 
 the strength is well out, then take out the chips, 
 and add a quarter of a pound of allum, and six 1 , 
 ounces of blueing, prepared as in receipt No. 6 ; 
 stir it with the dye till it is well mixed, then 
 handle your silk fifteen or twenty minutes : stir 
 : lively, ?nd keep it open and -loose in the dye ; 
 (silk.should never be wenchtd as woollen goods) 
 air, and if not detp enough, add a little more blue- 
 ing ; and if not yellow enough, then a little ailum, 
 run again fifteen minutes ; then ;>lr, and if the 
 colour suits, rince immediately. The dye ought 
 to be so fixed as to colour quick, and there must 
 not be a great quantity coloured at once in a 
 dye : for the dye will get tco strong with the 
 vitriol, which will endanger the silk ; bat with 
 proper care it may be coloured without any 
 danger.
 
 60 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 I04M. G RE E. V OM COTTON OR LWEM.HOT. 
 
 TO set a dye, take two pounds of logwood, 
 And one pound of fustick chips, boil well, then 
 add a quarter of a pound of allum, and run 
 your goods one hour ; then add a quarter of a 
 pound of blue vitriol, run your goods thirty 
 minutes, then add two ounces of pearlash ; run 
 again, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 YELLOW OJY COTTON 
 HOT. 
 
 TAKE two pounds of the leaves or peelings 
 of onions that are clean and clear from dirt ; put 
 them in fair water, boil well, then add half a 
 pound of allum, run your goods one hour, and 
 you will have a good colour. 
 
 COLOUR OJV COTTOtf 
 7./AJK.V; 
 
 TAKE two pounds of eopperas, dissolve it 
 in hot water, and have the liquor very strong ; 
 let it stand till nearly cold, run your goods one 
 hour, then dip it in good lye, handle till perfect- 
 ly wet ; then let it drain, and hang it in the sun 
 fifteen minutes, and the sun will turn the colour ; 
 continue to manage in this manner, dipping it 
 in the dye and hanging it in the sun, till dark 
 enough. 
 
 107th. FLESH-COLOUR ON COTTON AND L1A: 
 EK.HOT. 
 
 TAKE one and an half bushels of black-bird?
 
 DYER''S COMPANION. -"61 
 
 bark, and half a bushel of hemlock bark boil 
 well ; then add a quarter of a pound of allun>, 
 and two ounces of pearlash ; run your cloth ofe 
 goods till your colour pleases. 
 
 108th. R&D OsVCOTTO.VOR 
 
 TAKE six pounds of Nicaragua chips, boi| 
 them till the strength is well out ; then add half 
 a pound of allum, and let it stand till cold ; run 
 your cloth or yarn in hot water, with a Iittl6 
 pearlash in it ; then air, and put it in the 
 frequently handling over till the colour suits. 
 
 LINEtf REDISII BROH\\\ 
 HOT. 
 
 TAKE butternut, sassafras, black alder, and 
 hemlock bark, a bushel of each ; boil well, run 
 yourgoods one hour, then add two pailfulls of lie, 
 or a quarter of a pound of pearlash; run you* 
 cloth or goods, and handle till your colour" 
 pleases. 
 
 \\Qth. FOR PLUMP-COLOUR OR PURPLE, ON 
 SILKS. HOT. 
 
 TAKE six pounds of logwood chips, and 
 three pounds of redwood chips, boil wdi till the 
 strength is well out of the chips ; then add or.e 
 pound of allum, and run your good* one hour ; 
 then add one ounce of verdigrease, made fine 
 dissolved in sis, described before, and
 
 62 DYER'S '-"V 
 
 one gallon of sig ; run >our goods thirty or For- 
 ty minutes, and if your colour is not dark enough, 
 then add a little blue vitriol, and handle till you?"- 
 colour pleases- 
 
 Ill/A. PLRPLJS OM COTTOM OR 
 COLD. 
 
 TAKE three pounds of logwood chips, boil 
 well, tili the strength is well out and the dye very 
 strong, (for all cotton dyes require to be strong;) 
 then add half a pound of ailum, and one ounce 
 of pearlash ; let it stand and get cold, dip your 
 goods into hot water, air, and put them into the 
 dye loose, handle oyer once in fifteen or twenty 
 minutes ; let them lie in the dye in this manner 
 till the colour suits. It must be observed in 
 dying cottons and linens in cold dyes, that the 
 air and sun are very necessary to brighten and 
 strike the colour in. Let the goods lie in the 
 air and sun, three or four times in the course of 
 your colouring, fifteen or twenty minutes at a 
 time. The preparation is suitable for blue, as 
 mentioned in receipt 99th. 
 
 1 1 2/7;. BRO JVN O JV 
 
 LLVEX COLD. 
 
 TAKE of maple or white oak bark, one 
 bushel, boil well till the strength is well out, 
 then take the bark out, and have dye sufficient 
 to wet the goods ; then add one pound of cop- 
 peras, let it stand till nearly cold ; run your 
 goods in hot water with a little pearlash first : 
 tjien put it in the dye. and handle over once in
 
 -DYER'S COMPANION. 63 
 
 ten or fifteen minutes, and air, as described be- 
 fore in receipt 1 10th ; and handle in this nianner 
 tillthe colour suits ; then rince clean. This is the 
 brown mentioned in receipt 99th, for a saving 
 in blue ; but I prefer the purple ; but when co- 
 loured blue, after it is dry, it is necessary to 
 scald it in salt and water, to bind the colour- 
 
 UMi. DOVE ONLEJD-COLOUR,ON COTTON 
 OR LINENCOLD. 
 
 TAKE one pound of nutgalls pulverized, 
 boil in water one hour, then add two pounds of 
 copperas ; let it stand till cold, and have liquor 
 enough to wet the goods ; (it rr quires to be 
 very strong) put your goods in the liquor, and 
 handle once in five or six minutes, wring and 
 air once in half an hour ; dip in this manner 
 three hours, then rince. This liquor ought to 
 be put in a tub, and another liqoor prepared 
 in another tub, in this manner, viz. take six 
 pounds of sumac, of one year's growth, cut 
 and well dried with the leaves all on, in the 
 summer season, and three pounds of logwood 
 chips, boil well till the strength is well cut, then 
 shift it in the tub^and let it stand till cold ; then 
 run your goods in the same manner as before 
 described, handle in this two hours ; if the co- 
 lour is not then dark enough, run again in the 
 copperas and galls liquor, then rince and run 
 in the logwood again, and handle in this manner 
 till your colour suits. 
 
 N. B. Cotton and linen, when dyed in cold 
 dyes, must always be wet and run in hot water 
 half an hour, and then aired ; and a little pearl- 
 ash is good in the water, to cleanse the goptfs 
 for colouring, &c.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION 
 
 Cold dyes will remain good always if property 
 Recruited. 
 
 \Utft. QLirE ON CO TTOX A.\D L L\L 
 COLD. 
 
 TAKE one pound of nutgalls pulverized, pu 
 them in water, boil one hour, then put it in a 
 tub, then add two pounds of copperas, have the 
 'liquor strong, and enough of it to wet and covet 
 the goods; then dip in the hot water; then 
 stir the galls and copperas together, then put in 
 your goods and handle over once in five min- 
 utes, that no part shall be confined, wring and 
 air every half hour ; handle in this liquor two 
 hours, then rince, then add three pounds of fus- 
 tick and one pound of logwood chips, boil well 
 till the strength is well out; then add five ounces 
 of good madder, and two ounces of allum ; let 
 it simmer a few minutes, then shift the liquor into 
 a tub, and let it stand till cold ; then handl 
 your goods in the first liquor two or three houis 
 till the colour is well raised ; and if it is not dark 
 enough, then take two pounds of fustick, and 
 one pound of log wood, boil well ; let it cool, and 
 sadden with copperas as much as is neeessary ? 
 and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 115th. OLIVE OW SILK, COTTON, OR 
 LLVEjV.HQT. 
 
 TAKE five pounds of fustick, and twt> 
 pounds of logwood chips, boil well ; then add a 
 quarter of a pound of blue vitriol, and a quarter 
 of a pound of allum, run your goods one hour ; 
 then add one pound of copperas, and handte rill
 
 COMPANION. 
 
 $our colour pleases- If the colour is not dark 
 enough, you may add more copperas, &c. 
 
 .' 1 6th. LIGHT OL IV E ON CO TTON AND 
 LINEN. HOT. 
 
 TAKE four pounds of fustick chips, and 
 half a pound of logwood chips, boil well, then 
 add two ounces of allum, and one ounce of 
 blue vitriol ; then run your goods till the strength 
 is well out of the dye ; then sadden with cop- 
 peras to your liking, and handle till your colour 
 pleases. 
 
 SLATE COLOUR ON COTTON AJ^D 
 LINEN. HOT. 
 
 TAKE hot water, and dissolve one pound of 
 copperas ; run your goods forty minutes, then 
 air and rince, and shift your liquor from your 
 copper ; fill with fair water ; then add three 
 pounds of logwood, boil well, run your goods 
 one hour, then add a quarter of a pound of blue 
 vitriol, and handle till your colour pleases. 
 
 118/7;. BLJCK ON COTTON" AND LINEN. 
 HOT. 
 
 TAKE four pounds of good logwood, and 
 two pounds of fustick chips, boil well ; then 
 add a quarter of a pound of blue vitriol, run 
 your cloth one hour, or till die strength is well 
 out of the dye, then sadden with two pounds of 
 copperas, and one gallon of good old sig ; nut 
 G
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 your cloth, and if it is not black, you must air 
 and rince, and shift your liquor from your cop- 
 per, and set another dye in manner and form as 
 the first, and handle again, and depend on having 
 an excellent black at last. But if it is attended 
 \vith a rusty brownness, you may put in one 
 quart of brown ashes, or two ounces of pearl- 
 ash, and handle lively, which is necessary in all 
 hot silk, cotton, and iinen dyes. 
 
 TAKE one pound of nutgalls pulverized, 
 boil in one pail full of water one hour, then add 
 two pounds of copperas, -shift it into a tub, and 
 add water sufficient to cover, and handle your 
 goods very strong ; then take fair water and fill 
 your copper, add four pounds of logwood chips, 
 two pounds of sumac well dried, of one season's 
 growth, and one pound of dry alder bark, boil 
 well till the strength is well out, then dip off the 
 dye into a tub, the chips remaining in the kettle ; 
 let it stand till cold. 
 
 ^ The dye must be managed in this manner ; - 
 iirst run your goods in hot water, with a little 
 pearlash in it ; ran in- this half an hour, then air 
 and lay your goods into the copperas and galls li- 
 quor; handle over every eight or ten min- 
 utes, and air every half hour ; handle in this two 
 hours, then rince clean and lay it in the dogwood 
 liquor ; handle as in the other three hours, then 
 if it is not black, put water in the copper upon 
 the chips ; before running in the copper, let it 
 steep and cool again, and add one pound of 
 copperas ; run in this one hour ; but if it has a 
 rusty bro\vn appearance, which is occasioned 
 tjy the logwood, then add two ounces of pearl*
 
 DYER'S SOMPANION. 67 
 
 ash r or brown ashes will answer if you have 
 no pearlash ; run in this half an hour, then air 
 and rince clean, and if it is notblack,then recruit 
 the liquors and make them stronger, and man- 
 age as before in the first preparation ; and never 
 fear but you will have a fine black. 
 
 After you have rinced clean, to keep it from 
 crocking, use beef galls, as mentioned in receipt 
 No. 94. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 COTTON and linen dye is the best cold iji 
 general ; for it is almost impossible with me to 
 colour cotton and linen in hot dyes without spot- 
 ting ; for the cotton, &c. are of a cold deadly 
 nature, and the steam of the dye has a bad effect on 
 goods of this kind. All kinds of cotton and lin- 
 en cloths, yarn and thread, may be coloured 
 by following the preceding receipts for dying 
 cotton and linen. 
 
 In the receipts for dj'ing silk, cotton and linen, 
 I have not specified any particular quantity of 
 yards or weight. There is so much difference in 
 the weight of goods of this kind, that no rule 
 could be given in yards ; and no certainty can 
 be aSLxed to a general rule of weight, be- 
 cause of the difference of the quality of the 
 goods. Silks differ, so do cottons and linens ; no 
 regular system can therefore be adopted. The 
 dyer is to proportion his dyes according to the 
 receipts, following his judgment as the goods 
 vary ; and if he closely pursues the directions 
 for proportion and management, he will not find 
 a single receipt that will not answer the purpose 
 designed. I shall hereafter speak particularly 
 of the powers on which the dyes depend.
 
 68 J>YER*S COMPANION, 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR DRESSING CLOTJf. 
 
 IN dressing cloth, there are various forms in. 
 use with almost every workman in the busi- 
 ness ; but I shall only point out the way which 
 I conceive to be the best. There are also differ- 
 ent kinds of tools and utensils made use of, 
 which I shall leave to the discretion of the prac> 
 titioner. 
 
 fOR FULLING CLOTH. 
 
 CLOTH to be fulled, should be wet with 
 soap sufficient to cleanse it of the dirt and grease 
 then scoured clean and dried ; then burl or pick 
 out all the knots and specks that will injure 
 the cloth in dressing ; then wet with soap so 
 that the cloth will work and turn lively in the 
 mill. Let proper attention be paid to handle the 
 cloths from the mill, so as to keep them 
 smooth ; and be cautious not to let them grow 
 together, for it is very hurtful to the cloth, and 
 detrimental in dressing. The fulling-mill must be 
 tended with care. When the cloths are fulled 
 sufficiently, then scour clean from the soap : 
 And if there is any of the first quality to be 
 dressed, then card lightly over, so as to lay and 
 straighten the nap ; then shear this nap off; then 
 take clothier's jacks, and raise a nap sufficient to 
 cover the thread ; then shear this off and raise 
 another nap with teazles. I prefer teazles to 
 any thing else to raise a nap on cloth ; they are 
 much milder and softer to cloth than jacks ; 
 but where they cannot be had, jacks may be 
 substituted in their place. After raising the 
 third nap, then colour the cloth ; cleanse it well 
 from the dye, and lay the nap straight and smooth 
 out of warm water with jacks that are limber;
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 69 
 
 then dry, keeping the nap smooth : when dry, 
 first shear on the back -side, then shear smooth 
 and even on the face side, and as close as you 
 can. When sheared, burl clean, and lay the nap 
 with a sand- board or brick, or brush, but not 
 with a jack ; some erroneously use a jack ; a 
 jack is good and necessary to raise a nap* but 
 not to lay it. Lay the nap smooth with the 
 sand-board, and then the cloth is fit for the press. 
 Have smooth papers, put it in the press, let the 
 heat of the plate be just hissing hot; screw it 
 moderately in the press* for the beauty of most 
 thick cloths is destroyed by pressing too hard. 
 The beauty of thick cloth depends on dressing 
 and not on pressing ; the coarser the cloth is, the 
 harder it requires to be screwed ; all thick cloths 
 are not dressed alike, but according to quality, 
 some requiring once shearing, some twice, and 
 so on, to the number of times mentioned before ; 
 six times is sufficient for the first quality, man- 
 aged as before mentioned. Some fulled cloths 
 do not require shearing, which are dressed with 
 a thick nap, sufficient to cover the thread ; this 
 may be raised with common wool and cotton 
 cards ; this kind of cloth is called bear-skin or 
 coating. Bear- skin should be pressed in the cold 
 press, never in the hot-press. Baize or flannels 
 should be fulled lightly, the grease and dirt 
 scoured out clean ; then, if it is to be coloured, 
 dye and raise a nap with a mild easy card or 
 jack and a stuffed board, and dry smooth, and 
 press in a cold press ; but if it is to remain white, 
 raise a nap as before, and dry smooth ; then have 
 a stove, or some proper tight place, with con- 
 veniences to hang the cloth up loose ; then, to 
 100 yards of flannel, burn one pound of sulphur 
 or brimstone under the cloths, and it will cleanse 
 them from all ^pecks of dirt, and leave them as 
 wnitc as need be; but when you find it necessa- 
 G2
 
 70 DYER'S COMPAK-IOH. 
 
 ty,you may have your copper cleaned with fair 
 hot watT,with a little compound of blueing in 
 it ; run your cloth in this a few minutes, and 
 dry smooth ; put in clean papers, press in the 
 cold press,. &c. Some, when they stove their 
 cloth with sulphur, wet it in clean soap suds, 
 and hang the cloth or goods up wet ; but I pre- 
 fer the water with a little blueing, to whiten the 
 cloth before stoving, for it will wear handsomer, 
 and will not grow yeHow so soon. 
 
 FOR THIN CLOTHS. 
 
 THIN cloths should be well coloured, cleans-- 
 d well from the dye, dried smooth, and press- 
 ed double ; thin cloths require to be much mois- 
 ter than thick cloths ; the press papers should be 
 hard, thin and smooth ; and the press hotter 
 than for thick cloths. It must be screwed very 
 hard, for the beauty of thin cloth is in the gloss 
 given by pressing. The heat of the press should 
 be kept regular, and the cloth will be smooth^ 
 &c. 
 
 SILK must never be pressed, but cleaned 
 well from the dye-stuff, then dried ; then dis- 
 solve gum Arabic in water, wet the silk 
 thoroughly in this, wring and squeeze as dry as 
 you can, so as it shall not drip : then strain it 
 out smooth every way, and dry. This will finish 
 die silk dressing. 
 
 Cottons. Some do not require to be pressed, 
 as velvets, corduroys, and similar sloths .; tjiey
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. TL 
 
 require only to have the nap laid when wet ; fus- 
 tian must have a nap raised dry with teazles, 
 and then pressed. Almost all kinds of cotton 
 and linen cloths, except those before mentioned, 
 such as nankeens, jeans, muslins, &c. require to 
 be pressed quite hard ; not as hard as thin wool, 
 en cloths, but harder than thick. If any of the 
 goods requires to be glazed, it must be managed 
 in a different form, instead of pressing it must 
 be calindered ; i. e, run through a machine with 
 two steel rollers, one hot and the other cold, and 
 the goods rolled between them, &c. 
 
 N. B. Siik, cotton and linen, cloth must never 
 be put in the fulling-mill to scour at any time, 
 for it will ruin them. 
 
 Observations on the difference o f Colours^ and their 
 defending flowers, -with directions as to the use of 
 Dye-stuff's^ and their properties and effects. 
 
 THE five Material Colours are these, Blue, 
 Yellow, Red, Brown and Black ; the three 
 powers are these, the Alkali, the Acid, and Cor- 
 rosive ; these are the depending powers of all 
 colours which I shall endeavour to shew in each 
 colour in course. 
 
 FIRST, The blue. The blue with indigo de- 
 pends on the power of the alkali, sig or urine ; 
 pearlash and potash and the lie of lime are 
 all alkalies : so it evidently appears that indigo, 
 although the best dye drug in the world, (except 
 cochineal) is of no effect without the power of 
 the alkali. There are other materials used with 
 the indigo, but are of no other use than to sup- 
 port and assist the indigo : Woad will dye a 
 blue, properly prepared, without the indigo, and 
 indigo without the woad; so woad serves only as 
 an assistant to the indigo. Woad is a very use-'
 
 72 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 ful dye drug in carrying on large manufacto- 
 ries ; but it will not answer any useful purpose 
 in our small business. Madder is a strong drug, 
 serving to brighten and darken the blue, which 
 greatly assists the indigo. Wheat bran serves 
 only to soften the water, and urine or sig pre- 
 pares the dye to come to work sooner than it 
 otherwise would. Borax is an alkali which 
 softens all parts, and causes it to rest easy, and 
 come to work well and soon. Blue with indigo 
 is coloured with drugs altogether. 
 
 Prussian Blue is of a different nature ; it is 
 dependant on the power of the acid, which I 
 shall describe hereafter. Blue with logwood is 
 of a different nature from any other real colour. 
 I think this is possessed of all the powers and 
 mixed powers ; with regard to logwood I have 
 imbibed an idea that it was leading and allied 
 to a blue, I have tried one power and another, 
 until I have been brought to this conclusion. 
 Madder to strengthen the logwood ; allum is an 
 acid that raises the lustre of the blue, but not 
 sufficient of itself, it being a weak acid ; verdi- 
 grease is evidently possessed of two powers, I 
 think ; it agrees with the acid and corrosive, but 
 is most powerful as a corrosive- Sig is a weak al- 
 kali, which shows that the powers are mixed ; it 
 rouses and gives lustre to the logwood, and 
 makes a fine blue. Thus we find the three pow- 
 ers may be mixed together in a real colour, al- 
 though much averse to each other. Blue vitriol 
 is possessed of two powers, acid and corrosive, 
 and powerful in both ; it has a speedy effect on 
 logwood ; and is very good in the latter part of 
 dye, to raise, bind, and darken the colour. 
 
 In the 5th receipt I have placed the two powers 
 as a preparation for the blue, which are in them- 
 selves in direot opposition to each other. The 
 acid being most powerful, it will generally de- 
 stroy the corrosive. Copperas is a corrosive ;
 
 COMPANION. 73 
 
 allura and tartar are acids, which soften and 
 take off the ill effects of the copperas ; thus mix- 
 ed together, they have a good effect ; but place 
 them in two different bodies and apply your 
 goodsi and one will destroy the other. The 
 copperas agrees well with logwood, for almost 
 any colour : however, for a blue, it is necessary 
 to rince the copperas well our of your goods, 
 otherwise the colour will be dull. Copperas be- 
 ing placed with the logwood, kills the nature of 
 it, and destroys the lustre of the blue if used aftep 
 the logwood- The verdigrease, sig arid pearl- 
 ash make the three powers compleat in this dye, 
 only in different form and manner ; which evi- 
 dently shews that blue with logwood cannot be 
 made without these powers ; but when the 
 three powers are necessarily fixed or placed in 
 union, they must be in a feeble form ; and still, 
 if they are not propc> y applied, although weak 
 and feeble, perhaps they will breed a war that 
 will cost something before a peace can be made ; 
 so be cautious in dealing with too many pow- 
 ers at once, till you become well acquainted 
 with their relative and combined strength- 
 
 PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 PRUSSIAN Blue depends principally on 
 the indigo raised by the power of the acid, and 
 softened by the power of alkali. Oil of vitriol is 
 a strong acid, salt and Hme are alkalies ; salt may 
 be used, and answer the purpose of lime, so it 
 evidenth appears that salt is a simple alkali : 
 these three ingredients mixed together, make a 
 con. pound of blueing for Prussian blue and green. 
 Green is no colour of itself, but is connected 
 with two, blue and yellow, which are bojh ds-
 
 .74 DYER'S COMPANION- 
 
 pendant on the acid. Fustick is an excellent 
 dye-wood, but is useless without the acid to 
 raise and brighten the colour. Allum is com- 
 monly used, but tartar and aquafortis serve to 
 raise the colour of the yellow ; so green may be 
 made very easy, the two colours being in per- 
 feet union with regard to powers. So lead them 
 together with care till they arrive at their proper 
 state, which is a good green. 
 
 In the 10th receipt I have admitted a little log- 
 wood and copperas, which serves to darken the 
 green, and rather dull, Sec. 
 
 In the 1 1th receipt, I have admitted pearlash, 
 allum and aquafortis with the fustick. Allum and 
 aquafortis are acids; pearlash is an alkali ; the 
 acid raises the yellow, the alkali softens and takes 
 off the harsh parts of the acid, fits and springs 
 the wool, to prepare it to receive the blue ; the 
 acids are binding, and the alkali the reverse. 
 
 In the 12th receipt, I have admitted wheat 
 bran wet with v inegar. Vinegar is the principal, 
 it being an acid, leading to corrosive, or is in 
 greater union than any other acid with the cor- 
 rosive ; but when mixed with wheat bran, it is a 
 mild acid and has quite a different effect from 
 what it would in the natural state ; and cannot 
 be used any other way in these kind of dyes. 
 When mixed with the bran, or otherwise, it is of 
 a cleansing searching nature. I have admitted 
 red tartar, which is cleansing and prepares the 
 eloth or goods to receive a colour. Copperas 
 serves only to darken, as I have said before. 
 
 In the 13th receipt I have admitted blue vitriol, 
 \vhich serves to darken and raise the lustre of 
 the yellow. 
 
 BOTTLE GRJEEM 
 
 BOTTLE Green is connected with three dife
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 75 
 
 ferent colours ; two as green, one as brown ; 
 the green is possessed of the quality described 
 before, depending on the acid ; the brown is 
 assisted by the logwood, and lowered down by 
 the power of the corrosive. The copperas would 
 destroy the power of the acid in this dye, were 
 it not for the verdigrease being possessed of two 
 powers, which renders both mild and friendly. 
 
 In the 14th receipt, it is evident that blue vi- 
 triol is of two powers ; as an acid it raises the 
 yellow of the fustick, as a corrosive it darkens 
 very rapidly with logwood, so the goods are pre- 
 pared with these two powers to combine the 
 three in one colour. 
 
 The 15th receipt is an olive green ; this is a 
 simpleness of green, and depends on the power 
 of the acid, as green ; but as brown on the 
 corrosive ; the acid going under cover of the 
 bark, gives admittance to the corrosive ; and 
 thus the lustre of the colour is preserved from 
 danger. 
 
 YELLOW. 
 
 YELLOW is one of the material colours, 
 and is dependent, always, on the power of the 
 acid, and no other ; but has different subjects. 
 Fustick is the principal subject among our dy- 
 ers, and allum the principal acid. Aquafortis 
 is very good to cleanse and prepare the colour ; 
 and it substantiates the yellow, and makes it 
 much brighter. So the allum and aquafortis 
 agree in all light colours ; but aquafortis will not 
 answer with a corrosive ; for it is so strong an 
 acid that it will not admit any thing of a darken- 
 ing nature, as you see in taking the colour out of 
 cloth, &c. The composition is made up of 
 acids, and that will destroy the power of the
 
 Jfa DYER'S COMPANION, 
 
 corrosive and alkali, and all the subjects that 
 unite with those powers; so it is evident that the 
 acid is most powerful for it will destroy what 
 the others create ; yet the acid may be overcome, 
 in some of the most feeble parts, when not guard 
 ed with care by alkali and corrosive. 
 
 SCARLET RED. 
 
 SCARLET is one of the most noble colour-* 
 tgver made by man : cochineal is its grand and 
 principal subject, which is the finest and best 
 dye drug in the world. Scarlet has the most 
 brilliant rays of all colours, which resemble the 
 sun in the firmament and the bow in the clouds. 
 Yet cochineal is the most simple of all dye drugs, 
 were it not for the power of the acid and a pro- 
 per connection with other subjects. The fustick 
 and turmeric place a foundation to give lustre to 
 the scarlet; aquafortis and argal cleanse, and 
 raise the lustre, and make way for the cochineal 
 to take place ; yet the goods are too hard they 
 want softening and taking off the harsh part of 
 the acid, which is done by wheat bran, wet with 
 vinegar. The bran is softening, and the vinegar 
 is an acid which is searching and cleansing.' 
 Now the cloth is prepared to give place to the 
 cochineal. Arsenick andarmorick, are only as- 
 sisting subjects ; the aquafortis to keep up the 
 life and spirits of the subjects. Thus cochineal 
 is supported by one of the most noble and great- 
 est powers, and is guarded by worthy subjects ; 
 and a scarlet is an ornament to kings. 
 
 The next is possessed of the same power, only 
 the subjects are a little differently arranged.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 7^ 
 
 CRIMSON. 
 
 CRIMSON has the brilliance and lustre of 
 the rain-bow 1 , yet is possessed of two colours;, 
 but most united with the red, with a little tinc- 
 ture of blue. So it is evident crimson is of no 
 colour in itself, but is a mixture with red and 
 blue. As red, it depends on the acid ; and as 
 blue, on the alkali. Cream of tartar, allum, and 
 crude tartar, are all acids. Salammoniack is an 
 alkali, and a very mild one. Thus we find 
 these two powers united by the help of one sub- 
 ject. 
 
 The other, or the next following, has a nura* 
 ber of subjects, but dependent on the same pow- 
 ers. Red, with nicaragua, is dependent on, 
 the acid, and all other reds. Dye woods are not 
 so permanent as drugs, nor so brilliant in rays ; 
 but ansvver a good purpose for common use, 
 and make very good colours. All crimsons 
 are dependent on the powers of the acid and 
 alkali. 
 
 MADDER 
 
 MADDER is a fine drug, and may be culti* 
 vated among us, rery easy. It is a tender root < 
 and when manufactured fit for use, there are 
 three different sorts proceeding from one root. 
 The dyer ought to be well acquainted with the 
 qualities of this drug. It will not admit of boil- 
 ing ; it kills and destroys the nature of it, (as it 
 does all other dye-stuffs taken out of the ground. \ 
 Madder requires the softest water in the world. 
 In order to soften the water, I use the wheat 
 bran. But madder depends partly on two powv 
 ffjrs - when sig is used, whicb serves- to 
 Ot
 
 rT8 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 and bind the red ; but brazilietto has the same 
 effect, only the colour will be brighter and this 
 serves as an assistant, and the sig as an alkali, 
 and the allum and argal as acid. Thus the 
 madder red is dependent on the acid- 
 
 The Meroon Red has the same principal sub- 
 jects, and is dependent on the same powers; 
 and differs in nothing only it is a brighter red, 
 and a little different in the management. 
 
 POLISHED RED. 
 
 This colour is the most independent of any 
 colour ; not depending on any power or powers. 
 Nutgalls is a subject with madder, but a little 
 pearlash may be added in case it wants help ; so 
 it appears that the alkali stands as a power, in 
 this ; so all reds are dependent on the acids. 
 The crimsons and clarets are nothing of them- 
 selves, and are suWect to two powers the acid 
 and the alkali. The subjects being differently 
 arranged, causes the different complexions. 
 
 The power of the corrosive to destroy the 
 power of acid. Copperas, the strongest of all 
 corrosives, properly prepared, will, without assis- 
 tance, destroy the acid. Take cloth from aci- 
 dous liquor and put it in copperas water, and it 
 will wholly destroy the acidous power ; and 
 acid will destroy the corrosive, in the same 
 manner. So it requires a mediator, when these 
 two powers come together, to unite them, and 
 prevent their destroying each other ; but in the 
 mixture of colours they will require a frequent 
 and friendly correspondence. 
 
 ORANGE COLOUR- 
 
 ORANGE colour is fine and brilliant, and
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 79 
 
 has the shades of two colours yellow, in full ; 
 and red, in part. So orange is the union of two 
 colours which agree in powers only. 
 
 CHERRY COLOUR. 
 
 ClIERRY is a dark red, and is subject to tire 
 powers of acid and alkali ; and the subjects are 
 barwood and brazilletto -but barwood is the 
 most depending one,though the other isnecessary* 
 
 VIOLET COLOURS. 
 
 VIOLETS are a mixture of red and blue ; 
 the red depends on the subject of brazilletto % and 
 on the power of the acid the blue, on the sub- 
 ject of logwood and on the power of the alkali. 
 Thus, in this dye, the powers and subjects 
 agree, and by varying the powers and subjects, 
 alter the complexions. 
 
 PINK COLOURS. 
 
 f PINKS are of various colours, but this is a 
 simple red, and is dependent on the power of the 
 acid ; Its subjects are a number, but I have 
 laid them down as one in the receipt, and that 
 is madder which is the principal subject to be 
 depended on in this colour. 
 
 FLESH COLOUR. 
 
 FLESH colour is a simple colour of red, 
 changed from white to a sm5ll tincture of red
 
 80 DYER'S 
 
 This has a number of subjects, but- is 
 dent on the power of the acid. 
 
 . BROWN has many subjects, and of various 
 complexions, principally dependent on the pow- 
 er of the corrosive ; but sometimes \ve admit 
 the weak power of the alkali, like the sig, &c- 
 Brown has the greatest connection with all the 
 colours, of any colour : for most, or the great- 
 est part of the mixed colours, are connected 
 with the brown, as we shall shortly shew. 
 
 CORBEAU, WITH CAMWOOD. 
 
 CORBEAU is a mixture of two colours, red 
 and brown ; these colours, in this one, depen^ 
 .dent on two powers, and but one principal sub- 
 ject. The powers are an acid and corrosive ; 
 the subject, camwood and the best of dye-wood. 
 The red depends on the oil of vitriol for aa 
 acid ; to prepare and unite the bodies of the 
 goods to take off a gray that these colours are 
 inclining to; the blue vitriol being possessed of 
 two powers, intercedes for the brown, supports 
 the red and raises the lustre, which is the glory 
 of these colours when united together ; the cloth 
 or goods, in a direct view, will be brown but 
 when glanced by the eye or looked across, it 
 will appear with a fine lustre of red. 
 
 The acid is a guard to the red, but that would 
 not give admittance to the brown, were it not 
 for the blue vitriol being of two powers, which 
 imcrpose for their mutual good. Copperas, the 
 strongest of corrosives, is harsh and fiery, and
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. Si 
 
 wants to be softened down notwithstanding the 
 blue vitriol. Were it not for another assistant 
 uniting with the corrosive, you would fail in the 
 union of these two colours ; by disserving the 
 copperas in vinegar, it softens the copperas ; the 
 vinegar being an acidous power, uniting with the 
 corrosive, causes the two powers to unite. The 
 logwood assists the camwood in completing the 
 necessary union. Thus when these two colours, 
 which are in opposition 'to each other have occa- 
 sion to unite, it must be by the mediation or the 
 subject of two powers, as I shall shew more 
 plainly in the next place. 
 
 COR BEAU WITH NICARAGUA. 
 
 NICARAGUA, not of so spirited a nature, 
 requires the greater assistance of the powers- 
 This has the assistance of three powers, and 
 has assisting subjects ; thefustick, as an assisting 
 subject, raises the lustre of the red ; and yellow 
 always depends on the acrid ; the blue vitriol 
 guards the acid against the corrosive, keeps it 
 from danger, and fits it to receive the subject of 
 logwood ; the verdigrease supports the acid, 
 raises the lustre of the red, and unites with the 
 corrosive ; the copperas being softened by the 
 sig, the weak power of the alkali- So by the 
 union of the three powers, and two mixed pow- 
 ers, and the subjects, (the Nicaragua the chief,) 
 the two colours are brought to an union. 
 
 CORBEAU WITH RED WOOD. 
 
 BED WOOD has spirit sufficient, but is 
 2
 
 82 -DXER' 
 
 in motion, and is a feeble subject ; and yet is a 
 subject of great use : however, it requires assis- 
 ta'ice,otheruise it would fail. It is supported 
 by the three powers, the acid and corrosive are 
 its main dependencies ; but I have placed them 
 in different forms, as you will see by the receipts 
 for corbeau and London brown with red- wood. 
 The powers must support the different subjects 
 according to the different order in which they aro 
 admitted. I have left some, deficient of the pow- 
 er of the corrosive, to the assistant subject log- 
 wood, and the power of the weak alkali sig ; 
 but in case the colour is not dark enough, then 
 the dyer's judgment will call his attention to look 
 on the receipts before mentioned, and he will 
 see the corrosive will be admitted the copper- 
 as or verdigrease, which is commonly best 
 to guard the red, and powerful in darkening. 
 Thus we find the acid and corrosive are necessa- 
 ry with this mixture of red and brown ; and- 
 sometimes softened by the power of the alkali, 
 The dyer will always find these colours must be 
 supported by the power of the acid and corro- 
 sive. The acid the power of the red always ; 
 the corrosive the complete power of the brown*. 
 The reddish brown and Spanish brown are de- 
 pendant on the same powers, but not altogethev 
 on the same subjects, &c. 
 
 SMOKE. 
 
 THE London Smoke is a mixture o 
 and brown. The yellow is dependant on the 
 acid, and is the substance and life of the colour. 
 Fustick is the principal subject for the yellow, 
 and allum the acid, but the bark is a guard to 
 the yellow, and is a subject in favor of all pow-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 83" 
 
 ers. The smoke is a very dark colour, bearing- 
 a little red with the yellow ; thus, the butternut 
 barkxsubstantiates every part of these colours ; 
 the Nicaragua raises the reddish hue, the log* 
 wood assists the copperas in darkening, and the 
 sig supports the colour in every part, and enliv- 
 ens it to give place to the corrosive. Thus the 
 three powers are united in this mixed colour, 
 with many powerful subjects whioh stand well 
 to the last. 
 
 BRO WN. 
 
 CINNAMON colour is a mixture 
 colours, red and yellow in perfect union, and is 
 dependent on the acid ; and the brown, the cor- 
 rosive and alkali. So the three powers, and 
 three subjects are united in this mixture. The 
 smoke and liver browns are simply the same as 
 London smoke, only differing in their subjects ; 
 the camwood and madder corresponding with- 
 the fustick, and laying a foundation for the 
 brown. Thus the subjects will unite so perfect- 
 ly well together, that they are at peace with all 
 the powers but the the corrosive ; and this 
 all tnesc'Subjects and unites the colours, 
 
 THE Olive differs nothing more from smok6 
 than this it is not so dark, has no hue of rtc>, 
 and is not depending on the alkali ; but the 
 weak alkali may be admitted, (as sig) but is de- 
 pendent on the powers of acid and corrosive ; 
 v.nd $he subjects of the olives arc fustick jth
 
 54 DYER'S COMPANIONY 
 
 principal ; the others which are many, serve to 
 alter the complexions and give different shades- 
 Butternut, logwood and madder unite as to 
 shades ; the blueing gives a different shade. 
 Thus it is left to the discretion of the dyers to 
 pvake use of what form they please. 
 
 SNUFF Colours are formed of three colours ; 
 dependent on the yellow for lustre, and the red 
 and brown for the shades. The snuff colours 
 are dependent principally on the power of the 
 acid and corrosive, and a little on the power of 
 the alkali ; and the many different subjects have 
 correspondence with these powers. Their union 
 in this manner causes the difference in complex- 
 ions. So as to the powers, properties and ef- 
 fects of these browns, they are simply all as one, 
 but differing in complexions; I mean the 
 smoke, the olive and snuff. It is dependent on 
 the fustick and the acid : the red is dependent 
 on the redwood, camwood and madder, and on 
 the power of the alkali ; the brown on the barks, 
 the logwood, and sumac ; and is dependent on 
 the corrosive. Thus by changing the orders of 
 the subjects and powers, the different shades 
 may be produced in those colours ; and this I 
 have left to the discretion of the^dyer. 
 
 BAT.WING, SLATE, DOVR OR LEAD, 
 PEARL OR SiLVER GREY, AND DRAB. 
 
 AS to these colours, they are a mixture of all- 
 colours, and are depending on ail the powers
 
 IT/BITS COMPANION. 83" 
 
 :l almost ail the subjects. Sorse shades are 
 y light, merely changed from white ; some 
 are dark near to a black", but as to the above co- 
 lours they are stiled grey s,forming various shades 
 and complexions, from a pearl to a slate colour ; 
 the different subjects corresponding with the 
 powers, causes the complexions to differ. So 
 with regard to the powers, I think I have de- 
 scribed plainly before ; the union of the subjects 
 and colours are of so extensive a nature in these 
 different shades, it is in vain to describe them 
 in manner and form as I have the rest, for it 
 would swell a volume. I have been very par^ 
 ticular in the receipts, and given rules sufficient,' 
 and an extensive assortment of shades ; but in 
 short, they are all greys of different complexions, 
 being of a weak and feeble make, and must be 
 nursed with care, otherwise they will never ^r 5 - 
 rive to a state of maturity. 
 
 RjiVEN. 
 
 THE raven is a mixture of two colours, blue 
 and black ; black direct, and blue by the glance 
 of the eye. Now the bin : is dependent on the 
 power of the acid and alkali, and the black on 
 the power of the corrosive. The wheat bran 
 .softens the goods ; the vinegar as an acid 
 cleanses them and prepares them to meet the 
 subjects, and the madder and allum rouses it up 
 for the logwood ; lying and souring gives pene. 
 tratioa and admittance to the remaining sub. 
 jects, and the corrosive power. 
 
 CROW WITH COPPERAS. 
 
 CROW colour differs not much from the ra-
 
 36 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 veil. If any, only in form ; but I think there is 
 a difference the crow is attended with a little 
 brownish hue, and is dependent on the power of 
 the corrosive, and the subject of the logwoodj &c. 
 
 'CROW WITH COMPOUND OF BLUEING. 
 
 THE blue part is raised with the blueing 
 which has been described before ; the black on 
 the corrosive ; the logwood the principal sub- 
 ject ; the verdigrease intercedes for both, and 
 unites both colours together. 
 
 CROW WITH BLUE V1T&IOL. 
 
 BLUE Vitriol being connected with two 
 powers, the acid and corrosive, forms an union 
 with these two colours, and prepares them to 
 meet the subject of log\vood, and brings them 
 on terms never more to part. 
 
 BLACK. 
 
 BLACK is a colour of all colours. It has 
 but one shade, and that is the shade of darkness. 
 Black is dependent on the power of the corro- 
 sive, and has many subjects ; but logwood is 
 the principal, the others serve as assistants 
 to the logwood. Thus one power and one sub- 
 ject form the substance of this colour. There 
 are different shades of all colours i j xctpt black. 
 
 Some men, and even philosophers, have en- 
 deavoured to shew that black is not a colour ;
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 87 
 
 but I shall endeavour to refute them. Black is 
 made of materials, as any other colour ; dark- 
 ness is caused by materials, by the earth and the 
 material world ; by the shadow of these, dark- 
 ness comes ; and by the subjects of materials, 
 -white is changed to black. So men may as 
 well argue that light is darkness, as to say that 
 black is not a colour. Light is not darkness, 
 nor white black ; but were the light to remain 
 with us, we should not perceive the darkness ; 
 and if we were not blessed with materials, we 
 should not change white into colours. Light 
 is changed by materials ; the light of this world 
 is of a nature to be changed, and white is of the 
 same substance, depending for its changes on 
 materials of dye- stuif ; by our faculties we use 
 them, and obtain the desired effect which God 
 in his wisdom has designed. Blue, yellow, red, 
 brown and black are made of materials ; they 
 are all colours, and are all of equal rank, formed 
 from white; yet black is most powerful, for 
 that maybe made to overshadowall other colours, 
 and cause darkness to reign over them all. So 
 it is evident that black is a colour of all colours. 
 But black and white mixed together is no co- 
 lour. If light and darkness were mixed together, 
 we should have neither : the God that made 
 the world separated the light from the darkness ; 
 so in like manner he has given us materials, and 
 a faculty to use them, to change white to 
 black. Thus we find that black is a colour. 
 
 It is said that orange and violets are colours, 
 but they are not in themselves so, but are com- 
 pounded of colours- No mixture can be a real 
 colour. 
 
 Having endeavoured to give you my ideas of 
 the properties and effects of colours ; I request 
 to be read with candor, and hope to be of some 
 benefit. If I have committed errors, I wish 
 they may be corrected for the public abvantage.
 
 C DYER'S CO&PAKIGX.' 
 
 COLOURING SILK. 
 
 SILK, is of a nature different from wool, 
 cotton, and linen : it is of a deadly nature : how- 
 ever, the most of preparations for dying woollen 
 Will answer for silk, only the dye requires to be 
 stronger. It has also such an union with cotton 
 and linen, that most of these preparations will 
 answer for either. So it appears that silk is of 
 a substance between wool, cotton and linen, and 
 it unites with them as to colours, &c. 
 
 DYIJVG CQTTONAND 
 
 /COTTON and Linen are of a cold and 
 deadly nature, and require different preparations 
 and management in colouring. It is the best way 
 in colouring cotton and linen, to have the dye 
 cold ; they being of so cold a nature. As to 
 the colours of cotton and linen, I shall say but 
 little : As to the powers, the principal is the 
 corrosive, the next the alkali, and sometimes 
 the acid ; which you will see by the receipts. 
 The subjects are many, but the grand subject 
 is nutgalis ; the others are so numerous, I shall 
 not mention them now. _I have endeavoured to 
 explain them explicitly in the receipts for cot- 
 ton and linen, and think it needless to mention 
 them again here. As to the powers and the 
 union of the subjects, they have been explained 
 before and the best way is to examine the rules 
 for improvements, and follow the receipts close 
 in proper order, and I presume to say they will 
 have the desired effect, in all colours and shade?*
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 89' 
 
 &&&12 'RYJTIOJVS ON THE PRESENT SITUA- 
 TION OF THE DYER'S XUSI.\S!>. 
 Observation First. 
 
 WE think ourselves masters of our busi- 
 ness before we are, and undertake to do that we 
 know nothing of. By this our business is ruin- 
 ed, our customers imposed upon, and our coun- 
 try impoverished ; this is the present situation 
 of our business. 
 
 Observation Second. Those impostors in- 
 jure their fellow-functioners as well as the pub- 
 lic, by discouraging manufactories. Finding 
 they fail of their intentions, they begin to encou- 
 rage their customers by promising to do better, 
 and to work very cheap ; by these impostors, 
 people are deluded, and their goods not un- 
 frequently ruined. With the customer, who. 
 knows nothing of dressing, ^cheapness is every. 
 thing. The workman who is a complete mas- 
 ter of his business is often compelled to regu- 
 late his prices of work by the charges of those 
 who are ignorant of the trade ; consequently the- 
 work is slighted, or the mechanic cannot obtain 
 a living ; and the employer is a loser in the end, 
 as the goods are badly finished, or perhaps en- 
 tirely ruined. 
 
 Let those who practise in a business make 
 themselves masters of it; then fair and just prices 
 may be obtained for their labor, and the employ- 
 er will be better satisfied, and real justice be. 
 done him. Thus our manufactories would be 
 increased : The interests of the employer and: 
 employed would both be enhanced ; they are 
 inseparable : selfishness counteracts its own 
 \ievvs ; the injustice we do our country, we do- 
 to ourselves. 
 
 As a nation we can never be really indepen- 
 flent, until we become our own manufacturers 
 O,f srtipies of the. first necessity, To arrive at 
 I
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 this desirable point ought to be our constant 
 deavour ; and every real patriot will use his ex- 
 ertions, not only in word but in deed, to hasten 
 the period. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS OJY MANUFACTURING 
 
 CLOTH. 
 
 TO make fine Broadcloth,take your wool and 
 s'ort it carefully ; take the shortest and finest of 
 the wool, leaving no coarse locks with it ; then 
 break the wool all together, and card it into rolls 
 by one person or machine, then spin well the 
 filling cross handed ; give it a good twist, but 
 not hard so as to be wirey ; let it all be twisted 
 alike, and spun by one person, then let it be 
 well wove, with the threads closed together, but 
 not too hard. Then take the long wool, and 
 have it combed into worsted ; have it well spun, 
 twisted well, and wove firm. Thin cloths de- 
 pend on the twisting and firm weaving ; but the 
 other, after it is well manufactured, depends on 
 the fulling to close and make it firm, and on the 
 dressing for beauty. The cloth if well manu- 
 factured, well fulled, and well dyed and dress- 
 ed, will appear equal to any imported cloths ^ 
 J>ut if not well manufactured, it will not be 
 handsome. 
 
 If you have coarse wool and fine mixed toge- 
 ther, it cannot be a fine piece ; if it is not broke 
 and carded together, it will not work well ; it is 
 liable to be streaked, and pucker or cockle in the 
 mill. If not well spun, or if spun by two hands, 
 it will have the same effect ; and if two weave on 
 one piece, one thick and the other thin, it will 
 cause it to pucker or cockle. 
 
 With proper care and attention in the manu- 
 facturing and dressing of cloths, we may equal 
 any in workmanship and beauty, and afford 
 one third cheaper than those imported 1 '
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 TO THE 
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE author of the Dyers Compai 
 -hinks it his duty, in gratitude to the professors 
 In that noble art, to' subscribe his hearty thanks 
 or their approbation of, and encouragement 
 q;iven to that work, in this and every part of 
 America. It is well known by that body 
 of people, and felt by some, that the price for 
 dying woollen goods has been much reduced of 
 late. Many circumstances having determined 
 me, long since, to acquire all possible know- 
 ledge in the practice of dying ; in my first edi- 
 tion I had not the advantage of any author 
 to assist me, in compiling or improving this 
 noble art, it is a work of my own study and im- 
 provements ; I have of late had the advantage of 
 some authors, showing the general practice of 
 dying all over Europe, in ^ England, France, 
 Germany, &.c- which I shall in this edition give, 
 a general plan of dying, together with my own 
 improvements from my small practice, and some 
 observations on the properties and effects of 
 dyes and dye stuff, the modern and ancient forms, 
 as to the use of them. I am therefore constrain. 
 cd, once more to recommend a strict inquiry 
 into the original quality of all the drugs they 
 use, that thereby* if possible, they may discover 
 some of the hidden advantages that may justly 
 be expected therefrom. I am astonished that
 
 92 
 
 no artist has ever attempted to improve 
 .most ingenious art of chymical principles, I be- 
 gan the work in hopes ^that my master- piece 
 would induce some Artist to undertake its im- 
 provement, but in vain do I expect it. 
 
 Of flowers. Among the infinite variety of 
 colours, which glow in the flowers of plants, 
 there are very few which have any durability, 
 cr whose fugitive beauty can be arrested by art, 
 so as to be applied to any valuable purpose ; the 
 only permanent ones are the yellow, the red, the 
 blue, and all the intermediate shades of purple ; 
 crimson, violets, &c. are extremely perishable. 
 Many of these flowers lose their colour on being 
 dried, especially if they are dried f slo wly ; the 
 colours of them all perish even in the closest? 
 vessels, the quicker they are dried, and exclud- 
 ed from the air, the longer they retain their 
 beauty. The colouring matter, extracted and ap- 
 plied on certain bodies, is still more perishable ; 
 oftentimes it is destroyed in the hand of the 
 operator. The colour of blue flowers is extract- 
 ed by the infusion of water ; but there are som6 
 from which this gains only a redish or purplish 
 hue, The red flowers readily communicate their 
 own red colour to watt-r, ihere is no exception 
 among those that have been tried ; rectified 
 spirits g;v\; a brighter, but paler than the water 
 infusion. The colour of yellow flowers, are in 
 general durable ; many of them pre as much so 
 perhaps as any of the native colours of vegetables. 
 The colour is extracted both by water & spirits; 
 the watry infusions ^re the deepi <A Neither 
 acid nor alkalis alter the species of colour, 
 though both of them vary the shades ; ;u.id, 
 making it paler, and alkalis deeper : all urn like- 
 wise considerably heightens it, though not so 
 much as ;'.!:> alis. Woollen silk impregnated * 
 a solution of allum and tartar, receives a clur;-'
 
 INTRODUCTION. j 
 
 fellow. Some of these flowers were made use of 
 by the German dyers. 
 
 Of fruits. The red juices of fruits are, red 
 currants, mulberries, elderberries, morello, black 
 cherries, &c. gently inspissated to dryness, dis- 
 solve again; almost totally in water, and appear 
 nearly of the same red colour as at first. Recti- 
 fied spirits extracts the tinging particles, leaving 
 a considerable portion of muilaginous water un- 
 dissolved, yet the spirituous tincture proves 
 of a brighter colour than the watry. The 
 red solutions and the juices themselves, are 
 sometimes made dull, and sometimes more 
 florid, by acid, and generally turned purplish 
 by alkalis. There area c't'eat number of fruits 
 of different shades which 1 shall not attempt 
 to enumerate or describe. But to prove, the 
 proofs of colouring vegetables is by varying 
 them with spirits, acids and alkalis, saline, vo- 
 latile and corrosive liquors. When I make use 
 of the word corrosive it is intended to imply, to 
 absorb, to destroy, to reign king like black, or 
 to change any shade, and destroying the lustre, 
 or lustre of the colour ; it is one of the reigning 
 powers, let the substance or quality be what it will. 
 
 Of Plants. The blue and green colours of 
 leaves and plants, have more or less fusibility ; 
 \ve cannot claim in the mineral and animal king. 
 tloms, no substitute for blue, except (Prussian 
 blue,) one which has been introduced by some 
 dyer's as a colouring substance, and the vegeta- 
 bles yield but two, which are both produced 
 from the leaves of plants : indigo and woad. 
 For yellow, there are seven different plants be- 
 sides woad and barks, which will be spoken of 
 hereafter. ^ The leaves of many kinds of herbs 
 and trees give a yellow dye to wool or woollen 
 doth, that has been boiled in a solution of nllurn 
 .'.nc! tartar ; wild in particular affords a fine yej>
 
 34, INTRODUCTION. 
 
 low, and is commonly made use of for this pur 
 pose by the dyer's, and cultivated in large quan- 
 tities in some pans of England. There is no 
 colour for which we have such a variety of ma- 
 terials as for yellow ; Mr. Hcllot observes, that 
 all leaves, barks and roots, which onbeingchewed 
 discover a slight astringency, as the leaves of the 
 almond, peaoh, and pear trees, ash bark, the 
 roots of ivild patience, &c. all yield durable, yel- 
 lows ; the brightness will be according to your 
 preparation ofallum and tartar, and length of" 
 time you boil your dye, &c. If we were sensible 
 of the double advantage that might be acquired 
 in the use of many of our vegetable drugs, 
 which must be first grounded on chymical expe- 
 riments in miniature, which will be a certain 
 rule to the practice at large, I am certain you 
 would not rest till you had made some improve- 
 ment. For experiment, after you have been dy- 
 ing with that resinous drug sanders, when emp- 
 tying the vessel, you take up a handful, dry it 
 and digest it in a phial with some pure spirits of 
 wine, and it will afford you an excellent red : 
 water being insufficient to dissolve the resin, and 
 set out the prime part of the colour. Many oth- 
 ers may be discovered if an unwearied attention 
 was paid. 
 
 Of dying in general. If I ask a dyer whas 
 ingredients compose a black ? the answer will be 
 this, logwood, sumac, galls, bark, and coppe- 
 ras ; and if he knows it, he will add in his last 
 dip a little ashes or argal. If I ask him, which or 
 these drugs contain an acid, which an aleotic, 
 and .vhich a neutral quality, he cannot give me 
 an answer ; so you see he knows the effect, but 
 is a stranger to the cause, and every thing else 
 separate from fact and custom. What a pity 
 it is that men will not search things to the bot- 
 tom, when they might be able to find out the 
 :auses of miscarriages, for which gootfs .ate
 
 INTRODUCTION. 95 
 
 frequently thrown aside to be dyed other colours^ 
 greatly to the dyer's loss. In conversing with a 
 sensible dyer I simply asked him what part doet>. 
 logwood act in the black dye ; the honest man 
 answered, it helps to make it black ; no other 
 proof was wanted but to follow the old round ; 
 but the reader by now thinks it time to be in. 
 formed of the business of logwood, which 
 is, (if used in a right proportion,) to soften 
 the goods, and give a body and lustre to the. 
 colour. Logwood being possessed of a most ex- 
 cellent astringent quality, fixes itself in the pores 
 of the goods, and gives them a velvet-like feel 
 and gloss. 
 
 Some will object to this assertion, and say, 
 but our blacks have not that velvet-like feel 
 and gloss ; true, sir ; but don't you know th& 
 reason ; you dye your black without scoweringj 
 your goods, forgetting, or not knowing, that 
 when the goods enter the boiling dye liquor^ 
 they grow harsh and the oil contained in them* 
 forms a sort of resin, which becomes as fixed 
 as if it was pitch or tar, this is one great reason! 
 why black is so liable to soil linen because the 
 dye in some sense is held in an outside or super- 
 ficial state ; it is not possible these goods should! 
 finish soft like velvet, or shine like a raventf 
 feather! No, on the contrary they spoil the 
 press papers and come out stiff and hard like 
 buckram, (not velvet,) no greater cause can be 
 assigned for it th^n that of not scowering; this is 
 the reason of the great difference, so much spo 
 ken of, between the London blacks and those 
 dyed in America ; if the American dyers would 
 take the same pains as the Londoners do, 1? 
 think they would excel in fact, if not in name, 
 and therefore let the American dyers be equally 
 tight and clean in their performances, and ther 
 is nothing to prevent their superiority. Many 
 will censure and despise this, for no othei .reft-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 son than because they cannot see into it, nor 
 will they be at any pains to learn and improve 
 their talents; they seem rather to choose the old 
 round, having no spirit or courage to improve, 
 but content with each knowing the other's me- 
 thod, without striving to excel, and discover a 
 more complete and less expensive way of 
 xvorking and using the drugs to the best advan- 
 tage. I know not how men can sit still when 
 there is more to learn ; let it not be said of you 
 as one of old, he lived and died and did nothing ; 
 perhaps he worked with his hands but his head 
 was asleep, and when dead his memory was no 
 more ; sure it is, the invitation I have to write 
 and publish this small treatise on dying is not 
 ;so much to please others, or to show any thing 
 I have is capable of the name of parts, but to 
 communicate my good wishes for improve- 
 ments to my brethren the dyers, and to show 
 my willingness to help to perfect one of the most 
 useful arts in the world. 
 There are very few arts so expensive as that 
 
 dying; and although those principal com- 
 modities, clothing and furniture, receive their 
 chief improvement and' value therefrom, it is ne* 
 vertheless very fur from being brought to per- 
 
 ;ion. A long practice, sound judgment, and 
 great attention, will form a good and expert 
 dyer. Many dyers can work with success in a 
 number of colours only which depend on each 
 other, and are entirely ignorant of the rest, or 
 
 e but a very imperfect idea of them. 
 A philosopher, who studies the art of dying; 
 is in some measure astonished^ at the multiplici- 
 ty of new objects which it affords ; every step 
 
 -',-nt.s new difficulties and obscurities, with- 
 out hopes of any instruction from the common 
 workmen, who seldom know more than facts 
 .ir.d c r manner of explaimmr them
 
 .INTRODUCTION, 97 
 
 , selves, and their common terms, only afford 
 more darkness, which the uncommon and often 
 useless circumstances of their proceedings ren- 
 der more obscure. 
 
 Before we enter into the particulars of dying 
 wool, it is necessary to give an idea of the prima- 
 ry colours, or rather of those which bear this 
 name by the artist ; for it will appear by reading 
 the celebrated works of Sir Isaac Newton oil 
 Light and Colours, that they bear no affinity 
 with those which the Philosophers call by that? 
 name. They are thus named by the workmen?} 
 because by the nature of the ingredients of 
 which they are composed, they are the basis 
 from whence all others are derived. This divi- 
 sion of colours, and the idea which I intend to 
 give of them, are also common to the different 
 kinds of dying. 
 
 The five primary colours are blue, red, yellow, 
 brown and black. Each of these can furnish ft 
 great number of shades, from the lightest to th* 
 darkest ; and from the combination of two ot 
 more ofc 'these different shades, arise all the co- 
 lours in nature. Colours arc often darkened, or 
 made light, or considerably changed, by in- 
 gredients that have no colour in themselves ; 
 such arc the acid, the alkalis, and the neutral 
 salts, lime, uriiuv, arsenic, alliiin, and some 
 others ; and in the greatest p:-irt of dyes, the wool 
 and woollen goods are prepared with some of 
 theic ingredients which of themselves give little 
 or no colour. It may easily be conceived what 
 an infinite variety must arise from the mixture 
 of thf-'se different matters, or even from the man- 
 ner of Using them ; and what attention must bo 
 given to the minutest circumstances, so as per- 
 fectly to succeed in an art so complicated, and in 
 \vhicli there are many difficulties. 
 
 It rs not needful to be very particular in des .
 
 98 IN 
 
 eribing the utensils of a dye-house, as they ate 
 commonly known ; this work being designed 
 for the experienced dyer. A dye-house should, 
 however, be erected on a spacious plan, roofed 
 over, but admitting a good light, and as nigh as 
 possible to a running water, which is very neces- 
 sary, either to prepare the wool before it is dyed, 
 or to wash it afterwards. The coppers should 
 be set at the distance of eight or ten feet, and two 
 or more vats for the blue, according to the 
 quantity of work that is to be carried on. 
 _ The most important point in dying the primi- 
 tive blue is to set the vat properly at work, and 
 conduct her till she is in a state to yield her blue. 
 The size of the woad vat is not fixed, as it de- 
 pends upon necessity or pleasure. A vat con- 
 taining a hogshead, or half that quantity, has 
 often been used with success, but then they 
 must be prevented by some means from cool- 
 ing to suddenly, otherwise these small vats 
 
 Another kind of vat it prepared for blue: 
 this is called the indigo vat, because it is-the in- 
 digo alone that gives it the colour. Those that 
 use the woad vat do not commonly use the indi- 
 go one. 
 
 There are two methods of dying wool of any 
 colour ; the one is called dying in the great, the 
 other in the lesser die. The first is done by 
 means of drugs or ingredients that procure a 
 lasting dye, resist the action pf the air and sun, 
 and are not easily stained by sharp or corrosive 
 liquors. The contrary happens to colours of 
 the lesser dye. The air fades them in a short 
 time, more particularly if exposed to the sun ; 
 most liquors stain them, so as to make them 
 lose their first colour. It is extraordinary that, 
 as there is a method of making all kinds of co- 
 lours by the great dye, the use of the Ic
 
 INTRODUCTION. 09* 
 
 should be tolerated ; but three reasons make it 
 difficult, if not impossible, to prevent this prac- 
 tice. 
 
 1st, The work is much easier. Most colours 
 and shades which give the greatest trouble in, 
 the great, are easily carried on in the lesser dye. 
 
 2cl, Most colours in the lesser are more bright 
 and lively than those of the great. 
 
 3d, For this reason, which carries more weight,, 
 the lesser dye is carried on much cheaper than 
 the great- This is sufficient to determine some 
 men to do all in their power to carry it on in pre- 
 ference to the other. Hence it is that the true 
 knowledge of chymistry, to which the art of dy- 
 ing owes its origin, is of so much use. 
 
 It may be observed, that all lasting colours 
 are called colours of the great, and the others of 
 the lesser dye. Sometimes the first are called 
 fine, and the latter false colours ; but these ex- 
 pressions are equivocal, for the fine are some- 
 times confounded with the high colours, which 
 are those in whose composition cochineal en- 
 ters ; therefore, to avoid all obscurity I shall 
 mention them distinctly and separately in their 
 places hereafter. 
 
 Experiments, (which are the best guides in 
 natural philosophy as well as arts) plainly shew 
 that the difference of colours, according to the 
 foregoing distinction, partly depends on the pre- 
 paration of the subject that is to be dyed, and 
 partly on the choice of the ingredients which 
 are afterwards used to give it the colour. I 
 therefore think it may be laid down as a general 
 principle, that all the invisible process of dying 
 consists in dilating the pores of the body that is 
 to be dyed, and depositing therein particles of a 
 foreign matter, which are to be detained by a 
 kind of cement which prevents the sun or rain from 
 changing them . To make choice of the colour
 
 ing particles of such a durability that they 
 be retained, and sufficiently set in the pores oi 
 the subject opened by the heat of boiling water, 
 then .contracted by the cold, and afterwards 
 plaistered over with a kind of cement left behind 
 with the salt used for their preparation, that the 
 pores of the wool or woollen stuff ought to be 
 cleansed, enlarged, cemented and then contract- 
 ed, that the colouring atom may be contained in 
 a lasting manner. 
 
 Experiments also shew that there is no cq- 
 louring ingredient belonging to the great dye 
 which has not more or less an astringent and 
 precipitant quality. That this is sufficient to se- 
 parate the earth, of the allum ; this earth joined to 
 the colouring atoms, forms a kind of lacque, 
 -similar to that used by the painters, but infi- 
 nitely finer. That in bright colours, such as 
 scarlet, where allum cannot be used, another 
 body must be substituted to supply the colour- 
 ing atoms (block-tin gives this basis to the scar- 
 let dye-) When all these small atoms of earthy 
 coloured lacque have insinuated themselves 
 into the pores of the subject that is dilated, the 
 cement which the tartar leaves behind serves to 
 masticate these atoms ; and lastly, the contract- 
 ing of the pores, caused by the cold, serves t? 
 retain them. 
 
 It is certain that the colours of the false dye 
 have that defect only because the subject is not 
 sufficiently prepared ; so ^ that the colouring 
 particles being only deposited on its plain sur- 
 face, it is impossible but the least action of the 
 air or sun must deprive them of part if not of 
 the whole. If a method was discovered to give 
 fothe colouring parts of dying woods, the neces- 
 sary astriction which they require, and if the 
 wool at the same time was prepared to receive 
 .them, (as it is the red of madder) I am corvvjnci
 
 -INTRODUCTION'. 101 
 
 eel, by thirty experiments, that these woods' 
 might be made as useful in the great, as they 
 have hitherto been in the lesser dye. 
 
 What I have said shall be applied in the se- 
 quel of this treatise, where I shall shew what en- 
 gaged me to use them as general principles. 
 
 I should have been glad to have seen a work 
 of this sort, (knowing the great need there is of 
 a chymical understanding of this art) signed by 
 the name of some person of distinction, to have 
 given it a better face. I dare nor flatter myself 
 to have brought it to its last perfection, as arts 
 daily improve, and this in particular ; but I 
 hope some acknowledgment will be due to me 
 for bringing this matter a little further out of 
 that obscurity in which it has laid, and for as- 
 sisting the dyers in making discoveries to help 
 to perfect this most useful art. 
 
 I shall now proceed to examine the five pri. 
 rnary colours above mentioned, and give the 
 different methods of preparing them after the 
 .most solid and permanent manner. 
 
 The materials of which cloths are made, for 
 the most part are naturally of dull and gloomy 
 colours. Garments would consequently have 
 had a disagreeable uniformity, if this art had not 
 been found out to remedy it, and vary their 
 shades. The accidental bruising of fruits o 
 herbs, the effect of rain upon certain earths and 
 minerals might suggest the first hint of the art of 
 dying, and of the materials proper for it. Every 
 climate furnishes man with ferruginous earths^ 
 with boles of all colours, with saline and vcgeta^ 
 ble materials for this art. The difficulty must 
 have been to find the art of applying them. But 
 how many trials and essays must have been 
 made, before they found out the most proper me- 
 thods of applying them to stuffs, so as to stain 
 them with beautiful and lasting colours? Iii
 
 102 -IXXRODUCTIOX. 
 
 this consists the principal excellence of the 
 dyer's art, one of the most ingenious and difficult 
 which we know. 
 
 Dying is performed by means of limes, salts, 
 waters, lies, fermentations, macerations, &c. It 
 is certain that dying is very ancient. The Chi- 
 nese pretend that they owe the discovery of it to 
 Hoan-ti, one of their first sovereigns. 
 
 One of the most agreeable effects of the art of 
 crying, is the diversifying the colours of stuffs. 
 There are two ways by which this agreeable 
 variety is produced, either by needle- work with 
 threads of different colours, on an uniform 
 ground, or by making use of yarn of different 
 colours in the weaving. 
 
 The first of these inventions is attributed to 
 the Phrygians, a very ancient nation ; the last 
 to the Babylonians. Many things incline us to 
 think that these arts were known even in the 
 times of which we are now treating. The great 
 progress these arts had made in the days of Mo. 
 ses, supposes that they had been discovered long 
 before. It appears to me certain, then, that 
 the arts of embroidery or weaving stuffs of va- 
 rious colours were invented in the ages we are 
 now upon. But I shall not insist on the man- 
 ner in which they were then practised, as I can 
 ,say nothing satisfactory upon that subject. 
 
 l\nother art nearly related to that of dying, is 
 that of cleaning and whitening garments, when 
 they .have been stained and sullied. Water 
 alone is not sufficient for this- We must com- 
 municate to it by means of powders, ashes, &c. 
 that detersive quality which is necessary to ex- 
 tract the stains which they have contracted. 
 The ancients knew nothing of soap, but suppli- 
 ed the want of it by various means. Job speaks 
 of washing his garments in a pit with the herb 
 Tjorkh. This passage shows that the method of
 
 INTRODUCTION. 1Q3 
 
 cleaning garments in these ages, was by throw- 
 ing them into a pit full of water, impregnated 
 with some kind of ashes; a method which seems 
 to have been very universal in these first times. 
 Homer describes Nausicaa and her companions 
 washing their garments, by treading them with, 
 their feet in a pit. 
 
 With respect to the herb which Job calls 
 borith, I imagine it is salwortru This plant is 
 very common in Syria, Judea, Egpyt, and Ara- 
 bia- They burn it, and pour water upon the 
 ashes. This water becomes impregnated with 
 a very strong lixivial salt proper for taking stains 
 or impurities out of wool or cloth. 
 
 The Greeks and Romans used several kinds 
 of earths and plants instead of soap. The sava- 
 ges of America make a kind of soup- water of 
 certain fruits, with which they wash their cot- 
 ton-beds and other stuffs. In Iceland the wo- 
 men make a lie of ashes and urine. The Per- 
 sians employ boles and marls. In many coun- 
 tries they find earths, which, dissolved in water, 
 have the property of cleaning and whitening 
 eloth and linen. All these methods might per- 
 haps be practiced in the primitive ages.. The 
 necessities of all mankind are much the same, 
 and all climates present them with nearly the 
 same resources. It is the art of applying them, 
 which distinguishes polite and civilized nations 
 from savages and barbarians. 
 
 I shall leave all to itself, and to every man li- 
 berty to approve or disapprove as he pleases, and 
 however they determine the author u ill not be 
 much troubled, for he is certain no man can 
 have a lighter esteem for him, than he h^s for him- 
 self ; he however, will be well pleased if any man 
 shall find benefit by what he has written. If any 
 should alledge a general opposition, that to the 
 author, will be no privating argument ; he does
 
 104 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 uot plead the importunity of friends, for the 
 publication of this ; if it is worthy it needs no 
 apology, if not, let it be despised ; and I remaiti 
 the same friend to trade. 
 
 ELIJAH BEM1SS.
 
 APPENDIX, SV, 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 ON BLUE DYIA'G. 
 
 BLUE among all colours is the most difficult" 
 to set up and manage, it is one of the five ma- 
 terial or primitive colours. In the preceding 
 work it is to be observed, that the rule given is 
 calculated for cloth generally : in this 1 shall 
 give the process for wool, for that is to be pre- 
 ferred, and the most sure and the only way blue 
 ought to be coloured, except very coarse cloth ; 
 and further, I have given in the preceding, re- 
 ceipts for blue, for the good and false dye, or the 
 greater and the lesser dye ; in the good dye we 
 are not furnished but two drugs that give a per- 
 manent blue, and they are, indigo and vvoad, or 
 pastel, and these light and fleaty substances, 
 were it not for the power of fixed alkalis, which 
 rouses and gives life to the colouring atom or 
 substance, and separates it from the earth it coir- 
 tains ; I shall leave this for further explanation. 
 
 The lesser dye is obtained from logwood 
 with assisting subjects, and depends on the 
 powers of the alkali and acid, as you may see 
 in my preceding observations on blue with log- 
 wood ; it is further to be observed, in the pre- 
 ceding observations on the properties and effects 
 of dyes and dye stuff, that I have classed the 
 colours into five material or primitive colours ; 
 which are, blue, yellow, red, brown, and black ; 
 all other shades are depending on these as their 
 mothers or princesses, and these five colours are 
 depending on three monarchiahpowers, which 
 have but little or no alliance with each other* 
 K2
 
 106 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 except it is by the intercourse of some neutral 
 power. The names of the powers are the alkali, 
 acid, and corrosive, and all their subjects rest 
 mild and easy under them, and have a friendly 
 correspondence and never are at variance,except it 
 is by the interference of the powers ; when it hap- 
 pens, there can be no peace or negociation only 
 by the assistance of a neutral power. I shall 
 give further explanations on this subject in the 
 sequel ; showing the connexion of colours by 
 twos, and by threes, and their dependencies with 
 the dying subjects and the subjects to be dyed. 
 
 To return to the blue ; 1st. it is necessary to 
 pay some attention to the vat, and utensils used 
 in blue dying. 2nd. The explanation on the 
 articles used in the blue dye, how prepared, 
 and its effects, &c. 3d. Give a brief account 
 by way of receipts, of the modern forms as 
 practised in general in the largest manufactories 
 of America, and the general practice in England 
 and France, by the most noted dyers in 
 Europe, &c. 
 
 The vat andittensils used in blue dying. The 
 vat must be in size and proportion as your bu- 
 siness requires, from eight to twenty. four bar- 
 rels ; the fashion and forms are various accord- 
 ing to fancy, but I shall point out the modes 
 most applicable, and easiest to manage and des- 
 patch business. The best and cheapest way to 
 make a vat ; have the bottom of cast iron about 
 two and a half feet deep, with a flange on the out- 
 side about four inches from the top, then raise it 
 to five or five and a half feet, with staves made 
 of pine plank two inches thick, hooped with 
 iron hoops and fastened to the upper edge of 
 the iron kettle ; when thus prepared, place it 
 in the dye-house, where it will be the most ad- 
 vantageous to work at, set it with convenience 
 jbr heating, with a flew raised with brick to keep
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 107 
 
 the dye at a proper heat, &c. Some have them 
 of lead and have them set, but it is expensive 
 and liable to melt and burst ; others use copper 
 caldrons, which ought not to be admitted, for 
 the alkali corrodes the copper and has a bad ef- 
 fect on the dye. The next thing necessary is a 
 large iron boiler, that will contain half as much 
 as your vat, set for the convenience of heating 
 near the vat, for the purpose of setting and re- 
 cruiting your dye, and immersing your goods 
 in warm water ; and a large tub that will hold 
 the remainder of your dye. The next thing- 
 necessary is a small iron kettle, say about a bar- 
 rel, set convenient for heating, for a preparation 
 kettle to dissolve potash, &c. ; another kettle is 
 necessary, say the size of six gallons, for the 
 purpose of grinding indigo with two eighteen 
 pound cannon balls ; the form, have the bottom 
 rounding that the indigo may settle under the 
 balls, and the point of the standard placed in 
 the centre with a cross to turn the balls. The 
 next, a copper ladle with a long handle, to dip 
 to the bottom of the vat, to hold two gallons ; a 
 copper skimmer with a handle sufficient to reach 
 to the bottom, to take up the ground, say eigh- 
 teen inches diameter ; a smaller one to take 
 oft* the fiury or head, and a small tub to contain 
 it. The next thing necessary for dying wool, 
 is a net sufficient to contain the wool, and strung 
 with a cord the width of the vat, and its depth 
 within two feet of the bottom, but not so as to 
 touch the ground. There is another form of vat 
 and utensils used for blue dying, explained in 
 the preceding work in receipt No. 1, for dy- 
 ing cloth ; the mke, the jack for wringing, the 
 screen, the handlers, the folding and cooling 
 board, &c. &c. The cold indigo vat with urine, 
 does not require to be set in the ground, neither 
 a flew around it, but set in the dye-house as is
 
 108 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 most convenient to work at. All woollen blue 
 dyes require to have a tight cover, and clouted 
 with cloths to prevent the evaporation of the 
 volatile fluid. The cotton vats are set quite dif- 
 ferent if worked cold, which I shall describe 
 hereafter. 
 
 The method of firefiaring goods for blue ; and an expla- 
 nation of the dye stuffs^ how fire flared andils effects. 
 
 WHEN the vat is once prepared and come to 
 work,the dying of wool or stuff's is easy. Wet them 
 well in clear warm water, with one quarter of 
 a pound pearlash to every 40 pound of wool, 
 wringing and dipping them in the vat, and keep- 
 ing them in more or less time, according as the 
 colour is required in shade. From time to time 
 the stuff is aired ; that is, taken out of the vat 
 and wrung, so that the liquor may fall back 
 into the vat, and exposed a little to the air, 
 which takes off the green in one or two minutes ; 
 for let what vat soever be used, the stuff is al- 
 ways green at its coming out, and only takes 
 the blue colour in proportion as the air acts upon 
 it. It is also very necessary to let the green go 
 off before it is returned into the liquor to receive 
 a second shade, as being then better able to 
 judge of its colour, and know if it is requisite 
 to give what is called one or several turnings. 
 
 It is an ancient custom among dyers to reck- 
 on thirteen shades of blue from the deepest to 
 the lightest. Although their denominations be 
 somewhat arbitrary, and that it is impossible 
 exactly to fix the just passage from one to the 
 other, I shall notwithstanding give the names. 
 They are as follow, beginning with the lightest : 
 milk-blue, pearl- blue, pale-blue, flat-blue, mid- 
 dling-blue,sky-blue,queen's-blue,turkish-blue, 
 watchet-blue, garter- blue, mazareen~blue,deep- 
 blue, and very deep or navy-blue.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 10$ 
 
 These distinctions are not equally received 
 by all dyers, nor in all provinces, but the most 
 part are known ; and it is the only method 
 that can be taken to sive an idea of the same 
 colour, whose only difference is in being more 
 er less deep. 
 
 It is easy to make deep blues. I have alrea- 
 dy said, that to effect this, the wool or stuffs are 
 to be returned several times into the vat ; but 
 it is not so in respect to light blues ; for when 
 the vat is rightly come to work, the wool can 
 seldom be left in short time enough, but that it 
 takes more than the shade required. It often 
 happens when a certain quantity of wool is to 
 be dipped, and that it cannot all be put in at 
 the same time, that what goes in at first is deep- 
 er than the other. There are some dyers who, 
 to obviate this inconveniency in making very 
 light blues, which they call milk and water, 
 take some of the liquor of the indigo vat, ana 
 dilute it in a very great quantity of lukewarm 
 water ; but this method is a bad one, for the 
 wool died in this mixture has not near so lasting 
 a colour as that dyed in the vat ; as the altering 
 ingredients which are put into the var with the 
 indigo, serves as much to dispose the pores of 
 the subject which is dipped in, as to the open- 
 ing of the colouring fecula .which is to dye it, 
 their concourse being necessary for the ad- 
 hesion of the colour. The best method of mak- 
 ing these very light blues, is to pass them ei- 
 ther in a woad or indigo vat, out of which the 
 colour has been worked, and begins to cool. 
 The woad vat is still preferable to that of the 
 indigo, as it does not dye so soon. 
 
 The blues made in vats that have been work- 
 ed are duller than the others ; but they may be 
 pretty sensibly roused by passing the wool or
 
 110 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 stuffs in boiling water. ^ This practice is even 
 necessary to the perfection of all blue shades ; 
 by this the colour is not only made brighter, 
 but also rendered more secure, by taking oft' all 
 that is not well incorporated with the wool ; it 
 also prevents its spotting the hands or linen, 
 which commonly happens, and the dyers, to 
 gain time, neglect this precaution. After the 
 wool is taken out of the warm water, it is neces- 
 sary to wash it again in the river, or at least in 
 a sufficient quantity of water for the carrying off 
 all the superfluous loose dye. 
 
 The best method to render the blue dye 
 brighter, is by filling them with a thin liquor of 
 melted soap, and afterwards cleansing them from 
 the soap by warm water, arid, if convenient, by 
 rinsing them in an old cochineal liquor. This 
 method is to be taken with deep blues ; but if 
 the same was taken with very light blues, they 
 would lose their bright blue lustre, and incline 
 to grey. 
 
 I hope to have removed all difficulties on the 
 preparation of blue, and in the method of dying 
 it. Some dyers, for the sake of gain, spare the 
 woad and indigo, and use for blue, archil-log- 
 wood, and brazil : this ought to be expressly 
 forbid, though this adulterated blue is often 
 brighter than a kisting and legitimate blue. 
 This is to be noticed in the receipts, treating 
 on the lesser die. 
 
 I shall now explain the theory of the invisible 
 change of the blue dye. This colour, which I 
 shall here only consider in relation to its use in 
 the dying of stuffs of what kind soever, has 
 hitherto been extracted only from the vegetable 
 world, and it does not appear that we can hope 
 to use in this art the blues the painters employ: 
 such are the Prussian blue, which holds of the
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 animal and mineral kind* ; the azure, which is 
 a vitrified mineral substance ; the ultramarine, 
 which is prepared from a hard stone ; the earths 
 that have a blue colour, &c- These matters 
 cannot, without losing their colour in \vhole 
 or in part, be reduced into atoms sufficiently 
 minute, so as to be suspended in the saline li- 
 quid, which must penetrate the fibres of the ani- 
 mal and vegetable substances of which stuffs arc 
 manufactured ; for under this name linen and 
 cotton cloths must be comprehended^ as well as 
 those wove of silk and wool. 
 
 Hitherto we know but of two plants that yield 
 blue after their preparation : the one is the isatis 
 or glaustum, which is called pastel in Langue- 
 doc, and^woad in Normandy. Their prepara- 
 tion consists in a fermentation continued even to 
 the putrefaction of all the parts of the pl-.mt, the 
 root excepted ; and consequently in the unfold- 
 ing of all their principles into a new combination, 
 and fresh order of these same principles, from 
 whence follows an union of infinite fine particles, 
 which, applied to any subject whatever, reflects 
 the light on them very different from what it 
 would be, if these same particles were still join, 
 ed to those which the fermentation has sepa- 
 rated. 
 
 The other plant is the anil, which is cultivat- 
 ed in the East and West Indies, out of which 
 they prepare that fecula that is sent to Europe 
 under the name of indigo. In the preparation 
 of this plant the Indians and Americans, have 
 found out the art of separating only the colouring 
 . pirts of the plant from the useless ones; and the 
 French and Spanish colonies have imitated them, 
 
 ^ * IMS, Mons. Macquer, of the Royal Academy of 
 Science*, found the means of using the Prussian blue to dye 
 silk and cloth, in a blue wUose brightness surpassed all the 
 >lues hitherto known.
 
 .VFfEXDlX TO THE 
 
 and thereby made a considerable increase of 
 commerce. 
 
 That the indigo, such as is exported from 
 America, should deposite on wool or stuffs the 
 colouring parts required by the dyer, it is infus- 
 ed several ways, the processes of which will be 
 given in the sequel. They may be reduced to 
 three ; the cold indigo vat may serve for thread 
 and cotton ; those that are made use of hot, are 
 fit for stuffs of any kind whatever. 
 
 In the cold vat, the indigo is mixed with 
 pearlash, copperas or green vitriol, lime, mad- 
 der, and bran. The hot vats are either prepar- 
 with water or urine ; if with water, pearlash 
 or potash, and a little madder must be added ; if 
 with urine, allum and tartar must be joined to 
 the indigo. Both of these vats, principally in- 
 tended for wool, require a moderate degree of 
 heat, but at the same time strong enough for the 
 wool to take a lasting dye, I mean such as will 
 withstand the destroying action of the air and 
 sun, the proof of dyes. 
 
 I have prepared, as I said before, these three 
 vats in small, in cylindrical glass vessels, expos- 
 cd to the light, in order to see vhat passed be- 
 fore the infusion came to a colour, that is whe- 
 ther it was green beneath the flurry at the sur- 
 face, which is a sign of internal fermentation. I 
 have said that the green colour of the liquor is a 
 condition absolutely essential, and without 
 which the colour the stuff would take would 
 not be a good dye, and would almost entirely 
 disappear on the least proofs. 
 
 I shall now give a description of the cold indi- 
 go vat in small, for the changes are much better 
 seen in her, and for this reason, that what hap- 
 pens in the two others is not very essentially dif- 
 ferent. It is proper to take notice, that what I 
 shall calljtart, in this observation of experiment
 
 BYER'S COMPANION. 113 
 
 is a measure of the weight of four drachms, of 
 all matter either liquid or solid, and that it will 
 be this quantity that must be supposed, each 
 time that I use that word in the detail of these 
 experiments. 
 
 I put three hundred parts of water into a ves- 
 sel, containing five hundred and twelve, or eight 
 quarts, in which I dissolved six parts of cop- 
 peras, which gave the liquor a yellow dye. Six 
 parts of potash were also dissolved by them- 
 selves in thirty-six parts of water. The solu- 
 tion made, I digested in it six parts, or three 
 ounces, of indigo of St. Domingo well ground ; 
 it was left over a very gentle fire three hours. 
 The indigo swelled, and taking up a larger space, 
 rose from the bottom of this alkaline liquor, with 
 which it formed a kind of thick syrup, which 
 was blue. This was a proof that the indigo was 
 only divided, but not dissolved; for had its so- 
 lution been perfect, that thick liquor would 
 have been green instead of blue ; for all liquor 
 that has been tinged blue by a vegetable of any 
 kind, grows green on the admixion of an alka- 
 line salt, either concrete or in a liquid form, 
 whether it be a fixed or volatile. 
 
 From hence the reason is discovered why in- 
 digo does not dye a stuff of a lasting blue when 
 its liquor is not green ; for its solution not be- 
 ing complete, the alkali cannot act upon these 
 first elementary particles ; as for example, it 
 acts on the tincture of violets, which is a per- 
 fect solution of the colouring parts of those 
 flowers, which it turns green in an instant, and 
 on the first contact. 
 
 t I poured this thick blue liquor into the solu- 
 tion of vitriol, and after well shaking the mix- 
 ture, I added six parts of lime that had been 
 slacked in the air ; it was cold weather when 
 this experiment was made; the thermometer 
 
 JLi
 
 114 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 was at t\vo degrees under the freezing point, 
 \vhich was the cause that this was near four 
 days coming to a colour, and the fermentation, 
 which must naturally ensue in all vitriolic li- 
 quor, where an alkaline salt has been put in, 
 such as potash, and an alkaline earth, was 
 carried on with so much slo\vness that very lit- 
 tle scum appeared on the surface of the liquor. 
 In a hot season, and by making use of lime 
 newly calcined, these kind of vats are some- 
 times fit to dye in four hours. 
 
 Each time I stirred the mixture with a spa- 
 tula, I observed that the iron of the vitriol or 
 copperas was the first that precipitated to the 
 bottom of the vessel, and that the alkaline salt 
 had precipitated it to join itself to the acid. 
 Thus in this process of the cold indigo vat, a 
 tartar of vitriol after the manner of Tachenius 
 is formed ; whereas by the common method 
 of preparing this neutral salt, the acid of vitriol 
 is poured on a true alkaline salt, such as pot- 
 ash. This again is a circumstance that leads 
 insensibly to the theory of the good dye. I de- 
 sire the reader to take notice of this, as it will 
 occur in the sequel of this observation, as well 
 as in other chapters. 
 
 The earthy parts of the lime precipitate next 
 after the iron ; they are easily distinguished by 
 the whiteness, which are yet difficult to distin- 
 guish when the colouring parts of the indigo 
 are sufficiently loosened. In short, under this 
 white earth the fecula of the indigo deposites it- 
 self, and by degrees rarifies in such a manner, 
 that this substance, which the first day was only 
 the eighth of an inch above the precipitated 
 lime, rose insensibly within half an inch of the 
 surface of the liquor, and the third day grew 
 so opaque and muddy, that nothing furthc*- 
 could be distinguished.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. . 
 
 This rarefaction of the indigo, slow in winter, 
 quick in summer, and which inlay be accelerat- 
 ed in winter by heating the liquor to fifteen or 
 sixteen degrees, is a proof that a real fermenta- 
 tion happens in the mixture, which opens the 
 little lumps of indigo, and divides them into 
 particles of an extreme fineness ; then their sur- 
 faces being multiplied almost ad infinitum, they 
 are so much the more equally distributed in the 
 liquor, which deposits them equally on the sub- 
 ject dipped in to take the dye. 
 
 If fermentation comes on hastily, or in a few 
 hours, whether on account of the heat of the air, 
 or by the help of a small fire, a great quantity of 
 flurry appears ; it is blue, and its reflection they 
 have also named coppery, because the colours of 
 the rainbow appear in it, and the red and yel- 
 low here predominate ; however this phenome- 
 non is not peculiar to indigo, since the same re- 
 flection is perceived in all mixtures that are in 
 actual fermentation, and particularly in those 
 which contain fat particles blended with salts, 
 urine, soot, and several other bpdies put into 
 fermentation, show on their surface the same 
 variegated colours. 
 
 The flurry of the indigo vat appears blue be- 
 cause exposed to the external air, but if a small 
 portion of the liquor which is under it be taken 
 up with a spoon, it appears more or less green in 
 proportion as it is filled with colouring particles. 
 In the course of this observation, I shall show 
 the reason of this difference, or, at least, a pro- 
 bable explication of this change of blue, which, 
 as I have said before, is absolutely necessary for 
 succeeding in the process described. 
 
 When the vat is in this state, it has already 
 been said that cotton, thread, cloths wove from 
 them, &c. may be dyed in her, and the colours 
 which they take are of the good dye ; that is,
 
 116 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 this cotton and thread will maintain them, even 
 after remaining a suitable time in a solution of 
 white soap, actually boiling. This is the proof 
 given them preferable to any other, because the 
 linen and cotton cloths must be washed with 
 when dirty. 
 
 Though the indigo liquor which is in this 
 state can make a lasting dye without the addi- 
 tion of any other ingredients ; the dyers who use 
 this cold, vat add, as in the other hot vats, a de- 
 coction of madder and bran in common water 
 run through a sieve ; this is what they call be- 
 ver. They put madder to insure, as they saj r , 
 the colour of the indigo, because this root af- 
 fords a colour so adhesive that it stands all 
 proofs ; they put the bran to soften the water, 
 which they imagine generally to contain some 
 portion of an acid salt, which, according to their 
 opinion, must be deadened. 
 
 This was the opinion of the French dyers 
 against indigo in the days of Monsieur Colbert ; 
 and as this minister could not spare time to see 
 the experiments performed in his presence, on 
 the foundation of this report, he forbade indigo 
 to be used alone. But since the government has 
 been convinced, by new experiments made by 
 the late Mr. Dufay, that the stability of the blue 
 dye of this ingredient was such as could be de- 
 sired ; the new regulation of 1737, licences the 
 dyers to use it alone, or mixed with woad ; so 
 that if they continue to use the madder, it is ra- 
 ther because this root giving a pretty deep red, 
 and this red mixing with the blue of the indigo, 
 gives it a tint which approaches the violet, and 
 also a fine hue. 
 
 As to the bran, its use is not to deaden the 
 pretended acid salts, but to disperse throughout 
 a quantity of sizey matter ; for the small portion 
 of flour which remains in it, dividing itself into
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 117 
 
 the liquor, must diminish in some measure its 
 fluidity, and consequently prevent the colouring 
 particles which are suspended in it, being pre- 
 cipitated too quick, in a liquor which hud not 
 acquired a certain degree of thickness. 
 
 Notwithstanding this distributed throughout 
 the liquor, as well from the bran as the madder, 
 which also affords something glutinous, the co- 
 louring particles will subside if the liquor re- 
 mains some days without being stirred ; then 
 the top of the liquor gives but a feeble tint to the 
 body dipped in, and if a strong one is wanted, the 
 mixture must be raked, and left to rest an hour 
 or two, that the iron in the copperas, and the 
 gross parts of the lime may fail to the bottom, 
 which otherwise would mix with the true co- 
 louring particles, and prejudice their dye, by 
 depositing on the body to be dyed a substance 
 that would have but little adhesion, which in dry- 
 ing would become friable, and of which each 
 minute part would occupy a space, where the 
 true colouring particle could neither introduce 
 nor deppsite itself by an immediate contact on 
 the subject. 
 
 Not to deviate from the method followed by 
 the dyers, I boiled one part of grape- madder 
 and one of bran, in 174 parts of water : this pro- 
 portion of water is riot necessary, more or less 
 may be put, but I wanted to fill my vessel, 
 which contained 512 parts. I passed this bever 
 through a cloth and squeezed it putting this li- 
 quor, still hot, and \vfeich was of a blood-red, into 
 the indigo liquor, ooserving the necessary pre- 
 cautions to prevent the break ing of the glass ves- 
 sel. The whole was well stirred, and two hours 
 after the liquor was green, and consequently fit 
 for dying. It dyed cotton of a lasting blue, 
 somewhat brighter than it was before the addi- 
 tion of the red of madder. 
 L2
 
 118 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 I shall now endeavour to find out the particu- 
 lar cause of the solidity of this colour ; perhaps it 
 may be the general cause of the tenacity of all 
 the rest ; for it appears already, from the expe- 
 riments above related, that this tenacity depends 
 on the choice of salts which are added to the 
 decoctions of the colouring ingredients, when 
 the same ingredients contain none in themselves. 
 If from the consequences which shall result from 
 the choice of these salts, of their nature, and of 
 their properties, it be admitted (and it cannot be 
 fairly denied) that they afford more or less tenui- 
 ty in the homogeneous colouring parts of the 
 dying ingredients, the whole theory of this art 
 will be discovered, without having recourse to 
 uncertain or contested causes. 
 
 One may easily conceive that the salts added 
 to the indigo vats not only open the natural 
 pores of the subject to be dyed, but also unfold 
 the colouring atoms of the indigo. 
 
 In the other preparations of dyes (to be men- 
 tioned hereafter) the woollen stuffs are boiled in 
 a solution of salts, which the dyers call prepa- 
 ration. In this preparation tartar and allum are 
 generally used. In some hours the stuff is taken 
 out, slightly squeezed, and kept damp for some 
 days in a cool place, that the saline liquor which 
 remains in it may still act and prepare it for the 
 reception of the dye of these ingredients, in the 
 decoction of which it is plunged to boil again. 
 Without this preparation, experience shows that 
 the colours will not be lasting, at least for .the 
 greatest part ; for it must be owned that there 
 are some ingredients which yield lasting colours, 
 though the stuff has not previously undergone 
 this preparation, because the ingredient contains 
 in itself these salts. 
 
 It is therefore necessary, that the natural pores 
 of the fibres of the wool should be enlarged and
 
 BYER'S COMPANION. 119 
 
 cleansed by the help of those salts, which are al- 
 ways somewhat corroding, and perhaps they open 
 new pores for the reception of the colouring 
 atoms contained in ,the ingredients. The boil- 
 ing of this liquor drives in the atoms by repeated 
 strokes. The pores already enlarged by these 
 salts, are further dilated by the heat of the boiling 
 water ; they are afterwards contracted by the 
 external cold when the dyed matter is taken out 
 of the copper, when it is exposed to the exter- 
 nal air, or when it is plunged into cold water. 
 Thus the colouring atom is taken in, and detain- 
 ed in the pores or fissures of the dyed body, by 
 the springiness of its fibres, which have contract- 
 ed and restored themselves to their first state, 
 and have re-assumed their primary stiffness upon 
 being exposed to the cold. 
 
 If, besides this spring of the sides of the pore, 
 it be supposed that these sides have beenplaister- 
 ed inwardly with a layer of the saline liquor, it 
 will appear plainly that this is another means 
 employed by art to detain the colouring atom ; 
 for this -ttom having entered into the pore, while 
 the saline cement of the sides was yet in a state of 
 solution, and consequently fluid ; and this ce- 
 ment being afterwards congealed by the external 
 cold, the atom is thereby detained ; by the spring 
 which has been mentioned, and by this saline 
 cement, which by crystalization is become hard, 
 forms a kind of mastic which is not easily re- 
 moved. 
 
 If the coloured atom, ( which is as small as the 
 little eminence that appears at the entrance of 
 the pore, and without which the subject would 
 not appear dyed) be sufficiently protuberant to be 
 exposed to more powerful shocks than the resis- 
 tance of the sides of the cement that retains it, 
 then the dye resulting from all these atoms suffi- 
 ciently retained, will be extremely lasting, and
 
 120 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 in the rank of the good dye, provided the saline 
 coat can neither be carried off by cold water, 
 such as rain, nor calcined or reduced to powder 
 by the rays of the sun ; for every lasting colour, 
 or colour belonging to the good dye, must with- 
 stand these two proofs. No other can reasona- 
 bly be expected in stuffs designed for apparel or 
 furniture. 
 
 I know but of two salts in chymistry, which, 
 being once crystalized, can be moistened with 
 cold water without dissolving ; and there are 
 few besides these that can remain several days 
 exposed to the sun, without being reduced to a 
 flower or white powder. These are tartar, ei- 
 ther as taken from the wine vessels, or purified, 
 and tartar of vitriol. The tartar of vitriol may 
 be made by mixing a salt already alkalized, (or 
 that may become such when the acid is drove 
 out with a salt whose acid is vitriolic, as cop- 
 peras and allum) ; this is easily effected if it be 
 weaker than the acid of vitriol, and such is the 
 acid of all essential salts extracted from vegeta- 
 bles. 
 
 In the process of the blue vat, which I tried 
 in small, to discover the cause of its effects, 
 copperas and potash, (which is a prepared al- 
 kali) are mixed together ; as soon as these so- 
 lutions are united* the alkali precipitates the 
 iron of the copperas iii f>rm of powder almost 
 black ; the vitriolic acid of the copperas, divest- 
 ed of its metallic basis by its union with the al- 
 kali, forms a neutral salt, called tartar of vitriol, 
 as vvhen made with the salt of tartar and the vi- 
 triolic acid already separated from its basis ; for 
 all alkalis, from v hatever vegetables they are 
 extracted, arc perfectly alike, provided they 
 have been equally calcined. 
 
 More difficulties will occur with regard to the 
 water for the preparation of other colours, such
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 121 
 
 as reds and yellows- It may be denied that a 
 tartar of vitriol can result from the mixture of 
 allum and crude tartar boiled together ; yet the 
 theory is the same, and I do not know that it 
 can be otherwise conceived. The allum is a 
 salt, consisting of the vitriolic acid united \yith 
 an earth ; by adding an alkali, the earth is im- 
 mediately precipitated, and the tartar soon 
 forms ; but instead of this alkaline salt, allum 
 is boiled with the crude tartar, which is the es- 
 sential salt of wine, that is, a salt composed of the 
 vinous acid, (which is more volatile than the vi- 
 triolic) and of oil, both concentrated in a small 
 portion of earth. 
 
 This salt, as is known to chymists, becomes 
 alkali by divesting it of its acid. Thus when 
 the allum and crude tartar are boiled together, 
 besides the impression which the fibres of the 
 stuff to be dyed receive from the first of these 
 salts, which is somewhat corrosive, the tartar 
 is also purified, and by the addition of the earth, 
 which is separated from the allum, (and which 
 has near the same effect upon the tartar, as the 
 earth of Merviels, which is used at Montpellier 
 in manufacturing cream of tartar) it becomes 
 clear and transparent. It may very probably 
 happen that the vitriolic acid of the allum, driv- 
 ing out a part of the vegetable acid of the tartar, 
 a tartar of vitriol may be formed as hard 
 and transparent as the crystal of tartar. Ad- 
 mitting one or other of these suppositions, con- 
 sequently there is in the open pores of the wool 
 a saline cement which crystalizes as soon as the 
 stuff which comes out of the dye is exposed to 
 the cold air, which cannot be calcined by heat, 
 nor is soluble in cold water. I could not avoid 
 making this digression. 
 
 This theory is common to the indigo vat, 
 where urine is used instead of water ; allum
 
 122 APPENDIX TO TK 
 
 and crude tartar in the place of vitriol and pot. 
 ash. This urine vat gives a lasting dye only 
 when used hot, and then the wool must remain 
 in an hour or two to take thq dye equally. As 
 soon as the vat is cold she strikes no more dye ; 
 the reason of this would be difficult to discover 
 in an opaque metal vat, but in a glass vessel it 
 is easily seen. 
 
 I let this little glass proof vat cool, and all the 
 green colour/ which was suspended in it while 
 hot, precipitated little by little to the bottom ; 
 for then the tartar crystalizing itself, and reuni- 
 ting in heavier masses than its mpculas were 
 during the heat of the liquor* and its solution, 
 it sunk to the bottom of the vessel, and carried 
 with it the colouring particles. 
 
 When I restored this liquor to its former de- 
 gree of heat, after shaking it, and letting it settle 
 a while, I dipped a piece of cloth, which I took 
 out one hour after, with as lasting a dye as at the 
 first ; so that when this vat is used and fit to 
 work, the tartar is to be kept in a state of solution, 
 which cannot be done but by a pretty strong 
 heat. The alkali of the urine greens it, the al- 
 lum prepares the fibres of the wool, and the 
 crystal of tartar secures the dye by cementing 
 the colouring atoms deposited in the pores. 
 
 There still remains a difficulty with respect 
 to the indigo vat, in which, neither vitriol, al- 
 lum or tartar are used, but only pearl ash or a 
 fixed alkali in equal quantity with the indigo, 
 and which is pretty briskly heated to dye the 
 wool and stuffs. But before I enter into the 
 cause of the solidity of its dye, which is equal 
 to that of the other blue vats where the other 
 salts already mentioned enter, I must examine 
 into the nature of pearlash ; it is a vegetable 
 fixed alkali obtained from ashes and are the 
 salts of lies calcined ; potash is of the same
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 123 
 
 nature, and from the Same source, but the 
 process is a little different in manufacturing 
 it ; it is not so mild and pure as the pearlash, 
 it contains a much larger quantity of earth, and 
 operates in the dye more quick and active. 
 Some erroneously formed an idea that these 
 alkalis were the lees of wine, and lost their acid 
 substance by calcination, as Mr. Haigh, (dyer 
 of Leeds,) observes on the nature of pearl-ashes; 
 " which are the lees of wine dried and calcin- 
 ed : it is therefore an alkaline salt, of the nature 
 of salt of tartar, but less pure as proceeding 
 from the heaviest parts of the dregs of wine, and 
 consequently the most earthy ; besides, the alka- 
 li of the pearlash is never as homogeneous as the 
 alkaline salt of tartar well calcined, and there are 
 scarcely any pearlash not putrified, from which 
 a considerable quantity of tartar of vitriol may 
 not beobtained ; it is even probable by an expe- 
 riment which I have related, that it might at 
 length be entirely converted into this neutral salt; 
 the same may be said of potash, and of all other 
 alkaline salts, whose basis are not that of the 
 marine salt." 
 
 This is an error of Mr. Haigh, for pot and 
 pearl- ashes have not the least connection with tar- 
 tar or lees of wine, or tartar of vitriol, and it 
 cannot be converted into a neutral salt* 
 
 Mr. Haigh and all others that form this opin- 
 ion, are in an error, for the alkali of pot and 
 pearl-ashes and lime, have not the least share 
 of acid in them- Whatever qualities they may 
 be possessed of in nature, are hidden from us till 
 reduced to atoms, by the elementary heat. The 
 pot and pearl- ashes are hidden in the plants or 
 vegetable world, some vegetables possess more 
 oleatic than others ; the lime is hidden in the 
 earth, or stones, and its alkali substance is not
 
 124 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 discovered till it is obtained by fire and air. The 
 animal world are more or less alkali ; for in- 
 stance, the oyster shell. The alkali is found by 
 the same element ; however, the animal world 
 are more or less acidous, as will be shown here- 
 after in manufacturing indigo and woad. 
 
 Of Borax. The nature of borax is a neutral 
 salt, used to correct the acid that arises from the 
 vegetable substances of wheat bran and madder, 
 (not diluted) by fermentation creates an acid with 
 the alkali of a volatile, urinous substance ; and 
 likewise the indigo and woad, have a certain de- 
 gree of acid, uncertain to determine, and if the 
 acid should have the advantage of the alkali, and 
 is not discovered soon enough, the dye is lost; so 
 it requires borax or some neutral substance to 
 correct the acid, and to act with them both, and 
 it cannot be affected only by neutral salts, or a 
 substitute of the same nature. 
 
 I must now give the reason why the indigo 
 vat is green under the first surface of the liquor ; 
 why this liquor must be green that the blue 
 dye may be lasting, and why the stuff that is ta- 
 ken green out of the liquor becomes blue as 
 soon as it is aired. All these conditions being 
 of necessity common to all indigo vats either 
 cold or hot, the same explication will serve for 
 them all. 
 
 1. The flurry which rises on the surface of the 
 indigo liquor when it is fit dye is blue, and the 
 under part of this scum is green ; these two cir- 
 cumstances prove the perfect solution of the in- 
 digo, and that the alkaline salt is united to its 
 colouring atoms since it greens them, for without 
 they would remain blue. 
 
 2. These circumstances prove that there is 
 also in the indigo a volatile urinous alkali, which 
 the fixt alkali of the potash, or the alkaline earth 
 of the lime displays, and which evaporates very
 
 AVER'S COMPANION.. "125 
 
 shortly after the exposition of this scum to the 
 air. The existence of this urinous volatile ap- 
 pears plainly by the smell of the vat during the 
 fermentation ; when stirred, or when heated, the 
 smell is sharp, and resembles that of stinking 
 meat roasted. 
 
 3. In the preparation of the anil, in order to 
 separate the fecula, a fermentation is continued 
 to putrefaction. All rotten plants are urinous. 
 This volatile urinous quality is produced by the 
 intimate union of salts with the vegetable oil, or 
 is owing to a prodigious quantity of insects fall- 
 ing on all sides of fermenting plants, and attract* 
 d by the smell exhaling from them, where they 
 live, multiply, and die in them, and consequent- 
 ly deposit a number of dead bodies ; therefore to 
 this vegetable substance an animal one is united, 
 whose salt is always an urinous volatile. This 
 same urinous quality exists also in the woad, 
 which is prepared after the same manner, viz. 
 by fermentation and putrefaction, and which 
 will be further explained in the narrative of its 
 preparation. 
 
 4. And lastly, if indigo or woad be distilled 
 in a retort, either alone, or (which is much bet- 
 ter) with some fixed saline or earthy alkali add- 
 ed to it, a liquor will be obtained, which, by all 
 chymical essays, produces the same effects as 
 volatile spirits of urine. 
 
 Why does not this volatile urinous quality in 
 the indigo cause it to appear green, since it 
 must be equally distributed through all itsparts? 
 And why does indigo, being dissolved in plain 
 boiling water, tinge it blue and not green ? It is 
 because this volatile urinous salt is not concret- 
 ed that it requires another body more active 
 than boiling water to drive it out of the par- 
 ticles surrounding it ; and the solution of indigo 
 is never perfected by water alone ; whatever de> 
 M
 
 126 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 gree of heat is given, it is only diluted, and not 
 dissolved in it. Indeed this decoction of indigo 
 blues the stuffs that are dipped, but the blue is 
 not equally laid on, and boiling water almost in- 
 stantly discharges it. I shall endeavour to 
 answer this by an example drawn from another 
 subject. 
 
 Salt ammoniac, from which chymists extract 
 the most penetrating volatile spirit, has not that 
 quick urinous smell by dissolving and boiling it 
 in water ; either lime, or fixed alkaline salt, must 
 be added to disengage the urinous volatile parts. 
 In like manner, the indigo requires fixed saline, 
 or earthy alkalis, to be exactly discomposed, 
 that its volatile urinous salt may be discovered, 
 and that its colouring atoms may be reduced 
 probably to their elementary minuteness. 
 
 1 now come to the second quality required. 
 The liquor of the indigo vat must be green, that 
 the dye may be lasting ; for the indigo would 
 not be exactly dissolved, if the alkali did not act 
 upon it. Its solution not being as perfect as it 
 ought to be, its dye would be neither equal nor 
 lasting ; but as soon as the alkaline salts act up- 
 on it, they must green it : for an alkali, mixed 
 with the blue juice or tincture of any plant or 
 flower, immediately turns it green, when equally 
 distributed on all its colouring parts. But if by 
 evaporation these same parts, coloured, or co- 
 louring, have re-united themselves into hard and 
 compact masses, the alkali will not change their 
 colour till it has penetrated, divided, and reduc- 
 ed them to their primary fineness. This is the 
 case with indigo, whose fecula is the dry in- 
 spissated juice of the anil. 
 
 With respect to the last circumstance, which 
 is that the stuff must be green on coming out of 
 tfce liquor, and become blue as soon as it is air- 
 ed, without which, the blue would not be of?
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 127 
 
 good dye, the folio wing reasons may be given : it 
 is taken out green because the liquor is green ; 
 if it was not, the alkaline salt put into the vat 
 would not be equally distributed, or the indigo 
 would not be exactly dissolved. If the alkali 
 was not equally distributed, the liquor contain- 
 ed in the vat would not be equally saline : the 
 bottom of this liquor would contain all the salt ; 
 the upper would be insipid. In this case the stuff 
 dipped in would neither be prepared to receive 
 the dye, nor to retain it; but when it is taken put 
 green at the end of a quarter of an hour's dipping 
 it is a proof that the liquor was equally saline, 
 and equally loaded with colouring atoms ; it is 
 also a sign, that the alkaline salts have insinuated 
 themselves into the pores of the fibres of the 
 stuff and enlarged them, as has been observed, 
 and perhaps have formed new ones. Now there 
 can be no. boubt that an alkaline salt may have this 
 effect on a woollen stuff, when it is evident that 
 a very sharp alkaline lie burns and dissolves al- 
 most in an instant a ftock of wool or a feather. 
 
 A process in dying called, by the French, 
 fonte de bourre, that is the melting or dissolving 
 of flock or hair, is still a further example- The 
 hair, which is used and boiled in a solution of 
 pearlash in urine, is so perfectly dissolved as 
 not to leave the least fibre remaining. There- 
 fore if a lixivium, extremely sharp, entirely de- 
 stroys the wool, a lie which shall have but a 
 quantityof alkaline salt sufficient to act on the 
 wool without destroying it, will prepare the 
 pores to receive and preserve the colouring 
 atoms of the indigo. 
 
 The stuff is aired after being taken green out 
 of the vat, and after wringing it becomes blue. 
 What is done by airing? it is cooled ; if it is 
 the urinous volatile detached from the indigo 
 which gave it this green colour, it evaporates, 
 and the blue appears again ; if it is the fixed
 
 128 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 alkaline that t causes this green, not only the 
 greatest part is carried off by the string xp: 
 sion of the stuff, but what remains can have no 
 more action on the colouring part, because the 
 small atom of tartar of vitriol, which contains 
 a coloured atom still less than itself, is crysta- 
 lized the instant of its exposition to the cold air, 
 and contracting this same colouring atom by the 
 help of the spring at the sides of the pore, it en- 
 tirely presses out the remainder of the alkali, 
 which does not crystalize as a neutral salt. ^ 
 
 The blue is roused, that is, it becomes bright- 
 er and finer by soaking the dyed stuff in warm 
 water, for then the colouring particles, which 
 had only a superficial adherence to the fibres of 
 the wool are carried off. Soap is used as a 
 proof of the lasting of the blue dye, arid it must 
 stand it, for the soap, which is only used in a 
 small quantity in proportion to the water, and 
 whose action on the dyed pattern is fixed to five 
 minutes, is an alkali, mitigated by the oil, which 
 cannot act upon a neutral salt. If it discharg- 
 es the pattern of any part of its colour, it is be- 
 cause its parts were but superficially adhering ; 
 besides, the little saline crystal which is set in 
 the pore, whose use is to cement the colouring 
 atom, cannot be dissolved in so short a time, 
 s to come out of the pore with the atom it 
 .retains. 
 
 This treatise Inys down the essay of a me- 
 thod of dying different from any hitherto offer- 
 ed. I appeal to philosophers, who would think 
 little of a simple narrative of processes, if I did 
 not at the same time give their theory. I shall 
 follow this method in the other experiments on 
 reds, the yellows, or other simple colours, as it 
 is absolutely necessary to have a knowledge of 
 them before entering on the compound, as these 
 are generally but colours laid on one after the
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 129 
 
 other, and seldom mixed together in the same 
 liquor or decoction. 
 
 Thus having once the knowledge of what 
 procures the tenacity of a simple colour, it will 
 be more easily known, if the second colour can 
 take place in the spaces the first have left emp- 
 ty without displacing the first. 
 
 This is the idea which I have formed to my- 
 self of the arrangement of different colours laid 
 on the same stuff, for it appears to me a matter 
 of great difficulty to conceive that the colouring 
 atoms can place themselves the one on the other, 
 and thus form kinds of pyramids, each still pre- 
 serving their colour, so that from a mixture of the 
 whole a compound colour shall result, and which, 
 notwithstanding, shall appear uniform, and as it 
 were homogeneous- To adopt this system, we 
 must suppose a transparency in these atoms, 
 which it would be difficult to demonstrate ; and 
 further, that a yellow atom must place itself 
 immediately on a blue one, already set in the 
 pore of the fibre of a stuff, and that it must re- 
 main there strongly bound, so that they must 
 touch each other with extreme smooth sur- 
 faces, and so with every new colour laid on. 
 
 It is not easy to conceive all this, and it ap- 
 pears more probable, that the first colour has 
 only taken up the pores that it found open by 
 the first preparation of the fibres of the stuff; 
 that on the side of these pores there remains 
 more still to be filled, or at least spaces not oc- 
 cupied, where new pores may be opened to 
 lodge the new atoms of a second colour, by the 
 means of a second preparation of water, compos- 
 ed of corroding salts, which being the same as 
 those of the first preparing liquor, will' not de- 
 stroy the first saline crystals introduced into 
 the first pores. 
 
 What has been already said with regard to the 
 M2
 
 130 APPEX-DIX TO THE 
 
 indigo vat, may also serve to explain the action 
 of the woad vat on wool and stuffs ; it is only 
 supposing in the woad* that salts do naturally 
 exist, pretty near of affinity to those that are add- 
 ed to the indigo vat. It appears by the descrip- 
 tion given of these vats, that the woad vat is by 
 much the most difficult to conduct. I am con- 
 yinced that these difficulties might be removed, 
 if an attempt was made to prepare the isatis as 
 the anil is in the West Indies. I shall therefore 
 compare their different preparations. I have 
 taken the following narrative from the memoirs 
 of Mr. Astruc's Hfstpire Naturdle du Lan~ 
 guedoc- Paris, Cavalier 1737, in 4to, p. 330 
 and 331. 
 
 " According to the opinion of dyers, woad 
 only gives feeble and languishing colours ; 
 whereas those of the indigo are lively and bright- 
 This opinion I grant is conformable to reason : 
 the indigo is a fine subtle powder ; consequent- 
 ly capable to penetrate the stuffs easily, and give 
 them a shining colour- The woad, on the con- 
 trary, is only a gross plant, loaded with many 
 earthy parts, which slacken the acdon and mo- 
 tion of the finer parts, and prevent them from 
 acting effectually. 
 
 " I know but one way to remove this incon- 
 'venienr y, that is, to prepare the woad after the 
 same manner the indigo is prepared ; by this 
 me''His.the colours obtained from the ivoad would 
 acq lire the lively and bright qualities of those 
 procured from the indigo, without diminishing 
 in the least the excellency of the colours pro- 
 duced by the woad. 
 
 " I have already made in small* experiments 
 
 * As this ingenious man has succeeded in small experi- 
 ments, it is probable he would also in the large ones ; and 
 then this plant easily cultivated in America would well re- 
 "ozDpence the pains of the husbaBdman-.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 131 
 
 on what I propose, and those experiments have 
 succeeded, not only in the preparation of th 
 powder of vvoad, but also in the use of this pow- 
 der for dying." 
 
 It is incumbent on those who have the pub- 
 lic good at heart, to cause trials at large to be 
 made, and if they have the success that can rea- 
 sonably be expected,it will be proper to encourage 
 those who cultivate woad, to follow this new 
 method of preparing it, and offer premiums to 
 enable them to sustain the expenses this new 
 pactice will engage them in, until the advantage 
 they will reap from it may be sufficient to deter- 
 mine them to follow it. 
 
 I shall now propose the means to succeed in 
 Mr- Astruc's experiments, and these means na- 
 turally result from considering the method used 
 in Languedoc for the preparation of woad, and 
 the ingenious method by which they separate 
 the fecula of the anil in America. I shall give 
 the preparation of this last in the sequel ; those 
 who desire a fuller description may consult 
 VHistoire des Antiles du P du Tertre & du P* 
 Labat. The following preparation of the pastel, 
 or garden woad, is thus described by Mr. As- 
 true. 
 
 The preparation of indigo and potash- The 
 preparation of potash requires no other perform- 
 ance than to dissolve it in warm water, with 
 constant stirring ; say one gallon ^ of water to 
 every two pounds of potash, let it stand and 
 cool, and keep it from filth and dirt, be care- 
 ful and not have it disturbed, that the earthly 
 parts may settle to the bottom, and the lie pour- 
 ed off by inclination, leaving the lees to be cast 
 away ; the pot and pearl-ashes must be kept in a 
 clean tight vessel, to exclude it from the air, 
 otherwise it will dissolve and loose its sub- 
 stance, and you cannot ascertain its qualitks-.
 
 132 APPENDIX TO THS 
 
 For indigo. All -indigo requires to be pul- 
 verized to a powder, or ground to a paste, let it 
 be used in what dye it will, but for blue I shall 
 give the several processes that I conceive to be 
 the most correct. In the first place, take and 
 weigh the quantity of indigo required for setting 
 or recruiting your dye ; then wash it with clean 
 water, pour off the water, it will take all the 
 loose dirt ; then beat it small that the balls or 
 grinding may be performed, then take as much 
 of the potash lie, prepared as above, as is 
 necessary to have the balls run free, and the grind- 
 ing done with ease, grind it to a paste ; or if this 
 is neglected ar.d it is not ground to a paste or 
 powder, the indigo is lost, for it will not dissolve 
 in the dye, as some erroneously imagine, but be- 
 comes coated and congealed, and looses itsactive 
 part with the other ingredients. This is the 
 preparation of indigo for the blue vat, let it al- 
 ways be ready ground before setting your vat ; 
 set it aside, covered close to prevent evaporation > 
 and to keep the dirt and filth from it. Some in- 
 digo will be differently prepared, or \vith dif- 
 ferent alkalis, but the grinding must be the same. 
 Lime waters : (after the preparation of the lime, 
 which will be given hereafter,) when it is ne- 
 cessary to use the lie of lime, take two quarts 
 of lime to every gallon of water, put them in a 
 tub, stir them well together, let stand twelve 
 hours ; then pour off the lie to your indigo to> 
 your liking ; some processes will be to use 
 sig or urine, when this is necessary take one 
 bushel of ashes, one peck of stone lime, put 
 them in a leech, wet them with warm water, 
 then leech as much sig till the strength is out of 
 your leech, wet your indigo, &c. ; to dissolve 
 the indigo with vinegar a vegetable acid, the 
 indigo is placed with the vinegar in a kettle over 
 a moderate fire and kept warm twenty-four 
 hours, that the acid may evaporate, &c.
 
 SQYER'S coMPANioif. . 133 
 
 Preparation of Lime. 
 
 That the lime may be properly slacked for 
 the dyer's use, take some convenient place to 
 pour water on the lime till it begins to slack and 
 crack, then cast it into an empty vessel, where the 
 lime fiaishes slacking, and reduces itself to povy- 
 der, considerably augmenting its bulk ; it is 
 afterwards sifted through a canvas, and kept 
 in a dry hogshead. 
 
 Sour liquors are not only necessary in some 
 circumstances of setting a wpad vat, but also 
 in some of the preparations^ given to wool and 
 stuffs previous to their being dyed ; they a*6 
 prepared after the following manner : 
 
 Preparation of sour Liquors. 
 
 A copper of the size required is filled with 
 river water, and when it boils, it is flung into 
 a hogshead, where a sufficient quantity of bran 
 has been put, and stirred with a stick three or 
 four times a day. The proportion of bran and 
 water is not very material ; I have made a good 
 liquor by putting three bushels of bran into a 
 vessel containing seventy gallons. Four or five 
 days after, this water becomes sour, and conse- 
 quently fit for use in all cases, where it will not 
 be detrimental to the preparations of wool that 
 are independent of dying. 
 
 For it may happen, that wool in the fleece 
 which has been dyed in a liquor where too great 
 a quantity of sour water has been put, will be 
 harder to spin, as the sediment of the bran 
 forms a sort of starch that glues the fibres of 
 the wool, and prevents them from forming an 
 even thread. I must here take notice of the 
 bod custom of letting sour liquors remain in 
 copper- vessels, as I have seen in some eminent
 
 134 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 dye-houses ; for this liquor being an acid, cor- 
 rodes the copper, and if it remains long enough 
 to take in a portion of this metal) it will cause 
 a defect both in the dye and in the quality of 
 the stuff: in the dye, because the dissolved 
 copper gives a "greenish cast ; in the quality of 
 the stuff, because the copper dissolved preys 
 on all animal substances- The dyers are often 
 ignorant of the cause of these defects. 
 
 I flatter myself I shall omit no essential 
 point on the woad vat : if any difficulties or ac- 
 cidents, which I have mentioned, are not found 
 in the practice they are not considerable, and 
 an easy remedy will be found by those who 
 make themselves familiar with the working 
 part. 
 
 The readers who have no idea of this work, 
 may think me too prolix, and find repetitions ; 
 but those who intend to make use of what I 
 have taught in this chapter, will perhaps re- 
 proach me for not having said enough on the 
 subject. 
 
 Those that read this chapter with- attention, 
 will not be surprised that the master-piece for 
 apprentices to dyers of the great dye, is, to se 
 the woad vat and work her. 
 
 Receipt 12CM. To set a vat q/~24 barrels^ as practised 
 in America. 
 
 Take 121b. of potash, dissolve as before des- 
 cribed ; 16ib- of good indigo prepared and 
 ground as before directed, (or if you have woad 
 omit 41b. of indigo,) and add 161b. of woad, 
 take 161b of madder and 16 quarts of wheat 
 bran, and weigh 3-4 of a pound of borax. 
 
 The setting. To cleanse the water, take 
 about twelve bushels of ashes with a half bush- 
 el of stone lime and let all the water run through 
 tftis leech to cleanse it for your blue, when the
 
 CVER'S COMPANION. 135 
 
 yvatr is thus prepared, fill the vat with it scald- 
 ing hot ; then fill your boiler with the leeched wa- 
 ter, then add the madder, wheat bran, and half 
 the potash lie that remains after grinding the 
 indigo already prepared ; heat this near boiling- 
 hot with constant stirring, then empty this in 
 the vat by a spout, with the vat covered close ; 
 then fill the boiler as before, put in the indigo 
 and the remaining potash lie, leaving the sedi- 
 ment behind, then the woad, (if you have any) ; 
 all to be added when cold, heat moderately, 
 with constant stirring till it boils, empty it 
 in the vat, fill the vat to within twelve inches 
 of the top, rake well, cover close, and let stand 
 three hours; then add the borax, rake well 
 and let stand ten hours ; then have all rea- 
 dy prepared ; if necessary and the dye has not 
 come to vyork, have lime water prepared as be- 
 fore described, to four gallons water, eight quarts 
 of lime ; add one gallon of the lie, rake well and 
 add of the lime lie every three hours, till the lime 
 water is used ; if it does not come to work, have 
 another liquor prepared, take two bushels of 
 ashes, and one peck of lime, wet with warm 
 water, then, leech through ten gallons of sig; 
 feed the dye with this when you rake, till it 
 comes to work, observing to keep the vat cover- 
 ed close to let the heat be kept regular and not 
 too low, if it cools too much keep a small fire 
 in the flew. Another sure remedy, have a few 
 gallons of good lively mnlt, and plenty of hops- 
 beer in fermentation fit for drinking, add this if 
 necessary, if the dye does not come to work in 
 time, forty-eijrht hours, rake well, (or you may 
 add a pound or two of perirlash and rake well.) 
 
 To knoiu when a dye has come to work. 
 
 A vat is fit to work when the grounds are of a 
 green brown, when it changes, on its being taken
 
 136 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 cut of the vat, when the flurry is of a fine Turk- 
 ish or deep blue, and when the pattern, which 
 has been dipt in it for an hour, comes out of a 
 -fine deep grass green. When she is fit to work, 
 the bever has a good appearance, clear and red- 
 dish, and the drops and edges that are formed 
 under the rake in lifting up the bever are brown. 
 Examining the appearance of the bever, is lift- 
 ing up the liquor with the hand or rake, to see 
 what colour the liquor of the vat has under its 
 surface. The sediment or grounds must change 
 colour (as has been already observed) at being 
 taken put of the bever, and must grow brown 
 by being exposed to the external air. The 
 bever or liquor must feel neither too rough nor 
 too greasy, and must not smell either of lirne or 
 He. These are the distinguishing marks of a 
 vat that is fk to work. 
 
 Wool and woollen stuffs of all kinds, are dyed 
 blue without any other preparation then wetting 
 them well inluke-warm water, with the addition 
 of pearlash as before described, squeezing them 
 well afterwards, or letting them drain : this pre- 
 caution is necessary, that the colour may the 
 more easily insinuate itself into the body o"f the 
 Vr-ool, that it may be equally dispersed through- 
 out ; nor is this to be omitted in any kind of 
 colours, whether the subject be wool or cloth. 
 
 When the vat has come to work, it must 
 stand one hour after raking, then open it, take 
 off the flurry or head with your skimmer, and 
 put it in a tub and cover close, that it may be 
 returned into the vat again, when you cover and 
 rake, after dipping your goods. 
 
 The vat being come to work, the cross must 
 be let down, and about thirty ells of cloth, or the 
 equivalent of its weight of wool well scoured, 
 (which is first intended to be dyed of a Persian 
 blue to make a black afterwards), having
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 137 
 
 ed this stirring several times, which must have al- 
 ways been covered with liquor, the cloth must bs 
 twisted on the rings fastened to the jack at the 
 top of the vat ; if it be wool, it is to be dipt 
 with a net, which will serve to wring it : the 
 cloth must be opened by its lists to air it, and to 
 cool the green, that is, to make it lose the green 
 colour it had coming out of the vat, and take 
 the blue. 
 
 In the preceding work, I gave particular di- 
 rections for the utensils, and the management of 
 the cloths while in the vat ; the same processes 
 are to be observed in the management of the 
 blue for cloths ; wool is placed in a net and kept 
 loose and open by poles for that purpose, that 
 a man may raise the wool and loosen it by keep- 
 ing one end of the pole in his hand, and the other 
 in the dye with constant stirring, raising the wool 
 but not exposed to the air, till taken up by the 
 net for that purpose, for if the air turns it from 
 the green to blue before it coines out of the vat, 
 it will cause it to take the dye uneven, caution 
 must be used not to crowd the dye too fast, and 
 never to keep the vat long open, not to exceed 
 three hours at a time, before you return your 
 head, cover close and rake well ; if the dye does 
 not colour quick or active enough, add when 
 your cover and rake ; one pound of pearlash 
 or more according to the state of the dye. judg- 
 ment must be used ; be ever mindful to keep 
 the heat regular, if it gets too low, it will retard 
 business, and you must let it stand some hours, 
 it is not good to have it over hot, the dye will 
 not turn to as much profit ; keep it near to 
 scalding heat, these kind of vats are very easily 
 managed vvkh attention, as the dye does not re- 
 quire shifting to reheat as the other vats, till tlie 
 dye is worked off; no additions are to be made 
 unless the dye works too slow, then you may 
 N
 
 138 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 add pearlasb or sig leech, and some madder if 
 necessary, and wheat bran. When the dye has 
 lost its colour, recruit in manner and form as 
 in setting; if the dye grows thick, dirty and 
 glutinous by use, dip off the top of the dye 
 carefully and let the sediment be cast avay, and 
 the dye boiled and skimmed. These directions 
 are to be general in all blue dying, except other, 
 wise directed ; almost every blue dyer pretends 
 to a peculiar skill or secret in blue dying, and 
 yet the principle is the same, for the colouring 
 substances indigo and woad,we all depend upon, 
 and the power that operates them, the alkali, pot 
 and pearl-ashes, lime, ashes, sig, &c. All the 
 difference is the changing the order of them, 
 and applying the assisting subjects, as madder 
 and wheat bran ; I shall make my observations 
 general under this, both for indigo and woad, in 
 the management of the cloth, wool, and vat ; 
 then show the different methods in practice. 
 To return to the vat ; 
 
 If .the vat be in good order at the first open- 
 ing, three or four stirrings or dippings may be 
 made, and the next day, two or three more, only 
 observing not to hurry her, or to work her as 
 strong as at first. That the vat may turn to as 
 much profit as possible for the shades of blue ; 
 first, all stuffs intended to be black, are dyed ; 
 then the king's blue ; after these the green 
 brown : the violets and Turkish blues are com- 
 monly done in the last rakings of the second 
 day of the opening. The third day, if the vat 
 appears much diminished, she must be filled 
 with hot water within four inches of the brim. 
 This is called filling the vat. 
 
 The latter end of the week, the light blues 
 are made, and on Saturday night, having r.kid 
 the vat, she is to be served a little more than the 
 preceding 4ay , that she may keep till Monday.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 Monday morning the bever is put on the fire, 
 by passing it from the vat into the copper by a 
 trough, which rests on both ; this clear bever 
 is emptied to the grounds, and when it is ready 
 to boil it must be returned into the vat, raking 
 the grounds, as the hot liquor falls from the 
 trough ; at the same time have your indigo pre- 
 pared, and the same process is to be observed as 
 in setting ; it generally comes to work much 
 sooner, (in about fourteen hours) ; manage in 
 manner and form as before described, till you 
 obtain the colour and shade required. 
 
 The Woad or Pastel vat ; how managed and how to 
 know when a Vat is cracked by too great or too small 
 a quantity of Lime ; extremes which must be avoid- 
 ed. 
 
 When more lime has been put in than was 
 sufficient for the woad, it is easily perceived by 
 dipping in a pattern, which instead of turning to 
 a beautiful grass green, is only daubed with a 
 steely green. The grounds do not change, the 
 vat gives scarcely any {lurry, and the bever has 
 a strong odour of quick lime, or its lees. 
 
 This error is rectified by thinning the vat, in 
 which the dyers differ ; some use tartar, others 
 bran, of which they throw a bushel into the vat, 
 more or less in proportion to the quantity of 
 lime used, others a pail of urine. In some 
 places a large iron chafing-dish is made use of, 
 long enough to reach from the ground to the top 
 of the vat, this chafing-dish or furnace has a 
 grate at a foot distance from its bottom, and a 
 funnel coming from under this grate, and as- 
 cending to the top of the chafing-dish, which is 
 to give air to, and kindle the coals which are 
 placed on the grate. This furnace is sunk in 
 the vat, near to the surface of the grounds, so as
 
 140 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 not to touch them, and is fastened with iron bats 
 to prevent its rising. By this method the lime 
 is raised to the surface of the liquor, which gives 
 ;m opportunity to take off with a sieve what is 
 thought superfluous ; but when this is taken 
 out, the necessary quantity of ware must be 
 carefully restored to the vat. Others ugain thin 
 the vat with pearlash, or tartar boiled in stale 
 urine : but the best cure, when she is too hard, 
 is, to put in bran and madder at discretion; and 
 if she be but a little too hard, it uill suffice to 
 let her remain quiet four, five, or six hours, or 
 more, putting in only two quarts of bran and 
 three or four pounds of madder, which are to be 
 lightly strewed on the vat, after which it is to be 
 covered. Four or five hours after, she is to be 
 raked and plunged, and according to the colour, 
 thatthefiurry which arises from this motion, as- 
 sumes and imprints on the whole liquor, a fresh 
 proof is made by putting in a pattern. 
 
 If she is cracked, and casts blue only when 
 slie is cold, she must be left undisturbed, some- 
 times whole days without raking ; when she 
 begins to strike a tolerable pattern, her liquor 
 must be reheated or warmed ; then commonly 
 the lime, which seemed to have lost all povver to 
 excite a fermentation, acquires new strength, 
 and prevents the vat from yielding its dye so 
 soon. If she is to be hastened, some bran and 
 madder are to be thrown on, as also one or two 
 baskets of new woad, which helps the liquor 
 that has been reheated to spend its lime- 
 Care must be taken to put patterns in each 
 hour, in order to judge, by the green colour 
 \vhich they acquire, how the lime is worked 
 on. By these trials she may be conducted with 
 more exactness, for when once a vat is cracked, 
 by too great or too small a quantity of lime, she 
 is brought to bear with much more difficulty.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 141 
 
 If while you are endeavouring to bring her to 
 work, the bever grows a little too cold, it must 
 be heated by taking off some of the clear, and 
 instead thcrof, adding some warm water ; for 
 when the bever is cold, the woad spends little or 
 no lime ; when it is too hot, it retards the action 
 of the woad, and prevents it from spending the 
 lime ; therefore it is better to wait a little, than 
 to hasten the vats to come to work \vhen they 
 are cracked. A vat is known not to have been 
 sufficiently served with lime, and that she is 
 cracked, when the bever gives no flurry, but in- 
 stead thereof gives only a scum, and when she is 
 plunged or raked, she only works, ferments and 
 hisses, (this noise is made by a great number of 
 air bubbles that burst as soon as they form), the 
 liquor has also the smell of a common sewer or 
 sink, or rotten eggs ; it is harsh and dry to the 
 touch ; the grounds when taken out do not 
 change, which generally happens yvhen a vat is 
 cracked for want of lime. This accident is 
 chiefly to be apprehended when a vat is opened 
 and a dip made in her ; for if her state has not 
 been looked into, both in regard to the smell as 
 w-ell as raking and plunging, and that the stuffs 
 be imprudently put in when the woad has spent 
 its lime it is to be feared the vat may be lost ; ^ 
 for the stuffs being put in, the small quantity of* 
 lime that still remains in a state to act, sticks to 
 them, the bever is divested of it, and the stuffs 
 only blotted ; these must be immediately taken 
 out, and a quick remedy applied to the vat, to 
 preserve the remaining part of the dye, which is 
 done by putting in three or four measures of 
 lime, more or less, according as the vat is crack- 
 ed, and that without raking her bottom. 
 
 It is also to be observed, that if in raking and 
 plunging the fermentation ceases, and the bad 
 smell change, it is then to be supposed that the-- 
 N2
 
 142 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 bevcr or liquor alone has suffered, and that the 
 grounds are not yet in want. When the fer- 
 mentation is in part or totally abated, and the 
 bever has a smell of lime, and feels soft to the 
 touch, the vat is to be covered and left at rest ; 
 and if the flurry stil! remains on the vat an hour 
 and a half, a pattern is to be put in which must be 
 taken out one hour after, and you are to be 
 guided according to the green ground it will 
 take. But generally vats that are thus cracked, 
 are not so soon brought to a state fit for dying* 
 
 I shall make same reflections necessary to at- 
 tend a more perfect knou ledge of this process. 
 The woad vat must never be re- heated but 
 when fit for working ; that is, she must have 
 neither too much nor too little lime, but be in 
 such a state as only to want heating to come 
 to work. It is known she has too much lime 
 (as has been before observed) by the quick 
 smell ; on the contrary, a want is known by the 
 sweetish smell, and by the scum which rises on 
 the surface by raking, being of a pale blue ; but 
 when this woad vat has come to work the same 
 process is to be obsen ed as in the preceding, 
 dip and air to give it the blue. 
 
 If the cloth or wool was not deep enough for 
 a mazarine blue by the first dipping, it must 
 get another, by returning into the vat the end 
 of the piece of cioth which first came out ; and 
 according to the strength of the woad, you must 
 give to this striking two or three returns, as 
 may be thought necessary fur the intensity of 
 the blue required. If the woad be good, such 
 as the true L'Auragais is commonly, after tak- 
 ing out the first stirring, a second may be put 
 in at this first opening of the vat. Afttr mak- 
 ing this opening, which is also called the first 
 raking, the vat is to be again rnked, and served 
 with lime at discretion, observing that it has the
 
 DVER'S COMPANION. 
 
 smell and touch conformable to what has been 
 laid clown before, and taking notice, that in pro* 
 portion as the dye diminishes, so does the 
 strength of the woad. 
 
 As has been observed, the latter end of the 
 week the li^ht blues are made, and on Monday 
 morning the bever or dye liquor is put to boil as 
 befor- described, and a kettle of indigo put in. 
 
 When the vat is filled within four inches of 
 the brim, and well raked, she must be covered, 
 and two hours after a pattern put in, which 
 must remain not more than an hour ; lime must 
 be added according to the shade of the green, 
 which thh> proof pattern shall have taken, and 
 at the expiration of an hour or two, if the vat 
 has not suffered, the stuff is to be put in ; hav- 
 ing conducted it between two waters for about 
 half an hour it is wrung, and a dip is ?gain given 
 to it, as was done in the new vat. This vat heat- 
 ed again, is conducted in the same manner, 
 that is, three r^kings are made the first day, ob- 
 serving at each raking, whether she wants lime ; 
 for in this case, the quantity judged necessary 
 must be given. 
 
 Blue made of woad alone, according to the 
 opinion of some persons prejudiced in favour of 
 old customs, is much better than that which 
 the woad gives with the addition of indigo. But 
 then this blue would be much dearer, because 
 woad gives much less dye than indigo, and 
 it has been found by repeated experience, that 
 four pounds of fine indigo from Guatimala, pro- 
 duced as much as a bale of Albigeois woad or 
 pastel ; and five pounds as much as a bale from 
 L'Auragais, which generally weighs tvo hun- 
 dred and ten pounds. So the using of the in- 
 digo with the woad is a great saving, is one vat 
 with indigo shall dye as much as three with- 
 out it. 
 
 Indigo is generally put into new vats after the
 
 144 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 woad yields its blue, and a quarter or half after 
 she is to be served with lime ; as this solution 
 of indigo is already impregnated with some of 
 its dissolution, the lime must be given uitha 
 more sparing hand than where the woad is used 
 alone. At the re- heating, the indigo is put in on 
 Saturday night, that it may incorporate with the 
 bever, and that it may serve as garnish by its 
 lime. The indigo that is brought from Guatima- 
 la in America is the best ; it is brought over in 
 the shape of small stones, and of a deep blue ; 
 it must be of a deep violet colour within and 
 \vhen rubbed on the nail, have a copper hue ; 
 the lightest is the best. It is necessary to ob- 
 serve that for the better conducting of a woad 
 vat, and to prevent accidents, a manufacturer 
 ought to have a good woadman, this is the name 
 given to the journeyman dyer, whose principal 
 business is to conduct the woad ; practice has 
 taught him more than this treatise can furnish. 
 
 Care must be taken when a vat is intended to 
 be re-heated, not to serve her ^ ith lime in the 
 evening, (unless in great want of it) for if she 
 was too much served with it, she might next 
 day be too hard, as the dyers term it ; for by 
 heating her g iin, a greater action is given to the 
 lime, and makes her spend it the quicker. Fresh 
 indigo is commonly put into the vat, each time 
 she is re-heated, in proportion to the quantity 
 to be dyed. It would be needless to put in 
 any, if there was but little work to do, or only 
 light colours wanted. It was not permitted by 
 the ancient regulations of France, to put more 
 than six pounds of indigo to each bale of woad, 
 beer-use the colour of the indigo was thought 
 not lasting, and tint it was only the great quan- 
 tity of woad which could secure and render it 
 good ; but it is now ascertained, both by the 
 experiments of Monsieur Dufiy, and those 
 which I have since made, that the colour of in-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 145s 
 
 digo, even used alone, is full as good, and re- 
 sists as much the action of the air, sun and rain, 
 as that of pastel or woad. 
 
 When a vat has been heated two dr three 
 times, and a good part has been worked off, the 
 same liquor is often prehervcd, but part of the 
 grounds are taken out, which is replaced by 
 new woad ; (this is cnlled vamping) ; the quanti- 
 ty cannot be prescribed on this occasion, for it 
 depends upon the "work the dyer has to do. 
 Practice will tc;ich all that can be wished for on 
 this head. There are dyers vvho preserve liquor 
 in their vats several years, renewing them with 
 woad and indigo in proportion as they work 
 them ; others empty the vat entirely, and change 
 the liquor when the vat has been heated six or 
 seven times, and that she gives no more dye. 
 A series of practice alone will show which of 
 these is preferable. It is however more rea- 
 sonable to think, that by renewing it now and 
 then, more lively and beautiful colours may be 
 obtained, and the best dyers follow this me. 
 thod. 
 
 In Holland they have vats which do not re- 
 quire to be so often heated. Mr- Van Robbais 
 had some of these made some years since for 
 their royal manufactory at Abbeville. The 
 upper p'\rts of these vats, to the height of three 
 feet, are of copper, and the rest lead. They 
 are also surrounded with a small brick wall, 
 at seven or eight inches from the copper ; in 
 this interval embers are put, which keep up the 
 heat of the vat a long time, so that she remains 
 several days together in a condition to be work- 
 ed^ without the trouble of heating her over 
 again. These vats are much more costly than 
 the others, but they are very convenient, espe- 
 cially for the dipping of very light colours ; 
 because the vat is always fit to work, though
 
 146 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 she be very weak ; this is not the case of the 
 others, which generally make the colour a great 
 deal deeper than n qaired, unless they are set to 
 cool considerably, and then it happens that the 
 colour is not so good, nor has it the same 
 brightness. To nuke these light colours in 
 common vats, it is better to work some pur- 
 posely that are strong with woad and weak of 
 indigo ; such give neir colours slower, and 
 light colours are made with greater e; se. 
 
 As to the vats made in the Dutch fashion, 
 and which have already been mentioned, the 
 four which Mr. Van R ;bbais has in his manu- 
 factory, are six feet in depth, of which three 
 feet and a half in the upper part are copper, and 
 the two feet and a half of the bottom are lead. 
 The diameter at the bottom is four feet and a 
 half, and that at the top five feet four inches. 
 
 To return to the observations on heating the 
 common vats. If the vat was heated when 
 cracked, that is, vv hen she has not quite, lime 
 enough, she would turn in the heating without 
 being perceived, and perchance be entirely lost 
 as the heat \yould soon finish the spending of 
 the lime, which xyas j n too small a quantity. If 
 this is perceived in time, it must be helped by 
 pouring it back into the vat without more heat- 
 ing ; then feed her with lime, and not heat her 
 till she is come to work. 
 
 On the re-heating, some of the grounds must 
 be put into the copper with the liquor or bever ; 
 and great care must be taken not to boil it be- 
 cause the volatile necessary in this operation 
 would evaporate. There are some dyers, who, 
 in heating their vats, do not put the indigo im- 
 mediatelv after the liquor is poured from the 
 copper into the vat, but wait some hours till they 
 see her come to work : this they do as a precau- 
 tion, lest the vat should fail, and the indigo be
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 147 
 
 lost ; but by this method, the indigo does not 
 so freely yield its colour, as they are obliged to 
 work her as soon as she is fit, that she may not 
 cool, so that the indigo, not being entirely dis- 
 solved, nor altogether incorp< Crated, has no ef- 
 fect. It is therefore better to put it into th- j vat 
 at the same time the liquor ib cast in, and rake 
 her well after. If the vat is heated over again 
 without her coming to \vork, she must not be 
 scummed as in the common heatings as the indi- 
 go would be carried oft' thereby, whereas, \vhen 
 she has worked, this scum is formed of the 
 earthy part of the indigo and woad, united with 
 a portion of lime. 
 
 When too much lime is put into a vat, you 
 must wait for her till such time as she has spent 
 it, or it may be accelerated by heating it, or by 
 putting in ingredients which destroy in part the 
 action of the lirne, such as tartar, vinegar, honey, 
 bran, some mineral acid, or any matter that 
 will become sour ; but all these correctors wear 
 out the dye of the indigo and woad, so that the 
 best method is, to let it spend of its own accord. 
 A vat is not commonly fed with lime, but on 
 the first, second, and sometimes the third day, 
 and it is also remarked, not to dip the violets, 
 purples, or any other wool or stuffs which have 
 previously a colour that may be easily damaged ; 
 the succeeding day after its being fed with lime, 
 as it is then too active, it dulls the first colour ; 
 the fifth or sixth day the crimsons may be dipt 
 to give them a violet, and the yellows for green ; 
 following this rule, the colours will always be 
 bright. 
 
 When a vat has been re-heated, she must 
 come to work before she is served with lime 5 
 if this was done a little too soon, she must be 
 cracked ; the same thing would happen if some 
 of the grounds were put into the copper. The
 
 148 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 most effectual method in this case is to let her 
 rest before she is worked, until she comes to, 
 which often happens in two, three, or four 
 hours, and sometimes a day. By using light or 
 \ye;ik lime, she grows too hard ; because this 
 light lime remains in the liquor, and does not 
 incorporate with the grounds. This is known 
 by the strong smell of the liquor, and on the 
 contrary the grounds have a sweetish smell, 
 whereas the smell ought to beequal in both. The 
 best way then is, to let it spend itself, byjaking 
 her often, in order to mix the lime with the 
 grounds, until the smell of the vat is restored, 
 and ,he flurry becomes blue. 
 
 A woad vat may be set without the addition 
 of indigo, but then she yields but little colour, 
 and only dyes a small quantity of wool or 
 stuffs ; for one pound of indigo, as has already 
 been observed, affords as much dye as fifteen or 
 sixteen pounds of woad. I set one of this kind 
 to try the qualities of woad by itself, and I could 
 not find that indigo was any way inferior to it, 
 either for the beauty or solidity of the colour. 
 As lime is always used, and sometimes sour li- 
 quors, in the setting of a woad vat their prepara- 
 tion are spoken of in the preceding. 
 
 Keceifit 12 1st. Another method for blue, as practised, 
 in America. 
 
 To set a vat of nine barrels," fill your vat 
 about half full of boiling water, put two pounds 
 of potash dissolved as before described, then 
 add twelve quarts of wheat bran clear from 
 ^the kernel, sprinkle it into the vat 'vith your 
 hand, then take one pound of good madder, then 
 with the rake mix it with your dye, then add 
 two pounds of indigo well ground, wet with 
 <\riae, cover the vat closely ; when you have in-
 
 149 
 
 troduced all the ingredients, the indigo being the 
 last article, rake well and cover close, if possible 
 to exclude the circulation of the air ; let it re- 
 main eight or nine hours, then plunge and rake 
 well with exertion and activity ; bubbles will 
 appear by repeating the plunges, and if a thick 
 blue froth rises on the surface of the dye, which 
 is called the head, continuing to float and the 
 dye appears of a darkish green, the dye is in a 
 good state, and is fit for colouring ; it may be 
 necessary to repeat the plunging and raking 
 three or four times, remember after you have 
 done raking to cover close ; keep the heat regu- 
 lar. If the dye should cool before it comes to 
 work you would have to reheat, but if you have 
 a flew round your vat you may keep up the 
 heat and save trouble ; if the dye when opened 
 in the morning appear of a pile blue cast* instead 
 of a dark green, a handful or two of madder, say 
 half a pound must be sprinkled in the vat ; the 
 dye should continue the heat near scalding. If 
 the dye appear of a pale colour, two qinirts of 
 lime water must be added ; be cautious not to 
 open the vat often ; let it stand at least two 
 hours between each raking. After the vat is 
 set and come to a head, let it stand secure till 
 employed for dying : when the goods are ready 
 for colouring, the dye must be heated, and add 
 three pounds of indigo as before,together with the 
 same proportions of potash, madder and wheat 
 bran, and six pounds of woad, heat hot, and fill 
 the vat within four inches of the top, cover close 
 and follow the same processes in plunging and 
 rakiug as before. If the dye is in good state 
 there will be ten or twelve quarts of froth or head 
 float .: on the s-;rf.ice oi the dye, the colour of 
 whicr- '-'.ill be of a beautiful dark blue and the 
 dye of a dark green : this is the proper state of 
 the dye ; have your goods prepared in hot v
 
 i50 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 with pearlash, take it up, let drean, open the vat, 
 take off the head and follow the same process ; 
 (if cloth, as in receipt No. 1 ; if wool, as in re- 
 ceiptNo. 120), the utensils are the same in all 
 blue dying of wool and woollen goods, the cloth 
 when first taken out of the vat will exhibit a 
 green appearance, by being exposed to the air 
 will become blue, fold it over till well exposed 
 to the air and all turned blue ; be cautious and 
 not expose any part of the goods to the air, to 
 take off the green while in the vat, it will make 
 the goods uneven ; give your goods three or 
 four stirrings or dippings, till your colour suits : 
 put back the head, cover close and rake well, 
 and let stand one hour, never dip till the sedi- 
 ment is well settled ; when the liquor is thick 
 and glutinous by use, it must be boiled, and 
 the scum taken off and returned into the vat, 
 add one gallon of lime water to cleanse the dye 
 and settle the grounds. In hot weather if you 
 are not using your dye, it must be heated as 
 often as once in sixty days and raked frequent- 
 ly ; when all your goods are dyed open the 
 vat and give it the air till cold, then cover to 
 keep out the insects, &c. 
 
 Rcceifit 122J. Of setting and working a vat as firac- 
 tised at Paris, in France. 
 
 It is a vat which is about five feet in height, 
 two feet diameter, and becomes narrow towards 
 the bottom ; she is surrounded with a wall that 
 leaves a space round her, which serves to hold 
 embers. In a vat of this size, two pounds of 
 indigo may at least be used, and five or six for 
 the greatest proportion. To set a vat of two 
 pounds of indigo in such a vessel that may con- 
 tain about twenty gallons, about fifteen gallons 
 ojf river water are set to boil in a copper for the
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 151 
 
 Space of half an hour, with two pounds of pearl- 
 ash, two ounces of madder, and a handful of 
 bran ; during this, the indigo is prepared after 
 the following manner : 
 
 Two pounds of it are weighed out, and cast 
 into a pail of cold water to separate the earthy 
 parts. The water is afterwards poured off by 
 inclination, and the indigo well ground ; a little 
 warm water is put into it, shaking it from side 
 to side ; it is poured by inclination into another 
 vessel ; what remains is still ground, and fresh 
 water put in to carry off the finest parts, and 
 thus continued till all the indigo is reduced into 
 a powder, fine enough to be raised by the water* 
 This is all the preparation it undergoes. Then 
 the liquor which has boiled in the copper with 
 the grounds is poured into the high and nar- 
 row vat, as likewise the indigo ; the whole is 
 then raked with a small rake, the vat is covered, 
 and embers placed round her. If this work 
 was begun in the afternoon, a few embers are 
 added at night ; the same is repeated the next 
 day morning and night. The vat is also lightly 
 raked twice the second day ; the third day, the 
 embers are continued to be put round, to keep 
 up the heat of the vat ; she is raked twice in the 
 day : about this time, a shining copper-colour- 
 ed skin begins to apppear ort the surface of the 
 liquor, and appears as if it was broken or crack- 
 ed in several places. The fourth day, by con- 
 tinuing the fire, this skin or pelicle is more 
 formed and closer ; the flurry, which rises in 
 raking the vat, appears, and the liquor becomes 
 of a deep green. 
 
 When the liquor is in this state, it is a sign 
 that it is time to fill the vat. For this purpose 
 a fresh liquor is made, by putting into a cop. 
 per about twenty quarts of water, with one 
 pound of pearlash, a handful of bran, and half 
 an ounce of madder. This is boiled a quarter
 
 152 APP1NDIX TO THE 
 
 of an hour, and the vat is served with it ; she 
 is then raked, and causes a great quantity of 
 flurry to rise, and the vat conies to work the 
 next day ; this is known by the quantity of 
 flurry with which she is covered by the skin or 
 copper- scaly crust which swims on the liquor, 
 which, although it appears of a blue-brown, is 
 nevertheless green underneath. 
 
 This vat was much longer coming to its co- 
 lour than the others, because the fire was too 
 strong the second day, otherwise she would 
 have been fit to work two days sooner. This 
 did no other damage but retarded her, and the 
 day she came to work, we dipt in serges weigh, 
 ing thirteen or fourteen pounds. As this cans. 
 ed her to lose her strength, and the liquor be. 
 ing diminished by the pieces of stuff that had 
 been dyed in her, she was served in the after, 
 noon with fresh liquor, made with one pound 
 of pearlash, half an ounce of madder, and a 
 handful of bran ; the \\ hole was boiled together 
 in a copper for a quarter of an hour ; the vat be- 
 ing served with it, she was raked, covered, and 
 a few embers put round. She may be preserv- 
 ed after this manner several days* and \vhen she 
 is wanted to work, she must be raked over 
 night, and a little fire place about her. 
 
 When there is occasion to re-heat, and add 
 indigo to this kind of vat, two-thirds of the li- 
 quor (which then is no more green, but of a 
 blue-brown and almost black) is put into a e 
 per ; when it is ready to boil, all the scum that 
 is formed at the top is taken off with a sieve ; it 
 is afterwards made to boil, and two handfuls of 
 bran, a quarter of a pound of madder, and two 
 pounds of pearlash are added. The fire is then 
 removed from the copper, and a little cold wa- 
 ter cast into it to stop the boil ; after which the 
 whole is put into the vat, with one pound of
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 153 
 
 powdered indigo, diluted in a portion of the li. 
 quor as before related ; after this the vat is rak- 
 ed, covered, and some fire put round ; the 
 next day she is fit to work. 
 
 When the indigo vat has been re-heated sever- 
 al times, it is necessary to empty her entirely, 
 and to set a fresh one, or she will not give a 
 lively dye ; when she is too old and stale, the 
 liquor is not of so fine a green as at first. 
 
 I put several other vats to work after the same 
 method, with different quantities of indigo, from 
 one pound to six ; always observing to augment 
 or diminish the other ingredients in proportion, 
 but always one pound of pearlash to each pound 
 of indigo. I have since made other experiments, 
 which proved to me that this proportion was not 
 absolutely necessary ; and I make no doubt but 
 that several other means might be found to 
 make the indigo come to as perfect a colour. I 
 shall, nevertheless, proceed to some other ob- 
 servations on this vat. 
 
 Of all those I set to work, after the manner 
 described, one only failed me, and that by neg- 
 lecting to put fire round her the second day. 
 She never came to a proper colour ; powdered 
 arsenic was put in to no effect ; red-hot bricks 
 were also plunged in at different times ; the li- 
 quor turned of a greenish hue, but never came 
 to the proper colour ; and having attempted se- 
 veral other means without success, or without 
 being able to find out the cause of her not suc- 
 ceeding, I caused the liquor to be emptied and 
 cast away. 
 
 All the other accidents that have happened 
 me in conducting the indigo vat, have only 
 lengthened the operation ; so that this process 
 may be looked upon as very easy when com- 
 pared to that of the woad vat, I have also made 
 several experiments on both, in which my chie
 
 154 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 view was to shorten the time of the common 
 preparation ; but not meeting with the desired 
 success, I shall not rebte them. 
 
 The liquor of the indigo vat is not exactly 
 like that of the woad ; its surface is of a blue- 
 brown, covered with coppery scales, and the 
 under part of a beautiful green. The stuff or 
 wool dyed in this is green when taken out, and 
 becomes blue a moment after. We have al- 
 ready seen that the same happens to the stuff 
 dyed in the woad vat ; but it is remarkable that 
 the liquor of the last is not green, and yet pro- 
 duces on the woad the same effect as the other. 
 It must also be observed, that if the liquor of the 
 indigo vat be removed out of the vessel in which 
 it was contained, and if too long exposed to the 
 air, it loses its green and all its quality, so that, 
 although it gives a blue colour, that colour is 
 not lasting. 
 
 Receipt 123d. The Cold Vat <xith Urine. 
 
 A VAT is also prepared with urine, which 
 yields its colour cold, and is worked cold : for 
 this purpose four pounds of indigo are powdered, 
 which is to be digested on warm ashes twenty- 
 four hours, in four quarts of vinegar ; if it is not 
 then well dissolved, it must be ground ?'.g?.in 
 with the liquor, and urine is to be added little 
 by little, with half a pound of madder, which 
 must be well diluted by stirring the liquor with 
 a stick ;^ when this preparation is nv<de, it is 
 poured into a vessel filled with 63 gallons of 
 urine ; it matters not whether it be fresh or 
 stale ; the whole is well stirred and raked toge- 
 ther night and morning for eight d^ys, or till the 
 vat appears green at the surface when raked, or 
 that she makes flurry as the common vat ; she 
 is then fit to work, without more trouble than
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 155 
 
 previously raking her two or three hours before. 
 This kind of vat is extremely convenient, for 
 when once set to work, s'lere.nains gporltUl she be 
 entirely drawn, that is till the indigo has given 
 all its colour ; thus she may be worked at all 
 times, whereas the common vat must be pre- 
 pared the day before. 
 
 This vat may at pleasure be made more or 
 less considerable by augmenting or diminishing 
 the ingredients in proportion to the indigo in- 
 tended to be made use of ; so that to each pound 
 of indigo add a quzirt of vinegar, two ounces of 
 madder, 15 or 18 gallons of urine. This vat 
 conu's sooner to work in summer that in winter, 
 and may be brought sooner to work by warm- 
 ing some of the liquor without boiling, and re- 
 turning it into the vat ; this process is so simple 
 that it is almost impossible to fail. 
 
 When the indigo is quite spent, and gives no 
 more dye, the vat may be charged again with- 
 out setting anew one. For this purpose, indigo 
 must be dissolved in vinegar, adding madder in 
 proportion -o the indigo, pouring the whole into 
 the vat, and nkingher night and morning, and 
 evening as at first, she will be as good as before; 
 however she must not tx- ch ;rgcd this way 
 above four or five times, for the ground of the 
 madder and indigo would dull the liquor, and 
 in consequence render the colour less i>right. I 
 did not try this method, and therefore do not 
 answer for the success ; but here follows ano- 
 ther with urine which gives a very lasting blue, 
 and which I prepared. 
 
 Receipt l24rA. Hot Vat with Urine. 
 
 A pound of indigo was steeped twenty-four 
 hours m four quarts of clear urine, and when 
 the urine became very blue it was run through
 
 156 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 a fine sieve into a pail, and the indigo which 
 could not pass, and which remained in the 
 sieve, was put with fore quarts of fresh urine ; 
 this was so continued till all the indigo had 
 passed through the sieve with the urine ; this 
 lasted about two hours. At four in the after- 
 noon three hogsheads of urine were put into 
 the copper, and it was made as hot as could be 
 without boiling. The urine cast up a thick 
 scum, which was taken up with a broom and 
 cast put >of the copper. It was thus scummed 
 at different times, till there only remained a 
 white and light scum ; the urine, by this means 
 sufficiently purified and ready to boil, was 
 poured into the wooden vat, and the indigo 
 prepared as above, put in ; the vat was then 
 raked, the better to mix the indigo with the 
 urine : soon after, a liquor was put into the 
 vat, made of two quarts of urine, a pound of 
 roach- alium, and a pound of red tartar. To 
 make this liquor, the allum and tartar were first 
 put into the mortar, and reduced to a fine 
 powder, upon which the two quarts of urine 
 were poured, and the whole rubbed together, 
 till this mixture, which rose all of a sudden, 
 ceased to ferment : it was then put into the vat, 
 which^was strongly raked ; and being covered 
 with its wooden cover, she was left in that 
 state all night ; the next morning the liquor 
 was of a very green colour ; this was a sign she 
 was come to work, and that she might have 
 been worked if thought proper, but nothing ^as 
 dyed in her ; for all that was done, was only, 
 properly speaking, the first preparation of the vat, 
 and the indigo which had been put in was only 
 intended to feed the urine, so that to finish the 
 preparation the vat was let to rest for two days, 
 always covered, that she might cool the slower ; 
 than a second pound of indigo was prepared,
 
 BYEK'S COMPANION. 157 
 
 ground with purified urine as before. About 
 four in the afternoon all the liquor of the vat 
 was put into the copper; it was heated as 
 much as possible without boiling ; some thick 
 scum formed on it which was taken off, and the 
 liquor being ready to boil was returned into the 
 vat. At the same time the ground indigo was 
 put in, with a liquor made as above of one 
 pound of allum, one pound of tartar, and two 
 quarts of urine, a fresh pound of madder was al- 
 so added ; then the vat was raked, well covered, 
 and left so the whole night. The next morning 
 she was come to work, the liquor being very 
 hot, and of a very fine green, she was worked 
 with wool in the fleece, of which thirty pounds 
 were put into the vat. It was well extended and 
 worked between the hands, that the liquor 
 might the more easily soak into it ; then it was 
 left at rest for an hour or two, according as 
 lighter or deeper blues are required. 
 
 All this time the vat was well covered, that 
 it might the better retain its heat, for the hot- 
 ter she is, the better bhe dyes, and when cold 
 acts no more. When the wool came to the 
 shade of the blue required, it was taken out of 
 the vat in parcels, about the bigness of a man's 
 head, twisted and wrung over the liquor as they 
 were taken out, till from green, as they were 
 coming out of the vat, they became blue. 
 This change from green to blue is made in three 
 or four minutes. These thirty pounds being 
 thus dyed, and the green taken off, the vat was 
 raked, and suffered to rest for two hours, being 
 all that time well covtrcd ; then thirty pounds 
 more were put in, which was well extended 
 with the hands, the vat was covered, and in 
 four or five hours this v-opl was dyed at the 
 height or shade of the first thirty pounds ; it was 
 then taken out in heaps, and the green taken off
 
 158 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 as before- This done, the vat had still some 
 little heat, but noi sufficient to dye fresh wool ; 
 for when she has not a sufficient heat the colour 
 she gives would neither be uniform nor lasting, 
 so that it must be re-heated, and fresh indigo 
 put in as before. This may be done as often 
 as judged proper, for this vat does not spoil by 
 age, provided, that whilst she is kept without 
 working, a little air is let into her. 
 
 Re-heating of the Vat vrith Urine, 
 
 About four in the afternoon, the whole liquor 
 of the vat was put into a copper, and a sufficient 
 quantity of urine added to this liquor, to make 
 up the deficiency that had been lost by evapo- 
 ration during the preceding work. This filling 
 commonly takes eight or nine pails of urine the 
 liquor was then heated and scummed as before, 
 and when ready to boil, returned into the vat 
 with a pound of indigo, and the liquor above 
 described, consisting of allum and tartar, of each 
 one pound, madder one pound, and two quarts 
 of urine. After raking the vat well, and cover- 
 ing her, she was left at rest the whole night. 
 
 The next day she came to work, and sixty 
 pounds of wool were dyed in her at twice as be- 
 fore. It is after this manner all the re-heatings 
 must be done the evening before the dying, and 
 these re-heatings may extend to infinity, as 
 the vat, once set, serves a long time. 
 
 m I must here observe, that the greater the quan- 
 tity of indigo put in at once is, the deeper the 
 blue : thus instead of one pound, four, five, or 
 six pounds may be put in together ; nor is it 
 necessary to augment the dose of allum, tartar, 
 or madder, of which ingredients the liquor is 
 composed but if the vessel hold more than 
 three hogsheads, then the dose of these must be
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 159 
 
 augmented in proportion. The vat I have 
 mentioned held three, and was too small to dye 
 at one time a sufficient quantity of wool to make 
 a piece of cloth? viz. fifty or sixty pounds ; for 
 this purpose it would be necessary that the vat 
 should contain at least six hogsheads, and from 
 this a double advantage would arise. 1. All 
 the wool will be dyed in three or four hours, 
 whereas dying it at twice, it takes eight or ten 
 hours. 2. At the end of three hours, in which 
 time the wool would be dyed, taken out, and 
 the green taken off, the vat being yet very hot ; 
 after raking and letting her rest a couple of 
 hours the same wool might be returned into 
 her, which would heighten the colour very 
 much ; for all wool that has been dyed, aired, 
 and the green taken off, always takes a finer 
 colour than new or white wool, which might 
 remain twenty hours in the vat. 
 
 Great care must be taken to air and take off 
 the green of the dyed parcels of wool that are 
 taken out of the vat hastily, that the air may 
 strike them equally, without which the blue 
 colour will not be uniform throughout the wool. 
 
 There are manufacturers who say that cloths, 
 whose wool has received this 'ground of blue 
 with urine, cannot be perfectly scoured at the 
 fulling mill, even at twice ; others vouch the 
 contrary, and I am of opinion the last speak 
 the truth ; yet, if the first are right, it might be 
 suspected that the animal oil of the urine be- 
 coming resinous by drying on the wool, or by 
 uniting with the oil with which the wool is 
 moistened ; for its other preparations more 
 strongly resist the fuller's earth and soap, than 
 a simple oil by expression. To remedy this, 
 the wool ought to be well washed in a running 
 water after it is dyed, twisted, aired, the green 
 tal^en off, and cooled, Be it as it may, the
 
 AFPEN DIX TO THE 
 
 \voad vat will always be preferred in the great 
 dye houses to those kinds of indigo vats made 
 with urine or otherwise ; and for this reason, 
 that with a good woad vat, ( and an ingenious 
 woadman, much more work is despatched than 
 with all the other blue vats. 
 
 I have described the indigo vats in this trea- 
 tise, not with a design to introduce them in the 
 large manufactories, but to procure easy means 
 to the dyers in small, and small manufactories, 
 to whom I wish this nx.rk may be of as much 
 advantage as to the others. 
 
 Receipt \25th. For blue vat^ with garden-^yoad) or 
 
 The garden.woad is a plant cultivated in 
 many parts of Holland and France, and might 
 be in America, to the great advantage of the 
 husbandman ; it is made up in bales generally 
 weighing from one hundred and fifty pounds to 
 two hundred ; it resembles little clods of dried 
 earth, interwoven with the fibres of plants ; it is 
 gathered at a proper season, and laid up to rot, 
 and then made into small balls to dry. Several 
 circumstances are to be observed in this prepa- 
 ration ; on thisvyou may see the regulations of 
 Mons. Colbert on dyes ; the best prepared 
 comes from the diocese of Alby in France. 
 
 The Val set to work. 
 
 A copper as near as possible to the vat is fill- 
 ed with water that has stood for some time, or, 
 if such water is not at hand, a handful of dyer's 
 woad or hay is added to the wattr, with Hght 
 pounds of crust of fat madder. If the old liquor 
 from a vat that has been used in dying from 
 madder can be procured, it will save the madder 
 and produce a better effect.
 
 The copper being filled, and the fire 11 
 about three in the morning, it must boil ;ui hour 
 and a quarter, (some dyers boil it from iwo 
 hours and a half to three) ; it is then conveyed 
 by a spout into the woad vat, in which has been 
 previously put a peck of wheat bran. Whilst 
 the boiling liquor is emptying into the vat, the 
 balls of woad must be put one after another into 
 the vat, that they may be the easier broken, 
 raked and stirred ; this is to be continued till all 
 the hot liquor from the copper is run imo the 
 vat, which, when little more than half fall, must 
 be covered with cloths somewhat larger than its 
 circumference, so that it may be covered as 
 close as possible, and left in this state four 
 hours. Then it must be aired, that is, uncover- 
 ed to be raked, and fresh air let in it ; and to 
 each bale of woad, a good measure of ware flung 
 in ; this is a concealed name for lime that has 
 been slacked- This measure is a kind of wood- 
 en shovel, which serves to measure the lime 
 grossly ; it is live inches broad and three inches 
 and a half long, containing near a good handful; 
 the lime being scattered in, and the vat well rak- 
 ed, it must be again covered, leaving a little 
 space of about four fingers, open, to let in air, 
 Four hours, after, she must be raked, without 
 serving her with lime ; the cover is then put on, 
 leaving, as before, an opening for the air ; in 
 this manner she must be let to stand for two or 
 three hours. Then she may be raked well again, 
 if she is not yet come to work ; that is, if she 
 does not cast blue at her surf ice, and that she 
 works or ferments still, which may be known by 
 raking and plunging with the flat of the rake in 
 the vat ; being well raked, she is to remain still 
 for one hour and a half more, carefully observing 
 whether she casts blue- She is then to be serv- 
 ed with water, and the quantity of indigo judg^
 
 162 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 ed necessary is to be put in ; it is commonly 
 used in a liquid state, the full of a dye-house 
 kettle for each bale of woad ; the vat being fill- 
 ed within six finger-breadths of her brim, is to 
 be raked and covered as before ; an hour after 
 filling her with water, she must be served with 
 lime, viz. two measures of lime for each bale of 
 woad, giving more or less according to the 
 quality of the woad, and what may be judged it 
 will spend or take of lime. 
 
 I hope the reader will excuse my plainness ; 
 this treatise being wrote for the dyer, I must 
 speak the language he is used to ; the philoso- 
 pher will easily substitute proper terms, which 
 perhaps the workman would not understand. 
 There are kinds of woad readier prepared than 
 others, so that general and precise rules cannot 
 be given on this head. It must also be remark- 
 ed, that the lime is not to be put into the vat till 
 she has been well raked. 
 
 The vat being again covered, three hours af- 
 ter a pattern must be put in, and kept entirely 
 covered for an hour ; it is then taken out to 
 judge if she be fit to work. If she is, the pattern 
 must come out green, and on being exposed a 
 minute to the air, acquire a blue colour. If the 
 vat gives a good green to the pattern, she must 
 be raked, served with one or two measures of 
 lime, and covered. 
 
 Three hours after, she must be rnked, and 
 served with what lime may be judged neces- 
 s-iry ; she is then to be covered, and one hour 
 and a half pfter, the vat being pitched or settled, 
 a pattern is put in, which mus' rem .in an hour to 
 see the effects of the woad. If the pattern is of a 
 fine green, and that it turns to a deep bine in the 
 uir, another must be rlipt in to be certain of the 
 effc ct of the vat. If this pattern is deep enough 
 : i) colour, let the vat be liiled up with hot '
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 163 
 
 ter,or if at hand, with old liquor of madder, and 
 rake her well. Should the vat still want lime, 
 serve her with such a quantity as you may 
 judge sufficient by the smell and handling. 
 This done, she must be again covered, and one 
 hour alter put in your stuffs, and make your 
 overture. This is the term used for the first 
 working of wool or stuffs in a new vat. 
 
 Receipt 126th. To set afield Wood Vat. 
 
 I HAVE but little to say on this woad vat, 
 different from that which has been related of the 
 pastel or garden woad. The woad is a plant culti- 
 vated in Nor inanely, and prepared fitter the same 
 manner the garden woad is in Langsuedoc. The 
 method of cultivating it may be seen in the 
 French " General Instructions on D} ? es," of 
 the 28th of March, 1671, from the article 259 
 to 288, where it treats of the culture nnd prepa- 
 ration of the pasttl and woad. The woad vnt 
 is set at work after the same manner as that of 
 pastel ; all thediffcrence is that if has less strength 
 and yields less dye. There follows a descrip- 
 tion of the woad vat, which I carried on in small, 
 and in a bath heat, similar to that of the pastel 
 in the foregoing chapter. 
 
 I placed in a copper a small vessel containing 
 fifty quarts, and filled two- thirds with a liquor 
 made of river water, one ounce of madder, and 
 a little weld, putting in at the same time a good 
 handful of wheat bran and five pounds of woad. 
 The vat was well raked and covered ; it was 
 then five in the evening ; it was again raked at 
 seven, nine, twelve? two, and four o'clock ; the 
 woad was then working, that is, the vat was 
 slowly coming to work, as I have already related 
 ef that of the pastel. 
 
 Pretty large air bubbles formed themselves^
 
 164 APPENDIX TO TjfK 
 
 but in a small quantity, and had scarcely any co- 
 lour. buL. Wija die,) s-rvcd "ounces of 
 
 lime and raked. At five o'clock a pattern was 
 put in ; which was taken out at six, raking her ;. 
 this pattern began to have some colour ; ano- 
 ther was put in at seven, at eigiit she \vasraktd, 
 and the pattern came out pretty bright ; an 
 ounce of indigo was then put in ; at nine another 
 pattern, at ten she was raked, and one ounce of 
 lime was added, because she began to have a 
 sweetish smell ; at eleven a pattern, at twelve 
 she was raktd ; it u as thus continued till five, 
 then three ounces of inrligo were put in, at sis. 
 A pattern, at seven she was raked. It would then 
 have been proper to have served her with water, 
 as she was at thnt time perfectly come to work, 
 the pattern that was triken out being very green, 
 and turning of a bright blue. But besides 
 that I was fatigued, having sat up the whole 
 night, I chose nither to put her back to the next 
 day, to see her effect by day-light ; and for that 
 purpose, I put one ounce of lime, which kept her 
 up till nine in the morning : from time to time 
 patterns were put in, die last that was taken out 
 was very beautiful ; she was served with a li- 
 quor composed of water, and a small handful of 
 bran. She was raked and patterns put in from 
 hour to hour ; at five^he was come to work ; 
 she was afterwards served with lime, and raked 
 to preserve her till she was to be re-heated. 
 
 Some time after I set another with the woad 
 alone without indigo, that I might be able to 
 judge of the lasting of the dye of the woad, 
 which upon trial, I found to be as good as the 
 pastel or garden woad. Thus all the superiori- 
 ty the pastel has on the woad, is, that the latter 
 yields less dye than the former. 
 
 The little varieties that may be observed in 
 setting these different vats at work, prove, that 
 there are many circumstances in these processes
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 165 
 
 that are not absolutely necessary. It appears 
 to me, that the only important point, and that to 
 which the greatest attention is to be given, is, in 
 the conducting the fermentation with care, and 
 not to serve her with lime, but when judged ne- 
 cessary by the indications I have laid down. As 
 to the indigo being put in at twice, or altogether, 
 a little sooner or later, it appears very indifferent. 
 The same may be said of the weld, which I 
 made use of twice, and suppressed the two other 
 times, and of pearlash, which I added in a small 
 quantity in the small pastel vat, and suppressed 
 in the woad vat. In short, I believe, and it ap- 
 pears to me to a demonstration, that the greatest 
 regard is to be had to the proper distribution of 
 the lime, throughout the whole course of the 
 working of the vats, either to set them at work, 
 or to re-heat them. I must also add, that when a 
 woad vat is set to work, she cannot be too often 
 inspected into to know her state ; for if there 
 are some that are backward (which is attributed 
 to the weakness of the woad) there are also 
 others that very quickly come to work. I have 
 seen a middling one of seventy pounds of woad, 
 poisoned ; because the woad man neglected to 
 inspect her as often as she required, and she had 
 been two hours fit to work before he discover- 
 ed it ; the grounds were entirely come up to the 
 surface of the liquor, and the whole had a very 
 sour smell ; it was not possible to bring her 
 back, and they were obligetl to fling her away, 
 as she would in a short time have contracted a 
 foetid smell. The retarding of the action of the 
 vat may also proceed from the temperature of 
 the air ; for the vat cools a great deal sooner in 
 winter than in summer : therefore it becomes 
 necessary to watch it attentively, though com- 
 monly they are fourteen or fifteen hours bei- 
 they come to work.
 
 166 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 To the dyer. Blue and brown require no pre- 
 paration, it is sufficient that the wool be \vell scour- 
 ed, which will be noticed in its proper place ; 
 the wool is to be \vct as already described for 
 blue, it suffices to dip it in the vat, stirring it 
 well, and letting it remain in the vat more or 
 less time, according to the state of the dye and 
 the ground of the colour wanted ; many colours 
 require a blue shade to be given to the wool. 
 It is an easy matter to dye wool blue, when the 
 vat is once prepared, but it is not so easy first 
 to prepare the vat, which is the most difficult 
 part of the dyer's art; for this reason I have given 
 the most ex ict and extensive rules in my pow- 
 er, in this and the preceding work. 
 
 I have endeavoured to make my explanations 
 general on the properties and effects of dye 
 stuffs, and laid down the different processes of 
 setting and managing the blue vat, both of woad 
 and indigo, for woollen. The receipts for cot- 
 ton and linen dye, will be noticed under their 
 proper head, &c. It is the earnest wish of the 
 author, if any attempt to set a blue vat, from this 
 bf>ok, that they attend strictly to the rules and 
 directions here laid down, and not let it be a 
 momentary study but search to the bottom and 
 find out the the principle actors in the dye, and 
 rule the dye, and not let it rule you ; upon this 
 principle you may do yourself and country jus- 
 tice. I shall leave the subject of the blue oa 
 woollen goods, after giving the process cf 
 manufacturing woad and indigo. 
 
 The manufacturing of Pastel or Garden I1 r oad t as 
 practised in France. 
 
 Peasants of Abbigevois distinguish two kinds 
 of wo td seed : the one violet colour, the other 
 yellow; they grefer the -former > because
 
 BYER'S COMPANION-. 167 
 
 woad that shoots from it bears leaves that are 
 smooth and polished, whereas those that spring 
 from the yellow are hairy ; this fills them with 
 earth and dust, which makes the woad prepar- 
 ed from them of a worse quality. This woad 
 is called pastelbourg, or bourdaigne. 
 
 The woad at first shoots five or six leaves 
 out of the ground, which stand upright whilst 
 green ; they are a foot long, and six inches 
 broad ; they begin to ripen in June ; they are 
 known to be ripe by their falling down and 
 growing yellow ; they are then gathered, and 
 the ground cleared from weeds, which is care- 
 fully repeated each crop. 
 
 If there has been rain, a second crop is ob- 
 tained in July ; rain or dry weather advances 
 or retards it eight days. The third crop is at 
 the latter end of August ; a fourth the lattes 
 end of September ; and the fifth and last about 
 the tenth of November. This last crop is the 
 most considerable, the interval being longer. 
 The plant at this crop is cut at the root from 
 whence the leaves spring. This woad is not 
 good, and the last crop is forbid by the regu- 
 lations. The woad is not to be gathered in fog- 
 gy or rainy weather, but in serene weather, 
 when the sun has been out some time. 
 
 At each crop the leaves are brought to the 
 mill to be ground, and reduced to a fine paste ; 
 this is to be done speedily, for the leaves when 
 left in a heat ferment, and soon rot with an in- 
 tolerable stench. These mills are like the oil 
 r bark-mills, that is, a mill stone turns round 
 a perpendicular pivot in a circular grove or 
 trough, pretty deep, in which the woad is 
 ground. 
 
 The leaves thus mashed and reduced to a 
 .paste, are kept up in the galleries of the mill, 
 ijj the open air. Aftej pressing the paste
 
 168 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 with the hands and feet, it is beat down and 
 made smooth with a shovel. This is called the 
 wond piled. 
 
 An outward crust forms, which becomes 
 blackish ; when it cracks, great care must be 
 taken to close it again. Little worms will gen- 
 erate in these crevices and spoil it. The pile is 
 opened in a fortnight, well worked between 
 the hands, and the crust well mixed with the 
 inside ; sometimes this crust requires to be beat 
 with a mallet to knead it with the rest. 
 
 This paste is then made into small loaves or 
 round balls, which according to the regulations, 
 must weigh a pound and a quarter. These 
 balls are well pressed in the making, and are 
 then given to another, who kneads them again 
 in a wooden dish, lengthens them at both ends, 
 making them oval and smooth. Lastly, they are 
 given to a third, who finishes them in a lesser 
 bowl dish, by pressing and perfectly uniting 
 them. 
 
 The pastel or woad thus prepared is called 
 Pa\tel en Cocaigne ; whence arises the proverb, 
 jPais dt Cocaigne ; which signfies a rich coun- 
 try, because this country* where the woad 
 grows, enriched itself formerly by the commerce 
 of this drug. 
 
 These balls t are spread on hurdles, and ex- 
 posed to the sun in fine weather ; in bad wea- 
 ther they are put at the top of the mill. The 
 woad that has been exposed some hours to the 
 sun, becomes black on the outside, whereas 
 that which has been kept within doors is geu- 
 
 * L' Abigeois & Lauragois 
 
 f There is a place in India, the name I do not recollect, 
 where the anil is prepared after the manner of the woad, 
 and the Indigo comes from it in lumps, containing all the 
 useless parts of this plant. It is very difficult to prepare a 
 lue vat with it
 
 BiYER'S COMPANION. 16,9 
 
 ^rally yellowish, particularly if the weather has 
 been rainy. The merchants prefer the former ; 
 this makes little diftere^e as to its use ; it is in 
 general always yellowisn, as the peasants most r 
 iy work it in rniny weather when they cannot 
 cttend their rural employments. 
 
 In summer, these bails are commonly dry in 
 fifteen or twenty days, whereas in autumn those 
 of the last crop are long in drying. 
 
 The good balls when broke are of a violet co- 
 lour within, and have an agreeable smell ; 
 whereas those that are of an earthy colour and 
 a bad smell are not good ; this proceeds from 
 the gathering of the woad during the rain, when 
 the leaves were filled with earth. Their good- 
 ness is also known by their weight, being light 
 when they have taken too much air., or rottojj 
 by not having been sufficiently pressed. 
 
 Powder of Woad. 
 
 Of these balls well prepared, the powder of 
 woad is to be made ; for this purpose a hun- 
 dred thousand at least are required. A distant 
 barn or a warehouse must be procured, larger 
 or smaller according to the quantity intended to 
 be made. It must be paved with bricks and 
 lined with the same, to the height of four or five 
 feet ; the walls would be better to be of stone 
 to that height, yet often the walls are only coat- 
 ed with earth ; this coat breaking off and mix- 
 ing with the woad is a great prejudice to it. In 
 this place the balls are reduced to a jjross pow- 
 der with large wooden mallets. This powder 
 is heaped up to the height of four feet reserv- 
 ing a space to go round, and is moistened with 
 water ; that which is slimy* is best provided 
 
 * I can see no reason why slimy water, and yet to be clear. 
 is preferred' It appears to me that clear river water woul J
 
 170 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 it be clear ; the woad thus moistened, ferments, 
 heats, and emits a very thick sticking vapour. 
 
 It is stirred every day for twelve days, fling- 
 ing it by shovels full from one side to the other, 
 and moistening it every day during that time v 
 after which no more water is flung on, but only* 
 stirred every second d;iy; then every thirdjfourth, 
 and fifth ; it is then heaped up in the middle of 
 the place, and looked at from time to time to air 
 it in case it should heat. This is the pastel or 
 garden woad powder fit for sale to the dyers. 
 
 Mr. Astruc, to prove that the sale of woad 
 formerly enriched the higher Languedoc,. 
 
 Suotes the following passage from a book end- 
 ed Le. Marchand. 
 
 ' Formerly they transported from Toulon ze 
 to Bordeaux, by the river Garonne, each year 
 a hundred thousand bales of woad which on 
 the spot are worth at least fifteen livers a bale, 
 which amounts to 1,500,000 livers : from 
 whence proceeded the abundance of money and 
 riches of that country." Casfel in his Me- 
 moirs de" 1 V Histoire du Languedoc, in 1633, p. 
 49. 
 
 The comparing! of these two methods of pre- 
 paring the woad and indigo may be sufficient to 
 a person of understanding, who might be ap- 
 pointed to try, by experiments, the possibility 
 of extracting a fecula from the isatis of Langue- 
 doc like that of the anil. It is neither the dyer 
 or manufacturer that ought be applied to for 
 that purpose ; both would condemn the project 
 as a novelty, and it would require many experi- 
 ments, which in general they are not accustom- 
 ed to. 
 
 be more secure. ; with this they would avoid the inconve- 
 niences that must attend a standing water, always filled 
 with tilth ; or of a muddy water, which contains useless 
 tajth and which must make the dye uneven.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 171 
 
 I could wish this experiment was tried in 
 great, so that at least fifty pound of this fecula 
 might be got, that several vats might be set in 
 case the first should fail. Whoever does try 
 it, should be very careful to describe all the 
 circumstances of the process. Perhaps it might 
 not succeed at the first crop of the leaves of the 
 woad, because the heat in June is not sufficient, 
 but probably he might meet with success in 
 August. 
 
 If this succeeds, there are without doubt se- 
 veral other plants of the same quality as the isa- 
 tis, and which yields a like fecuia. 
 
 It is also probable that the dark green of seve- 
 ral plants is composed of yellow and blue parts ; 
 if by fermentation the yellow could be destroy- 
 ed the blue would remain. This is not a chi- 
 
 lerical idea, and it is easy to prove that some 
 might be derived from such an experiment. 
 
 Qf making Indigo in America, 
 
 INDIGO is the fecula of a plant named nill 
 or anil ; to make it, three vats are placed the one 
 over the other, in form of a cascade ; in the 
 first, called the steeper, the plant is put in with 
 its leaves, bark and flowers*, and filled with wa- 
 ter; some time after, the whole ferments, 
 the water grows intensely hot, thickens, and be- 
 comes of a blue colour bordering on the violet ; 
 the plant, according to the opinion of some, de- 
 posing all its salts, and according to ethers, all 
 its substance. In this state, the cocks of the 
 steeper are turned, and all the water let out 
 stained with the colouring parts of the plant into 
 the second, called the beater ; because this wa- 
 
 * In the village of Sargussa, near the town of A mad aba t, 
 the Indians only use the leaves of the anil ; they fling away 
 the rest of the plant, The best indigo comes from thence.
 
 472 APPENDIX TO XHE 
 
 ter is beat by a mill or a machine that has long 
 sticks, to condense the substance of the indigo, 
 and precipitate it to the bottom, By this means 
 the water becomes clear and colourless, like 
 common water ; then the cocks are turned, that 
 the water may run off from the surface of the 
 blue sediment ; after which, other cocks are 
 turned that are at the bottom that all the fecula 
 may fall into the third vat, called the reposer, 
 for it is thereithe indigo remains to dry ; it is then 
 taken out to be made into cakes, &c- See, on 
 this subject, Histoire des Antilles^ pare Is Pere 
 JLabat. 
 
 At Pondicherry, on the coast of Coromandel, 
 there are two kinds of indigo, the one a great 
 deal finer than the other ; the best is seldom 
 used but to lustre their silks, the inferior in dy- 
 ing. They augment in price according to their 
 quality ; there is some which cost from 15 
 pagodas the bar (which weighs 48 pounds) to 
 200 pagodas. The most beautiful is prepared 
 nigh Agra. There is also a very good kind that 
 comes from Masilupatan and Ayanon, where 
 the East-India Company have a factory. At 
 Chanclernagor it is called nil when it is prepared 
 and cut to pieces. The indigo of Java is the 
 best of all ; it is also the dearest, and consequent- 
 ly few dyers use it. Good indigo ought to be so 
 light as to float on the water ; the more it sinks, 
 the more it may be suspected of being adulterat- 
 ed by a mixture of earth, cinders, or pounded 
 slates. It must be of a deep blue, bordering on 
 the violet, brillant, lively, and shining ; it 
 must be finer within, and appear of a shining hue. 
 Its goodness is tried by dissolving it in a glass 
 of water ; if it be unmixed and well prepared, it 
 will dissolve entirely ; if sophisticated, the 
 foreign matter will sink to the bottom. Another 
 method of trying it is by burning ; good indigo
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 176 
 
 burns entirely away, and when adulterated, 
 the mixture remains after the indigo is consum- 
 ed. 
 
 Powdered indigo is much more subject to, 
 adulteration than that which is in cakes ; for it 
 is a difficult matter that sand, powdered slates, 
 &c. should unite so as not to form together in 
 different places layers of different matters ; and, 
 in this case, by breaking the lump indigo, it is 
 easily discovered. 
 
 You will see by the manufacturing of the wo- 
 ad and indigo, that a portion of the animal crea- 
 tion (reptiles, and insects), live and die in it ; 
 this creates an acidous, alkaline, uriuous and 
 volatile substance, and is the reason why the 
 vat requires to be covered close, to prevent the 
 evaporation of the colouring substances. 
 
 CHAP, IT.' 
 
 Receijit \MtIi. On Yellow Dying, 
 
 YELLOW is one of the five material or pri- 
 tnitive colours, and the subjects are many, of 
 which I shall give a catalogue. Yellow is gov- 
 erned by the po\yer of the acid. I shall not in 
 this, point out any particular process for dying 
 of cloth, as that has been described in my form- 
 er work ; see the receipts for yellow, in them it 
 was for cloth only, (the wool diftlrs from cloth,) 
 to use the same proportion of preparation and 
 dye stuff, for twelve pounds of wool you would 
 for sixteen pounds of cloth. This is to be a gen- 
 eral rule in all dying ; the process for the 
 management of wool when dying, has been de- 
 scribed J it is to be put in a net, and stirred with 
 
 Q
 
 i74 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 poles, to keep the wool open, that it may re- 
 ceive the colour even, &c. 
 
 Of the live primary colours mentioned in the 
 introduction, two of them require a pre- 
 p 1 -. ration given ^by non-colouring ingredients, 
 which by the acidity and fineness of their earth, 
 dispose the pores of the wool to receive the co- 
 lours : the yellow, the red, and the colours de- 
 rived from them, must be so treated ; black 
 must have a preparation peculiar to itself. 
 
 Of drugs and woods for yellow- They are 
 the weld or wold, savory, green- wood, the yel- 
 low- wood and the finugrick ; these are those tol- 
 erated by the regulations in the good dye ; weJd 
 gives the brightest dye, green-wood and savory 
 are the best for the wool to be made green, as 
 they incline and border on the green, the three 
 others give good yellows. The yellows are 
 classed in three, the straw, the pale, and the le- 
 mon yellows. 
 
 To the five drugs already mentioned for yel- 
 low, may be added a number of the good dye ; 
 the bark and root of barbary shrub, the bark of 
 the ash-tree, the dock root, the leaves of the 
 almond, peach and pear-trees, assmart, and 
 saffron flowers, may all be considered in the 
 good dye. Those belonging to the false dye, are 
 turmerick, which gives a beautiful yellow but 
 soon changes ; fustic gives a good colour,but soon 
 turns brown, and is excellent in brown ; roucou 
 or racourt, the grains of Avignon, and onion 
 leaves are much the same, to which maybe add- 
 ed many others ; in short all leaves, barks, and 
 roots, which by chewing shew some little astric- 
 tion, gives yellows of the good dye, more or 
 less fine according to the time they are boiled, 
 and in proportion to the tartar and allum used 
 in the liquor. There is no colour that produces 
 so great a variety of colouring substances a*-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 175 
 
 the yellow ; there is such a difference in the 
 qualities of these subjects, there can be no regu- 
 lar system adopted, but must be applied as the 
 colour requires. The dyer must use his judg- 
 ment for the rule to direct his proportion for 
 the dying subjects. 
 
 For dying yellow. The common preparing 
 water with tartar andallum, are used for wool 
 or stuffs ; to each pound of wool take one ounce 
 of tartar and four ounces of allum, or to every 
 hundred weight of wool, twenty-five pounds of 
 allum and six pounds of tartar ; put this into 
 your copper caldron, fill with fair water, heat 
 boiling hot, then immerse the wool, stir with 
 poles to keep the wool open, that it may all re- 
 ceive the preparation alike ; boil six hours, take 
 it up, let cool, place it in a sack, covered close, 
 to lay twenty-four hours that the pores of the 
 wool may inhale the salts, and be the better 
 prepared ; then rince well and shift the liquor 
 from your copper, clean well, fill with clean fail- 
 water ; if the waters are hard, or impregnated 
 with minerals, to every hundred gallons of wa- 
 ter, take four quarts of wheat bran, enclose it 
 in a clean linen bag, let it boil one hour, or you 
 may add three or four pails full of sour water ; 
 map off the scum that rises by the heat. The 
 hard and rough waters which are natural to 
 some wells and places, by this process may be 
 rendered soft and fit for any colour ; the cleans- 
 ing of the waters requires strict attention in all 
 light and bright colours, as the yellow, the red, 
 &c. ; when the water is thus prepared, add of 
 your colouring substances be they weld, yellow 
 wood, roots, leaves or plants, they all require 
 boiling ; add, boil and run, or stir, till you ob- 
 tain the colour required. 
 
 Light shades of yellow are obtained in the 
 same manner as all others spoken of, only the
 
 176 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 preparing liquor for these light j-ellows must be 
 weaker. I recommend twelve pounds and a 
 half of allum for each hundred pounds of wool, 
 and the tarrar in proportion ; but these light 
 shades do not resist the proofs as deeper shades 
 do, made with the full proportion of tartar. 
 
 Some dyers endeavouring to help this, leave 
 the wool and stuffs for a longer time in the dye, 
 because they take it slower in proportion to the 
 weakness of the liquor : but if they put at the 
 same time in the colouring liquor, wools whose 
 preparation shall have been different, they shall 
 take at the same time different shades. These 
 liquors more or less strong are called half-prepar- 
 ing liquors, or quarter-preparing liquors, and 
 they ake great use of them in light shades of 
 wool dyed in the fleece, that is, before being 
 spun, and which are intended for the manufac- 
 turing of cloths and other mixed stuffs ; be- 
 cause the more allum there is in the liquor of the 
 wool, the more it is harsh and difficult to spin, 
 and it must spin thicker, and consequently the 
 stuff is coarser. This observation is not of great 
 consequence for spun wool which is intended for 
 tapestry or for stuffs. I only mention it to 
 shew that the quantity of ingredients may be 
 sometinjes varied without danger. 
 
 To avoid the harsh and brittleness of the 
 wool, from the preparation that it receives from 
 the earthly parts of these s^lts; step out of the 
 old path, diminish the preparation as the shade 
 requires, for every hundred weight of wool, use 
 eight pounds of allum and three pounds of tar- 
 tar; all yellows must undergo a preparation, 
 and all colours connected with them. These 
 rules for the preparation must be general for the 
 yellow dye. To add when your dye is set and 
 boiled ready to receive your wool or goods, 
 take half a gill of the composition prepared
 
 I 
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 177 
 
 scarlet as will be described hereafter, to every 
 hundred gallons of liquor; this may be added 
 or diminished to the shade required ; it has a 
 tendency to soften and enliven the body of the 
 wool and make it pliable ; it is better than to 
 load the bodies of the wool with these earthly 
 and astringent salts, that leaves the wool harsh 
 and brittle. There can be no objection to any 
 astringent in any dye if properly applied ; it is 
 an affinity on the wool to coat and make a body 
 for the reception of the colouring substances ; 
 the only objections, are the earth these prepara- 
 tory salts contain. 
 
 I have given you the form of the preparation 
 for the yellow, and its effects, I shall close with 
 some observations on the colouring substances 
 for yellow, as to the use and their connections 
 with other colours, Sec. 
 
 OF WELD. 
 
 WELDis a plant that maybe cultivated among 
 us, and is used grossly, either green or dry ; but 
 when in the blossom and not exposed to damage 
 by the wet, and kept dry, it yields but little co- 
 lour and is numbered the first in this dye ; to 
 withstand all trials, it requires six pounds when 
 dry, to every pound of wool or stuff, and boil 
 well. 
 
 The yellow wood is used in chips, or in coarse 
 shavings ; by this means it is more divided, and 
 yields its dye the better, and a less quantity will 
 do ; which way soever it is used, it is put into a 
 bag, that it may not mix with the wool or stuffs. 
 The same" precaution is necessary for the savory 
 and greenwood, when they are mixed with the 
 weld to change its shade. 
 
 _ Greenwood commonly comes ground ; it 
 gives a greenish yellow and is good in greens, 
 Q2
 
 178 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 olives r.r.d drubs ; however, for browns sumac 
 \viil produce the same effect, and when one can* 
 net be obtained the other will answer. 
 
 The other ingredients ure hitherto known which 
 dye yellow, ai id Ishnll only observe here in regard 
 to the good dye, that the foot of the dock, the 
 bark of the ash-tree, particularly that which is 
 raised after the first sap, the leaves of almond, 
 peach and pear-tree, , the root and bark of the 
 barbary shrub, saffron flowers, the herb peters- 
 wort, iir.d in particular theassmart, which gives 
 a beautiful \ellow if fermented before used in 
 dying; its colour will be permanent. The 
 woacl in Europe, is prepared by a chymical pro- 
 cess, and produces a large revenue ; undoubt- 
 edly the assmart, which in the northern states is 
 troublesome to farmers, might be a profit to 
 them and our country, \\ere it suitably prepar- 
 ed for a dye stuff; 'its extract is highly charged 
 with acid and vegetable salts. 
 
 If our government should deem it worth their 
 attention, to employ some able chymist to ex- 
 plore the qualities of our fossils, woods, barks, 
 shrubs, plants, roots, weeds and minerals, per- 
 haps the advantages our rising nation might de- 
 rive, would soon indemnify us for the extra 
 expense. 
 
 In short, all leaves, barks and roots, which by 
 chewing shew some little astriction, give yellows 
 of the good dye more or less fine, according to 
 the time they are boiled, and in proportion to the 
 tartar and allu in used in the liquor: a proper 
 quantity ofallum brings these yellows to the 
 beautiful yellow of the weld. If the tartar is in 
 greater quantity, these yellows will border on the 
 orange ; and lastly, if these ingredients are too 
 much boiled, let them be n ots, barks, or leaves, 
 the yellow obscures itself) and takes brown 
 shacks.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 170 
 
 Although some dyers use turmeric in the good 
 dye, which gives an orange yellow, this practice 
 is to be condemned, for it is a colour that soon 
 passes in the air, unless it be secured by sea- 
 salt, which some dyers do, who take care to 
 keep this imposition to themselves. Those who 
 make use of it in common scarlets, to spare 
 cochineal, and to give to their stuff a red border- 
 ing on the orange, are blameable, for the scarlets 
 that have been dyed after this manner lose in a 
 short time that bright orange ; as I have already 
 said, they brown considerably in the air. Yet 
 these falsifications are obliged to be in some 
 measure tolerated ; for at this time that bright 
 orange being in fashion, it would be impossible 
 togive it to scarlet, without putting a larger dose of 
 composition, whose acids would greatly hurt the 
 cloth The fustic wood is now preferred in 
 scarlet. 
 
 OF TURMERIC. 
 
 THE turmeric is a root that is brought from 
 the East Indies, which dyes a yellow ; with- 
 out it neither a good yellow, green or straw co- 
 lour can be imprest on silks. Turmeric is a 
 small root ; if it be good, when broken it will 
 be a dark yellow, have a strong flavour and be 
 very bitter to the taste. 
 
 That which comes from P^tna is most valued. 
 The Indian dyers call it hatch ; it is also called 
 concome in the regulations of M. Colbert. It is 
 reduced to a very fine powder, and used pretty 
 nearthe same way as the grain of Avignon, but in 
 much less quantity, on account of its yielding a 
 great deal of dye. It is somewhat better than 
 the other yellow ingredients that will be spoken 
 of in the sequel, but, as it is dear, it is a suf- 
 ficient reason for seldom or never using it in the 
 leaser dye.
 
 180 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 It is sometimes used in the great dye to gild 
 the yellows made with weld, and to brighten and 
 orange the scarlets; but this practice is to be 
 condemned ; for the air carries off all the colour 
 of the turmeric in a short time, so that the gild- 
 ed yellows return to their first state, and the scar- 
 lets brown considerably ; when this happens to 
 these sort of colours, it may be looked on as 
 certain that they have been falsified with this in- 
 gredient, which is not lasting. 
 
 OF FUSTIC. 
 
 FUSTIC is much used in this country. The 
 colour it naturally produces, is an orange yel- 
 low, and turns brown when long exposed to the 
 air. It is employed in colouring saxon greens 
 and olives; in short, it mjy be used in all colours 
 where the ground requires a yellow ; it is a 
 clean wood, an astringent, and leaves the goods 
 soft and pliable. There is not one among the 
 ranks of the yellow materials that is so useful 
 as the fustic for browns ; as it changes it be- 
 comes darker and inclining to red, is useful in 
 smokes, snuffs and cinnamon colours ; it is good 
 in black, and excellent in drabs. It is a close 
 and hard vvood, hard to split and full of splinters ; 
 the root and that part of the wood that is most 
 knotty is the best, when split it should appear of a 
 bright yellow ; if it is rotten or otherwise injured 
 it will not answer. Some condemn this wood 
 because it is not good for the yellow, and will 
 not tolerate it in the good dye ; here are the rea- 
 sons given by Mr. Haigh, dyer of Leeds : 
 
 " If a stuff dyed with fustic is dipped in the 
 woad vat, a disagreeable olive ensues, which 
 does not resist the air, but soon loses its colour." 
 And that " fustic was made use of in Languedoc 
 for making of lobbter colours for foreign markets,
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 181 
 
 tis it greatly saves cochineal. For this purpose 
 they mix weld, fustic, and cochineal, with a lit- 
 tie cream of tartar, in the same liquor, and the 
 stuff boiled in this liquor comes out of a lob. 
 ster colour, and accordingly, to the quantity of 
 these different ingredients, it becomes more or 
 less red, tending to the orange. Although the 
 method of mixing together ingredients of the 
 good with those of the lesser dye ought to be con- 
 demned, yet in this case, and for this colour only, 
 which is in considerable demand in the Mediter- 
 ranean, it appears that the fustic may be tolerat- 
 ed ; for having attempted to make the same co- 
 lour, with only the ingredients of the good dye, 
 I did not get a more lasting colour. 
 
 "" The change which the air produces in the 
 lobster colour made with fustic is very sensible, 
 but it is not so disagreeable as the changes in- 
 cident to several other colours ; for all the shade 
 goes off and weakens at once, so that it is ra- 
 ther diminution than a change of colour ; where- 
 as the lobster colour made with the yellow wood 
 becomes of a chtrry colour " 
 
 It appears Mr. Haigh's remarks are groundless 
 and without foundation, he condemns it for no 
 othe^ reason than because it does not answer allhis 
 purposes, yet gives it the preference in the scarlet 
 to the turmeric, and cannot well make the flame 
 coloured scarlet without one or both of these 
 substitutes, as those of the good dye give so lit- 
 tle colour, that it will consume the red of the 
 cochineal, &c. 
 
 Yellow oak bark produces a strong colour, 
 green or dry, but it is better to have it roped and 
 ground as for tanning ; it is also good in browns 
 and blacks. Walnut or hickory bark may 
 be used for the same colours ; it makes a bright- 
 er yellow than the oak, both are durable. In the 
 use of some of these yellow subjects, may be
 
 182 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 added a little blue vitriol to the dye, it will make 
 it very brilliant and fine ; oil of vitriol may also 
 be added, but it will not answer to make it 
 general, only in cases of necessity, &c. 
 
 OF ROUCOU. 
 
 THE roncoti or racourt is a kind of dry paste 
 brought from America ; this ingredient gives 
 an orange colour pretty near the same as the fus- 
 tic, and the dye is not more lasting. However 
 it is not by the proof allum that the quality of 
 the roucou is to be judged, for this does not in 
 the least alter its colour ; on the contrary, it be- 
 comes finer and brighter, but the air carries it 
 off, and effaces it in a short time ; soap has the 
 same effect, and it is by this it must be tried ac- 
 cording to the instructions on these kind of 
 proofs. The place of this ingredient is easily 
 supplied in the good dye by weld and madder 
 mixed together, but rqucqu is made use of in the 
 lesser dye after the following manner. 
 
 Pearlash is dissolved in a copper with a suf- 
 ficient quantity of water ; it is well boiled for 
 one hour, that the ashes may be totally dissolv- 
 ed ; then as many pounds of roucou as there 
 are of ashes, are added ; the liquor is well raked 
 and suffered to boil for a quarter of an hour ; 
 the wool or stuffs that are to be dyed are then 
 dipped without any preparation, except dipping 
 them in luke-warm water, that the colour may 
 spread itself equally. 
 
 They are left in this liquor, working them 
 continually until they are come to the desired 
 shade, after which they are washed and dried. 
 
 ^The roucou is often mixed with other ingre- 
 dients of the lesser dye, but I cannot give any 
 instructions on these mixtures, as they depend 
 on the shades you wish to make, and are in 
 themselves attended with no difficulty.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 183 
 
 I have boiled the stuff in allum and tartar be- 
 fore! dyed itvyith roucou, but though the colour 
 was more lasting it was not sufficiently so to be 
 deemed of the good dye. On the whole, the 
 roucou is a very bad ingredient { r dying of 
 wool, and isnotmade much use of, for it is dear, 
 and other ingredients, that are cheaper and hold 
 better, are used in its stead. 
 
 Wool dyed with roucou, and afterwards dipt 
 in the indigo or woad vat, take a reddish olive, 
 which in a very short time becomes almost blue 
 in the air, the colour given by the roucou dis- 
 appearing. 
 
 Of the Grains of Avignon. 
 
 THE grains of Avignon are but little used 
 in dying, they give a pretty good yellow, but 
 not lasting, no more than the green, produced 
 by dipping in the same liquor, a stuft'that has a 
 ground of blue. To work it, the stuff must be 
 boiled in allum and tartar as for weld. Then a 
 fresh liquor is made with these grains, and the 
 stuff is dipt, and must lie in it longer or shorter, 
 according to the shade that is wanted. There 
 is no difficulty in working of it, so 1 need only 
 observe that it ought never to be used but when 
 all other ingredients for dying yellow are want- 
 ing ; this must seldom happen, as they are nei- 
 ther scarce nor dear. 
 
 The yellows are easily obtained, more so than 
 any other colour, but two simple processes are 
 required ; first, the preparation, then the dye 
 and the colour required. 
 
 This is all that remains for me to say on the 
 ingredients for yellow for the great or the less- 
 er dye ; the dye of the lesser dye is to be used 
 for common and low-priced stuffs. It is not 
 that I think it impossible to extract lasting co-
 
 184 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 lours from them, but then those colours will not 
 strictly be the same which th-ese ingredients 
 yield naturally, or by the ordinary methods, as 
 that gum and astriction which is wanting in 
 them must be added, and then they are no more 
 of the same quality ; consequently the rays of 
 light willo? differently reflected, and the colour 
 will be different- 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF RED. 
 
 RED is one of the material or primitive co- 
 lours, as has been before observed, and is de- 
 pendent on the power of the acid always ; the 
 alkali is sometimes admitted when the goods 
 have received too much acid, and to change the 
 red to a crimson. Crimson is considered by 
 some as one of the reds, but I consider it as 
 compounded, as you may see in the preceding 
 work ; however it is so much connected with 
 the reds, I shall class it with them ; violets, pur- 
 ples and all browns that the ground is red, are 
 connected with the red, as will be shown in the 
 sequel. Neutral substances are frequently in> 
 troduced in the red dye, as verdigrease, blue vi- 
 triol, &c. these tend to sadden the goods, as the 
 alkali, when they have received too mich acid, 
 and are bordering on the orange or yellow, and 
 the red wants raising in the great dye : there 
 are four principal reds, which are the basis of 
 the rest, these ;tre : 
 
 1. Scarlet of grain. 2. The scarlet, now in 
 use, or flame- coloured scarlet, formerly called 
 Dutch scarlet. 3. The crimson red. And, 
 
 4. The madder red.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 185 
 
 There are also the bastard scarlet and the bas- 
 tard crimson ; but as these are only mixtures' 
 of the principal reds, they ought not to be con- 
 sidered as particular colours. 
 
 The red, or nacaret of bourre^^ was formerly 
 permitted in the great dye. 
 
 Ail these different reds have their particular 
 shades from the deepest to the lightest, but they 
 form separate classes, as the shades of the one 
 never fall into those of the other. 
 
 The reds are worked in a different manner 
 from the blues, the wool or stuffs not being im- 
 mediately dipped in the dye, but previously 
 receiving a preparation which gives them no co- 
 lour, but prepares them to receive that of the 
 colouring ingredient. 
 
 This is called the water of preparation ; it is 
 commonly made with acids,suchas sour waters, 
 allum and tartar, aquafortis, aqua regalis, &c. 
 These preparing ingredients are used in dif- 
 ferent quantities, according to the colour and 
 shade required. ^ Galls are also often used, and 
 sometimes alkaline salts. This I shall explain 
 in the course of this treatise, when I come to 
 the method of working each of these colours. 
 
 It has been the opinion of some dyers, that the 
 waters of America would not answer fur a scar- 
 let, and also that a vessel of silver or pure block 
 tin was necessary to contain the scarlet dye; ex- 
 perience has taught us that these opinions are 
 groundless, the waters of this country are as 
 pure and soft as those of Europe ; a brass or 
 copper caldron, if well cleansed will leave the 
 colour as bright as any vessel whatever : brass 
 is preferred, as it is easier kept clean, as may be 
 seen in the preceding work of the different ex- 
 periments in Europe. As scarlets are generally 
 
 *This colour is given with weld and goat's hair boiled in 
 .potash, and is a bright orange red. 
 
 R
 
 186 APPENDIX TO THfc 
 
 dyed in the cloth, it is necessary they should be 
 fulled and finished fit for the press, ns soap \\ ill 
 crimson it, and the hand, &c. would tarnish it in 
 dressing. 
 
 Of Flame-Coloured Scarlet. 
 
 FLAME-coloured scarlet, that is, bright-co- 
 loured scarlet, known formerly under the name 
 of Dutch scarlet, (die discovery of which Kun- 
 kel attributes to Kuster, a German chymist) is 
 the finest and brightest colour of the dye. It 
 is also the most costly, and one of the hardest 
 to bring to perfection. It is not easy to deter- 
 mine the point of perfection, for independent of 
 different tastes concerning the choice of co- 
 Jours, there are also general fancies* which make 
 certain colours more in fashion at one time than 
 another ; when this happens, fashionable co- 
 lours become perfect ones. Formerly scarlets 
 tvere chosen full, deep, and of a degree of 
 brightness which the sight easily bore. At this 
 time they must be on the orange, full of fire, 
 and of a brightness which dazzles the eye. I 
 shall not decide which of these two fashions de- 
 serve the preference, but shall give the method 
 of making them both, and all the shades which 
 hold a medium between these extremes. 
 
 Cochineal, which yields this beautiful colour, 
 and is also called rnestick, or tescalle, is an in- 
 sect that is gathered in great quantities in M- 
 co. The natives and Spaniards, who have but 
 small establishments there, cultivate them, that 
 is, carefully gnther them from the plant on 
 which they teed before the rainy season. T 
 kill and dry those designed for sale and ] 
 serve the rest to multiply when the bad sea 
 is over- The insect feeds and breeds upon a 
 kind of prickly opuntia, which they co:
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 187 
 
 it may.be preserved in a dry place" for ages 
 without spoiling. 
 
 The cochineal sylvestre, or campessiane, is 
 also brought from Vera-Cruz. The Indians of 
 Old and New Mexico gather this kind in the 
 woods ; it feeds, grows, and generates there on 
 the wild uncultivated opuntias ; it is th 
 posed in the rainy season to all the humidity of 
 the air, and dies naturally. This cochineal is 
 always smaller than the fine or cultivated ; the 
 colour is more holding and better, but has not 
 the same brightness, neither is it profitable to 
 use it, since it requires four parts, and some- 
 times more, to do what may be done with one 
 of fine. 
 
 Sometirnes they have damaged cochineal at 
 Cadiz ; this is fine cochineal that has been > 
 \vith salt water, occasioned by some ship- 
 wreck or leakage- These accidents consider- 
 ably diminish the price, the sea- salt saddening 
 the dye. This kind serves only to make pur- 
 ples, and even those are not the best. How- 
 ever a person in 1735, found the secret to turn 
 this to almost as much advantage for scarlet as 
 the finest cochineal. The discovery of this se- 
 cret is easy, but let him that possesses it enjoy 
 it, I shall not deprive him of the advantage he 
 might have in it. 
 
 Almost every dyer has a particular receipt 
 for dying scarlet, and each is fully persuaded 
 that his own is preferable to all others ; yet the 
 success depends on the choice of the cochineal, 
 of the water used in the dye, and on the manner 
 of preparing the solution of tin, which the dyers 
 call composition of scarlet. 
 
 As it is this composition which gives the 
 
 bright flame colour to the cochineal dye, and 
 
 which without this acid liquor would naturally 
 
 rimson colour, I shall describe the prc-
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 paration that succj^pFbest with me, and then 
 point out the dilwlffit processes as practised in 
 Europe and their success, and opinions in the 
 manner of using the preparations and applying 
 the colouring substances. We are furnished 
 in the good or great dye, with four colouring 
 substances for red, the kermes, the cochineal, 
 gum lacque and madder, there is a number 
 in the false dve, as red- wood or brazil, nicaragua, 
 &c. 
 
 Rectipt \2Bth. For Scarlet, as practised in America,. 
 
 WHEN your cloth or goods are prepared for 
 dying, to every fourteen pounds weight take 
 twelve ounces of cochineal, ten ounces of cream 
 of tartar, two pounds of double aquafortis, two 
 ounces of salts of sal ammoniac, two ounces of 
 sal nitre or salt petre, six pounds of wheat bran, 
 two ounces of turmeric and six ounces of gran- 
 iilated tin. 
 
 Comfiositisn for Scarlet. 
 
 TAKE twelve pounds of double aquafortis, 
 to which add gradually twelve pounds of clear 
 clean water, put in a large glass vessel ; then add 
 three-quarters of a pound of salts of sal ammo- 
 r.iac made fine, put it in gradually, then take 
 three-quarters of a pound of sal nitre or saltpetre, 
 pulverized and added slowly, shake them all to- 
 gether till the salts are all dissolved, then add two 
 pounds and a quarter of granulated tin, dropping 
 it in by little and little, as it dissolves it will cause 
 a great fermentation, and you must not be in too 
 great haste in adding the tin ; when the tin is all in 
 and the ebullition ceases, then stop it tight with a 
 glass or wax stopper, put it where it may not be 
 disturbed or shaken up. for the sediment v ill
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 189 
 
 injure the dye, let stand for use ; it must be 
 prepared twenty four hours before using : if you 
 keep it stopped close you may keep this com- 
 position good sevtral months ; this is the com. 
 position for scarlet. 
 
 To fire fiare or granulate the Tin. 
 
 TAKE of the purest block tin or grain tin, 
 that is a metal by itself; it comes in various 
 sizes, from half an ounce to one pound in 
 weight, it has a bright appearance. Take the tin 
 and melt it over a hot fire, then hold it two feet 
 above a pail of clean cold water, and pour it 
 gradually into the water, then take it out and 
 dry it for use. 
 
 The cloths and composition all prepared, 
 then clean the copper clean as described in the 
 preceding work, have all the dying utensils new 
 and clean, or that have not been used in any 
 other dye ; then fill with fair water and clean, 
 and your goods clean and wet with clean water ; 
 to fourteen pound weight of cloth, take six 
 pounds of wheat bran, put it in a clean linen bag 
 tied close, boil it two hours ; then take up the 
 bag, let it drain, then take twelve ounces coch- 
 ineal and ten ounces of cream of tartar, have it 
 well pulverized together in a glass or marble 
 mortar and glass pestel, sifted through gauze ; 
 when thus prepared, add one-third of this com- 
 pound of cochineal, &c. to the boiling liquor, 
 run your goods two hours boiling, turning live- 
 ly, then take up and air ; this is called the scar. 
 let boiling ; then shift the liquor from your cop. 
 per, fill with clean water, and heat boiling hot ; 
 then add half of the remaining compound of 
 cochineal, and two pounds and four ounces 
 of the composition, carefully turned off that 
 you get none of the sediment, for that will in- 
 R2
 
 190 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 jure the dye, boil well, run your cloth one hour 
 with the dye boiling, tend lively, air, and add 
 the remainder of the cochineal, &c. and as much 
 more of the composition as before, and t\vo 
 ounces of turmeric made fine, boil well and run 
 as before. If your dye stuff and composition 
 are good, your cloth and utensils clean, you will 
 have as good a scarlet as was ever made in Eu- 
 rope. I can vouch for this form being used with 
 success in the United States, and was equal to 
 any scarlet 1 ever saw. 
 
 Receipt \29th. Of Scarlet of Grain. 
 
 THIS colour is called scarlet of grain, because 
 it is made with the kermes, which was long 
 thought to be the grain of the tree on which it is 
 found. It was formerly called French scarlet, 
 imagining it to be first found out in France, and 
 is now known by the name of Venetian scarlet, 
 being much in use there, and more made than 
 in any other place. The fashion passed from 
 thence into France and other countries. It has 
 indeed less lustre, and is browner than the scar- 
 let now in fashion ; but it has the advantage of 
 keeping its brightness longer, and does not spot 
 by mud or acid liquors. ^ 
 
 "The kermes is a gall insect, which is bred, 
 lives, and multiplies upon the ilex acculeato 
 cocci glandiscra, C- B. P. Some comes from 
 Narbonne, but greater quantities from Alicant 
 and Valentia, and the peasants of Languedoc 
 yearly bring it to Montpelier and Norbonne. 
 The merchants who buy them to send abroad, 
 spread them on cloths, and sprinkle them v ith 
 vinegar, in order to kill the little insects that are 
 within, which yield a red powder, which is sepa- 
 rated from the shell after drying, and is then 
 passed through a sieve ; this is done particular- 
 ly in Spain.
 
 DYEll's COMPANION. 191 
 
 They then makeit up in hales, and in the mid- 
 dle of e.ich a qunntity of this powder is inclos- 
 ed in a leather bag, in proportion to the whole 
 b de. Thus each dyer has his due proportion of 
 this powder. These bales are generally sent to 
 Marseilles, from whence they are exported to 
 the Levant, Algiers, and Tunis, where it is 
 greatly made use of in dying. 
 
 The red draperies of the figures in the ancient 
 tapestry of Brussels, and other manufactories of 
 Flanders, are dyed with this ingredient ; and 
 some that have been wrought upwards of two 
 hundred years, have scarcely lost any thing of 
 the brightness of the colour. I shall now pro- 
 ceed to give the method of making this scarlet of 
 grain, which is now seldom used but for wools 
 designed for tapestry. 
 
 Preparation of the ivoolfor Scarlet of Grain. 
 
 Twenty pounds of wool and half a bushel of 
 bran are put into a copper, with a sufficient 
 quantity of water, and suffered to boil half an 
 hour, stirring it every now and then ; it is then 
 taken out to drain. 
 
 It is necessary to observe, that whenever spun 
 wool is to be dyed, a stick is passed through 
 each hank (which commonly weighs one pound) 
 and they remain on the stick during the course 
 of the work to prevent their entangling. This 
 stick also enables the dyer to return the hanks 
 with more ease, by plunging each part succes- 
 sively in the liquor, by which they take an equal 
 dye ; by raising the hank with a stick, and 
 drawing it half way out of the copper, seizing 
 the other end of the hank with the other hand, it 
 is plunged towards the bottom. If the wool be 
 too hot, this may be done with two sticks, and 
 the oftener ,this is repeated, the more even will
 
 192 APPENDIX TO' T.HE 
 
 be the dye ; - the ends of the sticks are then plac- 
 ed on two poles to drain. These poles are fix- 
 ed in the wall above the copper. 
 
 Liquor for the Kermes. 
 
 WHILE this prepared wool is draining, the 
 copper is emptied, and fresh water put in, to 
 which is added about a fifth of sour water, four 
 pounds of Roman allum grossly powdered, and 
 two pounds of red tartar. The whole is brought 
 to boil, and that instant the hanks are dipped in 
 (on the sticks) which are to remain in lor two 
 hours, stirring them continually one after the 
 other after the method already laid down. 
 
 I must in this pluce observe, that the liquor in 
 \vhich the allum is put, when on the point of 
 boiling sometimes rises so suddenly that it 
 comes over the copper, if not prevented by add- 
 ing cold water. If, when it is rising, the spun 
 wool is instantly put in, it stops it, and produces 
 the same tffrcts as cold water. 
 
 The liquor does not rise so suddenly when 
 there is a large quantity of tartar, as in the pro- 
 cess ; but when the allum U used alone, some- 
 times above half the liquor comes over the cop- 
 per when it begins to boil, if not prevented by 
 the method described. 
 
 When tlie wool has boiled two hours in this 
 liquor, it is taken put, left to drain, gently 
 squeezed, and put into a linen bap: in a cool 
 place for five or six days, and sometime^ longer ; 
 this is called leaving the wool in preparation. 
 This is to make it penetrate the better, and helps 
 to augment the action of the salts, for as a part of 
 tb /iq'ior always flL's off, it is evident that the 
 remaining, beinsr fuller of saline particles, be- 
 convs more active, provided there remained a 
 sufficient quantity of humidity ; for the salts
 
 DTER T S COMPANION. 
 
 fceing crystalized and dry, would have no more 
 action. 
 
 1 have dwelled much longer on this preparing 
 liquor, and the method of making it, than I shall 
 in the sequel, as there are a great number of co- 
 lours for which it is prepared pretty near in the 
 same proportion, so that when this happens, I 
 shall slightly describe it, mentioning only the 
 changes that are to be made in the quantity of 
 allum, tartar, sour water, or other ingredients. 
 
 After the spun wool has been covered five 
 or six days, it is fitted to receive the dye. A 
 fresh liquor is then prepared according to the 
 quantity of wool to be dyed, and when it begins 
 to be lukewarm, take 12 ounces of powdered 
 kermes for each pound of wool to be dyed, if a 
 full and well-coloured scarlet is wanted. If the 
 kermes was old and flat, a pound of it would 
 be required to 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 the 
 bag, and kept in a cool place) is put in. If it 
 had been boiled a long time before, and grown 
 dry, it must be lightly passed through lukewarm 
 water, and well squeezed before it is dyed. 
 
 Previous to its being dipped in the copper 
 with the kermes, a handful of wool is cast in, 
 which is let to boil for a minute : this takes up 
 a kind of black scum, which the kermes cast 
 up, by which the wool that is afterwards dip- 
 ped acquires a finer colour. This handful of 
 wool being taken out, the prepared is to be put 
 in. The hanks are passed on sticks as in the 
 preparation, 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 the poles to drain, afterwards wrung 
 and washed. 
 
 The dye still remaining in the liquor, may serve
 
 194 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 to dip a little fresh parcel of prepared wool 
 will take some colour in proportion to the good- 
 ness and quality of the kcrmes put into the cop. 
 per. 
 
 When different shades are -wanted, a less 
 quantity of kermes is used, so that for twenty 
 pounds of prepared wool seven or eight are suf- 
 ficient. 
 
 The quantity of wool that is to have the 
 lightest shadtr-vis first to be dipped, and to re- 
 main no longer in than the time sufficient to 
 turn it and make it take the dye equally. Then, 
 the next deepest shade intended is clipped, and 
 left to remain some time longer ; after this. 
 manner the work is continued to the last, which 
 is left as long as requisite to acquire the neces- 
 sary shade. 
 
 The reason of working the lightest shades 
 first, is, that if the yarn is left too long in, no 
 damage^is done, as that hank may serve for a 
 deeper shade ; whereas, if they begin by a 
 deeper, there would be no remedy if a failure 
 happened in some of the lighter shades- The 
 same caution is to be taken in all colours whose 
 shades are to be different. 
 
 There are seidorn more shades than one from 
 the colour now spoken of; but as the working 
 part is the same for all colours, what has been 
 said on this subject will serve for the rest. 
 ^ The yarn thus dyed, before bringing it to the 
 river, may be passed through lukewarm water, 
 in which a small quantity of soap has been per- 
 fectly dissolved : this gives a brightness to the 
 colour, but at the same time saddens it a little, 
 that is, gives it a little cast of the crimson. As 
 I shall often make use of the terms roitzing 
 and saddening, especially in the acids, it is ne- 
 cessary to explain their meaning. 
 
 Saddening, is giving a crimson or violet 
 to red; soap and alkaline salts, such as lie
 
 DYER'-S COMPAKION. 195 
 
 as'nes, potash, lime, sadden reds ; thus they 
 serve to bring them to the shriek- required when 
 too bright, and that they are too much rouzed. 
 
 Routing^ is doing quite the reverse ; it is giv- 
 ing ; fire to the red, by making it border on the 
 yellow or orange. This is performed on wool by 
 the means of acids, asred^or white tartar, cream 
 of tartar, vinegar, lemon juice, and aquafortis. 
 These acids are added more or less, according to 
 the depth of the orange colour required. For 
 example, if the scarlet of grain was wanted to be 
 more bright, and approach somewh it nearer to 
 common scarlet, a little of the scarlet composi- 
 tion, which has been spoken of. must be pour- 
 ed into the liquor after the kermes is put in, 
 and the brown colour of that liquor would im- 
 mediately be brightened by the acid, and be- 
 come of a brighter red ; the wool dipped in 
 would be more liable to be spotted by mud and 
 acid liquors : the reason will appear in the next 
 chapter. 
 
 I have made various experiments on this co- 
 lour, in order to make it fitter and brighter than 
 what it generally is, but I never could extract 
 a red that was to be compared to that of cochi- 
 neal. 
 
 Of all the liquors which I made for the pre- 
 paration of the wool, that which was made with 
 the preparations just mentioned succeeded best. 
 Bv changing the natural dye of the kermes, by 
 different kinds of ingredients of metallic solu- 
 tions, &c. various colours are made, which I 
 shall immediately speak of. 
 
 I shall say but little about dying stuffs with this 
 red, as the proportion cannot be prescribed 
 for each yard of stuff, on account of their 
 breadth and thickness, or the quantity of wool 
 entering their composition ; practice alone will 
 teach -the necessary quantity for each $ort of
 
 196 APPENDIX TO THL 
 
 stuff; however, not to work in the dark, or to 
 try experiments at random, the surest way will 
 be to weigh the stuffs, and to diminish about 
 one-fourth part of the colouring ingredients laid 
 down for spun wool, as stuffs take up less co- 
 lour inwardly, their texture being more com- 
 pact, prevents its penetration, whereas yarn or 
 wool in the fleece receives it equally within and 
 without. 
 
 The al'ium and tartar for the liquor of prepa- 
 ration for the stuffs must be diminished in the 
 same proportion, and they are not to remain in 
 the preparing liquor as long as the wool. It 
 may be dyed the next day after boiling. 
 
 If wool in the fleece is dyed with the red of the 
 kermes, either to incorporate it with cloths of a 
 mixed colour, or to make full cloths, it will have 
 a much finer effect than if the wool had been 
 dyed in the red of madder. I shall mention this in 
 describing the compound colours in which the 
 kermes is used, or ought at least be used in 
 preference to madder, which does not give so 
 line a red, but, being cheaper, is commonly sub- 
 stituted for it. 
 
 Half grain scarlet, or bastard scarlet, is that 
 which is made of equal parts of kermes and 
 madder. This mixture affords a very holding 
 colour, not bright, but inclining to a blood red. 
 It is prepared and worked in the same manner 
 as that made of kermes alone- This dye is 
 much cheaper and the dyers commonly make it 
 less perfect by diminishing the kermes and aug- 
 menting the madder. 
 
 By the proofs that have been made of scarlet of 
 grain or kermes, whether by exposing it to the 
 sun, or by different proofs, it is certain there is 
 not a more holding or a better colour ; yet the 
 kermes is no where in use but at Venice. The 
 mode of this colour has been entirely out since
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 197 
 
 the making of flame-coloured scarlets. This 
 scarlet of grain is no'v called a colour of bul- 
 lock's blood : nevertheless, it has great advan- 
 tages over the other, for it neither blackens nor 
 spots, arid grease may be taken out without pre- 
 :;ce to its colour ; but it is out of fashion and 
 that is sufficient. This has entirely put a stop 
 to the consumption of kennes in France. Scarce 
 a clj'er knows it, and when Monsieur Colbert 
 wanted a certain quantity for the experiments 
 above related, he was obliged to send for it to 
 Languedcc, the merchants of Paris keeping only 
 a sufficiency for medicinal purposes. 
 
 When a dyer is obliged to dye a piece of 
 cloth, known yet under the name of scarlet of 
 grain, as he has neither the knowledge of the 
 kermes, nor the custom of u^ing it, he makes it 
 of a cochineal, as I shall relate in the following 
 receipt ; it comes dearer, and is less holding 
 than that made of the kermes. The same is 
 done in regard to spun wool designed for tapes- 
 tries, and as this shade is pretty difficult to hit 
 with cochineal, they commonly mix brazil 
 wood, which hitherto has been a false ingredient, 
 permitted only in the lesser dye. For this rea- 
 son all these kind of reds fade in a very short 
 time, and though they are much brighter than re- 
 quired, coming out of the hands of the workman, 
 they lose all their brightness before the expira- 
 tion 1 of a year : they whiten or become exceed- 
 ing grey ; it is therefore to be wished that the 
 use of kermes was again established. 
 
 It is also certain, that if some dyer set about 
 using it, there are several colours that might be 
 extracted from it with more ease and less ex pence 
 tli an the common method ; for these colours 
 would be better and more holding, and he would 
 thereby acquire a greater reputation. I ; -.ave 
 ,--..,. j|fvT' PXDI riments v" 1 t' '
 
 APPEXDIX TO THE 
 
 from which some use in practice may arise ; I 
 shall only relate such as have produced the most 
 singular colours. 
 
 By mixing the kermes with cream of tartar, 
 without allum, and as much of the composition 
 as would be used for the making of scarlet with 
 cochineal, you have in one liquor an exceeding 
 bright cinnamon, for nothing but the acid enter- 
 ing in the mixture, the red parts of the kermes 
 become so minute that they almost escape the 
 sight. But if this cinnamon colour be passed 
 through a liquor of Roman allum, part of this 
 red appears again ; whether it be by the ad- 
 dition of the allum ^that drives out a part of the 
 acid of the composition, or the earth of the allum 
 precipitated by the astriction of the kermes, 
 which has the efftct of galls, I know not ; but 
 this red thus restored is not fine. 
 
 With cream of tartar (the composition for 
 scarlet) and allum, in greater quantity than tar- 
 tar, the kermes gives a lilac colour, which varies 
 according as the proportion of ingredients are 
 changed. 
 
 If in the place of allum and tartar, ready pre- 
 pared tiirtur of vitriol is substituted, which is a 
 very hard salt resulting from the mixture ot the 
 vitriolic acid and a fixed alkali, such as .he oil 
 of tartar potash, &.c and if, I s^y, after boiling 
 the ktrmcs in a solution of a small quantity of 
 this salt, the stuff be dipped in and boiled one 
 hour, it acquires a tolerable handsome ag, th 
 y, and in which very little red is seen, for the 
 acid cf the COT, position having too much divid- 
 ed the rtd of the kermes, and the tartar of vi- 
 triol, not containing the earth of the allum, it 
 could not re-unite these red toms, dispersed by 
 precipitation. These agoth greys iire of the 
 good dye, for, as I have ct in the chapter 
 
 trea'.ing of indigo, the tartar of vitriol is a hard
 
 DYER'S COMPANION". 199 
 
 salt, which is not calcined by the sun, and is in- 
 dissoluble in rain vyater. 
 
 Glauber salts mixed with the kermes entirely 
 destroy its red, and give an earthy grey that 
 does not stand the proof, for this salt neither re- 
 sists cold water nor the rays of the sun, which 
 reduce it into powder. Vitriol or green cop- 
 peras, and blue vitriol separated substituted for 
 ailum, but joined to the crystal of tartar, equal- 
 ly destroy or veil the red of the kermes, which 
 in these two experiments produce the same ef- 
 fect as if galls or sumac had been made use of; 
 for it precipitates the iron of the green vitriol, and 
 dyes the cloth of a grey brown, and the copper 
 of the blue vitriol dyes it of an olive. 
 
 Instead of blue vitriol, I used a solution of 
 copper* in aquafortis, which also produced an 
 olive colou r : a convincing proof that the ker- 
 mes has the precipitating quality of the galls, 
 si ace it preciuitates-the copper of the vitriol as a 
 decoction of gall-nut would. 
 
 There is great probability that what renders 
 the red of the kermes as holding as that of mad- 
 der, is from the insects feeding on an astringent 
 shrub, which, notwithstanding the changes made 
 by the digestion of the juices of the plant, still 
 retains the astringent quality of the vegetable, 
 and consequently the virtue, and so gives a 
 greater spring to the pores of the wool to con- 
 tract themselves q tinker and with greater 
 strength, \vhe,i it comes out of the boiling wa- 
 ter, and is exposed to the cold air ; for I Ivtve 
 observed that all b irks, roots, wood, fruits, imd 
 other matters that have some astriction, yield co- 
 lours of the good dye. 
 
 Verdigrease,
 
 200 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 .Receijit 130th. Flame coloured scarlet, as practised at 
 Leeds and in France. 
 
 Composit'wnfor Scarlet. Take eight ounces 
 of spirit of nitre, (which is always purer than 
 the common aquafortis mostly used by the dy- 
 ers) and* be certain that it contains no vitriolic 
 acid ; weaken this nitrous acid by putting it in- 
 to eight ounces of filtered river water : dissolve 
 in it, little by little, half an ounce of very 
 white salt ammoniac, to make it an aqua regia, 
 because spirits of nitre alone will not dissolve 
 block-tin. Lastly, add two drachms of salt 
 petre ; this might be omitted, but I observed 
 that it was of use in making the dye smooth 
 and equal- In this aqua regia thus weakened, 
 dissolve one ounce of the best block-tin, which 
 is first granulated or made small while melted . 
 by casting it from a height into a vessel of cold 
 v/ater. These small grains of tin are put into 
 the dissolvent one by one, letting the first dis- 
 solve before putting in others ; this prevents the 
 loss of the red vapours, which would rise in 
 great abundance, and be lost if the dissolution 
 of the metal was made too hastily ; it is neces- 
 sary to preserve these vapours, and, as Kunkel 
 observed, they greatly contribute towards the 
 
 * Dissolve in a small quantity of spirit of nitre as much sil- 
 ver as it will take ; put a few drops of this into some of the 
 .spirit of nitre th.it is to be proved; if this spirit remains 
 uansparent, it is pure ; but if a wlvte cloud be perceived, 
 which will afterwards form a sediment, it is a sign that there 
 is 'a commixture of vitriol or spirit of salt. In order there- 
 fore to render the spirit of nitre absolutely pure, drop the 
 solution of silver gradually into it, so long as it shall produce 
 the least turbiclness, time being given for the spirit to be- 
 come clear betwixt each addition. The spirit of nitre be- 
 ingthen poured off from th- sediment. will be perfectly pure; 
 and if this sediment, which is the silver precipitated, be 
 evaporated to dryness, and then infused in a crucible with 
 a small quantity of any fixed alkaline salt, it wiHbe redu*. 
 to its proper metalline state,
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 201 
 
 brightness of the colour, either because these 
 vapours are acids that evaporate and are lost, 
 or contain a sulphur peculiar to salt pttre, 
 which gives a brightness to the colour This 
 method is indeed much longer than that used 
 by the dyers, who immediately pour the aqua- 
 fortis upon the tin reduced to small pieces, and 
 wait till a strong fermentation ensues, and a 
 great quantity evaporates before they weaken it 
 with common water. When the tin is thus 
 dissolved, this scarlet composition is made, and 
 the liquor is of the beautiful colour of dissolved 
 gold, without any dirt or black sediment, as I 
 used very pure tin without allay, and such as 
 runs from the first melting of the furnaces of 
 Cornwall. This solution of tin is very trans- 
 parent when newly made, and becomes milky 
 and opaque during the great heat of summer ; 
 the greatest part of the dyers are of opinion, that 
 it is then changed and good for nothing ; yet 
 mine, notwithstanding this defect, made as 
 bright scarlet as if it had remained clear ; be- 
 sides, in cold weather what I made recovered its 
 first transparency. It must be kept in a glass 
 bottle with a stopper, to prevent the evaporation 
 of the volatile parts. 
 
 As the dyers do not attend to this, their com- 
 position often becomes useless at the end of 
 twelve or fifteen days. I have laid down the 
 best method, and, if they seek perfection, they 
 will abandon their old practice, which is imper- 
 fect. 
 
 The dyers in France first put into a stone 
 vessel, with a large opening, two pounds of 
 salt ammoniac, two ounces of refined saltpetre, 
 and two pounds of tin reduced to grains by 
 water, or, which is 4 still preferable, the filings 
 of tin ; for when it Kas been melted and granu- 
 lated, there is always a small portion converted 
 S2
 
 202 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 into a calx which does not dissolve. They 
 \veigh four pounds of water in a separate ves- 
 sel, of which they pour about two ounces upon 
 the mixture in the stone vessel ; they then add 
 a pound and a half of common Aquafortis, which 
 to it produces a violent fermentation. When the 
 ebullition ceases, they put in the same quantity 
 of aquafortis, and an instant after they add one 
 pound more. They then put in the remainder of 
 the four pounds of water they had set aside ; the 
 vessel is then close covered, and the composi- 
 tion let to stand till the next day. 
 
 The salt petre and salt ammoniac are some- 
 times dissolved in the aquafortis before the tin 
 is put in ; they practise both methods indiscri- 
 minately, though it is certain that this last me- 
 thod is best. Others mix the water and aqua- 
 fortis together, and pour this mixture on the tin 
 and salt ammoniac. In short, every dyer fol- 
 lows his own method. 
 
 Water for the Preparation of Scarlet. 
 
 The day after preparing the composition, the 
 water for the preparation of scarlet is made, 
 which differs from that macle in the preceding 
 receipt. 
 
 Clear the water well. For each pound of 
 spun wool, put twenty quarts of vtry clear ri- 
 Vi r water Chard spring water xvill not do) into a 
 small copper. When the water, is a little more 
 than lukewarm, two ounces of the cream of tartar 
 fiarly powdered, and one drachm and a half of 
 powdered and silted cochineal is added. The fire 
 is then made a little stronger, and when the li- 
 quor is ready to boil two ounces of the compo- 
 sition are put in. This acid instantly changes 
 the colour of the liquor, which, from a crimson, 
 becomes of the colour of blood. 
 
 As soon as this- liquor begins to boil, the
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 203 
 
 wool is clipped in, which must have been pre- 
 viously wetted in warm water and \vrung. 
 The wool is continually worked in this liquor, 
 and left to boil an hour and a half; it is then 
 taken out, slightly wrung, and washed in fresh 
 water. The wool coming out of the liquor is 
 of a lively flesh colour, or even some shades 
 deeper, according to the goodness of the cochi- 
 neal, and the strength of the compositioni. The 
 colour of the liquor is then entirely passed into 
 the wool, remaining almost as clear as common 
 water. 
 
 This is called the water of preparation for 
 scarlet, and the first preparation it goes through 
 before it is dyed ; a preparation absolutely neces- 
 sary, without which the dye of the cochineal 
 would not be so good. 
 
 Reddening, 
 
 To finish it, a fresh liquor is prepared with 
 clear water, the goodnes> of the water being of 
 the greatest importance towards the perfection 
 of the scarlet. An ounce and a half of starch 
 is put in*, and whe n the liqvior is a little more 
 than lukewarm, six drachms and a half of coch- 
 ineal finely powdered and sifted is thrown in. 
 A little before the liquor boils, two ounces of 
 the composition is poured in, and the liquor 
 changes its colour as in the former. It must 
 boil, and then tht- wool, is put into the copper, 
 and continually stirn d us in the former It is 
 likewise boiled an hour and a half ; it is then 
 taken out, wrung, and washed. The scarlet is 
 then in its perfection. 
 
 One ounce of cochineal is sufficient for a 
 pound of wool, provided it be worked with at- 
 
 * Starch softens it.
 
 2d4 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 tention, and after the manner laid down, and 
 that no dye remains in the liquor. For coarse 
 cloth less would do, or half as much for worst- 
 ed. However, if it was required to be deeper 
 of cochineal, a drachm or UVG might be added, 
 but not more, for it would then lose its lustre 
 and brightness. 
 
 Though I have mentioned the quantity of the 
 composition, both in the water of the prepara- 
 tion and the dye, yet this proportion is not to be 
 taken as a fixed rule. 
 
 The aqu tfortis used by the dyers, is seldom 
 of an equal strength ; if, therefore, it be always 
 mixed with an eqiul quantity of water, the com- 
 position would not produce the same effect : but 
 there is a method of ascertaining the decree of 
 acidity of aquafortis. For example, to use that 
 only, two ounces "f which would dissolve one 
 ounce of silver. This would produce a com- 
 position that would be always equal, but the 
 quality of the cochiiie^-l \v iild then produce 
 new varieties, and the trifling difference that this 
 commonly causes in the shade of scarlet is of no 
 great signification, as more or less may be used 
 to bring it precisely to the colour desired. If 
 the composition be weak, and the aforesaid 
 quantity not put in, the scarlet will be a deeper 
 and fuller in colour. On the contrary, if a little 
 more is added, it will be more on the orange, and 
 have what is called more fire ; to rectify which, 
 add a little of the composition, stirring it well in 
 thf copper, having first taken out the wool ; for 
 if it was to touch any part before it was 
 thoroughly mixed, it would blot it. If, on the 
 contrary, the scarlet has too much fire, th it is, 
 too much on the orange, or too much rouzed, it 
 must be passed through clear warm water ; when 
 finished, this saddens it a little, that is, diminish- 
 es its bright orange j if there still remained toe
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 much, a little Roman allum must be mixed with 
 the hot water. 
 
 For spun wool that is to have all the various 
 shades of scarlet, about half the cochineal, and 
 half the composition for full scarlet is sufficient. 
 The cream of tartar must also be diminished 
 proportionally in the water of preparation. The 
 wool must be divided into as many hanks or 
 skains as there are to be shades, and when the li- 
 quor is prepared, the skains that are to be lightest 
 are first to be dipped, and to remain in but a 
 very short space of time ; then those that 
 are to be a little deeper, which must remain in 
 somewhat longer, and thus proceeding to the 
 deepest ; the wool is then to be washed, and the 
 liquor pn pared to finish them. In this liquor, 
 each of these shades are to be boiled one after 
 the other, beginning always with the lightest, and 
 if they are perceived not to be of the proper 
 shade they must be passed again through the li- 
 quor. The eye of a dyer, will readily judge of 
 the shades, and a little practice will bring this to 
 perfection. 
 
 The dyers are divided in opinion of what me- 
 tal the boiler should be made. In Languedoc 
 they use those m;-de of the finest block -tin, and 
 several dyers, in Paris follow the same method. 
 Yet that great dyer, M. de Julienne, whose 
 scarlets are in great repute, uses brass. The 
 same is used in the great manufactory at St, 
 Dennis. M. de Julienne, to keep the stuffs from 
 touching the boikr, nruikcsuse of large rope nets 
 with close meshes* At St. Dennis, instead of a 
 rope net, they have large baskets, made of wil- 
 low stripped of the bark, and not too close work- 
 ed. 
 
 As so much had been said concerning the 
 metal of the boiler, I tried the experiment. I 
 took two ells of white sedan cloth, which I dyed
 
 206 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 in two separate boilers of equal size ; one was of 
 brass, fitted with a rope net, the other of block 
 tin. The cochineal, the composition, and other 
 ingredients, were weighed with the utmost aq- 
 curacy and boiled precisely the same time. In 
 short, I took all possible care that the process 
 should be the same in both, that if any difference 
 arose it might only be attributed to the different 
 metals of tiie boiler. After the first liquor, the 
 two pieces of cloth were absolu'ely alike only 
 that which had been boiled in the tin vessel ap- 
 peared a iittle more streaked and uneven, which, 
 in all likelihood, proceeded from these two ells 
 of cloth being less scoured at the mill than the 
 two others ; tne two pieces were finished each 
 in the separate boilers, and both turned out very 
 fi.ie ; but that which had been made in the tin 
 boilrr had a little more fire than the other, and 
 the last was a little more saddened. It would 
 have been an easy ma'trr to have brought them 
 both to the same shade, but that was not my 
 intention. 
 
 From this experiment, I conclude, that when 
 a brass boiler is ust-d, it requires a little more of 
 the composition than the tin one ; but this addi- 
 tion of the composition makes the cloth feel 
 rough ; to avoid this defect, tin- dyers who use 
 brass vessels put in a little turmeric, a drug of 
 the -dye, but which gives to scirlct that sh.'de 
 which is now in f ishion ; I mean that flame- 
 colour, which the eve is scarce able to b< 
 
 This adulteration is easily discovered by cut- 
 ting a piece of the cloth ; if there is no turmeric, 
 the web will be of a fine white, but yellow if 
 there is. When the web is dyed the same as the 
 surface, it is said that colour is webbed, and the 
 contrary, when the middle of the weaving re- 
 rnains white. The lawful scarlet is never dyed 
 in the we') : the adulterated, where th. 1 turmeric 
 or fustic has been made use of, is more liable to
 
 -DYER'S COMPANION. 20T 
 
 change its colour in the air than the other. But 
 as the brightest scarlets are now in fashion, and 
 must have a yellow cast, it is better to t- It rate 
 the use of turmeric, than to use too great a quan- 
 tity of the composition to bring the scarlet to this 
 shade; for in this last case, the cloth would be 
 damaged by it, would be sooner spotted by dirt 
 from the quality of the acid, and would be more 
 easilj torn, because acids stiffen the fibres of the 
 wool, and render them brittle. 
 m I must also take notice, that if a copper vessel 
 is used it cannot'be k( pt too clean. 1 have failed 
 several times with my patterns of scarlet, by not 
 having the copper scoured. 
 
 I c mnot heip condemning the common prac- 
 ticeof some dyers, even the most eminent, who 
 prepare their liquor over night, and keep it hot 
 next morning, when they dip in their stuffs; 
 this they do, not to lose time, but it is certain 
 that the liquor corrodes the copper in that space, 
 and by introducing particles of copper in the 
 cloth, prejudices the beauty of the scarlet. They 
 may say they only put in their composition just 
 at the time uhen the cloth is ready to be dipt in 
 the copper ; but the cream of tartar, or the white 
 tartar, which they put in ovtr i;ight, is an acid 
 salt sufficient to corrode the cupper of the vessel, 
 and form a verdigrease, although it dilutes itself 
 as it forms, still has not a less eft. ct. 
 
 It would therefore be better to make use of 
 tin boilers, a boiler of this metal must contri- 
 bute to the beauty of scarlet ; but these boiltrs 
 of a sufficient size cost much, and may be melt- 
 ed bythetiegligtnceot the workmen, and there 
 is a difficulty in casing them of so great a size 
 without sand flaws, which, n-ust be- lilU d. Now 
 
 these sand- holt s : re fitted with solder there 
 must of necessity be places in the boiK r that 
 contain lead ; this lead in time being corroded
 
 208 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 by the acid of the composition, v. ill tarnish the 
 scarlet. But if such a boiler could be cast with- 
 out any sand -holts, it is certain such a one 
 would be preferable to all others, as it contracts 
 no rust, and if the acid of the liquor detaches 
 some parts, they cannot be hurtful. 
 
 Having laid down the manner of dying spun 
 \vool in scarlet, and its various shades, which 
 are so necessary for tapestry and other work, it 
 is proper to give an idea of the dying of several 
 pieces of stuff at one time. I shall relate this 
 operation as it is practised in Languedoc. I 
 made the trial on some ells of stuff, which sue- 
 ceeded very well, but this scarlet \vas not so fine 
 as the flame coloured. 
 
 There are t\vo reasons why the wool is not 
 dyed before it is spun (for fine colours) first in 
 the course of the manufacturing, that is, either 
 in the spinning, carding, or weaving, it would 
 be almost impossible in a l;:rge u orkshop, where 
 there are many workmen, but that some parti- 
 clfb of white xvool, or some other colour would 
 mix, which would spoil that of the stuff by 
 blotting it ever so little ; for that reason, the 
 reds, the blues, the yellows, the greens, and all 
 other colours that are^ to be. perfectly uniform, 
 are never dyed before they are manufactured. 
 
 The second reason, which is peculiar to scar- 
 let, or rather to cochineal, is, that it will not 
 stand the milling, and as the greatest part of 
 high stuffs must be r.iilled after they are taken 
 from the Icom, the cochineal would lose part of 
 its colour, or at least would be greatly sad<x.-n- 
 ed by the soap, which produces this effect by 
 the alkaline salt which destroys the brightness 
 given to the red by the acid. These are the 
 reasons that the cloths and stuffs are not dyed in 
 scarlet, light red, crimson, violet, purple, and 
 
 other light colours, but after being entirely ir' 
 
 ~
 
 DYER'S COMPANIOX. 209 
 
 To dye, for example, five pieces of cloth at 
 one time of five quarters breadth, and contain- 
 ing fifteen or sixteen ells each, the following pro- 
 portions are to be observed. Put into a stone 
 or glazed earthen pot twelve pounds of aqua- 
 fortis, and twenty pounds of water, to which 
 fcdd a pound and a half of tin, made in grains by 
 running it in water, or filed. The dissolution is 
 made quicker or slower, according to the greater 
 or lesser acidity of the aquafortis. The whole 
 is left to rest twelve hours at least, during which 
 time a kind of black mud settles at the bottom 
 of the vessel ; what swims over this sediment 
 is poured off by inclination ; this liquor is clear 
 and yellow, and is the composition which is to 
 be kept by itself. 
 
 This process differs from the first in the quan- 
 tity of water rnixt with the aquafortis, and in 
 the small quantity of tin, little of which must 
 remain jn the liquor, since aquafortis alone can- 
 not dissolve it, but only corrodes it, and reduces 
 it to a calx, as there is neither salt petre, not salt 
 ammoniac which would form an aqua regia. 
 However, the effect of this composition differs 
 from the first only to the eyes accustomed to 
 judge of that colour. 
 
 f This composition made without salt ammo- 
 niac, and which has been of long use amongst a 
 great number of manufacturers at Carcassone, 
 who certainly imagined that its effect was owing 
 to the sulphur of the tin, can only keep thirty- 
 six^ hours in winter without spoiling, and twen- 
 ty-four hours in summer ; at the expiration of 
 which it grows muddj r , and a cloud precipitates 
 to the bottom of the vessel, which changes to a 
 white sediment. This is the small quantity of 
 tin, which was suspended in the acid, but an 
 acid not prepared for that m.-t-^i ; the com- 
 position which ought to be yellow becomes at
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 this time as clear as water, and if used in that 
 state would not succeed ; it would have the 
 same effect as that which would become milky. 
 
 The late M. Baron pretended to have been the 
 first discoverer at Carcassone of the necessity of 
 adding salt ammoniac to hinder the tin from 
 precipitating. If so, there was no one in that 
 town that knew that tin cannot be replly di^solv- 
 cd but by aqua regia. 
 
 Haying prepared the composition as I have 
 described it after M. de Fondriers, about sixty 
 cubical feet of water are put into a large copper 
 for the five pieces of cloth before mentioned, 
 and when the water grows warm, a bag with 
 bran is put in, sometimes also sour waters are 
 used; the one and the other serve to correct 
 the water, that is, to absorb the earthy and alka- 
 line matters which may be in it, and which, as 
 I have already said, saddens the dye of the coch- 
 ineal, for the effect of the water ought to be well 
 known, and experience will teach whether such 
 expedients should be used, or whether the wa- 
 ter, being very pure and denulated of salts and 
 earthy particles, can be used without such helps. 
 
 Be that as it will, as soon as the water begins 
 to be little more than lukewarm, ten pounds of 
 powdered cream of tartar is flung in, that is, 
 two pounds for each piece of cloth. The liquor 
 is then raked strongly, and when it grows a little 
 hotter, half a pound of cochineal is cast in which 
 is well mixt with sticks ; immediately after 
 -twenty-seven pounds of the composition very 
 -clear is poured in, which is also well stirred, and 
 as soon as the liquor begins to boil, the cloths 
 are put in, which are made to boil strongly for 
 two hours, stirring them continually by the 
 help of the wynch : they are then taken out upon 
 the scray, and well handled three or four times 
 from end to end, by passing the lists between
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 211 
 
 the hands to air and cool them. They are af- 
 terwards washed. 
 
 After the cloth has been washed, the copper 
 is emptied and a fresh liquor prepared, to which 
 if necessary, a bug with bran or some sour wa- 
 ter is added ; but if the water is of a good qua- 
 lity, these are to be omitted ; when the liquor 
 is ready to boil, eight pounds and a quarter of 
 powdered and sifted cochineal is put in, which 
 is to be mixed as equally as possible through- 
 out the liquor, and having left off stirring, it 
 is to be observed when the cochineal rises on 
 the surf ice of the water, and forms a crust of 
 the colour of the lees of the vvine ; the instant 
 this crust opens of itself in several places, eigh- 
 teen or twenty pounds of the composition is to 
 be added. A vessel with cold water must be 
 at hand to cast on the liquor in case it should 
 rise, as it sometimes does, after the composition 
 is put in. 
 
 As soon as the composition is in the copper, 
 and equally distributed throughout the whole, 
 the cloth is cast in, and the wynch strongly 
 turned two or three times, that all the pieces 
 may equally take the dye of the cochineal. 
 Afterwards it is turned slowly to let the water 
 boil, which it must do very fast for one hour, 
 always turning the wynch, and sinking the cloth 
 in the liquor with sticks, when by boiling it 
 rises too much on the surface. The cloth is 
 then taken out, and the lists passed between 
 the hands to air and cool it ; it is then washed, 
 after which it is to be dried and dressed. 
 
 In each piece of the Languedoc scarlet cloth 
 there is used, as has been shewn, one ^ound 
 and three-quarters of cochineal in the dye and 
 preparation ; this quantity is sufficient, to give 
 the cloth a very beautiful colour. If more coch- 
 ineal was added, and a deeper orange-colour
 
 A?J>END1X TO THE 
 
 i-equirt'l, the quantity of the composition must 
 e augmented. 
 
 When a great quantity of stuffs are to be dyed 
 ;n scarlet, ;i con -idtr .ble profit arises b\ 'do- 
 ing them together, for the same liquor serves 
 lor the second dip uhich was used tor the first. 
 t or example : when the five first pieces are fin- 
 ished, there always remains in the liquor a 
 certain quantity of cochineal, uhich in seven 
 pounds may amount to twelve ounces ; so that 
 If this liquor be used to dye other stuffs, the 
 cloths dipped in it will have the same shade of 
 rose colour as if they had been dyed in a fresh 
 liquor with twelve ounces of cochineal ; yet this 
 quantity may vary pretty much, according to 
 the quality or choice of the cochineal, or ac- 
 cording to i;e fineness it has been reduced to 
 when powder*, d. But whatever colour may re- 
 main in the liquor, it deserves some attention 
 on account of the high price of this drug. The 
 same liquor is then made use of for other five 
 pieces, and less cochineal and composition are 
 put in proportion to what may be judged to re- 
 main ; fire and time are also saved by this, and 
 rose-colour and flesh -col our may also be pro- 
 duced from it ; but if the dyers have no leisure 
 to make these different liquors in twenty-four 
 hours, the colour of the liquor corrupts, grows 
 turbid, and loses the rose-colour entirely. To 
 prevent this corruption some put in Roman al- 
 ium, but the scarlets which are prepared after 
 that manner are ill saddened. 
 
 When cloths of different qualities, or any 
 ether stuffs are to be dyed, the surest method is 
 to weigh them, and for each hundred weight of 
 cloth add about six pounds of crystal or cream 
 of tartar, eighteen pounds of composition in the 
 water of preparation, as much for the reddening, 
 and six pounds and a quarter of cochineal. 
 Thus in proportion for one pound of stuff use
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 213 
 
 one ounce of cream of tartar, six ounces of com- 
 position, and one ounce of cochineal ; some emi- 
 nent dyers at Paris put two-thirds of the com- 
 position and a fourth of the cochineal in the 
 water of preparation, and the other third of the 
 composition with three-fourths of the cochineal 
 in reddening. 
 
 It is not customary to put cream of tartar in 
 the reddening, yet I am certain, by experience, 
 that it does not hurt, provided the quantity does 
 not exceed half the weight of the cochineal, and 
 it appeared to me to make a more lasting colour. 
 Some dyers have made scarlet with three dip- 
 pings ; namely, a first and second water for pre- 
 paration, and then the reddening ; but still the 
 same quantity of drugs is always used. 
 
 I observed, in the foregoing receipt, that the 
 little use made of kermes for the brown or Ve- 
 netian scarlets, obliges most dyers to make them 
 with cochineal ; for this purpose a water of pre- 
 paration is made as usual; and for the redden. 
 ing, eight pounds of allum are added for each 
 hundred weight of stuff; this allum is dissolved 
 by itself in a kettle, with a sufficient quantity of 
 water, then poured into the liquor before the 
 cochineal is put in The remainder is perform- 
 ed exactly as in the common scarlet ; this is the 
 Venetian scarlet, but it has not near the same 
 solidity as if made with the kermes. 
 
 There are no alkaline salts which do not sad- 
 den scarlet ; of this number are the salt of tartar, 
 potash, pearlash calcined, and nitre fixed by 
 fire; therefore allum is more generally u^ed ; 
 and if the^e alkaline salts be boiled with the 
 stuffs, they would considerably damage them, 
 for they dissolve ail animal substances. If the 
 allum be calcined, it is still the more secure- 
 
 The redder the scarlet is, the more it has been 
 saddened ; from thence it appears that these co- 
 T2
 
 APPENDIX 10 TH2 
 
 lours lose in the liquor that browns them a part 
 of their ground ; however one cannot brown in 
 the good dye but with, salts. The late M. Ba- 
 ron observes, in a merrtbir he gave sometime ago 
 to the Royal Academy of Sciences, that all the 
 salts he had made use of for browning, making 
 the colour smooth, and preserving its brightness 
 and deepness, he had succeeded best n-iih salt 
 of urine, but, as he observes, it is too trouble- 
 some to make this salt in any quantity. 
 
 I said, in the preceding receipt and the chap- 
 ter on yellow, that the choice of the water for 
 scarlet and other bright colours was very mate- 
 rial, and as the greatest part of common water 
 saddens it, for they mostly contain a chalky, cal- 
 careous earth, and sometimes a sulphureous or 
 vitriolic acid ; these are commonly called hard 
 waters, that is, they will not dissolve soap or 
 boil vegetables well. By finding a method of 
 absorbing or precipitating these hurtful matters, 
 all waters may be equally good for this kind of 
 dye : thus, if alkaline matters are to be removed, 
 a little sour water produces this effect ; for if 
 five or six buckets of these sour waters are mix- 
 ed with sixty or seventy of the hard water be- 
 fore it comes to boil, these alkaline earths rise 
 in a scum, which is easily taken off the liquor. 
 
 All that I have hitherto said in this chapter 
 is for the instruction of dyers ; I shall now make 
 an attempt to satisfy the philosopher how these 
 different effects are produced. 
 
 Cochineal, infused or boiled by -tself in pure 
 water, gives a crimson col >ur bordering on the 
 purple ; this is its natural colour ; put it into a 
 glass, and drop on it spirits of nitre ; this colour, 
 will become yellow, and if you still add more, 
 you will scarcely perceive that there was origin- 
 ally anyrecl in the liquor; thus the acid destroys the 
 n 1 by dissolving it and dividing its parts so mi- 
 nutely that they escape the sight. If in this e>r
 
 COMPANION. 215 
 
 periment a vitriolic, instead of a nitrous acid 
 be used, the first changes of the colour will be 
 purple, then purpled lilac, after that a light lilac, 
 then flesh- colour, and lastly colourless. This 
 blueish substance, which mixes with the red to 
 form a purple, may proceed from that small por- 
 tion of iron, from which oil of vitriol is rarely 
 exempt. In the liquor of preparation for scar- 
 let, no other salt but cream of tartar is used, no 
 all urn is added as in the common preparing wa- 
 ter for other colours, because it would sadden 
 the dye by its vitriolic acid ; yet a calx or lime 
 is required, which, with the red parts of the 
 cochineal, may form a kind of lake, like that the 
 painters use, which may set in the pores of the 
 wool by the help of the crystal of tartar. 
 
 This white calx is found in the solution of 
 very pure tin, and if the experiment of the dye 
 is made in any small glazed earthen vessel, im- 
 mediately on the cochineal's communicating its 
 tincture to the water, and then adding the com- 
 position drop by drop, each drop may be per- 
 ceived with a glass or lens, to form a small cir- 
 cle, in which a brisk fermentation is carried on ; 
 the calx of the tin will be seen to separate, and 
 instantaneously to take the bright dye, which 
 the cloth will receive in the sequel of the ope- 
 ration. 
 
 A further proof that this white calx of tin is 
 necessary in this operation, is that if cochineal 
 was used with aquafortis, or spirits of nitre 
 alone a very ugly crimson would be obtained; if a 
 solution of any other metal was made use of in 
 spirits of nitre, as of iron or mercury, from the 
 first would be had a deep cinder, grey, and from 
 the second, a chesnut colour with green streaks, 
 without being able to trace in the one or other 
 any remains of the red of the cochineal. There- 
 fore, by what 1 have laid down, it jnay be rea^
 
 216 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 son-able to suppose, that the white calx of the 
 tin, having been dyed by the colouring parts of 
 the cochineal, rouzed by the acid of the dis- 
 solvent of this metal, has formed this kind of 
 earthy lake whose atoms have introduced them- 
 selves into the pores of the wool, which were 
 opened by the boiling water, that they are plais- 
 tered by the crystal of tartar, and these pores, 
 suddenly contracting by the immediate cold the 
 cloth was exposed to by airing, that these co- 
 louring particles are found sufficiently set in to 
 be of the good dye, and that the air will take off 
 the primitive brightness, in proportion to the va- 
 rious matters with which it is impregnated. In 
 the country, for example, and particularly if the 
 situation be high, a scarlet cloth preserves its 
 brightness much longer than in great cities, 
 \vhere the urinous and alkaline vapours are 
 more abundant. For the same reason, the 
 country mud with, which in roads is generally 
 but an earth diluted by rain water does not stain 
 scarlet as the mud of towns where there are 
 urinous matters, and often a greatdeal of dissolv- 
 ed iron, as in the streets of great cities, for it is 
 well known that any alkaline matter destroys the 
 effect which an acid has produced on any co- 
 lour whatsoever. And for the like reason, if a 
 piece of scarlet is boiled in a lie of potash, this 
 colour becomes purple, and by a continuation 
 of boiling it isentirely taken out ; thus from this 
 fixed alkali, and the crystal of tartar, a soluble 
 tartar is made, which the water dissolves and 
 easily detaches from the pores of the wool : all 
 the mastic of the colouring parts is then destroy, 
 ad, and they enter into the lies of the salts. 
 
 Receipt 13!r. Scarlet of Gum-Lac que. 
 
 THE red part of the gum-lacque may be
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 217 
 
 also used for the dying of scarlet, and if this 
 scarlet has not all the brightness of that made 
 of fine cochineal alone, it has the advantage of 
 being more lasting. 
 
 The gum-laeque, which is in branches of 
 small sticks and full of animal parts, is the fit- 
 test for dying. It must be red within, and its 
 external parts of a blackish brown; it appears 
 by a particular examination made of it by M: 
 Geoffrey some years since, that it is a sort of 
 hive, somewhat like that of bees, wasps, &c. 
 
 Some dyers make use of it powdered and tied 
 in a linen bag ; but this is a bad method, for 
 there always passes through the cloth some re- 
 sinous portion of the gum, which melts in the 
 boiling water of the copper, and sticks to the 
 cloth, where it becomes so adherent when cold, 
 th?t it must be scraped off with a knife. 
 
 Others reduce it to powder, boil it in water, 
 and after it has given all its colour, let it cool, 
 and the resinous parts fall to the bottom. The 
 water is poured out, and evaporated by the air, 
 where it often becomes stinking, and when it 
 has acquired the consistence of thick honey, it 
 is put into vessels for use. Under this form 
 it is pretty difficult justly to determine the quan- 
 tity that is used ; this induced me to seek the 
 means of obtaining this tincture separated from 
 its resinous gum, without being obliged to evap, 
 orate so great a quantity of water to have it dry, 
 and to reduce it to powder. 
 
 I tried it with \veak lime water, with a de- 
 coction of the heart of agaric, with a decoction 
 of comfrey-root, recommended in an ancient 
 book of physic ; in all these the water leaves a 
 part of the dye, and it still passes too full of co- 
 lour, and it ought to be evaporated to get all 
 the dye ; this evaporation I wanted to avoid, 
 therefore I made use of mucilaginous or slimy
 
 218 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 roots, which of themselves gave no colour, but" 
 "\vhose mucilage might retain the colouring 
 parts, so that they might remain with it on the 
 filter. 
 
 The great comfrey-root has, as yet, the best 
 inswered my intention : I use it dry and in a gross 
 powder, putting half a drachm to each quart 
 of water, which is boiled a quarter of an hour, 
 passing it through a hair sieve, ir immediate- 
 ly extracts from it a beautiful crimson tincture ; 
 put the vessel to digest in a moderate heat for 
 twelve hours, shaking it seven or eight times to 
 mix it with the gum that remains at the bottom, 
 then pour off the water this is loaded with co- 
 lour in a vessel sufficiently large, that thrce- 
 fourths may remain empty, and fill it with cold 
 water : then pour a very small qm.ntity of strong 
 solution^of Roman allum on the tincture; the 
 mucilaginous or slimy dye precipitates itself, 
 and if the water which appears on the top ap- 
 pears still coloured, add some drops of the so- 
 lution of allum to finish the precipitation, and 
 this repeat till the water becomes as clear as 
 common water. 
 
 When the crimson mucilage or slime is all 
 -sunk to the bottom of the vessel, draw off the 
 clear water, and filter the remainder ; aftc? 
 which, dry it in the sun. 
 
 If the first mucilaginous water has not extract, 
 ed all the colour of the gum-lacque, (which is 
 known by the remaining being of a weak straw 
 colour) repeat the operation until you separate 
 all the dye the gum-lacque can furnish ; and as 
 it is reduced to powder when dry, the quantity 
 to be used in the dye is more exactly ascertain- 
 ed than by evaporating it to the consistence of 
 an extract. 
 
 ^Good gum-lacque, picked from its sticks, 
 yields, dried and powdered, but little more dye
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 219 
 
 than one- fifth of its weight. Thus at the price 
 it bears at present, there is not so great an ad- 
 vantage as many may imagine in using it in the 
 place of cochineal ; but to make the scarlet co- 
 lour more lasting than it commonly is, it may 
 be used in the first liquor or preparation, and 
 cochineal for reddening. 
 
 If scarlet is made of gum-lacque, extracted 
 according to the method here taught, and reduc- 
 ed to powder, a caution is to be taken in dissolv- 
 ing it, which is useless when cochineal is used ; 
 that is, if it was put into the liquor ready to boil, 
 the dyer would lose three-quarters of an hour,, 
 before it would be dissolved entirely ; therefore 
 for despatch, put the dose of this dry tincture 
 into a large earthen vessel, or into one of tin, 
 pour warm water on it, and when it is well 
 moistened, add the necessary dose of the com- 
 position for scarlet, stirring the mixture well 
 with a glass pestel. This powder, which was 
 of a dirty deep purple, as it dissolves takes 
 lire-coloured red extremely bright ; pour the 
 dissolution into the liquor, in which was pre- 
 viously put the crystal of tartar, and as soon as 
 this liquor begins to boil, dip the cloth in, keep- 
 ing it continually turning. The remaining part 
 of the operation is the same as that of scarlet 
 with cochineal : the extract of gum-lacque, pre- 
 pared according to my method, yields about 
 one-ninth more of dye than cochineal, at least 
 than that which I made use of for this com- 
 parison. 
 
 If instead of the crystal of tartar and the com- 
 position of some lixed alkaline salt or lime wa- 
 ter is substituted, the bright red of the gum- 
 laeque is changed into the colour of lees of 
 wine, so that this dye does not sadden so easily 
 as that of cochineal. 
 
 If instead of these alternatives, salt ammoniac
 
 220 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 is used by itself, cinnamon or clear chesnut co- 
 lours are obtained, and that according as there is 
 niore or less of this salt. I have made twenty 
 other experiments on this drug, \vhich I shall 
 not relate here, because they produced none but 
 common colours, and which may be easier had 
 from ingredients of a lower price. My experi- 
 ments were with a view of improving the red of 
 the lacque, and the method I have here laid 
 down to extract its colouring parts answers ex- 
 tremely well ; the more ingredients that are dis- 
 covered for scarlet, the less will be the cost ; 
 for, Although these experiments made on cochi- 
 neal, lacque, and other drugs may appear use- 
 less to some dyers, they will not be so to others 
 who study to improve this art.* 
 
 Receipt I22d. Of the Red of Madder. 
 
 THE root of madder is the only part of this 
 plant which is used in dying- This plant may 
 be cultivated in the United States of America 
 to great advantage ; it is three years after the 
 first root is set in the ground before it comes 
 to maturity, or the ground filled with roots fit 
 for digging or breaking up ; if it remains in the 
 ground longer than three seasons, there will be a 
 quantity of useless roots ; they may be placed 
 four fret apart, in the first setting in the ground, 
 and hoed the first year to keep it cleur from 
 \veeds ; if the ground has a deep soil it will be 
 filled with small roots to the depth of three ftet ; 
 it yields abundantly ; the time of drying, which 
 is in autumn, in the month of October, or the 
 last of September, spude up the earth, take the 
 
 * Thr colouring parts of the gum-lacque may be extract- 
 ed by common river water, by making it a little more than 
 kikewarn,, and inclosing the powdered Jacque 
 woollen bag.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION, 221 
 
 rpots from it, assort them carefully, and wash 
 them clean in cold water and lay them to dry for 
 manufacturing. The small bright and young 
 roots that have no bark nor pith, are for the good 
 or grape-madder. 
 
 Of all the reds this is the most lasting, when 
 it is put on a cloth or stuff that is throughly 
 scoured, then prepared with the salts with which 
 it is to be boiled two or three hours, without 
 \yhich, this red, so tenacious after the prepara- 
 tion of the subject, would scarcely resist more 
 the proofs of the reds than any other ingredients 
 of the false dye. This is a proof that the pores 
 of the fibres of the wool ought not only to be 
 well scoured from the yolk or unctuous tran- 
 spiration of the animal, which may have remain- 
 ed, notwithstanding the scouring of the wool af- 
 ter the common manner with water and urine ; 
 but it is also necessary, that these same pores be 
 plaistered inwardly with some of those salts 
 which are called hard, because they do not cal- 
 cine in the air, and cannot be dissolved by rain 
 water, or by the moisture of the air in rainy 
 v/eather- Such is, as has been said before, the 
 white crude tartar, the red and the crystal of tar- 
 tar, of which, according to common custom, 
 about a fourth is put into the preparing liquor, 
 with two-thirds or three- fourths of allum. 
 
 The best madder roots come generally from 
 Zealand, where this plant is cultivated in the 
 islands of ^Tergoes, Zerzee, Sommerdyke, and 
 Thoolen. That from the first of these islands is 
 esteemed the best; the soil is clay, flu, and 
 somewhat salt. The lands that are deemed the 
 best for the cultivation of this plant are new 
 lands, that only served for pasture, which are al- 
 ways fresher and moister than others. The 
 Zealanders are beholden to the refugees of 
 IT
 
 22.2 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 Flanders for the cultivation and great commerce 
 of this root. 
 
 It is known in trade and dying under the 
 names of grape-madder, bunch-madder, &c. It 
 is however the same root ; all the difference in 
 regard to its quality is, that the one kind con- 
 tains pith and root, and the other has the small 
 fibres from its pricipal root adhering to it. 
 
 Both are prepared by the same work, which 
 I shall not relate the particulars of here, as it 
 would only serve to lengthen this treatise to no 
 purpose. 
 
 They choose the finest roots for the first sort,, 
 drying them with care, grinding them and sepa- 
 rating the rind at the mill, and preserving the 
 middle of the root ground in hogsheads, where 
 it remains for two or three years ; for after this 
 time, it is better for dying than it would have 
 been coming from the mill ; for if madder was 
 not kept close after this manner, the air would 
 spoil it, and the colour would be less bright. It 
 is .it first yellow, but it reddens and grows brown 
 by age ; the best is of a saffron colour, in hard 
 lumps, of a strong smell, and yet not disagree- 
 able. It is also cultivated about Lisle in Flan- 
 ders, and several other places of the kingdom, 
 where it was found to grow spontaneously. 
 
 The madders which are made use of in the 
 Levant and in India, for the dying of cottons, 
 are somewhat different from the kinds used in 
 Europe, it is named chat on the coast of Coro- 
 mandel. This plant thus called, grows abun- 
 dantly in the woods on the coast of Malabar, 
 and this chat is the wild sort- The cultiv ted 
 comes from Vasur and Tuccorin, and the most 
 esteemed of all is the chat of Persia, named 
 dumas. 
 
 They also gather on the coast of Coromandel 
 the root of another plant called ray de chaye^ or
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 223 
 
 voot of colour, and which was thought to be a 
 kind ofrubia tinctorum^ but is the root of a kind 
 of gallium jff ore albo, as it appeared by observa- 
 tions sent from India in 1748. It has a long 
 slender root, which dyes cotton of a tolerable 
 handsome red, when it hns received -all the 
 preparations previous to the dye. 
 
 At Kurder, in the neighbourhood of Smyrna^ 
 and in the countries of Akissar and of Yqrdasi, 
 they cultivate another kind of madder, which is 
 called in the country chwc-boya ektne hazala. 
 This of all the madders is the best for the red 
 dye, by the proofs that have been made of it, 
 and far more esteemed in the Levant than the 
 finest Zealand madder the Dutch bring there. 
 This madder so much valued is called by the 
 modern Greeks liz-ari, and by the Arabs foiioy.* 
 
 There is another kind of madder in Canada 
 called tyssa-voyana. It is a very small root, 
 which produces pretty near the same effect as 
 the European madder. 
 
 The water of preparation for madder red is 
 pretty near the same as for kermes, that is com- 
 posed of allum and tartar. The dyers do not 
 agree as to the proportions ; but the best appears 
 to be four ounces of allum and one of red tartar 
 to each pound of spun wool, and about one- 
 twelfth part of sour water, and let the wool boil 
 in it for two hours. If it is spun wool, leave it 
 for seven or eight days, that it may be well 
 moistened by the dissolution of these salts ; and 
 if it is cloth, finish it the fourth day. 
 
 To dye wool with madder, prepare a fresh 
 liquor, and when the water is come to a heat to 
 
 * These kinds of madders give brighter reds than the best 
 grape-madder of Zealand, for they are dyed in the air and 
 not in a stove- The madder of Lan^uedoc, even that of 
 Poitou, succeeds as well as that of lizari, when it is dryed 
 without fire.
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 bear the hand, put in half a pound of the finest 
 grape-madder for each pound of wool ; let it be 
 well raked and mixed in the copper before the 
 .wool goes in, keep the wool in an hour, during 
 which time it must not boil.* Shades from 
 madder are obtained after the manner laid down 
 for other colours, but these shades are little used, 
 except in a mixture of several colours. 
 
 When several pieces of cloth are to be dyed 
 at once in madder red, the operation is the same, 
 as you may see in the 29th receipt in the pre- 
 ceding for red with madder, only augmenting 
 the ingredients in proportion ; and let it be re- 
 marked that in small operations the quantitj' of 
 ingredients must be somewhat greater than in 
 great, not only in madder red, but in all other 
 colours. 
 
 These reds are never so beautiful as those of 
 the kermes, and much less so than those of the 
 lacque or cochineal, but they cost less, and are 
 made use of for common stuffs whose low prices 
 would not allow a dearer dye. Most of the reds 
 for the army are of madder, saddened with archil 
 or brazil, (though these drugs be of the safe dye) 
 to make them finer, and more on the velvet, 
 which perfection could not be procured to them 
 ven with cochineal, without considerably aug- 
 menting the price. 
 
 I have already said that madder put on stuffs 
 not being prepared to receive it by the allum 
 and tartar, water, did in fact give its red colour, 
 but that which it dyed was blotted and not last- 
 ing, it is therefore the salts that secure the dye ; 
 this is common to all other colours red or yello\v, 
 which cannot be made without a preparing li- 
 quor. Now the question is, whether these act 
 by taking off the remains of the oily and fat 
 
 * If madder is boiled, its red becomes obscure, and of a 
 brick colour.
 
 DYER'S COMPACTION. 225 
 
 transpiration of the sheep, or whether that of the 
 two salts, particularly that which even cannot 
 be carried by luke-warm water, remains to 
 catch, seize and cement the colouring atom, 
 opened or dilated by the heat of water to receive 
 it, and contracted by the cold to retain it. 
 
 To determine which, use any alkaline salts, 
 such as potash, the clarified lays of oak-ashes, 
 or any other pure lixivial salt instead of allum 
 and tartar, put in a due proportion so as not to 
 dissolve the wool, and afterwards dip the stuff 
 in madder liquor. This stuff will come out 
 coloured, but will not last, even boiling water 
 will carry off three-fourths of the colour. Now 
 it cannot be said that a fixed alkaline salt is un- 
 fit to extract from the pores of the wool the 
 yolk or fat of the sheep, since lixivial salts are 
 used with success in several cases, to take the 
 grease out of stuffs of what kind soever they be, 
 which water alone could not take off. It is also 
 well known, that with fats foreign to the stuff, 
 and an alkaline salt, a kind of soap is formed 
 which water easily carries off. 
 
 Again, take a piece of stuff dyed in madder 
 red, according to the usual method, boil it some 
 time in a solution of fixed alkaline salts, a small 
 quantity will also destroy the colour, for, the 
 fixed alkali, attacking the small atoms of the 
 crystal of tartar, or crude tartar, which lines the 
 pores of the wool, forms a soluble tartar, which 
 water dissolves very easily, and consequently 
 the pores being opened in the hot water of the 
 experiment, the colouring atom came out with 
 the saline atom that sheathed it. 
 
 This stuff being washed in water, the remain, 
 ing red colour is diluted, and a colour half brown 
 and half dirty remains. If instead of an alkaline 
 salt, soap is substituted, (which is an alkaline salt, 
 mitigated by oil) and another piece of cloth dyed 
 U2
 
 26 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 also in madder, be boiled for a few minutes, the 
 red will become finer, because the alkali which 
 is in the soap being sheathed with oil, it could 
 not attack the vegetable acid, and the boiling 
 only carried off the colouring parts ill stuck to- 
 gether, and their numbers diminishing, what 
 remains must appear deeper or clearer. 
 
 I must also add, for further proof of the 
 actual existence of salts in the pores of a stuff 
 prepared with allum and tartar, before dying it 
 with madder, that more or less tartar gives an 
 infinite variety of shades with this root only ; 
 for if the quantity of allum be diminished, and 
 that of the tartar augmented, a cinnamon will 
 be had, and even if nothing but tartar alone 
 be put into the liquor, the red is lost, and a 
 deep cinnamon or brown root colour is obtain- 
 ed, though of a very good dye ; for the crude 
 tartar, which is an acid salt, has so much dis- 
 solved the part which should have produced 
 the red colour, that there only remained a very 
 small quantity, with the ligneous fibres of the 
 root, which, like all other common roots, does 
 then yield but a brown colour, more or less 
 deep according to the quantity used- I have 
 already proved that the acid which brightens 
 the red, dissolves them if too much is used, 
 and divides them into particles so extremely 
 minute* that they are not perceptible. 
 
 If in the place of tartar, any salt which is 
 oasily dissolved be put with the allum in the li- 
 quor, to prepare the stuff for the madder dye, 
 such as salt petre, the greater part of the mad- 
 der red becomes useless, it disappears, or does 
 not stick on, and nothing is got but a very 
 bright cinnamon, which will not sufficiently 
 stand the proof, because the two salts used in 
 the prt pariag liquor aue not of the hardness cf 
 .the tartar.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION* 227 
 
 Volatile urinous alkalis which are obtained 
 from certain plants, such as the pcrilla, the ar- 
 chil of the Canaries, and other mosses or li- 
 chens, destroy also the madder red, but at the 
 same time communicate another to it, for on 
 experiment, madder prepared after the manner 
 of archil with fermented urine and quick lime, 
 produced only nut colours, but which neverthe- 
 less are lasting ; because there entered into the 
 liquor only the little portion of urinous vola- 
 tile that moistened the madder which the boil- 
 ing was sufficient to evaporate, and besides, 
 the cloth was sufficiently furnished with the 
 salts of the liquor made as usual, to retain the 
 colouring parts of the dye. 
 
 When a pure red, that for cochineal an ex- 
 ample, is laid upon a cloth first dyed in blue, 
 and afterwards prepared with the liquor of tar- 
 tar, and allum to receive and retain this red, a 
 purple or violet is produced according to the 
 quantity of blue or red. The red of madder 
 has not this effect, for it is not a pure red like 
 that of the cochineal, and as 1 said above, it is 
 altered by the brown ligneous fibres of its root, 
 and makes on the blue a chesnut colour, more 
 or less deep according to the preceding intensi- 
 ty of the blue first laid on. If this chesnut co- 
 lour is wanted to have purple cast, a little cochi- 
 neal must be added. 
 
 In order t avoid this brown of the root, the 
 dyers who make the best reds of madder take 
 great heed to use the liquor of madder a little 
 more than hike- warm ; the madder tarnishes 
 considerably by the heat of the water, extract- 
 ing the particles which dye brown, and unite 
 themselves with the red. 
 
 This inconveniency might be remedied, if at 
 the time that the madder root is fresh a means 
 could be found to separate from the rest of this
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 root the red circle which is underneath its 
 brown pelicle, and which surrounds the mid. 
 die pith ; but this work would augment its 
 price, and even then it would not afford so 
 good a red as cochineal. However, it might 
 be attempted to dye cottons red, whose price 
 might bear the expenses of this preparation. 
 
 Madder being of all ingredients the cheapest 
 of any that dye red and of the good dye, it is 
 mixt with others to diminish the price. It is 
 with madder and kermes that the bastard scar- 
 kts of grain are dyed, otherwise called half- 
 grain scarlets, and with madder and cochineal 
 the half-common scarlets, and the half- crimsons 
 are made. 
 
 To make the half-grain scarlet, the water 
 f preparation, and all the rest of the operation 
 is to be performed after the same manner as 
 scarlet made of the grain of kermes, or the 
 common Venetian, only the second liquor is 
 composed of half kermes and half grape-mad- 
 der. 
 
 For the half-scarlet and flame-colour, the 
 composition and preparation is as usual, noth- 
 ing but pure cochineal being put in, but in 
 the reddening, half cochineal and half madder 
 is used : here also the sylvestremay be made use 
 of, for after having made the preparation with 
 cochineal, for reddening, use half a pound of 
 cochineal, a pound and a half of sylvestre* and 
 one pound of madder instead of cochineal alone. 
 
 That the wool and stuffs may be dyed as 
 equally as possiblej it is necessary that the two 
 kinds of cochineal be well rubbed or sifted, 
 as also the madder, with which they must be 
 well incorporated before they are put into the 
 liquor. This must be observed in all colours 
 where several ingredients are mixt together- 
 This half- scarlet is finished ;like the coinmon
 
 BYER'S COMPANION. 229 
 
 scarlet, and it may be saddened after the same 
 manner, either with boiling water or allum. 
 
 The half-crimson is made like the common 
 crimson, only using half madder, and half cochi- 
 neal, the cochineal sylvestre may be used 
 here also, observing only to retrench half of 
 the common cochineal, and to replace it with 
 three times as much of the sylvestre. If a 
 greater quantity of the sylvestre was used, and 
 more of the other taken off, the colour would 
 not be so fine. Various shades may be pro- 
 duced by augmenting or lessening the madder 
 or cochineal. 
 
 Receifit 133<f. For Crimson. 
 
 CRIMSON, as I have already observed, is 
 the natural colour of the cochineal, or rather, 
 that which it gives to wool boiled with allum 
 and tartar, which is the usual water of prepara- 
 tion for almost all colours. This is the method 
 which is commonly practised for spun wool ; 
 it is almost the same for cloths, as will be seen 
 hereafter. 
 
 For each pound of wool, two ounces and a 
 half of allum, and an ounce and a half of white 
 tartar, are put into the copper. When the 
 whole boils, the wool is put in, well stirred, and 
 left to boil for two hours ; it is afterwards taken 
 out slightly wrung, put into a bag, and left thus 
 with its water, as for the scarlet in grain, and for 
 all other colours- 
 
 For the dye a fresh liquor is made, in which 
 three-fourths of an ounce of cochineal is added 
 for each pound of wool. When the liquor is lit- 
 tle more than luke- warm, the cochineal is put in, 
 and when it begins to boil, the wool is cast in, 
 which is to be well stirred with sticks ; it is to 
 remain thus for an hour ; when taken oat,, 
 wrung and washed.
 
 "23D .APPENDIX TO 
 
 If degrees of shades are required, (whose 
 names are merely arbitrary) proceed, as has 
 been already related for the scarlet, using but 
 half the cochineal at first, and beginning with the 
 lightest. 
 
 The beauty of crimson consists in its border- 
 ing as much as possible on the grisdelin, a co- 
 lour between a grey and a violet- I made sever- 
 al trials to bring crimson to a higher perfection 
 than most dyers have hitherto done, and indeed 
 I succeeded so as to make it as fine as the 
 false crimson, which is always brighter than the 
 fine. 
 
 This is the principle on which I worked. As 
 all alkalis sadden cochineal, I tried soap, barilla* 
 potash, pearlash; all these salts brought the 
 crimson to the shade I wanted, but at the same 
 time, they tarnished and diminished its bright- 
 ness. I then bethought myself to make use of 
 volatile alkalis, and I found that the volatile 
 spirit of salt ammoniac produced a very good ef- 
 fect ; but this spirit instantly evaporated, and a 
 pretty considerable quantity was used in the 
 liquor, which greatly augmented the price of the 
 dye. 
 
 I then had recourse to another expedient which 
 succeeded better, the expense of which is trifling. 
 This was to make the volatile alkali of the salt 
 ammoniac enter into the liquor, at the very in- 
 stant that it comes out of its basis ; and to effect 
 this, after my crimson was made after the usual 
 manner, I passed through a fresh liquor, in which 
 I had dissolved a little of the salt ammoniac. 
 As soon as the liquor was a little more than luke- 
 warm, I flung in as much potash as I had before 
 of salt ammoniac, and my wool immediately 
 took a very brilliant colour. 
 
 This method even spares the cochineal ; for 
 this new liquor makes it rise, and then less may
 
 COMPANION. 231 
 
 t>e used than in the common process ; but the 
 greatest part of dyers, even the most eminent, 
 sadden their crimsons with archil, a drug of the 
 false dye. 
 
 Very beautiful crimsons are also made by 
 boiling the wool as for the common scarlet, and 
 then boiling it in a second liquor, with two 
 ounces of allum and one ounce of tartar, for each 
 pound of wool, leaving it one hour in the liquor. 
 A fresh liquor is then prepared, in which six 
 drachms of cochineal is put for every pound of 
 wool. After it has remained an hour in this li- 
 quor, it is taken out, and passed immediately 
 through a liquor of barilla and salt ammoniac. 
 By this method, gradations of very beautiful 
 crimson shades are made by diminishing the 
 quantity of the cochineal. It is to be observed, 
 that in this process there are but six drachms of 
 cochineal to dye each pound of wool, because in 
 the first liquor a drachm and a half of cochineal 
 is used for each pound. It is also necessary to 
 remark, that, to sadden these crimsons, the li- 
 quor of the alkaline salt and salt ammoniac be 
 not made too hot, because the separation of the 
 volatile spirit of this last salt would be tpo quick, 
 and the crystal of tartar of the first liquor would 
 lose its proper effect by being changed, as I 
 have already said into a soluble tartar. 
 
 The same operation may be done by using 
 one part of the cochineal sylvestre instead of the 
 fine cochineal, and the colour is not less beauti- 
 ful, for commonly four parts of sylvestre have 
 not more effect in dying than one part of fine 
 cochineal. The sylvestre may also be used in 
 dying scarle , but with great precaution ; it 
 should only be used in bastard scarlets and half- 
 crimsons. I shall speak of this when I treat of 
 these colours in particular. 
 
 When a scarlet is spotted or spoiled in the
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 operation by some unforeseen accident, or evei* 
 when the dye has failed, the common remedy is 
 to make it a crimson, and for that purpose, it 
 is dipt in a liquor where about two pounds of 
 allum are added for each hundred weight of 
 wool. It is immediately plunged in this liquor, 
 and left there until it has acquired the shade of 
 the crimson desired. 
 
 Receijit 134//;. For Languedoc Crimson. 
 
 I shall now shew the method they follow in 
 Languedoc to make a very beautiful sort of 
 crimson, or the cloths exported to the Levant, 
 but which is not so much saddened as that 
 which I have just spoken of, and which resem- 
 bles much more the Venetian scarlet. For five 
 pieces of cloth, the pieces are25 yards when mill- 
 ed of broad cloth one and a half yards wide the 
 liquor is prepared as usual, putting bran if ne- 
 cessary. When it is more than lukewarm, ten 
 pounds of sea-salt are put, instead of crystal of 
 tartar, and when it is ready to boil, twenty- seven 
 pounds of the scarlet composition, made after 
 the manner of carcassine already described, are 
 poured in, and without adding cochineal the 
 cloth is passed through this liquor for two 
 hours, keeping it always turning with the wynch, 
 and continually boiling. It is afterwards taken 
 out, aired and washed ; then a fresh liquor is 
 made, with eight pounds and three-quarters of 
 cochineal powdered and sifted, and when it is 
 ready to boil, twenty-one pounds of composi- 
 tion are added ; the cloth is boiled for three 
 quarters of an hour with the common precau- 
 tions, after which it is taken out, aired and wash- 
 ed : It is of a very fine crimson, but very little 
 saddened ; if it is required to be more sadden- 
 ed, a greater quantity of allum is put into the
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 first liquor of preparation, ar.d in the : 
 less of the compmsition, the sea-salt is :;lso 
 added to this second liquor ; a little practice in 
 this method will soon teach the dyer to make 
 all the shades that can properly be derived from 
 crimson. 
 
 Whenever cochineal has been used, there is 
 found at the bottom of the reddening liquor a 
 quantity of very brovm sediment, which is 
 flung away with the liquor as useless. I exam- 
 ined it and found, that the liquor for the red- 
 dening of scarlet contained a -precipitated calx 
 of tin : I united this metal with a great deal of 
 trouble ; the remaining parts of this sediment 
 are the dross of t!v" white tartar, or of the cream 
 of tartar, united with the gross parts of the bo- 
 dies of the cochineal, which is, as has already 
 been said, a small insect. I washed these little 
 animal parts in cold water, and, by shaking 
 this water, I collected, with a small sieve, what 
 the agitation caused to raise on the surface. 
 
 After this manner I separated these light 
 parts from the earthy and metallic ; I dried 
 them separately, then levigated them with 
 equal weight of fresh crystal of tartar ; I boil- 
 ed a portion \yith a little allum, and put in a 
 pattern of vvhite cloth, which boiled for three 
 quarters of an hour, at the end of which it was 
 dyed of a very beautiful crimson. 
 
 This experiment having convinced me, that 
 by powdering and sifting the cochineal as is 
 commonly practised, all the profit that mig.it 
 be extracted from this dear drug is not obtain- 
 ed, I thought proper to communicate this dis- 
 covery to the dyers, that they might avail them- 
 selves of it by the method following. 
 ^ Take one ounce of cochineal powdered and 
 sifted as usual ; mix with it a quarter of its 
 v/eight of very white cream of tartar very o 
 X.
 
 *r 
 234 APPENDIX TO THE- 
 
 taline and very airy ; put the whole on a hard 
 levigating stone, and levigate this mixture till it 
 is reduced to an impalpable powder ; make use 
 of this cochineal thus prepared in the liquor, 
 and in the reddening, subtracting from the cream 
 of tartar, which is to be used in the liquor, the 
 small quantity before used with the cochineal. 
 What is put to the reddening, although mixed 
 \yith_a fourth of the same salt, does not preju- 
 dice its colour, it even appeared to me that it 
 was more solid. Those that will follow this 
 method will find that there is about a fourth 
 more profit to be obtained by it. 
 
 Receipt 135/A. The Natural Crimson in Grain. 
 
 In proportion for every pound of cloth or 
 other things, take two ounces of tartar pure, and 
 two ounces of allum ; boil them with the goods 
 an hour and a half ; then rince the goods very 
 well from the boiling. The kettle must be fill- 
 ed again with clear water and a few handfuls of 
 bran put in, in order to take out the filth of the 
 water, as well as to soften it. Scum the scurf 
 off when it begins to boil, and put in an ounce 
 of well powdered grain, with one drachm of red 
 arsenic and one .spoonful of burnt wine lees ; 
 this gives a pretty lustre ; tht-n wash and rince 
 it well, and you have most beautiful colour, 
 
 Receipt 136/Vi. Scarlet ; of the dying qfjlock cr goafa 
 hair. 
 
 THERE are two preparations very different 
 one from the other in the dying of flock: the 
 fir>t is with madder, and belongs to the great 
 and good dye ; the stcond is to dissolve it and 
 make use of it ; this belongs to the lesser dye. 
 The dxtng with flock was formerly permitted 
 in the good dye, but was rather on account of
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 its being extracted from madder, than by any 
 experiment that had been made concerning its 
 durability. I tried it with great attention, and 
 found it beyond any doubt that there is no co- 
 lour that resists the air less. It is certainly for 
 this reason that it was restrained to the lesser 
 dye in the new regulation of France in 1737. 
 Yet, as by the same regulation, it is not permit- 
 ted to the dyers of the lesser dye to use madder, 
 tior even to keep it in their houses ; it has been 
 enacted, that only the dyers of the great dye 
 should be suffered to madder flock, and those 
 of the lesser dye to dissolve and use it. 
 
 To madder the flock or goat's hair, four 
 pounds of cither of them is cut and well sepa- 
 rated, that the dye may penetrate the bettt r. 
 It is boiled two hours in a sufficient quantity 
 of sour water ; then it is drained for an hour, 
 and put into a middling copper, half filled 
 with water, with four pounds of roach allmn, 
 two pounds of red . tartar, and one pound of 
 madder. The whole is boiled for six hours, 
 putting in hot water as the liquor wastes ; it is 
 left all night and next day in this liquor ; the 
 third day it is taken put and drained in a bask- 
 et. S:>me dyers let it remain eight days, but 
 it often happens that by this delay in a copper 
 vessel it is tarnished by the liquors corroding 
 a part of the copper ; a middling copper is 
 then filled to the two- thirds with half sour wa- 
 ter, and half common water and when the li- 
 quor ib ready to boil, eight pounds of madder, 
 well cut avid crushed between the hands, is ad- 
 ded. When the madder is well mixed in the 
 liquor, four pounds of flock or hair is put in and 
 boiled for six hours ; it is then well washed, and 
 the next day it is maddered n second time after 
 the same manner, only putting in four pounds 
 of madder instead of eight, which were before
 
 236 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 used. After this second maddering, it is v 
 
 -hed and dried ; it is then almost black and 
 fit for use. 
 
 It appears by this operation, that four pounds 
 of flock or hnir is loaded with thirteen pounds 
 of the dye of madder, yet there still remains 
 some dye in the liquor, which is then called an 
 old maddering, and which is preserved for use 
 on certain occasions, as in tobacco, cinnamon 
 colour, and several others. 
 
 When the flock is thus maddered by the dyer 
 of the great dye he sells it to dyers of the lesser, 
 who have then the liberty to dissolve and use 
 it ; this is the common method, which has ma- 
 ny difficulties, and is known but to few dyers. 
 Madder is hereby made fine. 
 
 About half an hour after seven in the morn- 
 ing six p iils full cf clear wafer are put into 
 a middling copper, and when the water is luke- 
 \vurm, five pounds of pcarlash are put in: the 
 wh,.le is boiled till eleven, and the liquor 
 is then considerably diminished, so as to be 
 held in a lesser copper, into which it is emptied, 
 observing first to let the dregs of the pearlash 
 subside, that none but the clear may be used. 
 
 A pail full of this liquor is afterwards put 
 into the middling copper, having first scoured 
 it well, and a little fire made under it ; the four 
 pounds of maddered flock are scattered in by 
 degrees, and at the same time a little of the 
 
 tewarm and saline liquor of the small copper 
 is added to keep down the boiling, which rises 
 from time to time to the top of the copper, in 
 which the operation is perform ing. 
 
 When all the flock and the liquor of the little 
 copper are put into the middling one, a pail full 
 of clear water is put on the dregs of the peariash 
 remaining in the little copper. This water 
 .serves to fill the middling one as the liquor in it
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 237 
 
 Evaporates. All this flock melts, or is dissolved 
 by the action of the pearlash, and after the first 
 half hour, not the least hair is to be perceived. 
 The liquor is then of a very deep red. The 
 xvhole is then boiled without any addition, till 
 three in the afternoon, that the whole dissolution 
 of the flocks may be the more exactly perform- 
 ed. Then a stick is placed upon the copper, 
 and upon this stick is placed a pail of fermented 
 urine, in which pail a small hole has been pre- 
 viously made towards its lower part, and a lit- 
 tle straw put into it, that the urine may very 
 slowly run into the copper ; whilst it is running, 
 the liquor is made to boil strongly, and this 
 urine makes good what may be lost by evapora- 
 tion. This operation continues five hours, dur- 
 ing which time three pails full of urine are dis- 
 charged into the copper, being made to run fas- 
 ter when the boil is stronger, than when moder- 
 ate. It is here to be observed, that, on account 
 of the small quantity of flock in the experiment 
 which I lay down here, five pounds only of 
 pearlash are ordered ; for when thirty pounds of 
 flock are dissolved at one time which is the 
 common custom of the French dyers, they put 
 twelve ounces of pearlash to each pound offlock. 
 During the whole time of this operation, a 
 strong volatile smell of urine is emitted, and 
 there swims on the surface of the liquor a brown 
 scum, but much more so after the addition of 
 the urine. The liquor is known to be suffi- 
 ciently done when this rises no more, and that the 
 boil rises but gently, that is what happened to 
 the operation now related, at eight in the evening. 
 The fire is then raked out, the copper covered, 
 and thus left to the next day. Patterns had 
 been taken at different times of the colours 
 of the liquor from three to eight in the evening, 
 by dipping in small pieces of paper : the first 
 X2
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 were very brown, and they became com: 
 lighter, and they united themselves more and 
 in re, in proportion us the volatile part of the 
 urine acted on the colouring pi rts of the liquor. 
 
 Nothing now runaiuecl but to dye the w>ol 
 in the liquor thus prepared, and which is called 
 melting of flock ; this is the easiest work be- 
 1 r.ging to the dyer. A quarter of an hour be- 
 fore the dying is begun, a little piece of very 
 clean roach allum is put in, and the copper is 
 well raked to melt it. As this liquor which v 
 in the middling copper had been covered the 
 whole night, and the fire had not been put out, 
 the liquor was still so hot as not to suffer the 
 hand- The clearest was taken out and brought 
 into a small copper, with a sufficient quantity 
 of luke \; arm water, some wool dyed yellow 
 with wtld was clipped in it ; it immediately be- 
 came of a fine orange, bordering on the flame 
 colour, that is of the colour called nacnref, and 
 known to the dyers by the name of tmcaret of 
 flock, because it is commonly made with melted 
 'flock. 
 
 Twenty hanks of white wool were dipped one 
 after the other in the same liquor, beginning by 
 ihose that were to have the deepest ground, and 
 leaving them longer or shorter in the liquor ac- 
 cording to the shade required. An assortment 
 was made after this manner from the nacaret, or 
 bright orange red, to the cherry colour. It 
 ought to be observed, that in proportion as the 
 liquor was consumed, frebh was taken from the 
 middle sized copper, great eare being taken not 
 to stir the sediment at the bottom ; a Iktle fire 
 was also kept under the small copper, to keep 
 the liquor always in the same degree of heat. 
 The wool is thus dipped until the whole liquor 
 is used, and all tie colour drawn out. But the 
 Clours ;iot be dyed in it; for
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 239 
 
 when the colour of the liquor is once weakened, 
 as it ought to be for these colours, it is generally 
 loaded with filth, which would take oft' the 
 brightness required in these shades. 
 
 The followingis the method of making shades 
 lighter than the cherry colour. A copper is 
 filled with clear water, and five or six hanks of 
 wool dyed of the deepest dye from the flock, 
 that is, from the shade that immediately follows 
 the nacaret, are put in. As soon as the water 
 boils, it takes out all the colour the wool had, 
 and it is in this fresh liquor that the other wool 
 that is to be dyed is dipped, from the cherry co- 
 lour to the palest flesh colour, observing always 
 to begin by the deepest shades. 
 
 Most of the dyers who do not know how to 
 melt the flock, or who will not give themselves 
 that trouble, buy some pounds of this scarlet of 
 flock, which they use after this manner, to make 
 all the lighter shades, which, as has been said, 
 is done with much ease. This operation shows 
 what little dependance can be put on the solidi- 
 ty of a colour that passes so quickly in boiling 
 water- And in fact, it is one of the worst co- 
 lours there is in dying, and on that account the 
 new regulation has taken it from the great dye, 
 and permits in the lesser for the reason above 
 mentioned. 
 
 Thus a very bad colour may be had from an 
 ingredient which, of all those th^t are used in 
 dying, is perhaps the best and the most dura- 
 ble ; yet when $ this hair, dyed with all the ne- 
 cessary precautions to insure the colour as much 
 as possible, comes to be dissolved or melted in 
 a liquor of pearlash, its colour, by acquiring a 
 new lustre, loses all its solidity, and can only be 
 ranked in the number of the falsest dyes. 
 
 It may appear that the little solidity of this 
 Colour proceeded from the wool having no pre-
 
 240 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 paration, and retaining no salt before its being 
 dipped in the dissolved flock ; but I found that 
 this was not the cause ; for I dipped in this li- 
 quor wool boiled us usual, and other wool dif- 
 ferently prepared, without finding that the colour 
 of the latter had acquired any more solidity ; 
 the lustre was less, that is, if came out more 
 saddened than the wool that had been dyed in 
 it without any preparation. 
 
 Though I have said that wool receives no 
 preparation before its being dyed in a dissolution 
 of flock, it is nevertheless necessary to sulphur 
 those that are to make clear shades, for that gives 
 them a great brightness and lustre, as the dis- 
 solved flock is applied on a ground a great deal 
 whiter than it would be without the vapour of 
 the sulphur, which cleanses it of all its filth. 
 The same thing is done for the light blues, and 
 for some other colours ; but this operation is 
 seldom made use of but for wool intended for 
 samples or tapestry. 
 
 The Theory cf the Dissolution of Flock. 
 
 The reason why from an ingredient, such as 
 the root of madder, perishable colours are pro- 
 duced from dissolved flock, is not difficult to 
 assign. In the first operation of maddering the 
 flock, the red of the madder was fixed in the hair 
 by the prepartion of allum and tartar as much 
 as possible, but as it is overloaded with this 
 colour, it is easy to conceive that the superfluous 
 colouring atoms being only applied on those 
 which already filled the pores of this hair, these 
 alone are really retained in the pores, and ure 
 cemented by the salts. The hair thus reddened 
 by the madder so as to become almost black, 
 would lose a great deal of the intensity (if its 
 colour, if it was boiled in any liquor, was it even
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 241 
 
 common water ; but to this water, pearlash is 
 added in equal weight with the flock already 
 dyed, which is to be melted in it ; consequently 
 there is a very strong lixivium of fixed alkaline 
 salts made. I have said that very strong alkaline 
 lies destroy the natural texture of almost all 
 animalfcSubstances, as also gums and resins ; in 
 short, that an alkaline salt is their dissolvent. 
 In the present operation, the lixivium or the 
 pearlash is very concentrated, and very acrid, 
 and const quently in a state to melt the hair, 
 \\ hich is an animal substance, which it does very 
 quickly, and with a strong fermentation, which 
 shows itself by the strong and violent elevation 
 of the liquor : consequently it destroys the nat- 
 ural texture of each of these hairs, and the sides 
 of the pores being at the same time broken and 
 reduced to very minute parts, these sidts having 
 neither consistence nor spring to retain these 
 salts, and the colouring particles that were stick- 
 ing to them. Therefore the animal particles of 
 the hair, the colouring parts of the madder, the 
 saline parts of the liquor, and the alkali of the 
 pearlash, are all confounded together, and form 
 a new mixture, which cannot afford a lasting 
 dye, because from these saline parts mixed to- 
 gether theroicannot be formed a sufficient quan- 
 tity of salts capable of crystalization, and pro- 
 ducing moleculas, which can resist cold water 
 and the rays of the sun. In short, it could not 
 form a tartar of vitriol, because the alkaline 
 salt is m too great a proportion. 
 
 To rouse the deep and overloaded dye of the 
 madder first applied on the flock, and after con- 
 founded by the melting of this hair in the mix- 
 ture already spoken of, putrified urine is added 
 in a considerable quantity ; this is a further ob- 
 stacle to crystallization ; consequently wool not 
 prepared by other salts, and dipped in a liquor
 
 242 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 thus composed, can only be covered by a super- 
 ficial colour, which finds no prepared pores, or 
 any thing saline in those pores, which may 
 cement the colouring atoms ; therefore such a 
 dye must quit its subject on the least efturt of 
 what nature soever it be. 
 
 But wool prepared by the liquor of tartar and 
 allum, does not take a more lasting colour, in 
 the liquor of the melted flock, th m -AGO! not 
 prepared by these salts ; for a liquor which 
 abounds with fixed alkaline salts attacks the tar- 
 tar left of the preceding preparation in the pores 
 of the wool. This tartar changes its nature, and 
 from being hard to dissolve, as it was before, 
 it becomes a soluble tartar, that is, a salt that 
 dissolves very easily in the coldest water. 
 
 It may perhaps be objected, that particles o? 
 allum remain in the pores of the prepared wool, 
 that from these particles of allum, as well as 
 from a portion of the same salt which is put into 
 the liquor, reddened by the melting of the flock, 
 the alkali of the pearlash must form a tartar of 
 vitriol, which, according to my principles, ought 
 to secure the dye. 
 
 To this I answer, that the urine hinders the 
 combination of these two salts, which is neces- 
 sary for the formation of the tartar (if vitriol ; if 
 even this hindrance did not exist, the quantity of 
 this salt, which I have named hard in another 
 place, could not be sufficient to cement the 
 colour in the pores of the wool, or put them in a 
 state to retain the colouring atoms. Further, 
 the sharpness of the alkaline salts in this liquor, 
 which is capable of entirely dissolving the hair 
 boiled in it, would equally be able to dissolve 
 the wool, were it boiled as the flock was. But 
 yet, though a degree of heat is not given to the 
 liquor, which would be necessary for this total 
 destruction, it is easily conceived, that if the
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 243 
 
 sum of the destroying action is not the same,, 
 at least a part exists which, is still sufficient to 
 corrode the sides of the pores of the wool, to 
 enlarge them greatly, and to render them unfit 
 to retain the colouring atoms ; to this may be 
 added, that the hair is melted in the liquor, and 
 consequently mixed with the colouring parts 
 of the madder in a great quantity ; that these 
 are heterogenious parts, which prevent the im- 
 mediate contract of the same colouring parts, 
 and that from all these obstacles taken together, 
 the colour must be rendered less durable and 
 less holding than any of the lesser dye. This, 
 experience sufficiently proves, for if a skain of 
 .red wool dyed in this manner, be put into boil- 
 ing water, the colour will be taken off entirely. 
 
 Receipt 137//i. Scarlet of Archil, and the manner of 
 using it. 
 
 ARCHIL is a soft paste, of a deep red,, 
 which being simply diluted in hot water affords 
 a number of different shades; there are two 
 kinds, the most common one \\hich is not so 
 good, is generally made in Auvergne, from 
 a lichen or sort of moss, very common on 
 the rocks f that province : it is known under 
 the name of Archil of Auvergne, or Land Ar- 
 chil. The other is a great deal finer arid bet- 
 ter ; it is called the Archil of Herb, or of the 
 Canaries, or Cape Verd Archil ; it is prepared 
 in France, England, Holland, and other places. 
 
 The workmen who prep < re this herb archil, 
 make a secret of the preparation, but the par- 
 ticulars may be found well related in a treatise 
 ofM. Pierre Antoine Mtcheli, which bears for 
 title, j\'(,va Piantarum Genera, therefore I shall 
 not here give die method of preparing it. 
 
 When a dyer wants to assure himself that the
 
 44' APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 archil will produce a beautiful effect, he must, 
 extend a piece of this paste on the back of his 
 band and let it dry, afterwards washing his 
 hand with cold water. If this spot remains 
 with only a little of its colour discharged, he 
 may udge the archil to be good, and be assur. 
 ed it will succeed. 
 
 I shall now give the method of using the 
 prepared archil, but I shall only treat of that of 
 the Canaries, and just mention the difference 
 between it and that of Auvergne- A copper is 
 filled with clear water, and when it begins to 
 be lukewarm, the proper quantity of archil is 
 put in and well stirred : the liquor is afterwards 
 heated almost to boiling, and the wool or stuffs 
 are dipped without any preparation, only keep- 
 ing those longer in that are to be deeper. 
 
 When the archil yields no more colour at this 
 degree of heat, the liquor is made to boil to ex- 
 tract the remainder; but if it is archil of Au- 
 vergne, the colours drawn after this manner 
 will be sadder than the first, on account of the 
 boiling of the liquor. The Canary archil, on 
 the contrary, will lose nothing of its brightness, 
 if even the liquor boiled from the beginning. 
 This last, though dearer, yields much more dye, 
 so that there is more profit in makiHg use of it, 
 besides its superiority over the other in beauty 
 and goodness of colour. The natural colour 
 which is drawn both from the one and the other 
 archil, is a fine gris de-lin, bordering on the 
 violet. The violet, the pansy, the amaranth, 
 and several like colours are obtained from it, 
 by giving the stuff a ground of blue more or 
 less deep before it is passed through the archil. 
 It must here be observed, that to have the 
 clear shades of these colours as bright as they 
 ought to be, the wool ought to be sulphured, as 
 was said in the foregoing receipt either before it
 
 DYER'S coy PANICS* 
 
 is dipped in the archil, for the gris-de-Iin, or be- 
 fore it is dyed blue for the violet, and other like 
 colours. 
 
 This way of using archil is the simplest, but 
 the colours that proceed from it are not lasting, 
 It may be imagined that the colours would be 
 better by giving a preparation to the wool pre- 
 vious to its being dyed, as is practised in the 
 great dye, when madder, cochineal, weld, &c, 
 are used ; but experience shews the contrary; 
 and I have used the archil on wool boiled in al- 
 Jum and tartar, which did not resist the air more- 
 than that which had received no preparation. 
 
 There is notwithstanding, a method of using 
 the Canary archil, and giving it almost as much 
 duration as the most part of the ingredients of 
 the good dye ; but then its natural colour ofgris- 
 de-lui is taken off, and it acquires a red or scarlet.. 
 or rather a colour known under the name of 
 bastard scarlet. The colours of the kermes or 
 Venetian scarlet, and several other shades that 
 border on the red and the orange, may also be 
 drawn from it. These colours are extracted 
 from the archil by the means of acids, and all 
 those that are thus made may be looked upon as 
 much more lasting than the others, though 
 strictly speaking, they are not of the good dye. 
 
 There are two methods of extracting these red 
 colours from the archil. The first is by incor- 
 porating some acid in the composition itself that 
 "is made use of to reduce this plant to a paste 
 (such as is known to the dyers under the nam-. 
 of archil). I have been assured that it may be 
 made violet and even blue, which probably is 
 done by the mixture of some alkalis, but I must 
 confess I could not succeed in it, although 1 
 made above twenty trials for that purpose. I 
 .shall now proceed to the second method of 
 Extracting from archil a beautiful and pretty 
 
 *
 
 246 APPENDIX TO TJI-E 
 
 lasting red, and which I executed four times 
 with success. 
 
 Bastard Scarlet by Archil. 
 
 Prepared archil from the Canaries is diluted 
 s usual in warm water, and a small quantity of 
 the common composition for scarlet is added, 
 which is as has been shown in the preceding 
 treatise, a solution of tin in aqua regia, weakened 
 with water ; this acid clears the liquor immedi- 
 ately and gives it a scarlet colour. The wool 
 or stuff is then to be dipped in this liquor, and 
 left till it has received the shade required. If 
 the colour should not have brightness enough, 
 a little more of the composition must be put in, 
 and pretty near the same method must be fol- 
 lowed as in the dying of common scarlet : I tried 
 to make it in tw o liquors as the scarlet, that is, 
 to boil the stuff with the composition, and a 
 small quantity of archil, and after wards to finish 
 it with a greater quantity of both, and I suc- 
 ceeded equally ; but the operation is longer after 
 this manner, and I have sometimes made as fine 
 a colour in one liquor. Thus the dyer may 
 take his choice of either of these methods. 
 
 I cannot exactly fix the quantity of ingredients 
 in this operation. First, as it depends on the 
 shade that is to be given to the stuff. Second, 
 as it is a new process in dying, I have not had 
 sufficient experiments to know with exactness 
 the quantity of archil and composition which 
 ought to be used : the success also depends on 
 the greater or lesser acidity of the composition. 
 In short, this method of dying with archil is so 
 easy, that by making two or three trials in small, 
 more knowledge will be acquired from it than I 
 could teach in a large volume : I must only add, 
 that the more the colour drawn from this ingre-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 247 
 
 client approaches the scarlet, the more lasting- 
 it is. I have made a great number of shades 
 from the same archil, and which consequently 
 only differed by the greater or less quantity of 
 the composition, and I always found that the; 
 more the archil went from the natural colour, 
 the more lasting it became, so that when I 
 brought it to the shade known by the name of 
 bastard scarlet, it withstood the action of the air 
 and every proof almost as well as that which is 
 commonly made with cochineal or madder. 
 
 If too much composition be put in the liquor a 
 the wool will become of an orange colour, and 
 disagreeable. The same thing also happens with 
 cochineal, so that this is not an inconvenience 
 peculiar to this dye ; besides it is easily avoided 
 by proceeding gradually in the addition of the 
 composition, and by putting a small quantity 
 at first. 
 
 I have tried the different acids in this scarlet 
 composition, but none succeeded well ; vinegar 
 did not give a sufficient redness to the liquor, 
 and the stuff dyed in it only took a colour of 
 lees of wine, which even was not more lasting 
 in the air than that of the archil in its natural 
 state, and other acids saddened the colour. In 
 short, it appears that (as in scarlet with cochi- 
 neal) a metallic basis extremely white must be 
 united to the red of the archil, and this basis 
 is the clax of tin. I have repeated the same 
 operation with the archil of Auvergne, but the 
 colours were not near so fine or so goo.d. 
 
 Receipt 138^. Red of Brazil or Red-wood. 
 
 UNDER the general name of Brazil wood 
 is comprehended that of Fernarnbouc, St. Mar- 
 tha, Japan, Nicaragua and some others, which 
 I shall not here distinguish, since they are
 
 all used after the same manner for dying. Sbrrie 
 give greater variety of colours than others, or 
 finer ; but this often proceeds from the parts of 
 the wood being more or less exposed to the air 
 or that some parts of it may be rotted. The 
 soundest or highest in colour are to be chosen 
 for dying. 
 
 All those woods give a tolerable good colour, 
 either used alone, mixt with logwood, or with 
 other colouring ingredients. It will be shewn 
 that, in the false or bastard violet, a little Bra- 
 zil was added to the logwood; but in the vinous 
 greys, or those which have a cast of the red, a 
 great deal more is used. Sometimes only, a 
 small quantity of galls is put with the Brazil, 
 and it is saddened with copperas ; often also 
 with logwood, archil, or some other ingredient, 
 it is added according to the shade, from whence 
 it is not possible to give any fixed rule for this 
 kind of work, on account of the infinite varie- 
 ty of shades which are obtained from these dif- 
 ferent mixtures. 
 
 The natural colour of the Brazil, and for 
 which it is most used, is the false scarlet, which 
 appears fine and bright, but far inferior to the 
 brightness of the cochineal or gum-lacque. 
 
 To extract the colour from this wood, the 
 hardest water, such as will not dissolve soap, 
 must be made use of, for river water has not 
 near so good an effect ; it must be cut into 
 ships and boiled for three hours ; the water is 
 then taken out and put into a large vessel, and 
 fresh well-water put on the wood and boiled 
 again for three hours ; this water is added to the 
 first. 
 
 This liquor, which is called juice of Brazil, 
 .must be old and fermented, and rope like an 
 wily wine, before it is fit for use. To extract a 
 bright red from it, the stuff must be filled with
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 249 
 
 the salts of the common liquor of preparation, 
 but the allum must predominate, for the tartar 
 alone, and also sour water, greatly spoils the 
 beauty of this colour : in short, acids are hurt- 
 ful to it, and dissolve its red colouring part. 
 Four ounces of allum for each pound of stuff is 
 to be added to the liquor, and only two ounces 
 of tartar, or even less. The wool is to be boiled 
 in it for three hours ; it is then taken out and 
 gently wrung, and thus kept moist for eight days 
 at least, that by the salts being retained it may 
 be sufficiently prepared to receive the dye. To 
 dye with this, one or two pails full of the old 
 juice of Brazil is put into a convenient copper, 
 and well scummed. Dip the stuff which has 
 remained eight or ten days moistened in the pre- 
 paring liquor, and it must be well worked in it 
 without making the liquor boil too strongly, un- 
 til it be smoothly and equally dyed. Care mil.- 1 
 be taken to wring a corner of this stuff now and 
 then, as I have already said, to judge of its co- 
 lour, for whilst wet, it appears at least three 
 shades deeper than when dry. By this method, 
 which is somewhat tedious, very bright reds 
 are made, perfectly imitating certain colours 
 the English sell under the name of Campeachy 
 scarlets, which by the proof of dyes, are not 
 found to be better than this, only that they seem 
 to have been lightly maddered. 
 
 This red, of which I have given the process, 
 and which is no where else described, withstands 
 the weather three or four months in the winter, 
 without losing any of its shade ; on the contra- 
 ry, it saddens, and seems to acquire a ground, 
 but it does not stand the proof of tartar. 
 
 Some dyers of the great dye use Brazil to 
 heighten the red of madder, either to save this 
 root, or make its red more bright than usual. 
 This is done by dipping in a Brazil liquor a
 
 250 .U'PENDIX TO THE 
 
 stuff', begun with the madder, but this kmd of 
 fraudulent dye is expressly forbid by the French 
 regulations, as well as any mixture of the great 
 dye with the lesser, because it can only serve to 
 cheat, and to pass for a fine madder red, a colour 
 which in a few days loses all its brightness along 
 with the shade, which has been drawn from the 
 Brazil, prepared in the common manner. 
 
 The first colour extracted from this wood is 
 not of a good dye, probably because it is an in- 
 digested sap, and whose colouring particles have 
 not been sufficiently attenuated to be retained 
 and sufficiently fixed in the pores of the wool 
 dyed in it- When these first gross parts of the 
 colour have been carried off, those that remain 
 in small quantity are finer, and mixing them- 
 selves to the yellow parts, which are furnished 
 by the pure woody parts, the red resulting from 
 it is more lasting. 
 
 By the means of acids, of what kind soever, 
 all the red colour of this wood is carried off or 
 disappears ; then the stuff that is dyed by it takes 
 a hind colour, more or less deep in proportion 
 to the time it is kept in the liquor, and this co- 
 lour is of a very good dye. 
 
 It is said that the dyers of Amboise, have a 
 method of binding the Brazil colour in this 
 manner ; after their stufis lightly maddered have 
 been passed through a liquor of weld, and con- 
 sequently boiled twice in allum and tartar, they 
 put arsenic and pearlash in the juice of Brazil, 
 and it is asserted that this colour then resists the 
 proofs ; I tried this process, but it did not suc- 
 ceed. 
 
 When a very bright red is required from the 
 Brazil, I know by experience that it is possible 
 to insure the colour drawn from it after such a 
 manner, that, having exposed it thirty days to 
 the rays of the summer's sun, it will not ehaie.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 but these kind of colours are coffee and chesnut 
 purples. 
 
 To make these, I keep the stuff moistened in 
 its liquor in a cellar for fifteen days ; this liquor 
 is prepared as for the reds, of which I have 
 heretofore spoken ; I fill a copper to two-thirds 
 with well water, and the remaining third up with 
 Brazil juice, to which I add about one ounce of 
 Aleppo galls in very fine powder to every pound 
 of stuff, and then boil it one or two hours, as I 
 want the shade to be in deepness : the stuff is 
 aired from time to time, and when it has taken 
 the colour desired, it is well cooled before it is 
 washed. This stuff being brushed, the nap lav- 
 ed and cold pressed, comes out very fine and 
 very smooth. 
 
 As to brazil and other subjects for red of the 
 lesser dye, they must all -undergo a similar pre- 
 paration as has been described, and when the 
 red of these subjects are connected with otheB 
 dyes, you will see it fully described in the re- 
 ceipts of the preceding work. 
 
 I shall close this subject of the red, by giving 
 some remarks on the experiments of cochineal 
 liquor. 
 
 Zinc dissolved in spirit of nitre changes the 
 red of cochineal to a slaty violet colour. 
 
 The salt of lead, used instead of cream of tar- 
 tar, makes a lilac somewhat faded ; a proof 
 that some portion of lead is joined to the colour 
 of the cochineal. 
 
 Vitriolated tartar made with potash and vi- 
 triol destroys its red, and there only remains an 
 agyth grey. 
 
 Bismuth dissolved in spirit of nitre, weaken- 
 ed by an equal part of common water, and pour- 
 ed on the liquor of cochineal, gives the cloth 
 a dove- grey, very beautiful and very bright. 
 
 A solution of copper in spirit of ,itre
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 weakened, gives to the cochineal a dirty crim- 
 son. 
 
 Cupullated silver a cinnamon colour a little 
 on the brown. 
 
 Arsenic added to the liquor of cochineal, 
 gives a brighter cinnamon than the preceding. 
 
 Gold dissolved in aqua regia gave a streaked 
 chesnut, which made the cloth appear as if it 
 had been manufactured with wool of different 
 colours. 
 
 Mercury dissolved with spirit of nitre, pro- 
 duces pretty near the same effect. 
 
 Glauber's salts alone destroys the red, like 
 the vitriolated tartar, and produces like that an 
 agath grey, but not of the good dye : because 
 this salt easily dissolves even in cold water, and 
 besides it calcines in the air. 
 
 The fixed salt of urine gives a cinder-grey 
 eolour, where not the least tincture of red is 
 perceived, and like the foregoing is not of a 
 good dye, for it is a salt that cannot form a sol- 
 id cement in the pores of the wool, as it is 
 soluble by the moisture of the air. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Receipt \39tk. OF 
 
 BRO\VN is one of the primary or material 
 colours ; it is fourth in rank, and it has a great 
 number of variable shades, and is dependent on 
 the power of the corrosive, from the darkest to 
 the lightest shades, let the subjects be of what 
 rank they will, either inclining to blue or yellow, 
 red or black, they must be corroded, before it can 
 be a real colour, otherwise it would be a mixture 
 audit would be no colour in itself, yet there is no
 
 BYER'S COMPANION. '2#S 
 
 "colour that has so great a connection with the 
 mixture of colours as the brown, as will be 
 shown in. the sequel ; it has a variety of sub- 
 jects as will be shown, and its corrosive powers 
 is copperas ; the subjects are so numerous I 
 shall only mention the principle ones. Brown is 
 placed in this rank, because it enters in the com- 
 position of a great number of colours, as -you 
 may see in the preceding work, in the receipts 
 for browns, &.c. ; the working is different from 
 others, for commonly no preparation is given to 
 the wool to be dyed brown, and like the blue it 
 is only dipped in hot water. The rinds or barks 
 and roots of the butternut, walnut and hickory,, 
 the barks of white oak, of chesnut, of maple, of 
 alder, nut galls and the galls of all oaks, santal, 
 sumac, roudoul or sovie, soot, &c. are used in 
 this dye : butternut bark is the one most in use, 
 and may be ranked as the first, it produces a 
 great variety of shades and if rightly used its co- 
 lour is permanent, and is one of the greatest^ co- 
 louring substitutes in the Northern States ; it i3 
 good in all browns mixed with brown and yel- 
 low, or brown, red and yellow, as you may see 
 by my former work. As the bark of butternut 
 is so common, and so well explained in the re- 
 ceipts in the preceding, I shall say no more of it 
 here. 
 
 Browns are all saddened or darkened f with 
 copperas in proportion to the shade required ; 
 the other colouring subjects for brown will be 
 noticed hereafter. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Receipt 140M. OF BLACK, 
 
 BLACK is the fifth primary or material co- 
 lour ; its principle subject is logwood ; it is gov-
 
 254 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 erned by the power of the corrosive, in which aji 
 colours and shades are absorbed and corroded 
 in darkness. The barks, galls, sumac, &c. serve 
 to make a body with the goods for the 1 gwood to 
 act itpon, the acid of argal and the alkali, corrects 
 the vitriolic acid, that it receives by the green vi- 
 triol or copperas ; this vitriolic acid rouses the 
 logwood and gives it a purple brown for which it 
 must be corroded either by acid or alkali, or both. 
 Black hai-. but one shade; that of black or darkness, 
 yet it is denominated as having four, blue black, 
 because the blue is not absorbed ; grey black, 
 the pores or bodies are not filled ; brown black, 
 for want of a neutral to correct the vitriolic acid 
 and the slightly parts of the logwood ; and the 
 coal black, that is, perfectly line and velvety* 
 
 Receipt \4\st. fOR KLACK. 
 
 FOR one hundred pounds of cloth, fill your 
 copper with water, then add sixty pounds of 
 logwood chips, thirty pounds of sumac and three 
 pounds of nut galls, or white oak bark as pre- 
 pared for tanners may be substituted for nut 
 galls ; heat and boil well one hour, then run 
 your cloth one and an half hours ; then take up 
 and cool, boil again, and run as before ; cool, 
 and take two pounds and a half of pearlash, dis- 
 solve it in six gallons of warm water, then pul- 
 verize one pound and a half of verdigrease, and 
 add one gallon of the pearlash liquor ; let it 
 simmer over a moderate fire with often stirring, 
 but not boil ; then take thirty pounds of cop- 
 peras and put with the remaining pearlash li- 
 quor, and dissolve it, then add it to the dye, run 
 your cloth one hour, take out and cool ; then add 
 the verdigrease solution, run again with the dye 
 boiling, run and air as before ; then add three 
 pounds and a half of blue vitriol, run again anc!
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 255 
 
 you will have a fine black. The verdigrease 
 and blue vitriol, stand as neutrals in this dye ; 
 the verdigrease is a mineral of copper, and is 
 much finer than iron, of course has a small- 
 er quantity of earth with it ; it is an assistant in 
 saddening, and rouses the logwood : blue or 
 a Roman vitriol, is a mineral of a vitriolic sub- 
 stance, and they both serve to assist and correct 
 the logwood and the vitriolic acid of the copper, 
 as, they are both corroding and acid powers in 
 this dye and all other dyes where used. 
 
 Receifit 142c?. Another form for Black, in "which the 
 brittlcncKS and weakness of the goods is cojr/tlete/jj 
 remedied. 
 
 FOR one hundred weight of cloth, fill your 
 boiler with fair water, take twenty pounds of 
 yellow oak bark ground as for tan, or twelve 
 pounds of fustic chips as a substitute for the 
 bark, boil well one hour ; then add twenty five 
 pounds of copperas, rake the dye well, then run 
 your cloth one hour, take out, air and return 
 again, and reel with the dye boiling as before ; 
 then air and rince your cloth clean, shift your 
 liquor from your boiler, clean well, fill with wa- 
 ter and add forty-six pounds of logwood chips, 
 twenty pounds of sumac well dried, and three 
 pounds of nut galls pulverized, or twelve pounds 
 of white oak bark as for tan may be sub- 
 stituted for galls ; boil one hour, then run 
 your cloth two hours ; then take up and cool, 
 boil again a few minutes, run as before and 
 air ; then add three pounds ofpearlash or potash 
 dissolved, and two pounds of blue vitriol, boil 
 well, run your cloth two hours with the dye 
 boiling, and your black will be fine and xffixed, 
 not superficial and s-. nutty: the black \\ill be 
 soft and velvety. I shall now proceed to give
 
 APPENDIX TO 
 
 the reasons why blacks are so tender, brittle and 
 smutty ; goods are not brittled altogether by 
 the vitriolic acid that the copperas contains, as is 
 the general opinion ; first, copperas is made up 
 of three parts, earth, iron and acid, and when 
 applied to the dye of black, according to com- 
 mon form after the vegetable astringents of log- 
 wood, sumac, galls, &c. ; the earth of the 
 copperas being the lightest part first enters the 
 bodies; the pores and fibres of the wool are clos- 
 ed by the astringents, and the vitriolic acid has 
 not power to force out the earth and gain admis- 
 sion for the iron, because it is so inclosed, and 
 the fibres shut by the astringents that it never 
 enters and preys on the bodies, but remains 
 only superficial. Galls are the most astringent 
 of any vegetable, and when any of these vegeta- 
 ble astringent substances are first used without 
 a preparation, the salts after they are applied, 
 remain superficial and never enter the bodies of 
 the wool ; and further it binds all the fibres and 
 bodies of the wool with all the resin and glu- 
 tinous substance that remains of the animal in 
 the bodies of the wool, and that resin becomes 
 affixed and causes it to crock. The wool is brit- 
 tle because the earth has entered the pores of the 
 wool, and is bound by the astringents ; for that 
 reason the iron and acid remains on the outside 
 and never enters the bodies of the wool, and it 
 cannot be affixed, but remains superficial. It 
 may be asked, why do not blacks lose all theit 
 colour ? I answer it is not the affixity, but being 
 loaded with such a mass of colouring substances 
 that the rays of light cannot reflect upon it, and 
 after it has lost half the colour, that it first re- 
 ceived, there is a sufficient body to resist the 
 rays of light ; for example, take one-tenth part 
 of the colouring ingredients and apply them ex- 
 actly in the same form as for black ? and you will
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 257 
 
 find it will admit the rays of light, and will scon 
 lose all its colour ; this shows that the colour 
 is not affixed but superficial : these are the 
 reasons why blacks in < general are tender and 
 liable to be smutty ; in short not to tire the 
 patience of the reader, I have endeavoured to 
 show the cause of the tenderness and liability 
 of blocks to crock ; I will endeavour to give 
 the process (by differently applying the goods 
 and colouring subjects) to prevent their be- 
 ing tender and smutty. By first preparing the 
 goods with copperas and fustic or bark, a por- 
 tion of the acid of the copperas evaporates, and 
 the earth principally unites with part of the acid 
 and the colouring subject and drives out the 
 colour of this subject, and leaves the astringen- 
 cy ; and when the goods are entered, the iron and 
 colouring substance 1 , with a small portion of the 
 arid enters the wool and becomes affixed, and 
 the air drives it into the pores and crystalizes it, 
 that the iron and acid cannot be dissolved by 
 air and water ; by rincing in cold water it 
 removes all the useless substance, and part of 
 the earth and acid, and is divested of all the su- 
 perfluous matter ; by emptying the copper you 
 are divested of the whole ^of the earth, that the 
 copperas contains ; now it is prepared for the 
 logwood, sumac, galls, &c. ; these astringents 
 take immediate hold of the bodies of these pre- 
 pared goods, and becomes affixed in all the 
 pores and fibres of the wool. T^e alkali of pe; rl- 
 ash, &c. does not bind the colour, but only 
 corrects and takes off the light and fk-ety part of 
 the logwood ; the verdigrease and blue vitriol, 
 rouses the colouring substances; as acids, 
 they are more so than copperas, and the mineral 
 much finer. The blue vitriol is possessed of 3 
 large portion of i-arth, much more than copperas 
 or verdigrease, and is very astringent and ought 
 f*
 
 258 APPENDIX TO THE, fee. 
 
 never to be used in a preparation, only in the last 
 of a dye after the goods have had a preparation 
 and the fibres of the wool closed by the astrin- 
 gents, then the earth of the vitriol remains super- 
 ficial and is all dissolved or washed away by 
 water ; but as an astringent, it is the most so 
 of all vitriols, it binds the colouring substances, 
 but corrects none. 
 
 The cleansing and scouring of the blacks 
 ought to be noticed : the ancient form of cleans- 
 ing black is, after the loose dye is rinced off, 
 then fill them with fullers earth, it only \vorks 
 through the cloth in the mill, and by this fritting 
 it swallows up all the superficial part of the dye, 
 and rince with clear water : but this is not the 
 best way, after you have rinced off in the mill 
 the loose dye hang the cloth out and dry, and 
 to every hundred pounds of cloth take two pound 
 of hard soap, dissolve it in warm water sufficient 
 to wet them, say twelve gallons, then take three 
 pints of beef gall, mix it with the soap water 
 and sprinkle on the cloth, let it run in the mill 
 fifteen minutes, and then rince well. The soap 
 removes all -the loose parts of the dye stuff, and 
 the beef gall makes them all affixed and binds 
 the whole, as it is an astringent. Some errone- 
 ously use soap only, but that is the reverse, and 
 leaves the wool too open, like other alkalis.
 
 L 259 ] 
 OBSERVATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 MIXTURE OF COLOURS, 
 
 DYE STUFFS, Sec. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 On the mixture of Colours. 
 
 ON the five principle colours in this and the preceding^ 
 work, 1 have endeavoured to point out the best methods for 
 practice, both in the greater and lesser dye. I shall now 
 endeavour to show the connection these colours have by 
 twos, and by threes, but it will be generally on the g*eat or 
 good dye; it will be needless to have a repetition in this 
 "work, as there is iu the former work above fifty receipts 
 which give a variety of shades of the lesser dye, \iiul it is 
 well explained ir. the essay on the properties and effects of 
 dye stuffs 6c their dependin ' powers. 
 
 On mixing Colours three by !hree. 
 
 Bl-ie, yellow and black, produce all d .rk. g'-eens to a 
 black Blue, red,and yellow, produce olives, greenish ?re\ s 
 and other colours of the same kind ; when the mixture con- 
 tains blue it is usual to begin with that colour. Blue, red 
 and brown, produce from the darkest to the lightest shades. 
 Blue, red a;:d black, produce a numerous variety of shades. 
 Blue, yellow and brown, produce greens and olives of all 
 kinds. Blue, brown and black, produce olives and greenish 
 greys Red, yellow and brown, produce orange, gold 
 colour, burnt cinnamon and snuff colours of all kinds Red, 
 yellow and black, produce a colour which resembles a 
 withered leaf. Lastly, from yellow, brown and black, you 
 obtain hair co'. ur, nut brown, &c. Four of these colours 
 may be mixed together, and sometimes five, but this is not 
 usual. It is needless to enlarge upon this subject, I shall 
 only observe that a variety of different shades may be ob- 
 tained from each of these colours ; the design of this enume- 
 ration is only to give a general idea of the ingredients that 
 are proper for the production of colours, composed rf sev- 
 eral others. As it respects the lesser dye of grass gre- n ob- 
 tained from chymick, it is well explained in the former
 
 260 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 work ; I shall only mention the process for pea-greea, and 
 refer to receipt No. 6, for the preparation of the chymick tor 
 tl:t blue: the goods being well scoured are to be allumed, 
 tor every twenty pounds weight, two pounds of allum is to 
 be put into a copper with fair water, and the goods boiled 
 gently an hour and a half; whilst this is performing, ano- 
 ther copper is got ready, in which rustic chips are put to 
 boil; if there are aiv. to dye pea-.^reen it is best to dye them 
 first, not as practised in some dve-houses, for this great 
 reason, that when several parcels of goods have been 
 through the same liquor, there remains a scurf which the 
 acid extracts, and that is surr to stick to the next parcel 
 that goes in ; -and if pea-green was the last, the colour would, 
 be dulled therehv. The greens (pe^-.^iven excepted) are 
 to be turned about ten nv.nu es in the allum liquor after they 
 are ds <;, in order to clenr them of the stuff, and render the 
 colour brighter. Thii allum liquor is not to be hotter than 
 that the hand m.iy be borne in. Ob-erve, if the allum -was 
 put in ' v as is custr.mary in some dye-houses) with the fustic, 
 it would retard its working so well ;f >1 allum, being an acid, 
 \vould discharge if used with, r,s '-veil as prepare for fustic. 
 OF PURPLE. 
 
 IN the first ages of the world this was esteemed the rich- 
 est of all colour*. Purple was the colour ot the garments 
 tfiat designated Men who were dis'ins<ui>hed by their civil 
 and re'.igi. us tatrns This beautiful colour was obtained 
 from a shell fish resembling the ovster ; it is taken on the 
 v, rhout any other ingredif nt th fish coast of Palestine ; 
 colours the purple ; it gives a bright and lasting col< ur to all 
 goods that have received its impression ; this dye stiiff 
 comes so highly charged that it has never been much used 
 in any part of Europe or America. 
 
 The Grecians found a substitute for purple in a plant call- 
 ed amorgis ; it is probable neither of tlu-sv will be used in 
 this part of the world, :is ^o'h are very expensive 
 OF 01MJVGE. 
 
 THE brightest orange is raised bv first colouring the cloth 
 scarlet, and then dipping it in a yellow dve of turmeric and 
 fustic ; it may be obtained by colouring the cloth crimson 
 and then yellow, or first dipping it in a red-wood or madder 
 dye, then in the vellow dye, &c. 
 
 OJ the mixture of the Colours three by three. 
 
 I will again repeat the primitive colours three by three, 
 to impress on the dyers mind what he ought to be^in 
 with, and the preparation to govern the dye. 
 
 From blue, red, and yellow, the red olives and greenish 
 greys are made, and some other like shades of little use 
 only for spun wool designed lor tapestry. It would
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 261 
 
 repetition to give the method of using these colours, having 
 sufficiently explained it in the preceding pages. 
 
 In the mixture, where blue is a shade, it is usual to begin 
 with it; the stuff is afterwards boiled to give it the other 
 colours, in which it is dipped alternately one after the other ; 
 notwithstanding they are sometimes mixed together, and 
 are as good, provided they are colours which require the 
 same preparation ; for example, the madder-red and the 
 yellow. As to the cochineal and fcermes, they are seldom 
 used in these common colours, but only light colours which 
 have a bloom or vinous hue, and which must be bright and 
 brilliant, and then they are not used in the last liquor, that 
 is, the stuff is only dipped in when it has received the other 
 colours, unless they are to be greyed a little, which is lastly 
 done Uy passing them through the browning. It is impossi- 
 ble to give any precise rules for this work, and the least 
 practice of these rules will teach more than I could say in 
 many volumes- 
 Olives are made from blue, red, and brown, from the 
 deepest to the lightest, and bylgiving a little shade of red, the 
 slated greys, the lavender greys, and such like. 
 
 From the blue, the red, and the black, an infinite number 
 of greys of all shades are made, as the sage grey, the pigeon 
 grey, the slate grey, the lead grey, the king's and prince's 
 colour, browner than usual, and a variety of other colours 
 almost innumerable. 
 
 Receipt 143J. For Fa-ten Colour and Silver Grey. 
 
 FAWN is a lightish sandy brown, being very permanent. 
 For twelve pounds of wool, take half a bushel of walnut 
 husks, put them in the copper of clean water, let them boil 
 one hour; then dip ycur wool three hours; take up and 
 cool, and add four ounces of crude or red tartar, dip again 
 two hours ; take up and cool, and you have a durable co- 
 lour for silver grey. 
 
 Receipt 144 /A. FOR SILVER GREY. 
 
 FOR twenty pounds of cloth or worsted, eight ounces of 
 allum and twelve pounds of fenugreek must boil with the 
 goods half an hour ; then take it up, and add one pound of 
 pearlash and eight ounces of Brazil wood ; boil them gently 
 with the goods half an hour ; rince it and you have a beau - 
 tiful colour. 
 
 From yellow, blue, and brown, are made the greens, 
 goose dung, and olives of all kinds. 
 
 From brown, blue, and black, are produced the brown 
 olives, and the green greys. 
 
 From the red, yellow, and brown, proceed the orange, 
 gold colour, marigold, feulemort, okVcarnations, burnt cm 
 namon, and tobacco of all kinds. 
 Z 2
 
 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 Receipt l\5th. For Tobacco or Snuff 
 
 FOR every hundred p-.u'HL of wool take twenty pounds 
 of good ground ca - nwo< d, boil well, run or dip your wool 
 three h "Urs ; then have Another liquor prepared of eighty 
 pounds of lustic and ten bushels of butternut bark, boil well 
 til) the strength is well out; t.ak. j out the chips and bark; 
 stir or dip the wool six hours ; then air, and add ton pounds 
 of copperas and three gallons of sig, immerse ag.iir, and 
 keep it in with the dye boiling, till yon obtain the shade re- 
 qunvd This is a most excellent and permanent colour. 
 
 1 offer these suggestions that workmen ma^ suit them- 
 selv vs in mixing colours. Europeans apprised of our in- 
 creasing manufactories, attempt to baffle out attempts by 
 imposing on us mixed cloth as fashionable ; they are sensi- 
 ble th.it the younger look to the older nations 'or the pat- 
 terns of their garments, and for fashionable colours of their 
 cloths; for tins reason the Europeans frequently change or 
 mix their colours to retain our adherence to their markets. 
 Of Colours which will endure milling. 
 
 DEEP blur w;th all its shades, black, red brown, smoke 
 and snuff browns, cinnamon, crimson madder-red, pink, 
 purple, claret with red-wood, all browns and drabs. I in- 
 sert the e observations to accommodate those people that 
 would wish to mix any of these colours in the wool for cloth 
 .that is to be milled. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 . f few remarks on Dye Drug*, Woods, and Barks, and 
 Salts preparatory t'j them 
 
 OF INDIGO. 
 
 THERE are various qualities, and many dyers fail in their 
 !nent of the indigo; the best is imported from Spanish 
 America, it is generally soft, and will swim on the surface of 
 water, and in called flotong, this is the best kind of indigo 
 for blues, and no other ought ever to be used for saxon 
 greens. French indigo is much harder and in lumps about 
 two inches square ; if good, when broken it will appear a 
 fine purple, this will mate a fine blue. Carolina indigo -will 
 answer for almost all colours, where indigo is used, if it will 
 mix well'vith oil of vitriol, it will answer for all blues ; this 
 kind of indigo is in lumps about the size of French indigo; 
 you may break a lump and find its quality by cutting or 
 scraping it with the edije of a knife, and wetting and rubbing 
 it on the nail : if the colour adheres to the nail it may be 
 pronounced good ; but if it appear of a purple, and something 
 mouldy as if the air had passed through it, or puts on a sad, 
 dirty, dull colour, breaks h.ir:' *nrt flinty, and is full of small 
 round whit? specks, it is tit for no use, and \vill answer rp 
 purpose in dying.
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 263 
 
 OF COCHINEAL. 
 
 COCHINEAL is an insect cultivated in South America, 
 it is shipped to Spain, from Spain to England and from 
 thence to Amerca at a high price on account of its accumu- 
 lated and heavy duties. It is a strong and good dye drug, 
 and will return a handsome profit to the dyer when used in 
 scarlets, pinks and crimsons. That which is good will ap- 
 pear plump and look as though a light, sprinkling of flour 
 had been cast upon it. If you keep it dry in a glass bottle, 
 stopped tight, it will remain good many years. There is a 
 kind of cochineal wild and uncultivated, it is small and 
 shrivelled, will make a good colour, but will require three 
 times the weight of the other. Some cochineal is damaged 
 by salt water; this appears of a dirty crimson cast, and is 
 fit for no use. 
 
 OF CAMWOOD. 
 
 CAMWOOD is with propriety called the best of dye 
 woods; I think it must be a species of saunders ; its colour is 
 permanent, and will resist the influence of the air and al- 
 most all acids. It is not many years since the use of it was 
 first known in the United States ; it is in logs of wood from 
 six inches to a foot through ; it splits freely and when good is 
 heavy ; on opening it, the first appearance is a bright n d- 
 dish orange, on being exposed to the air it turns reddish ; 
 its smell is pungent. It is much tnor convenient for the dy- 
 er to have it ground, or you nust chip it fine ; it being a very 
 close wood it will require much boiling : that which is 
 ground, if go ,d will appear of a yellowish red ; if you wave 
 it a hot dust will arise, which irritates the nose and the 
 glands of the throat; that which is mild and of a darkish 
 red has been leeched and will produce no good colour. 
 OF BRAZIL OR RED-WOOD. 
 
 RED- WOOD makes fine c lours and is useful in many 
 dyes, whether used alone or with logwood ; if used with log- 
 wood it will produce violet lilac, and is useful in browns 
 where red is required ; it is good for a pink, claret, &c, ; it is 
 better to use nut galls with it Brazil comes in small sticks; 
 if good, looks bright, of a little yellowish red, smells agree- 
 able, and chips freely. The colour obtained from this wood 
 is not lasting if obtained hastily ; the liquor ought to sour, 
 then the colour will be permanent; tUu which has been 
 damaged by the sea-water or otherwise, afford a dull red 
 Chip, and is cohesive and clingy. 
 
 OF NICARAGUA WOOD. 
 
 NICARAGUA is in sticks of various sizes ; these sticks 
 have a number of concaves in them, which have the appear- 
 ance of art. This wood splits freely, and is of a reddish 
 orange colour, it gives a bright colour and is used much tlifr 
 same as bjrazil wood, but is preferable in browns, &c.
 
 264 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 OF BARWOOD. 
 
 SOME have mistaken barwood for camwood, and not 
 knowing the use, both have been condemned. Barwood will 
 dye chocolates and darkish browns ; it commonly comes in 
 clefts, it is of a reddish brown, splits freely one way of die 
 grain, the other hard and rough. 
 
 Ghtjmical History of Saunders, and its difference from her Red- 
 -woods. 
 
 RED saunders is a hard, compact, ponderous wood, of a 
 dark blackish red on the outside, and a light red colour 
 within ; of no particular smell or taste It is brought from 
 the Coromandel coast and from Golconda. Of the tree we 
 have no certain account. Its principal use is as a colouring 
 drug. Those -wh<se business it is to rasp and grind it into 
 powder, probablv employ certain saline or othi-r additions to 
 improve the colour ; whence the remarkable differences 
 in the colour of powdered saanders prepared in different 
 places That of Strasburgh is of the deepest and liveliest red. 
 Some sorts are of a dead dark red, and some of a pale brick 
 red ; some incline to purple or violet, and some to brown. 
 
 The colour of this wood resides wholly in its resin, and 
 hence is extracted by rectified spirit, whilst water, though 
 it takes up a portion of mucilaginous matter, gains no tinge, 
 or only a slight yellowish one From two ounces of the 
 wood were obtained by spirit of wine three drachms and a 
 half of resinous extract, and afterwards by water, a scruple 
 of mucilage. By applying water at first, I obtained from 
 two ounces two drachms and six grains of a tough mucila- 
 ginous extract, which could not easily be reduced to dryness. 
 The remainder still yielded, with spirit, two drachms of 
 resin. The indissoluble matter weighed, in the first case, an 
 unce and a half and fifteen grains ; in the latter, nineteen 
 grains less. Neither the distilled water nor spirit had any 
 remarkable taste or smell. 
 
 The red colour of saunders appears to be no other than a 
 concentrated yellow, for by bare dilution it becomes yellow. 
 A grain of the resinous extract, dissolved in an ounce of rec- 
 tified spirit, tinges it red, but this solution> nnxt with a quart 
 ef fresh spirit, give only a yellow hue- Hoffman reports that 
 this resin does not give a tincture to any kind of oil. 1 have 
 tried five oils, those of amber, turpentine, almonds, anni- 
 seeds, and lavender. It gave no colour to the two first, but 
 a deep red to the last, and a paler red to the other two. 
 
 OF YELLOW WOODS Jl.VD DRUGS. 
 
 OF these I shall make hut few remarks as they have been 
 well explained in the preceding. 
 
 Of Weld. Weld is a plant that may be cultivated among 
 us ; it is two seasons coining to maturity and mvwt be cut
 
 DYER'S COMPANION*. 265 
 
 and cured when in the bloom or blossom, and dried without 
 wet and put up in casKs for use : this gives the best and 
 inost permanent yellow. 
 
 OF FUSTIC. 
 
 FUSTIC is the wood or species of mulberry-tree, grow- 
 ing in Jamaica and Brazil, called by Sir ffans Sloane t 
 Mvrus Fructu Vindi Ligno Sul/ihureo Tinctorio. It is r.f a 
 deep sulphur yellow coluur, which it readily gives out both 
 to water and spirit. The watery decoction dyes prepared 
 \voollen of a very durable orange yelh w : the crlrur is im- 
 bibed by the cloth in a moderate warmth without boiling. 
 
 The fustet or fustel of the French is a yellow wood or 
 root very different from our fustic It gives a fine orange 
 dye to woollen, but the colour is extremely perishable in the 
 air The plant grows wild in Italy and Provence, and is 
 cultivated with us in gardens on account of the beauty ot its 
 flowers It is culled Venice sumach, cotinus cotiaria, cocci- 
 gnu ; cotrius matt/iioft, C J3. 
 
 As to yellow wood, green wood, turmeric, Stc.l shall make 
 no further remarks. 
 
 Of Log~j)ood as a colouring drug. 
 
 LOGWOOD or Campeachy wood (Lignum Brazilo-* 
 simile, cxruleo tingens, J B. is the wood ot a low prickly 
 tree, which grows plentifully about Campeachy or the Bay 
 of Honduras, and has r,f late been introduced into some of 
 the warmer of the British plantations, particularly Jamaica. 
 It is a native of the low margin plac.ts. The wood conies 
 over in pretty la< ge logs, cleared from the bark. It is very 
 hard, compact, heavy, and of a red colour. 
 
 Logwood gives out its colour both to watery and spir- 
 ituous menstrua, but not readily to either without boiling; it 
 requires to be chopped fine or ground, and damped with 
 water a month or two before use, when it gives more co- 
 lour and is easier extracted. Rectified spirit extracts the 
 colour more easily, and from a larger proportion of the wood 
 than water does. 
 
 The tinctures both in water and in spirit are-of a fine red, 
 with an admixture, particularly in the watery one, of a 
 violet or purple. Volatile alkaline salts or spirits incline 
 the colour more to purple. The vegetable and nitrous 
 acids render it pale, the vitriolic and marine acidsdeepen it. 
 
 The watery decoction, wrote with on paper> loses its red- 
 ness in a tew days and becomes wholly violet. This colour 
 it communicates also to woollen cloth previously prepar- 
 ed by boiling with a solution of allum and tartar The dye 
 is beautiful, but very perishable. It is often used by the 
 dyers as an ingredient in compound colour, for procuring 
 certain shades which are not easily hit by other materials.-
 
 266 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 With chalybeate solutions it strikes a black. Hence it is 
 employed in conjunction with those liquors for staining 
 wood black for picture frames, kc. and with the addition of 
 galls for dying cloth and hats black. The black dyes in 
 which this wood is an ingredient, have a particular lustre 
 and softness, far beyond those made with vitriol and galls 
 alone. The beauty however which it here imparts is not 
 permanent, any more than its own natural violet dye. 
 
 On the same principle it improves also the lustre and 
 blackness of writing ink. Ink made with vitriol and galls 
 does not attain to its full blackness, till after it has lain 
 some time upon the paper A due addition of logwood ren- 
 ders it of a deep black as its flows from the pen especially 
 whc-i vinegar or white wine is used for the menstruum. 
 
 Directions and extracts made from logwood have an 
 agreeable sweetish taste, followed by a slight astringency. 
 They have lately been introduced into medicine, and given 
 with success in cases where mild restringents are required. 
 They often tinge the stools, and sometimes the urine of a 
 red colour. 
 
 Of Copperas or Green Vitriol. Copperas is an extract of 
 iron corroded by acids, commonly old rusty iron and vine- 
 gar, this is the reason of its containing so great a proportion 
 of earth, and congeals into a salt ; as a substitute for copperas 
 take of the filings of iron, and put them in vinegar and let it 
 stand a month, you will have a much purer darkening sub- 
 stance. Thebestcopperasisthe brown, or that which appears 
 to be mouldv, it is the cream of the mineral; the deep green 
 will make the brightest blues and browns, but is not so 
 strong as the other and will not make so good a black ; 
 that of a pali- green colour is worth but little. The iron is 
 corroded with different acids, as oil of vitriol, kc. and will 
 answer no purpose in dying : copperas ought to be kept in 
 a cellar where it is not very damp nor open that the acid 
 may evap >rate. 
 
 O Nut Galls Nut galls are of great use in dying black 
 and greys ; galls are the basis in the ground preparatory to 
 all cotton dying, except blue, the astringency of the galls 
 becomes affixed on the body of the cotton, and the colouring 
 substance immediately adheres to it. The galls come from 
 Aleppo ard Smyrna ; the Aleppo galls are generally the 
 best, they come highly charged, and are not so much unt-d 
 as they ought to be in dying : some barks may be substitut- 
 ed, as will be mentioned ; our oak galls gathered and cur- 
 ed in their season will answer nearly the same pur- 
 pose, and it is wished that those who have oak groves would 
 gather them, that they may be brought into u>e. 
 
 Of Sumac Sumac is a crooked shrub with spreading 
 branches of different heights, and grows spontaneously in
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 267 
 
 many parts of the country. It is used in three different 
 ways; when the wood is used only, the bark and sap must 
 be shaved off, as there is a glutinous balsam in the sap and 
 bark which will adhere to the cloth and will form a resm. 
 that will have a bad effect on the goods ; the other methods 
 are to cut the sprouts and branches with the bobs or berries 
 of one season's growth, make or cure them as you would hay, 
 without wet, and put them up for use ; in the third method 
 the process is the same in cutting and curing, it is then con- 
 veyed to the sumac factory, where it is manufactured and 
 put in casks ; this is the best for common use. It never 
 ought to be used green, on account of the gum, which evapo- 
 rates or disappears in the curing and manufacturing. The 
 \voodisusefulin drabs; and the manufactured in blacks, 
 browns, &.c 
 
 OF BJIRKS LV GENERAL. 
 
 BUTTERNUT bark is the best colouring substance in 
 North America, it will give a variety of shades, and if used 
 right its colour is durable ; it is good in many browns but 
 not in black. It is best to use it when green, through 
 the autumn and winter seasons ; the wood ought to be cut 
 in the last of November, for the winter's use, and housed, 
 and the bark shaved off as you want to use it ; in using it, it 
 should be cut fine, put it in the boiler and put a fire under 
 it the day before you begin your colouring, that the liquor 
 may be warm ; immerse the goods when it is as hot as you 
 can bear the hand ; never suffer it to boil, and the colour 
 will be permanent, but it' it boils the colour will not be so 
 bright, the shade will be different and the colour will not be 
 lasting. In the Spring when the bark will slip, peel the 
 bark from the trees, for the Summer's use, and house it im- 
 mediately after peeling ; never cure it in the sun ; after it is 
 dry it may be boiled, yet the colour will not be so lasting; 
 by using it tureen and dry , boiling and not boiling, and by cut- 
 ting it at different seasons of the year, you may produce a 
 number of shades, from ajdark smoke to an orange and flesh 
 colour. It is good in smokes, olives and snuff colours. 
 
 Of Yellow Oak bark. This bark gives a lasting colour and 
 is good green or dry, but better it prepared as for tanners, 
 or rasped and ground ; it is excellent in black, very good in 
 olives, and is a clean substance. 
 
 Of Walnut orH;ckory bark This is much the same as 
 the oak bark, but its colour is brighter, the dye of this bark 
 is durable and will answer the same purpose as the oak: the 
 rind or husks of the nut are most excellent. 
 
 Of White Oak bark This is a most excellent bark on 
 account of its astrin^encv, its colour is lasting and may be 
 used in any dye that galls are used in as a substitute aftej it 
 IB dry and ground as for tanners,
 
 268 APPENDIX TO TH 
 
 Of Alder bark. This bark is good and its impression is 
 durnblt* ; it is good in black and almost all dark colours ; 
 by filling up the ground of the colour it leaves it bright. 
 
 Of Hemlock bark. Hemlock is a very good bark for 
 colouring, the raj) should be taken off; it is good green or 
 dry ; in light browns it gives a colour of a reddish cast 
 
 Of Yellow Birch, White Ash and Sassafras barks These 
 are good in light browns and ash colours, if usd right ; the 
 colours will be clear and beautiful, and they will leave the 
 cloth soft and nice. 
 
 Of Chesnut, Maple and White Birch barks. These 
 produce beautiful browns very much alike ; they answer in 
 
 reys, but the colour soon fades. It is to be obrerved that 
 ark of the roots and the rinds of the nuts, give much more 
 colour than the barks of the bodies and may be used the 
 same as their respective trees. 
 
 To preserve Dye- Stuffs Jrom injury. 
 
 STRICT utteniion ought to be paid to this branch of busi- 
 ness, ass >me dye-stuff will loose all its valuable qualities, 
 ami S"me by collecting filth and dirt become useless. Wood 
 in the stick of all kinds ought to be kept in a dry celler, 
 raised from the ground and kept from dirt ; all yellow wood 
 when chipped or ground ought to be put in casks and ex 
 eluded from the air. Camwood and logwood whether chip- 
 ped or ground ought to stand open in casks, and be kept 
 clean as it improves by the air in a dry celler ; copperas 
 may be treated the same way. Madder, woad, indigo, and 
 all aleotics should be kept in a celler and excluded the 
 air, as it destroys all their active volatile substances. All 
 preparatory salts and colouring drugs ought to have close 
 boxes, to keep out the dirt and air. All liquid substances 
 must be put in glass bottles, stopped close with glass or wax 
 stoppers Galls and all rinds and bnrks require to be kept 
 in some dry place, or they will be liable to mould and mil- 
 dew, which will destroy all their colouring substances, &c. 
 
 The Cultivation of Teasles. 
 
 TEASLES are the most useful an>.l necessary to dress 
 fine cloih well, and without them cloth cannot be well nap- 
 ped, or a good pile or b^dy raised. Among common cloth- 
 dressers they are but little used or their value known, I may 
 say they are not used-the tenth part of what they ought to be. 
 This plant is very productive both in burs and se ds, and 
 is easily cultivated; the seeds ought to be sown or planted 
 e*Hy in the spring ; they are two s-asons growing to ma- 
 turity ; when the plants becomes large enough to transplant, 
 set them in moist rich ground, about eighteen inches apart, 
 hoe them, and keep them clear from weeds ; during the 
 su rimer they will have fifteen or twenty long rouuh leaves; 
 before winter, before it freezes hard> cover the plants with 
 brush, and spread straw over them, as soon as winter breaks
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 269 
 
 talce off the brush and straw, and when the weeds arise, 
 hoe them twice or thrice, by June they will begin to sta:k 
 and branch out in various branches ; from the stalk ccv es 
 out long leaves within six or eight inches of each other, and 
 form around the stalk, resembling a dish witii ;w,>l< ug han- 
 dles, and standing erect ; in this bowl or bason spri ,g two 
 other stalks; it supplies itself with water by rains and 
 tlews in this bowl ; upon the end of each branch is a bur, 
 4>ome one and a half inches diameter, and four inches long 1 . 
 so in different grades, some not larger than the end of the 
 finder: a plant frequently produces one hundred and fifty 
 burs, of which fifty will be fit for use; they rise from three 
 to four feet ; the bur is curiously set, resembling the 
 honey-comb, with very sharp points, hooking towards the 
 stalks. Vtter the blossoms have fallen off, is tlie time to 
 cut them, within about six inches of the stalks, dry them 
 veil, and keep them from wet, as the water will rum them 
 after they are cut and laid down ; the bur sheds its water 
 while on the stalk: by this method the factories and cloth- 
 dressers may supply themselves with the most useful imple- 
 ^ments for dressing cloth : the mode of using them is well 
 known, and how they ought to be used will be explained in 
 the sequel. It is but a short time since they have become 
 a matter of note and speculation among us. 1 know of a. 
 man, who raised one crop of teasles on half an acre of 
 ground, which he sold at wholesale to the dealers for Four 
 Hundred Dollars : now my friends use economy, save your 
 jnoncy and raise your own teasles, and you will have them 
 when you want them : if you once get in the use of them 
 and have any desire to have your work look well, you will 
 never be without them ; they are nature's cards, and nature 
 lias provided more than we can by art. 
 
 CHAP VIII. 
 
 O/ Sorting Wool 
 
 THIS is an important branch in manufacturing woollen 
 doth, as there are more than one hundred different qualities 
 of wool : every fleece ough: to be divided in four parcels, that 
 on the neck and fore shoulders of the sheep, is the finest; 
 that on the back and partly on the sides* the next ; on the 
 bell-, the chird; on the leg-, and hinder parts, the fourth. 
 in this form, the wool ought to be assorted, from all specks 
 of sheep. Among the different species of sheep, are the 
 merino, full and part blood, the English, the common, the 
 Vienna, the cape sheep, &c. from these sheep we have al- 
 most innumerable qualities of wool, which ought to b well 
 assorted, and kept separute for their several us-s. Th;> !> st 
 Via. fir su;)erfi<ie oro .id :loth, is the thick set. fine and curly 
 . and is the worst to work ; the second pick of tat iuU 
 A a
 
 270 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 blood is proper to match with the first pick of the lialf blood ; 
 following this rule, except that what is on the legs and rump 
 of the sheep, which is only fit for listing, carpeting and 
 coarse cloth- There is another quality of wool, long, silky 
 and open, this ought to be combed into worsted ; from this 
 proceeds a variety of qualities, that may be wrought into 
 cloth for light weaving : there is still anothf r very coarse 
 nd hairy wool, this ought to be wrought into cloth, for bear- 
 skin, lion-skin and baises. Lamb's wool should be made in- 
 to cloth for flannels, of various qualities, it v. ill be much 
 whiter, wiil felt better in the mill and nap much easier. It 
 requires strict attention and good judgment to assort wool; 
 en the assorter depends all the beauty or ground of manu- 
 facturing cloth ; by mixing coarse and fine together you 
 have no distinction in the quality ; one pound of coarse wool 
 is enough to destroy the quality of ten pounds of fine, &c. 
 Of Scouring or Trashing of tt'wl. 
 
 This is another very important brunch, and very much ne*- 
 fleeted for three reasons : first, the wool m its natural state is 
 possessed not only with the animal oil, but a sort of gum which 
 preserves the wool on the animal, it keeps out the inclemen- 
 cy ot the weather, the heat of the sun, &c. If not divested 
 of this before use it gums and gluts the wool and cards, it 
 J'orms with the oil that is applied for carding, a sticking 
 glutinous gum which destroys the active life of the wool ; 
 it wiil spin blubby and you cannot have good yarn Second, if 
 the wool is to be coloured it is very injurious to many dyes, and 
 it requires strict attention from the dyer, as it will soon over- 
 set the blue d\ e, and that is one thing why so many fail 
 3n their blues. And thirdly, to admit it never injures any 
 dye ; there is another objection, if the wool is coloured 
 with any part of the gum and animal oil, it forms a sort of 
 resin that becomes affixed in the bodies and fibres of the 
 wool by the hot liquor, and never can be removed ; and the 
 colour will remain only superficial. From this the dyers, and 
 manufacturers may learn the cause of their cloths Clocking. 
 There are different modes of scouring wool in prac- 
 tice, I shall describe all those worthy of notice; but first 
 point out the way I conceive to be the best, and the mode 
 generally practised in Europe, and in the best manufac- 
 tories in the Vhited States of America. 
 
 In the first place you ou. ht to provide yourself with a 
 boiler th>it will h .Id three barrels; it is better to have it of 
 cast iron, as the ilkali and aniri al oil will corrode the 
 copper ; have this set near your stream of running water, or 
 y ur large cistern that will contain two hundred hogsheads 
 of water, for the convenience ot rincing ; reference ought 
 to be had for convenience of working and heating, and fur- 
 ther they both ought to be set with a rooi over the sap and 
 open to the aides, that the air may pass through ; otherwise
 
 DYER'S COMPANION-. 271 
 
 the volatile substance of the urine will nearly take the breath, 
 lot it htitnd adjoining the wash-house, or rincing; place ; then 
 have a wash-box made tour feet deep and four feet square, 
 with a sieve or strainer about one foot from the bottom, with 
 agate or sluice way to take the water out at pleasure. Some 
 use a basket for rincing this is not as good or convenient. 
 Have your box placed so you may easily let the water into it, 
 have another box like a sieve at the bottom to ca>t the 
 wool in, to drain after rincing. If you wish to make des- 
 patch in drying, have a press with a scre%v to squeeze the 
 water all out and spread it out immediately to dry. The 
 scouring of wool is properly the care of the dyers, let it be 
 for what colour it will, the filth and natural oil of the wool 
 ought to be extracted andit divested of all the gum The na- 
 tural oil which adheres to the wool preserves it in the ware- 
 houses and also from moths. The process is as follows, to 
 eighteen pails full of water put six pails full of fermented 
 &ig or urine, mix them together in the boiler, heat as hot as 
 you can bear the hand in it without scalding; take twenty 
 pounds of wool stir thisgently to and fro with sticks for that 
 purpose about fifteen minutes, keeping the heat the same ; 
 take it up in a basket, squeeze the liquor from the wool into 
 the boiler, then cast it while warm into the wash-box, set 
 the cold water to it, stir it backward and forward wuli 
 sticks so as to keep the wool open ; then drain off this \v a- 
 ter, fill the box again with fair water, stir as before till the 
 wool is all open and clean; then with apole takethe wool out 
 and cast it in the other box to drain ; while this is rincing 
 another draught may be put in the boiler and thus proceed 
 till the whole is scoured: as the liquor wastes fresh is to be 
 added of one part sig and two parts water, but if the urne 
 is strong and old you may add three parts water. A man will 
 in this way generally scour a bale of wool in a day, it" it 
 weighs two hundred and fii'ty pounds in the fat; it generally 
 less looses sixty pounds in scouring, but the diminution of 
 weight vanes in proportion to the wool being more or 
 scoured, and in proportion to the more or less fat contain- 
 ed therein ; too much attention cannot be paid to scouring 
 as it is better disposed for the reception of the dyes. This 
 is the best method in scouring and is followed in the manu- 
 factory of Audley in Normandy, where cl-ths are beautifully 
 m nufacture.d. 
 
 A solution of soap and water cleans the wool of the filth 
 and oil; there is one objection to tlvs, it felts the wool. 
 Another method comes nearest to the urine, to twenty-four 
 pails full of water take four ounces pearlash and two ounces 
 oil of vitriol, the vitriol neutralizes the pearlash and gives life 
 to the wool andleavesit clean; following the same processin 
 cleaning as bef n-e mentioned, thr vitriol is a mineral oil, and 
 forming a solution with the vegetable alkali, of these it
 
 272 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 forms a connection near in substance to the animal alkali 
 f fermented urine> Sec. 
 
 Of Manufacturing Clolh. 
 
 BUT little remains to be said on this subject, more than 
 trhat is 'given in the preceding work. After the wool is 
 scoured and dved, h^.ve it looked over, take from it all the 
 burs and dirt, and clip all the dead ends ; to sixteen pounds 
 of wool take two pounds of sweet or good sperm oil ; then 
 pick with the picker or hand, to mix the oil with the wool 
 to leave it open ; then card it into rolls with a machine, or 
 hy hand card;-, your cards require to be in fineness to your 
 1 ; from thence have it spun into yarn, the waff or filling 
 slack twisted ; then weave it into cloth ; have it sleighed 
 according to the fineness of the yarn, and closed to make it 
 squire as much waff and warp. Be cautious in having good 
 list varn, and make a good list two inches wide for br ad 
 cloth: this list is of no use only to the millman. dyer and fin- 
 isher, and cl;>th that is to be milled cannot be handsomely 
 finished without the list ; after the cloths are wove, if they 
 are not ready to mill thev must be overhauled every week 
 or ten days, to give them air and keep them from mildew ; 
 the oil and size collects dampness and causes a heat or fer- 
 mentation which will mildew without air, and destroy the 
 life of the wool ; when the cloth is wove have it burled rr 
 picked of all the knots, burs and doublers carefully, then it 
 will be fit for the mill 
 
 Of Milling Clolh. 
 
 OF the fulling mill There are various forms in use, and 
 the most of them badly constructed, yet I shall give no form, 
 but let every millman follow his own choice; I will only 
 remark that the falling mill r.ghtly constructed, makes the 
 firmest and best cloth, and is the m< st difficult mill to tend ; 
 the crank mills are the best to scour and wash, are less lia- 
 ";1< to damage and are easier tended- On the whole, the 
 crank mill outht to have the preference. There are differ- 
 ent forms of milling and scouring, and some of them are so 
 bad that themillm?n ought to be brought to the seat cf jus- 
 tice and prosecuted for fraud, or barred the privilege of mill- 
 ing. They will full their cloths in lies, because this method 
 is cheaper than soap : this is a pernicious way of doing busi- 
 ness ; the cloth will be rough, brittle and will not do half 
 the service, as if fulled in soap ; the lie will start the grease ; 
 he only saves to himself a few cents while he robs the com- 
 munity of imny dollai's. Some full the cloth in the grease, 
 till it is sufficiently milled ; this is abaci practice, it will leave 
 the cloth loose, and it does not uniformly unite in felting; you 
 cannot have firm, well milled cloths in this w.iy, altlv ugh it 
 will appear thick. Some leave grease in cloths aft r they 
 are milled ; this is a piece of insufferable deceit and sloven-
 
 DYER'S COMPANION^ 273 
 
 when in the cold air, such cloths will appear to be 
 thick and firm, when warm they will be limsy and emit a 
 foetid nasty smell ; you cannot make a bright colour on 
 them ; they will smut, and never can be finished handsome, 
 will always be catching dirt, and will not do half the service 
 as when cleansed from the grease. 
 
 I shall now give the mode I practise, and the general 
 mode practised in England and France. The stock of cloth 
 ought to be in proportion to your mill, and the mill so con- 
 structed as to turn the cloth gradually, every time the ham- 
 mer fetches up to the stock For the first milling or scour- 
 ing the filth and grease out of the cloth, to fift\ yards of broad 
 cloth or eighty pounds weight, take two pounds of pearlash, 
 dissolve in one gallon of warm rain or river water ; then 
 take eight gallons of well fermented urine, mix it together, 
 sprinkle it carefully and evenly over the cloth till the liquor 
 is all on, then lay it in the mill, let run one hour, take out. 
 handle over and speedily lay it in again, let it run one and an 
 half hours ; take it out and stretch the cloth all over ; lay it 
 in again, run till it forms in a proper body for milling ; then 
 turn into the mill gradually five or six pails full of warm wa- 
 ter, as warm as you can bear the hand in ; when it is all in a 
 lather, let the cold water run or. the cloth, till all the sig, 
 filth and grease is washed out : if the cloth twists and binds 
 up, so that it does not run regular, hand over, lay it in again 
 and rince till clean ; then take it out on a scray, hang it cut 
 to dry ; when dry. take it to the burling board, look the 
 stock of cloth all over, pick all the knots, burs, and cotton 
 or linen specks, that remains in the cloth of the second 
 burling; at this time after scouring may be seen all the 
 defects, that will be injurious in finishing, as no burling ever 
 ought to be done after the milling is finished: this is the first 
 milling or scouring it, and divesting it of the filth and 
 grease. 
 
 Another method about as good for scouring. 
 
 TAKE for a stock as before, eight gallons of good soft 
 soap, eight gallons of hot water, and eight gallons of sig, 
 mix them together; sprinkle it over the cloth, when as warm 
 as you can bear the hand, sufficient to wet the cloth, let run 
 in the mill, till all has received the liquor equally, say ten 
 minutes; take out, hand over, double up close and let lay 
 eight or ten hours ; then lay it in the mill, run one hour, and 
 manage as in the preceding, and it will divest the cloths of 
 their filth, grease, &c. : when it is dry and burled, it is ready 
 for the second milling. Take for a stock as before describ- 
 ee!, white hard soap as made at Roxbury without rosin, as 
 the rosm is injurious to the cloth ; it gluts and hardens the 
 wool, that it will net appear fine Take of white soap, six 
 pounds shaved up fii e, put in a tub, add seven gallons of 
 Iiot. water, (but not boiling,, stir till the soap is all dissolved ; 
 A a
 
 274 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 \vhen it is as warm as you can bear the hand, sprinkle it 
 carefully over the cloth by little and li tie ; lay it in the mill, 
 let it ran one hour ; it" not wet enough add a little more 
 soap, but be cautious and noi have it too wt t i<sit retards the 
 milling av.d the cloth w ill not be as- firni : have it so wet that 
 you may easily wi ing out the soap with th: thumb and finger ; 
 U-. it dries and requires soap, add r.orf ; ii't-q lemiy bund- 
 ling over and stretching the cloth, that it may not grow or 
 adhere; have your eye at the ir.ii!, handle over whenever 
 it does not turn well, stretch once in an hour and a half or 
 twohourh, and add s>ap as it is wanted, till all the soap that 
 is prepared is on if required : man .ge in this manner till you 
 have brought your clrth to a right thickness and it is well 
 milled, or to the length and breadth required. When it is 
 milled to your liking pour a tew pails of warm w..ter gently 
 on the cloths, then rince with cold water till all the soap is 
 extracted and the water runs clear and clean from the mill 
 and cloth ; take it out, stretch and lay it smooth : when it is 
 ready for dressing or finishing. 
 
 Some use soft soap for milling, but this is a bad practice, 
 as it is too sharp and fiery, and raises the wool too much ; 
 the cloth will be- loose and spungy ; the white hard soup is 
 the reverse, it will make the cloth him, use as much as it 
 "Will bear and the cloth >, jllbc much better and firmer. 
 
 Of Finishing Cloth, ' 
 
 NOT much more remain", to be said, than what has 
 been sa;d in the former work ; there are various forms ii 
 practice, the same may be said with resptct to tools and 
 machinery. Let every workman fix on his own torm ; but 
 this much may be said,the beauty ot the cloth much depends 
 after it is well milled in raising the nap, r< nd that ought to 
 be done with teasels with the cloth wet. It ought f:>r a su- 
 perfine cloth to have three good nappings, so as to have the 
 pile cover the thread every time after shearing ; have it 
 sheared even and close twice ; every time you raise on the 
 face side, alw.ivs raise the nap one way of the cloth, that is 
 leading toward the mark ; when it is sheared and raised the 
 third or last time with teasels it is ready for dying. If not 
 dyed in the wool, all the pile should be raised before the 
 cloth is dyed, as colouring brittles the wool and you can 
 never get a good pile a'ter it is dyed ; when dyed and 
 cleaned from the dye s.tuif, lay the nap with good limber 
 jacks out of warm water straight and smooth, or with a gig 
 
 ;i substitute for jacks, teasels may be used in a gig also ; 
 
 n stretch it on the bars straight and smooth, and lay the 
 
 ) with a !>rush when wet, then sheer again twice or three 
 times on the face as it requires ; observe m ver to shear the 
 
 -> heading and footings, shear once on the back side, look 
 it over and see it is i\ ee fruin specks and defects ; then 
 brash it thoroughly with a brush and eaod beard, or emery
 
 COMPANION. 275 
 
 "board with it a little damped, roll it hard on a toller, let in 
 remain six hours then fold for the press. If fine cloth put 
 it in good smooth press papers and press cold, screw it very 
 hard ; if coarse, press hot and do not screw hard. It i:> best 
 for a factory to have plates < i cast iron about three-eighths 
 of an inch thick to place between each drait, have them 
 made in size to the papers ; put between each draft half 
 the size of the papers, heat these plates in a stove lor that 
 purpose, let it remain in the press twenty-lour hours, then 
 shift the fold ; press as before, take it out of the papers and 
 pack fit for market. 
 
 Of Sulphuring and Wldtenmg Woollen Cloth. 
 A TIGHT convenient room is necessary for this purpose, 
 it should be prepared with shutters or scupper holes which 
 may be thrown open when necessary ; and drive tauter 
 hooks in the Joyce within six or eight inches of each 
 other; for every hundred weight ot woollen cloth take MX 
 pounds of sulphur, have a number of chafing-dishes or other 
 vessels for that purpose, place them at an equal distance 
 from each other on th floor, put about half a | ound of sul- 
 phur in each vessel ; then have your goods prepared, wet 
 evenly but not so as to drip, with weak soap-suds ot white 
 hnrd soap, then hang it by the lists straight and smooth 
 en the hooks, with one edge hanging cicwn t-.nd il e spaces 
 between each piece three inches. When thus prepared 
 sprinkle ashes on the sulphur and set fire to it, shut the room 
 tight for six or eight hours, then throw open the shutters or 
 scupper holes to let the sulphureous vapour blow off, fov 
 was any person to enter such a room before it is ventulated 
 he would be in danger cf suffocating : by this procedure 
 woollen cloth may be rendered as white as India shirting, 
 I will give a few reasons tor this effect, the sulphur is a 
 mineral possessed ot a great share of acid, and the acid 
 evaporating by the heat seizes immediately on the bodv of 
 the wool and makes it uniform by adding to those parts that 
 have not sufficient life and taking from those that have too 
 much, and by uniting in all the body otthe wool equally, when 
 it enters it immediately drives out the alkali of soap, and all 
 the glutinous gum of the animal; as the alkali and acid 
 form no connection, and the acid will corrode the alkali.; it 
 is so powerful it will remove all dirt, spots and defects in 
 the cloth. Wool may by whitened or st ved in the same 
 manner, by preparing perches to suspend the wool loose, 
 and it is wished it was put in general practice, as it d;vest 
 it of all the crusty dead gum which retards the dying by 
 glutting the fibres of the wool, and when it is thus stoved it 
 divests the wool of all its dead substance and gives it a unij 
 form life : the, wool has equal life in all the bodies if you 
 Invest it oi this dead gum which is not equal and uniform. ;
 
 276 APPENDIX TO THE 
 
 it is not soluble in water although it may be removed 
 by a preparation of the alkali, as the alkali will dissolve 
 the gum, but it" too powerful will destroy the bodies and 
 animal life of the wool, instead of giving life ; the acid 
 if too powerful will have near the same effect ; but by 
 applying 'them >n this weak and mild way they neutralize 
 each other, and for the same reason it may be used by 
 a solution of the same qualities and avoid the smell of 
 brimstone after this proportion, to every thirty gallons of 
 water take one pound of white hard soap, or two ounces of 
 pearlash heat the water boiling hot ; then add four ounces 
 of oil of vitriol, run your goods thirty minutes and r'mce 
 clean in the mill. Another method of solution for whitening 
 and cleaning woollen goods take of the compound as for 
 Prussian blue and green, only add double the quantity of 
 vitriol you do for green ; to sixteen pounds take two tea- 
 spoons full of compound, add warm water near scalding 
 hot, mix it well with the water run your cloth one hour, if 
 it does not blue your cloth too much you may add a little 
 more, observe not to blue it so that it is hardly perceptable. 
 This is the be*t method for flannels andallrther white wool- 
 len goods that are to be worn white, as it remains white 
 much longer, and does not yellow as the stoved. The 
 reason of this is the fibres are a little filled with the colouring 
 atom ; while on the otht-r hand, the bodies are all open and 
 exposed to the vapours of the air and becomes affixed 
 the same as on the animal, and are not soluble by water, 
 but must be removed the same as at first, cc. 
 
 To know when Cloth has been veil Milled, Finished and Dyed. 
 
 WHEN cloth has been well milled >nd finished in a prop- 
 er manner it will be sottand firm ; being shorn even, it will 
 present you a short thick nap which lies smooth in one reg- 
 ular direction ; by drawing the hand the way the nap in- 
 clines it will feel sleek and smooth ; move thv hand the re- 
 verse tht- nap will feel rou&h and prickly : it the cloth will 
 bear this inspection, you may conclude the workman has 
 done his duty. The workmanship on cloth, that is des-gned 
 for handsome dressing may be discovered by *.he eye ; if it 
 is pressed stifflike buckram, if the nap be irregular and the 
 face of the cloth be rough, the workman has not performed 
 his duty, but has endeavoured to hide his failure by the 
 press. The press on thick cloth is of no importance ; cloth 
 should be so dressed as to wear as neatly without as with 
 pressing : the only reason that thick cloths are pressed is 
 to settle the bodies of the wool, and make the threads uni- 
 formly smooth and firm, compact and finished- How- 
 ever, if the cloth has not been regularly manufactured 
 before it is delivered to thed>er, millman and finisher, it 
 yill be beyond their power to finish it neatly. Wboevyc
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 277 
 
 Tvill inspect cloth in conformity to the foregoing directions 
 may easily know whether the workman finisher has per- 
 formed or neglected his duty. 
 
 Did the people of this country thus inspect their cloths, 
 unfaithful and ignorant cloth dressers would not be employ- 
 ed ; while the well informed) and faithful workman (it must 
 be acknowledged we have son e as good and able workmen 
 as in any country progressing rapidly in the in^provenr. nts 
 of useful arts,) would be enabled to do business upon a more 
 extensive scale, than has been yet attempted in America. 
 If cloths were manufactured and dressed as well as our 
 wool will admit, gentlemen in general would prefer the 
 productions of their own country to those of Europe : but 
 greatly to our injury, cloths of this country too generally 
 have not been properly treated in dying and dressing : one 
 reason is, because many who pretend to be workmen are 
 entirely ignorant of colours, their combinations, and the phy- 
 sical qualities of dye stuff; another reason that may be ren- 
 dered for this imposition is, because many attempt to dress 
 cloth before they are acquainted with the business, and con- 
 sequently never acquire a suitable knowledge of it It would 
 greatly promote the interests of the nation as well as that of 
 individuals were no person to attempt the dying and finish- 
 ing of cloths, until he had acquired a suitable information by 
 instruction and experience : gentlemen of literary acquire- 
 ments who have turned their attention to chymical analysis, 
 acknowledge that the art of dying is as difficult as it is 
 useful- 
 
 A great proportion of the people being unacquainted with 
 the clothiers and dyer's art, have been satisfied with the 
 workmen they employ, though their goods have suffered 
 through the ignorance or fraud of the dyer, millman and 
 finisher. It the- goods present a flashy and fanciful colour, 
 and come stiff from the press, many people suppose they 
 are well dressed ; but the stiffness which the cloth has ac- 
 quired from a hot and close press is designed merely to con- 
 ceal the faults of the finisher. The populace will find on 
 wearing such goods, that the colour will soon fade, and the 
 cloth soon become rough ami appear course, whereas if the 
 cloth had been well coloured and dressed, it would have 
 worn smooth as long as the garment remained whole and 
 decent. 
 
 For general information it may be necessary to point out 
 some further directions that any person, on viewing a piece 
 of cloth may determine whether it be well coloured or not. 
 
 Of Colours. Some reflect a beautiful lustre from the ex- 
 tremities of the nap, that is raised on cloths ; others present 
 a beautiful body from the grains of the cloth, but afford no 
 lustre ; those which afford a lustre or reflect the rays of 
 light that incidentally fall upon them, are the deep blues, all
 
 278 APPENDIX TO THE, &.C. 
 
 greens, black, red browns, purple, cinnamons, clarets, 
 smoke, snuff and olive browns; these are full colours; if 
 well dyed, by casting the eye towards the light level with 
 the cloth, the hearts of wool that rise up on it will appear 
 bright and lively, as if the rays of light shone through them : 
 those colours which by this experiment appear f ;int and 
 languid, you may determine have not received their com- 
 plement of dye stuff and are not well coloured. Scarlet 
 affords no lustre, but if well dyed the body of the cloth will 
 look glaring, bearing slightly on the orange; crimson pre- 
 sents no lustre, but if well coloured gives a beautiful body : 
 some reds produces a lustre and glare full of the blaze. 
 There are many shades of different colours which give no 
 lustre, yet they appear clear and bright. 
 
 It is necessary that the dye should equally penetrate the 
 pores of the wool, then the cloth will with few exceptions 
 as to colour, if well dressed appear handsome ; but if the 
 eloth has not well received the dye, or i. appears daubed, it 
 will discover the fraud or ignorance of the dyer ; but if it be 
 poorly finished, however good the colour, the cloth Witt 
 aever afford even a decent appearance- 
 
 E*7D OF THE
 
 TUB 
 
 DYER'S COMPANION. 
 
 PAR r ii. 
 
 Containing Many Useful Receipt*. 
 
 8. To JncL- or harden LeatJierfor Horseman's Caps, Holsters, &'& 
 1 HAVE found by experience , that saddle leather is the 
 best tor caps and holsters. In this case, let the cap, &c. be 
 perfectly dry ; and on the block when jacked ; take melt- 
 ed rozin, as hot as is convenient, rub it on with a small swab, 
 then pass the cap back and forth through a light blaze, and 
 hold it to the fire till it strikes in ; repeat it a second time. 
 It is a repellant to water, and keeps the work in its place. 
 For leather that has not been oiled, add to three ounces of 
 rosin, one ounce of bees- wax, and halt an ounce of tallow. 
 
 2tf. To make Varnish for Leather. 
 
 TAKE three ounces of gum shellack made fine, and one 
 ounce and a halt of Venice turpentine, put them into one 
 pint of double rectified spirits ot wine, place the bottle in hot 
 sand or water for six hours, shuke it often, and apply it 
 with a soft brush or the fingers when blood warm Repeat 
 it three or four times in the course of twelve hours, if you 
 wish it black for boots or shoes, add halt an ounce of "ivy 
 black &c. 
 
 3 d. To make Liquid Blacking for Soots and Shoes. 
 TAKEone ounce ot oilot vitriol, one ounce sweet oil, three 
 ounces of copperas, three ounces of molasses, mix them 
 together, let it stand one hour ; then add one pint of vinegar 
 shake them well together and it ill bt- fit for use. 
 4<A. To prepare Feathers, Fur and Hair, to receive Red, Yellme CT 
 Green. 
 
 THIS preparation is necessary as the oil must be extract- 
 ed previous to colouring. For one ounce of feathers, take 
 one quart of water, add to it one giil of sour whc at bran wa- 
 ler, one unce of cream of tartar, and half an ounce <of 
 allum ; sim,;,er this together ; then after the feathers are 
 wash, ; a (i riuced, put them in, let it stand twelve hours, 
 Jkeeuinethe liquor hot. 
 
 K. B. White only will receive the above
 
 38i USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 Sih. To Colour Feathers, Fur, &c. Red. 
 
 TAKE half an ounce ot cochineal made fine, mix it with 
 an ounce and an half of cream of tartar to one quart of wa- 
 ter ; when simmering hot, add a tea-spoon-full, let it stand 
 ten minutes, then put it in the feathers, and so on each ten 
 minutes, until exhausted. In all colouring, the dve must 
 not he crowded, and soft water must be used After the 
 whole of the colouring is in, let it stand fifteen minutes, then 
 rince them in clear water; whilst in the dye, five or six 
 drops of aquafortis may not be amiss as it sets the colour 
 zr.ore on the scarlet. 
 
 6th. To dye Brussels, Red. 
 
 TAKE one ounce of Brazil wood ground, half an ounce of 
 allu'fi> quarter ounce of vermillion, and one pint of vinegar, 
 boil well, put in the brussels when hot and keep thtm in till 
 cool, and vou will obtain the colour required. 
 fth. To Colour Feathers, Fur, Hair, and Woollen or Silk, Blue, ef 
 any shade. 
 
 NO preparation is necessary except washing and rincing:. 
 To eight ounces of oil of vitriol, add one ounce of indigo 
 made fine, a tea-spoonfull of each six or tight minutes, 
 shake it often ; it must stand two or three days before it is 
 fit for use ; indeed the longer it stands the better : one tea- 
 spoonfull of this to onequart of water, when hot as is convenient 
 for flesh to bear, make an azure blue ; by adding or diminish- 
 ing, -any ^hade is produced. It is not recommended for 
 \voolk-n, except for women's light \\ear, stockings, &c. as 
 the colour U not very durable on the wool. Those light ar- 
 ticles being easily re-coloured, it will be found the most con- 
 venient and expeditious method of colouring, as ten or fif- 
 teen minutes is sufficient for any of the above articles to co- 
 lour. It is also very useful to revive old dye that has decay- 
 ed ; also, a few drops put into rincing water for silk, stock- 
 ings, cc givrs the primitive clearness. 1 am sure, if the 
 use of this was known, that scarce a family would be found 
 without a phial of it in their house ; when cold let it be stop- 
 ed tight with a glass rr wax stopper. 
 
 Stfi. For Blue en Brussels. 
 
 TAKE one ounce of g<> .d indigo, and one ounce ofbiss, 
 a small nub of allum the size of a hazlenut, one quart 
 of gum water, simmer them all together and dip the brussels 
 when hot ; you may substitute one quarter of a pound of gum 
 ara ! )ic dissolved in one quart of hot water in litru of gum wa- 
 ter, let them lay in th. dye two hours; then take them out, 
 el ip them well with the hands, that in dying you may im- 
 bibe the colour, hane them up to dry ; if differi nt shades arc 
 required you may change the order of the dyes, always 
 ;;-si:i gum water or gum ambic dissolved as before ; fur 
 i.'lack, use logv/cod, nut galls, copperas, See. For purple
 
 USEFUL RECEIPT^-, sai 
 
 tfse lake and indigo. For carnation colours, use vermillion 
 and stnalt. For yellow, use berries, sallron and tartar, all 
 mixed and dissolved in gum water ; use your judgment try 
 and see. 
 
 9th. To Colour Feathers, &c. Yellow and Green. 
 
 TAKE two pounds of fustick, chip it fine, boil it in two 
 gallons of water four hours, keeping the quantity of water ; 
 then take out the chips, and add one ounce of curkemy root, 
 and an ounce of allum ; boil the two gallons to two quarts, let 
 the feathers lie in the dye one hoar to make them green ; 
 add two tea-spoonfuls of the oil of vitriol and indigo. They 
 require to be only rinced after colouring. 
 
 10;/j. For Given on Brussels and Feathers. 
 
 TAKE one ounce of verdigrease, one ounce of bees-war-^ 
 one ounce of tartar, one gill of vinegar, one quart of gum 
 water or tour ounces of gum arabic dissolved in water ; mix 
 them all together and heat thxjm, then take the brusscls and 
 feathers and dip them in hot water, then in the dye,clap them 
 with the hand, let them lie two hours and hang them to dry. 
 lllh. For Light Green on Woollen. 
 
 TAKE of the juice of the herb called horsetail to which 
 add one ounce copperas, one ounce of verdigrease, and halt 
 an ounce of allum, heat it hot and handle till your colour 
 suits. 
 
 ISM. To coinr Hats Green on the under side. 
 
 TAKE two pounds of fustick, chip it fine, put it into two 
 gallons of soft water, boil it four hours in brass, keeping 
 nearly the quantity of water : take out the chips, add two 
 ounces of curkemy root, and one ounce of allum ; boil this 
 to three pints, brush this on the hats twice over, then add to 
 one quart of this yellow liquor, three tea- spoon fills of the 
 indigo and vitriol, (as mentioned in a former receipt) this 
 will make it green, brush this on the hat two or three times, 
 leaving time between for the hat to be nearly dry. 
 I3fh. To Colour Feathers, &c. Slack. 
 
 THIS is the most difficult colour to set The feathers 
 must lay in a preparatory liquor twelve hours ; as follows 
 To each quart of water add one tea-spoonful of aquafortis, 
 it must be kept hot the whole of the time : then, tor three 
 ounces of feathers, take two pounds of logwood chipped fine, 
 and one pound of common sumac, put these into three gal- 
 lons of water in an iron kettle, boil it foirv or five hours, take 
 out the chips, and add two ounces of English nutgalls 
 pounded fine ; boil the three gallons to three quarts, then 
 put in the feathers, let them be twelve hours ; then take 
 three ounces of copperas, and one ounce of verdigrease made 
 line, put them into half a pint of urine, and stir it on a mod- 
 crate fire ten or twelve minutes ; put this to the dye, it will 
 jet the colour; let them be in twelve hours more, then they 
 be washed or rinced perfectly cleai^ It b possibfe- 
 B b
 
 252 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 that hatters and others who deal in black, may find sonve* 
 thind in this to their advantage. 
 
 N. B. The preceding receipts for feathers, fur, &c. are in- 
 tended for hatters as well as dyers. 
 
 \th. To Lacker Brans and Tin-Ware. 
 
 TAKE gum gamboge one ounce, make it fine, put ft into 
 four ounces spirits of wine, let it be kept warm four hours : 
 the method of using it for small ware, such as buckles for 
 harness, &c. put them on a piece of sheet iron, heat them 
 hissing net, then dip them in the lacker one at a time, as 
 fast as vou please. R.r large work, let the ware be heat- 
 ed, apply the lacker with a fine brubh ; it gives a most 
 beautiful >ellow. 
 
 \j: '.h. To soften Steel -for enffraiinj t fc. 
 
 MAKE a very strong lie, of ur.slacktd lime and white oak 
 p.shes, of ench nn eq'i il quantity ; put in the steel, let it lay 
 fourteen days- it will be so soft n.s easily tnbe cut with aknife. 
 1G/A. To make Oil-Cloth for Hat** Umbrellas, fc. 
 
 TAKE one pint of linsee'd oil, add one ounce spirits of 
 wir.e, one ounce of litharge of gold, and one ounce of sugar cf 
 lead, simmer them together half an hour ; take Persian or 
 sarsnct, tack it within a frame, a common cae knife is used 
 ia laying cu the oil : twice going over is sufficient. 
 17/A To make Oil-Cloth for Carpe'f. 
 
 To or.e gill of dissolved glue add one giil of honey, and 
 one pint of water, simmer these together, stir in it five or 
 six ounces ot Spanish white ; the cloth being tacked as 
 above, rub this on till the pores are filled. Jfthe paint hfi 
 pivp'.'rly prepared, it will 'either break nor peal off. 
 ISM. The Clihtese metJiodfor rendering Cloth water proof. 
 
 TAKE or.e ounce of \\hite wax, (melted) add one quart 
 cf spirits of turpentine ; when thoroughly mixed and cold, 
 then dip the cloth into the liquid &n<J hang it up to dry till it 
 is thoroughly dry. 
 
 By the above cheap and easy method, muslin, as well a* 
 
 the strongest ckths, will be rendered quite impenetrable to 
 
 the hardest runs ; and that without the ingredients used 
 
 either filling up the pores of the cloth or injuring, in the 
 
 , its texture, or damaging, at all, the most brilliant co- 
 
 10.'.';. To boil Oil for Painting. 
 
 To one gallr.n of oil, add one ounce of white vitriol, and 
 an ounce of sugar (,'k-ad, a quarter at a time ; boil one hour. 
 Or this, put in four ounces cf litharge of gold, one quarter 
 of a pound of red lend, one quarter of a pound of sugar of 
 lead and one ounce of rosin made fine ; heat over a mode- 
 rate fire (but nnt burn), stir it two hours ; let standard set- 
 tle ; turn it off with c:ire, and l<vu e the . 
 
 SQtk. To make Stone Colour. 
 
 TO fourteen pounds of while lea5, add five pounds nf yel- 
 \W ochre, and oue ounce of ivory black ; you may yary
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. $J 
 
 ihe shades, by adding -with the lead, stone yellow and ver- 
 niiHion, and mix it with oil to your liking. 
 
 '21 st. To make Pturl Colour. 
 
 To twelve pounds of white lead, add one pound of stone 
 yellow, half an ounce of Prussian blue, and two ounces of 
 white vitriol to dry the paint- Vitriol is used in all paints 
 for drying. 
 
 22J. To make deep Slue. 
 
 TO three pounds of white lead, add one once of Prussian 
 blue. You may make your colour light or dark, by vary- 
 ing your lead and blue. 
 
 23d. To make Sea green. 
 
 To two pounds of stone yellow, add one ounce of Prussian 
 blue. 
 
 $i.'A. Vtr&greoM Green. 
 
 TO one pound of verdigreaie, add two ounces of white 
 lead. Prime your work with white lead, and lamp black 
 ground with oil in proper order. 
 
 25/A. Orange Colour for Carpets. 
 TO four pounds of stone yellow, add twopounds of redlea<Jv 
 
 2f>th. 'Io Pain' Flesh Colour or Peach Jiloti: 
 TAKE white and red lead, grind them tog&ther : you 
 may make any shade you please by varying the red and 
 white lead. 
 
 27//i. To Paint a Red Era-xii. 
 
 TAKE two pounds of Spanish brown, and one pound of 
 red lead, and grind them with oil. 
 
 <28lh. To Paint BUck. 
 
 TAKE lamp-black, and a small quantity of Prussian blue, 
 and grind them with oil. 
 
 29*A. To Slack Verdigrca.se. 
 
 TAKE a kettle of hot wet sand, wrap lour or five ounces 
 of verdigrease in a cabbage leaf, put as many of these par- 
 cels in the sand as is convenient, leaving two or three inches 
 between ; let them be in four hours, Keeping tl*e sand hot. 
 The verdigrease being thus slacked, a man may grind three 
 times the quantity in a day as cf unslacked. 
 
 3(V/i. To make VermiiUun. 
 
 TAKE of quick-silver eighteen pounds, of flour of sul- 
 phur six pounds ; melt the sulphur in an earthen pot, and 
 pour in the quick-silver gradually, being also gently warmed, 
 and stir them well together with the small end of a tobacco 
 pipe. But if from the effervescence^ on adding the latter 
 quantity of quick-silver, they take tire, extinguish it by 
 throwing a wet cloth (which should be had rtudy) r\er the 
 vessel- When the nnss is cold, powder it, so thru the sev- 
 eral parts may be well mixed together. But it is not neces- 
 sary to reduce it, by nicer levigaticn, to an impalpable - 
 Having then prepared an oblong glass body, or subhmcr, 
 by coating it well with five, lute over the whole suriace of 
 the glass, and working a proper vim of the same around it,.
 
 -84 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 by which it may be hung in a furnace, in such a manner 1 that 
 one half of it may be exposed to the fire, fix it in a proper 
 furnace, and let the powdered mass be put into it, so as to 
 nearly fill the part that is within the furnace, a piece of 
 broken tile being laid over the mouth of the glass, Sublime, 
 then, the contents, with as strong a heat as may be used 
 without blowing the fumes of the vermillion out of the mouth 
 of the sublimer. When the sublimation is over, which may 
 oe perceived by the abatement of the heat towards the top 
 of the body, discontinue the fire ; and after the body is cold", 
 uike it out of the furnace, and break it ; then collect together 
 all the parts of the sublimed cake, separating carefully from 
 ?hem any dross that may have been left at the bottom of the 
 , as also any lighter substance that may have been 
 formed in the neck, and appears to be dissimilar to the rest. 
 Levigate the more perfect part; and when reduced to a 
 ine powder, it will be vermillion proper for use ; but on the 
 peri'ectness of the levigation depends, in a great degree, 
 the brightness and goodness of the vermillion. In order, 
 therefore, to perform this, it is necessary that two or three 
 mills, of different closeness should be employed, acd the last 
 should be of steel, and set as finely as possible. 
 
 5 Is?. Of Rose Lake, commonly called Rose Pink. 
 
 TAKE Brazil wood six pounds, or three pounds of Brazil 
 :um three pounds of peachy wood. Boil them an hour with, 
 three gallons of water, in which a quarter of a pound of 
 ::!lum is dissolved. Purify then the fluid by straining through 
 .el, and put back the wood into the boiler with the same 
 quantity of allum, and proceed as before. ; repeating this a 
 '. time. Mix then the three quantities of tincture to- 
 gether, and evaporate them till only two quarts of fluid 
 remain. Prepare in the mean time, eight pounds of chalk, 
 . ashing over ; a pound of allum being put into the water 
 Vised for that purpose, which, after the chalk is washed, 
 ;nust be. poured off, and supplied by a fresh quantity, till the 
 chalk be freed from the salt formed by the allum ; after 
 which, it must be dried to the consistence of stiff clay. The 
 chalk and tincture, as above prepared, must be then well 
 inixed together by grinding, and afterwards hud cut to dry, 
 e neither the sun nor cold air can reach it ; though if it 
 tan be conveniently done, a gentle heat may be used. 
 
 The goodness of rose pink lies chiefly in the brightness of 
 
 ooiour and fineness of the substance ; which la^t quality 
 
 (".i-pcisds on the washing well the chalk. The more the hue 
 
 of rose pink verges on the true crimson, that is to say , the less 
 
 purple it is, the greater its value. 
 
 5'2fl. For Prussian Blue. 
 
 TAKE nf blood aii\- quantity, and evaporate it to perfect 
 dryness- Of this dry blood powdered take six pounds, c 
 
 peariash two pounds; mix them well together in
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. S83 
 
 glass or stone mortar, and then put the mixed matter into 
 large crucibles or earthen pots, and calcine it in a furnace, 
 the top of the crucible or pot being 1 covered with a tile, or 
 other such convenient thing, but not luted. The calcination 
 should be continued so long as any flarne appears to issue 
 from the matter, or rather till the flame becomes very slen- 
 der and blue ; for if the fire be very strong, a small flame 
 would arise for a very long time, and a great part of the 
 tinging matter would be dissipated and lost. When the 
 matter has been sufficiently calcined, take the vessels which 
 contain it out of the fire, and as quickly as possible throw it 
 into two or three gallons of water ; and as it soaks there, 
 break it with a wooden spatula, that no lumps may remain ; 
 put them in a proper tin vessel, and boil it for the space of 
 three quarters of an hour or more. Filter it 'while hot 
 through paper, and pass some water through the filter when 
 it is run dry, to wash out the remainder of the lixivium of 
 the blood and pearlash: the earth remaining in the filter 
 may be thrown away. In the mean time, dissolve of clean 
 allum four pounds, and of green vitriol <r copperas two 
 pounds, in three gallons of water : add this solution gradual- 
 ly to the filtered lixivium, so long as any effervescence ap- 
 pears to arise on the mixture ; but when no ebullition or 
 ferment follows the admixture, cease to put in more Let 
 the mixture then stand at rest, and a green powder will be 
 precipitated ; from which, when it has thoroughly subsided, 
 the clear part of the fluid must be poured oft'! and fresh 
 water put in its place, and stirred well about with the green 
 powder; and after a proper time of settling, th s water must 
 be poured off like the first. Take then of spirits of salt, 
 double the weight of the green vitriol, which was contained 
 in the quantity of solution of vitriol and allum added to the 
 lixivium, which will soon turn the green matter to a blue 
 colour; and after some time, add a proper quantity of 
 water, and wash the colour in the same manner as has been 
 directed for lake, &c. and when properly washed, proceed in 
 the same manner to dry it in lumps of convenient size. 
 
 It is necessary, in all painting, that all paints, when mixed 
 together with the oil, to grind it til! it is a perfect saive, so 
 as when you rub it between your fingers you cannot feel any 
 roughness with it, but feel perfectly smooth as oil ; then it is 
 ground fit for use then add oil, and stir it together what is 
 necessary, or according to your liking. Oil must be boiled 
 in all painting. 
 
 2>M. To laij Gold Leaf on Carved, or Moulding Work. 
 
 TAKE stone yellow, and white lead an equal quantity ; 
 
 grind it fine with old oil : brush this smooth over the work* 
 
 twice ; lt stand twenty-four hours, and then cut your leaf 
 
 in proper form on a leather cushion with a sharp knife, 
 
 take up your leaf on cotton- wool, and put it to your-work ; 
 
 JD u
 
 286 USEFUL RECEIPTS 
 
 a light brush over the work after the gold is on will add to 
 its beauty. 
 
 Sith. MEMOIR 
 
 On a method of Painting Toith Milk by A. Jl. Cadet He Vaiix ; 
 .Member of th? Academical Society of Sciences. From the " De- 
 cade ] 3 hiios(>f>hiquti" 
 
 I PUBLISHED in the " Feuille de Cultivateur," but at a 
 time when the thoughts of every one were absorbed by the 
 public misfortunes, a singular economical process for paint- 
 ing which the want ot materials induced me to substitute 
 instead of pointing in distemper. Take skimmed milk, two 
 quarts; fresh slacked lime, six ounces; oil of carraway, or 
 linseed, or nut, four ounces ; Spanish white, five ounces. 
 Put the lime into a vessel of stone ware, and pour a suffi- 
 cient quantity of milk to make a smooth mixture ; then add 
 the oil by degrees, stirring the mixture with a small wood- 
 en spatula ; then add the remainder of the milk, and -finally 
 the Spanish white. Skimmed milk, in summer, is often 
 curdled ; but this is of no consequence to our purpose, as its 
 fluidity is soon restored by its contact with Hme. It is, how- 
 ever, absolutely necessary that it should not be sour ; for in 
 that case it would form with the lime a kind of calcareous 
 acetite, susceptible of attracting moisture. 
 
 The lime is slacked by plunging it into water, drawing it 
 out and leaving it to fall to pieces in the air. It is indiSer- 
 ent which of the three oils above-mentioned we use ; how- 
 ever, for painting white, the oil of carraway is to be pre- 
 ferred, as it is colourless. For painting the ochres, the 
 commonest lamp oil may be used. Tlie oil, when mixed 
 with the milk and lime, disappears ; being entirely dissolv- 
 ed by the lime, with which it forms a calcareous soap. The 
 Spanish white must be crumbled, and gently spread upon 
 the surface of the liquid, which it gradually imbibes, and 
 nt last sinks ; it must then be stirred with a stick. This 
 paint is coloured like distemper, with charcoal levigated in 
 water, yeliow ochre, &c. It is used in the same manner 
 as distemper. The quantity above mentioned is sufficient 
 for painting the first layer of six toises, or fathoms. 
 
 One of the properties of my~paint, which we may term 
 milk distemper paint, is, that it will keep for whole months, 
 and require neither lime nor fire, nor even manipulation ; 
 in ten minutes we may prepare enough of it to paint a 
 whole house. One may sleep in a chamber the night after 
 it has been painted. A single coating is sufficient for places 
 that have already been painte.d It is not necessary to lay 
 on two, unless where grease spots repel the first coating ; 
 these should be removed by washing them with strong lime 
 water or a lie of soap, or scraped >>ff. 
 
 New wood requires two coatings. One coating is suffi- 
 cient for a stair-case, passage, or ceiling. I bavc since giV:
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 287 
 
 eh a far greater degree of solidity to this method of paint- 
 ing : for it has been my aim, not only" to substitute it in the 
 place of painting in distemper, but also of oil paint 
 35th. Resinous Milk Paint. 
 
 FOR work out of doors 1 add to the proportions of the 
 milk distemper painting, two ounces of slacked lime, two 
 ounces of oil, and two ounces of white Burgundy pitch. The 
 pitch is to be melted in oil by a gentle heat, and added, to 
 the smooth mixture of milk and oil. In cold weather the 
 milk ought to be warmed to prevent its cooling the pitch 
 tod suddenly, and to facilitate its union with the milk of 
 lime ,This painting has some analogy with that knowo 
 by the name of encaustic. 
 
 I have employed the resinous milk paint for outside win- 
 dow shutters, that had been previously painted with oil. 
 The cheapness of the articles for this paint, makes it an 
 important object for those people that have large wooden 
 houses and fences. An experiment has been made with 
 this paint in this country, and it at present appears to an- 
 swer perfectly the description of the inventor. 
 
 36th. An easy and cheap method to Stain Cherry a Mahogany 
 Colour, 
 
 TAKE common whitewash of lime and water, white 
 "wash the wood, let it stand perhaps twenty-four hours, then 
 rub it off, after polishing the wood apply linseed oil. By using 
 a small piece of wood you may find when the colour suits. 
 37/A. To make Chcrryivood the Colour of Mahogany. 
 
 TAKE two ounces of Spanish brown, one of red lead, a 
 Quarter of an ounce of vermillion and half an ounce of 
 spruce yellow, all ground fine and strained or sifted in 
 clean water ; mix it well and asthickas it will pour ; then 
 take a woollen cloth and dip it thereto, and rub your work, 
 the more it is rubbed the better it will appear ; wipe off the 
 work, varnish and polish it. 
 
 38th. For a Dark Mahogany Colour. 
 
 TAKE two pounds of logwood chips, boil well till the 
 strength is well out ; take one pint of the liquor and put it 
 in a bottle: 'then take two ounces of dragon's blood, make it 
 line and put it into a bottle, and add a pint of spirits of wine, 
 which should be well steeped, when settled it is fit for use. 
 'First brush the wood with logwood liquor twice over, then 
 with the dragon's bleod and you will obtain the colour, then 
 varnish or polish &c. 
 
 39 1 h. To Stain White Wood the colour of Mahogany, or Black 
 Walnut. 
 
 TAKE two pounds of logwood chips, boil three hours in 
 water, have two quarts of liquor; then add to one gallon of 
 water eight ounces of uiadder. let it stand twelve hours, 
 keeping it warm, strain it off then mix it with an equal 
 quantity bf the logwood liquor ; it is applied as other stains;
 
 283 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 when hot brushing it over, and letting it dry each tinne till it 
 
 suits. 
 
 tQ'tft. To Stain, any kind of White Wood a Dark lied, or Light 
 
 Mahogany Colour. 
 
 TAKE two ounces of drugs called dragon's blood, make 
 : fine ; put it into a pint of double- rectified spirits of wine ;. 
 let it stand six or seven days, shake it often, brush it on the 
 wood til! the shade suits. 
 
 ** st -, T ? make a Cherry Red, on White Wood of any kind. 
 IAKE ot the brightest of logwood two pounds, boil out 
 the strength, take out the chips, add a table spoonful of the 
 rasping of gallant gill root, boil this one hour, strain the dye 
 and boil it down to one quarter of the quantity ; brush it on 
 the wood when hot, repeat u till the colour suits. 
 
 42rf. The best Red Stain for Wood. 
 
 'HIS is made by boiling two pounds of red-wood in two 
 gallons of water, in the same manner as logwood, &c. is 
 boiled; it is necessary to boil this in brass: when boiled 
 down to a proper quantity, add one ounce of cochineal, and 
 two ounces of cream of tartar made fine ; boil this half an 
 hour, or till there is but one quart of the liquor ; apply it 
 warm, and add a tea-spoonful of aquafortis. 
 
 43rf. To tnake Green, on any kind of Wlute Wood. 
 TAKE a yellow liquor as described in receipt 9th, add the 
 vitriol and indigo, less or more, to make what shade is want- 
 ed. In all shades, it is necessary to repeat colouring three 
 or four times, leaving time for the wood to dry betwixt each 
 colouring ; the colour grows darker by standing. The wood 
 will not do to varnish short of six or even days after staining. 
 
 44r/z. To Stain Green. 
 
 TAKE three ounces of verdigrease powdered ; put it hi 
 a glass bottle with a pint of good vinegar ; let stand two 
 days with often shaking, and Kept warm ; brush it on the 
 wood till you obtain the colour required. 
 
 45 th. To Stain a Light Orange Colour. 
 TAKE two ounces of curkemy root pulverized and put in 
 a glass bottle ; add to it a pint of spirits of wine, steep it 
 twenty-four hours, shake it, and bruth over till it pleases- 
 
 46*A. To Stain Wood Black. 
 
 TAKE logwood liquor to give the groundwork, then take 
 two ounces of English nut galls made fine, put this in one 
 quart of water, let it stand four days, shake it often, then 
 brush it on, three or four times ; when almost dry, rub it 
 over two or three times with strong copperas water ; lik.6 
 other stains it grows darker by standing. 
 
 Vfth. Varnish for Wood either Stained or Painted. 
 THIS is made the same as in receipt 2d, except, instead 
 ef three ounces of gum shellark, take of it one ounce and a 
 half, and one ounce and a half of gum sandrick ; it must be 
 laid with a soft brush, and several times repeated ; after it 
 has stood three or four days, take rotten stone nw4e fine ^n$
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 28 
 
 sifted, mix it with water, then with a sponge or soft linen, 
 yub it on till sufficiently polished 
 
 N. B. If the varnish should be too thick, you way soften 
 it with spirits of turpentine- 
 
 48 th. Varnish. 
 
 AN excellent varnish has recently been discovered, made 
 of one part of sandrac not pulverized, and two parts of 
 spirits of wine, made cold and the solution promoted by 
 'frequent shaking. 
 
 AS the method of preparing Copal Varnish, is generally 
 kept secret by those who are acquainted with it, and as a 
 tradesman- who is desirous of knowing it, is obliged to give 
 some times an hundred dollars to another, \to let him into 
 the secret, and that upon condition of not importing it to any 
 body else the following to some may not be unacceptable. 
 49</. To make Jlmber or Copal Varnish. 
 
 TAKE of white rosin four drachms, melt it over a fire in 
 a glazed vessel, after which put in two ounces of the whitest 
 amber you can get, finely powdered : this last is to be put in 
 gradually, stirring it all the while with a small stick ever a 
 gentle fire, till it dissolves ; pouring in now and then a little 
 dil of turpentine, as you find it growing stiff, and continue 
 this till your amber is melted. When the Tarnish has been 
 thus made.pour it into a coarse linen bag.and press it between 
 two hot boards of oak, or flat plates of iron. Great care 
 must be taken in making the varnish, to not set the house on 
 fire; for the vapour of the oil of turpentine will even take 
 fire by heat. If it should happen so to do, immediately 
 cover the pot with a board or any thing that will suffocate 
 it ; by which means it will be put out. 
 
 5Qth. A Composition for giving a Jieautiful Polish to Mahogany 
 Furniture, 
 
 DISSOLVE bees-wax (equal parts) in oil of turpentine, 
 until the mixture attain the consistency of paste. Alter the 
 wood intended to be polished is well cleansed, let it be thinly 
 covered with the above composition, and \vell rubbed with a 
 piece of oil carpet, until no dirt will adhere to its surface. 
 5 1 st. To Prepare Glue for Use. 
 
 TAKE one ounce of isinglass, pounded fine, dissolve four 
 ounces of good glue, in one quart of water and strain the 
 isinglass with the glue into a small pot or vessel for that 
 purpose, and put in half an ounce of ullum, and boil them all 
 together. 
 
 52e/. To make an excellent Black Ink Po-wder, &c. 
 
 TAKE four ounces of nut galls powd* red, two ounces of 
 copperas calcined, half an cui.ce of allum, and half an ounce 
 of gum arabic, all powdered, and kept close from the air. 
 To make Ink The above is sufficient to make three 
 pints of ink. Take of rain or river water one quart, one 
 pint of vinegar, or sour beer ; put in the powder and shake 
 well and kept warm and frequently shook together.
 
 390 USEFUL RECEIPTS. ' 
 
 53d For Making }1 
 
 TAKE one quart of rain waier, or water with ripe wali.ut 
 shooks soaked in it, or the water soaked with oak saw dust ; 
 strain it offclean, then add one ^quarter of a pound of the i. 
 blue galls, two ounces of good copperas, and two ounces of 
 gum arable ; put it in a bottle, stop tight, then shake it well 
 every day till the ink is fit for use but the older the better. 
 The above articles must all be pulverized, before they are 
 applied to the water, 
 
 To keep ink from freezing:, apply a little spirits of any 
 kind. To keep ink from moulding, apply a little salt therein. 
 
 54/A. For Red 'ink, V. 
 
 TAKE three pints of sour beer (rather than vinegar) and 
 four ounces of ground Brazil-wood ; simmer them together 
 for an hour; then strain ofFrtnd bottle, well stopped, for use. 
 Or you may dissolve half an ounce of gum Senegal, or 
 atabic, in half a pint of water ; then put in a penny worth of 
 vermillion ; put into a small earthen vessel and pour the gum 
 water to it, and stir it well till it is well nr.ixed together, and 
 it wi'lbe fit for use in twenty-four hours but requires stir- 
 ring before using. In the same manner and form, you may 
 make any other coloured ink, as blue, green, yellow, pin pie, 
 &c. For blue, use indigo or Prussian blue ; for green, take 
 verdigrease and vinegar; for yellow, use curkemy root and 
 allum ; for purple, use Brazil and logwoods, with allum and 
 a little pearlash. It is necessary to steep these substitutes; 
 strain and bottle off, add the gum and shake well together, 
 and kept warm. 
 Jzth. Wonderful Cure of the Dropsy', by Dwarf Elder. From 
 
 the Massachusetts Magajttne, 
 
 SOME years ago, when the invalids i rein Chelsea were 
 ordered to garrison at Portsmouth, there was among them 
 a man greviously afflicted with the dropsy. He had already 
 become so unwieldly as to be rendered incapable of doing 
 any thing whatsoever, and was at last so corpulent that he 
 could procure no clothes to fit him. 
 
 Ir: tHis critical situation, an herb doctor chanced to cnme 
 by and seeing the roan in that situation, said, ' Well, friend, 
 what will you give me if I cure you?' The poor object, 
 (who had already spent nearly the sum of forty pounds on 
 the medical gentlemen, without relief) e\eing the doctor 
 with a look of contempt, scarce vouchsafed to return him 
 for answer, that his cure was impossible and was prepar- 
 ing to leave him, when the doctor, stopping him, offered to 
 curj hi'n for a glass of rum. So extraordinary a proposal 
 did not iV.il to awaken the attention of the man, who consid- 
 ered the extreme reasonableness of the demand, followed 
 the doctor without speaking a word, into his laboratory, who 
 taking out a botile containing a black liquid presented it to 
 his patient, telling him to drink it off that day, and when 
 
 :, to fetch his little for more. 
 U pop a curious examination of the contents of the boUk,
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. &1 
 
 nd!ng it not unpleasant to the taste, the dropsical man 
 wisely concluded there could be no harm in it, if there was 
 no good ; and accordingly, taking the bottle, he at night 
 (though despairing of succass) ventured to drink before he 
 went to bed about one half of the liquor, and immediately 
 composed himself to re>t. But he had sc-.rcely ix-en a. 
 quarter of an hour in bed, before the physic operated so 
 fctrongly that he was obliged to get up and search for the 
 necessary utensil. This was presently filled upon wh-ch 
 he groped about for the one belonging to his comrade, 
 which, having found, he also rilled and (strange to tell) a 
 tub which was in the next room, was nearly 'filled. So 
 strong an evacuation of urine produced, as we nriay well sup- 
 pose, a very material alteration ; for the next morning he 
 was able to buckle his shoes, which he had not done fcr a 
 long time. 
 
 He did not fail to call on the doctor for a fresh supply, 
 which having obtained, he continued drinking at meals, &.c. 
 with buch good effects, that he was completely cured in 
 less than a week. 
 
 A matter of such importance could not fail to attract 
 the attention of the whole regiment, among whom 1 chanced 
 to be an eye witness of it ; and asked him what the liquid 
 was he informed me that it was a decoction made ct the 
 leaves of dwarf elder. Yours, he. 
 
 SQlh. Cure for the Dropsy. 
 
 TAKE a six quarc jug of old hare: cider, put therein a 
 pint of mustard-seed, one double-handful of ligmimvitw 
 shavings, one double-handful of horse reddish roots ; let 
 them simmer together, over a slow fire, forty-eight hours, 
 when it will be lit tor use. Take a tea-cup fu'lof this liquid, 
 three times a day; and it will work off the disorder by urine 
 without any trouble to the patient. 
 
 A most surprising instance of the efficacy cf this simple 
 medicine, has lately taken place in the case of Mr. WM. 
 TV RAY, of Lvinenburg, who, from the worst state of the 
 dropsy, has by it been restored to perfect health. 
 
 FROM A PHILADELPHIA PAPER. 
 
 to Itiy ii before t lie public. 
 
 57th. A Kuje and Efficacious remain for the Cancer 
 * AK.E the narrow leaftd dock-rQot v and boil it in water 
 ill it a* quite soft then bathe the part affected in the decoc- 
 n as hot ;;s can be born three or four times a day : the 
 root must then be marshedand applied as a poultice. ' 
 
 this root has proved HaeffVctu*! cure in ma.iy instances. 1 
 It was hvst introduced by .in Indian woman, who <Mmr to 
 the house o. a person in the coi.ntiy who \v.s much >.faiosed 
 with a cancer in her mouth j Hit Indian perc^ivi i- s<'me- 
 tmg wa& tne matter, inquired what it was, and en lx ing iff-
 
 .502 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 formed, said she would 'cure her. The woman cons 
 ed to a trial, though with little hopes of success, having 
 previously used many things without receiving any benefit. 
 The Indian went out and soon returned with a root, which 
 she boiled and applied as atjove, and in a short time a cure 
 was effected. The Indian was very careful to conceal what 
 these roots were, and refused giving any information res- 
 pecting them ; but happening one day to lay some of them 
 down, and stepping out, the woman concealed one of the 
 roots, which she planted, and soon discovered what it was. 
 Not long; after a person in that neighbourhood bung afflict- 
 ed with the same complaint in her face, she informed her 
 of the remedy? and in two weeks she was cured. Some 
 time after, a man was cured of a confirmed cancer upon the 
 back of his hand ; after suffering much, and being unable to 
 get any rest, being told of this root, it was procured and 
 prepared for him ; he dipped his hand in the water as hot 
 us he could bear it for some time ; the root was then applied 
 as a poultice, and that night he slept comfortably, and in 
 two weeks his hand was entirely cured. 
 
 Daniel Brown's father, having had a cancer in his head, 
 had it cut out, and apparently healed ; but some of the 
 roots remaining, it again broke out : his doctor then inform- 
 ed him th:it nothing more could be done, except burning 
 it out with hot irons ; this being too harsh a remedy to sub* 
 mit to, he was much discouraged. The dock root was soon 
 after recommended, and it cured him in a short time. 
 
 In the beginning of the winter of 1TP3, a hard lump ap- 
 peared in the middle of my under lip, and in a short time 
 became sore : it continued in that situation till spring, when 
 it increased and became painful : I then shewed it to a per- 
 son of skill, and soon found he apprehended it to be cancer- 
 ous ; after two or three different applications, the com- 
 7>lumt increased and spread rapidly- Lot Trip, having 
 heard of my complaint, mentioned this root I called on 
 him to know the particulars of it ; he gave me the necessa- 
 ry information : the root was procured, and used in the man- 
 ner above-mentioned, taking a mouthful of water in which 
 the roots were boiled, and let it drop over my lips as hot as 
 1 could bear it; 'his I did three or four times a clay, and 
 then kept the root to it a dav and^a night ; and in two days 
 the pain entirely left me and in two weeks it was cured. 
 58th. Re medtj for Cancers. 
 
 BURN half a bushrl or three pecks of green old field red 
 oak bark to ashes ; boil these ashes in three gallons of wa- 
 ter until reduced to one ; strain that one gallon off, and boil 
 it away to a substance similar to butter-milk or cream; 
 apply a small quantity on a piece of silk or lint to the can- 
 cer, but no larger than the place or part affected. I have 
 known two plaisters to effect a cure, where the cancerlay ia a
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS* & 
 
 |>i'opei % position for the medicine immediately to penetrate 
 to the roots of it ; otherwise, it may take several plaisters, 
 as the medicine must be repeated every two hours until the 
 roots of the cancer are killed ; then apply healing, salve, 
 with a little mercurial ointment mixed thereon, and dress 
 it twice a day until cured, which will certainly be the case 
 in twenty or thirty days at farthest. I have known seve-\ 
 ral persons entirely relieved by the above prescription : and 
 one in particular, after two attempts by a skilful physician 
 to remove the cancerous parts b} exusion. 
 
 After being greatly alarmed myself from a cancer about 
 three years ago, and having followed some time the direc 
 tions of an experienced physician, I, contrary to his orders* 
 and notwithstanding the fears of my family, happily applied 
 two plaisters of the above medicine, and no symptoms of it 
 have appeared since. 
 
 5th. Iteceipefortlie Cure of tJie Hydrophobia,) or the Site of a 
 
 Jilad Dog. 
 [By a Physician of respectability in New-York.^ 
 
 PL ACE a blister on the wound immediately, the sooner 
 the better ; and even if this has been neglected till the 
 wound has healed, it is necessary to apply it ; also, apply 
 blisters to the inside of the ancles, wrists, and between tlia 
 shoulders of the patient, keeping two running at a timft., 
 Keep the patient in the free use of vinegar, either in food or 
 drink ; and if he has not got a tight room, make it so by 
 hanging up blankets ; then boil a quart or two of vinegar,, 
 place it in the room of the patient on a chafing-dish or ket- 
 tle of coals, and let the patient continue in the room fifteen 
 minutes at a time morning and evening, and often wet his 
 ancles, feet and wrists with it. 
 
 Give him three or four doses of the following medicine in, 
 the course of three weeks, that is as often as one in five or 
 six days: Calomel eight grains, native cinnabar and salt of 
 amber each four grains, to each dose, to be taken in the 
 morning in molasses ; also, give him a decotion of tea, made 
 of sarsapharilla root and guiacum chips, (commonly called 
 lignum vitse dust). If the patient is actually labouring un-^ 
 der the symptoms of the hydrophobia, give the several rem-; 
 edies more frequently ; if soon after the bite as above. It' 
 the patient actually has the disorder, when first attended to, 
 repeat the remedies until he recovers; if immediately af- 
 ter the bite, it will be necessary to attend him for three 
 weeks, which generally, clears him from infection. His 
 diet must be light and easy of digestion. generally, though he, 
 may make a moderate use of animal food ; but he must, 
 strictly avoid the use of spirituous liquors. The above is thp 
 general plan I follow. LOT TRIP. 
 
 GOtfi. Curejor the Site of a Mad Dog. 
 E rotJts of elecampane, (the plant stay-wevtli)
 
 294 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 cd soft, boiled in new milk, and giver, plentifully to ny tiling 
 that is bitten, during forty-eight hours, (keeping the subject 
 from all other food have been found an effectual remedy fcu* 
 this dreadful and frequently fatal maladv A* Y. P ficr. 
 
 61s/. Cure for t'/ie Bite of a Mad Uoj. 
 
 THE following remedy for the bite of a mad dog is re 
 commended in the French papers : A new laid egg is to 
 be beaten up and put into a. frying-pan, with oil of olive , 
 cold drawn, and dressed, but not too dry. Into this is to be 
 put a great quantity of powder of calcined oyster shells, 
 which is to be sprinkled in such quantities as the mixture 
 will absorb. This is to be given as a dose which is to be 
 repeated for nine days fasting ; and the wound is at the same 
 time to be washed with salt water. The author of it pro- 
 fesses to have tried it with repeated success, on man, dogs, 
 and other animals. 
 
 inOJI A CHARLESTON PAl-'EP. 
 
 G2rf. The Infallible Cure for theM'sc;:' 
 
 1 HAVE been acquainted with it nearly forty years, and 
 never knew it to fail. 1 have cured all that ever had it en 
 my plantation, and myself several times. ISot forty days 
 past, I was affl'Cted with the dysentary> and cured myself 
 with the receipt under written. About thirty years ago, I 
 cured two persons in Charleston, who had been under the 
 care of three physicians, and it had baffled their art and 
 skill ; yet this receipt cured them in a few days. The pub- 
 lic may rely on the efficacy and infalibility of the receipt, 
 viz As soon as you find the flux is bad if possible before 
 it comes to the dysentery, drink three or four tea-cupfulsot" 
 melted suet dailv, sav a ';up full every three or four hours; 
 let the food be the flour of well parched Indian corn made 
 into a pap with new milk, and sweetened with loaf sugar ; 
 and let the drink be nothing else but a strong tea made with 
 ohipi-d logwood, or red oak bark, and sweetened with loaf 
 t,ugar, though it will do without sweetening. When you find 
 it is checked, mak;- the tea weaker ; should it stop too sud- 
 den, take a little salts. With the above simples, I can cure 
 thousands without the loss of one. The cure will be effect- 
 ed in five, six or seven days. 
 
 G3</. Cure for the Di/seu! 
 
 TAKE of the roots of the low-running blackberry vine, 
 One large handful ; make a strong tea of them in the same 
 manner as you would make other tea, only let it stand on the 
 Coals a little longer. Give two tea-cups full to an adult, and 
 one to a child. After it has operated, give the patient a 
 plenty of low balm tea. or cold water it preferred. Be care- 
 tul when the appetite returns, to give them but a little to eat 
 at a time, and that as often as the appetite calls, and no 
 oftener This blackberry root tea operates as a thorough 
 tout gentle purge in this complaint, and as soon as it operate?--
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 295 
 
 it changes the nature of the stools ; that is, instead of blood, 
 &c the stools will be of a greenish froth, and so will continue 
 lo be until they become natural. 
 
 64.'A. Cure for 'he. Dysentery. 
 
 TAKE new churned butter without salt, and just skim- 
 ming oft" the curdy part, when melted over a clear fire, give 
 two spoonfuls of the clarified remainder, twice or thrice 
 within a day, to the person so affected. This has never 
 failed to make almost an instant cure. 
 
 6~ith. For the Dysentery & Colera, or Vomiting. 
 TAKE oil of pennyroyal, two drops to a table-spoonful Oi 
 molasses, syrup or honey ; after being well stirred up, lee 
 ene tea spoonful be administered every hour until it has the 
 desired effect, which from experience, I can safely assure 
 the public, will be found in every ca>e of the above disorder, 
 to be a speedy and certain cure. For a grown person, the 
 dose maybe doubled, and given in the sa^e miner. 
 
 From an Old Lnd>j. 
 66iA. Jin Infallible Cure for the St. Anthony's Fire. 
 
 I AM neither physician, surgeon, apothecary nor nos 
 trum-monger, (says a correspondent) but total!;/ ignorant of 
 the materia medica, except ttv.it I have swallowed large 
 draughts of it, to cure, me of painful returns of St. Anthony's 
 Fire at spring and fall. In vain, alas! did I swallow ; for 
 the saint was co:. slant in his visit at the accustomed time, 
 notwithstanding the repeated prophecies of my doctor and 
 apothecaries to the contrary. Fortunately i'or me, ten 
 years since, I w?.s favoured with a visit from a good ladr, 
 d'.irin;; l":i. j spring confine rent, who told me, if J would attht; 
 time, take the elder tree blossoms and in the spring <>i the 
 year, a.t ech sea : ;.)M, for a month, drink every morning 
 fast in j, halt" .1 pir.t of elder flower tea, and the same in the 
 afternoon, that it would drown the saint. The next season 
 of the elder tree blossoming, I followed her advice, as a'so 
 tu~ spring following, and have done so these nine vears ; 
 since which time, the saint has not tormented me in the least. 
 I have recommended this tea, from my experience of its 
 efficacy,, to ten of my fellow-sufferers since my own case, 
 everv one of whom has found it a specific remedy. 
 
 When the elder tree is in blossom, a sufficient quantity of 
 the flowers should be gathered, in a dry day. and dried with 
 great care for the spring use. The tea is made, by pouring 
 a quart of boiling water on two handfuls of elder flower?, 
 tvhen green ; a less quantity will do when dry. It may be 
 drank hot or cold, as best sv ; ts the stomach. E ic.h single 
 blossom is not to be picked off, but the heads from the main 
 stalks. 
 
 >7th. For St. sin t nonius Fire. 
 
 TAKE a purge ; and anoint with 'he marrow of mutton. 
 C8/A. An admirable Recipe for a Consumption. 
 
 TAKE of Madeira, (ov good generous mountain) wine,
 
 .56 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 iwo quarts; balsam of Gilead, two ounces; albauuua ia 
 tears, (grossly powdered) two ounces, flowers of Benjamin 
 half an ounce, let the mixture s>tand three or four days near 
 :he fire, frequently shaking; then add thereto, of Narbonne 
 honey four ounces, extract of Canadian maiden hair eight 
 ounces, shake the bottle v. ell, and strain off the. liquor. The 
 dose two tea-spoonfuls, to be taken once in four hours, in 
 .colt-foot tea or water, sweetened with capillaire. 
 
 N. B. The Canadian maiden-hair, which we now import 
 from thence in great plenty is infinitely superior to that 
 which grows in England. A strong infusion made of this? 
 lierb, sweetened with honey or sugar candy, is the best 
 ptisan which can possibly be drank by consumptive people-, 
 and will of itself cure any recent cough. 
 
 69/A. Cure fur the Heart Buro>. 
 
 EAT two cr three meais of peach-stones, of any kind of 
 peach, and it will effect a cure immediately. Those \shic..ti 
 are dry are preferable. 
 
 FROM A VIRGINIA PAPEII. 
 
 70th. Infallible and Effectual Cure for tie Stone. 
 
 THROUGH the channel of your paper I request a publication of 
 
 lie following care for the stone by dissoli:;, n. The gentleman by 
 
 whose consent and desire, and upon whose authority the subsequent 
 
 ids are offered to the public, is a Mr. Richard Major, of London 
 
 Bounty, iu this state, minister of the baptist society ; a man of integ-. 
 
 iiy, and much respected. Being in company with him a few days 
 
 i liu-.l the following relation from his own mouth : 
 
 That havi:;g Tor a number of years been afflicted with that painful 
 t length informed that a certain ph\ sic'.an, his name 
 unknown, labouring under the same disease, being at Berkley spring,, 
 a negro man there pi-offered to cure him : This he at first disregarded, 
 out expecting a speedy dissolution unless some aid could be obtained, 
 afterwards sent for the negro, who agreed to cure him for three 
 pr.uncls. He accordingly undertook, and in a short time effectually 
 cr:;.!icated the disorder. The physician then gtive him his choice 06 
 freedom by purchase in lieu of the contract betwixt them, on condition 
 J\e would disclose the means of the cure; to which the slave agreed. The 
 receipt is the expressed juice of the horse-mint and red onions ; one' 
 gill of each to be taken morning and evening till the complaint be 
 removed. That he, Mr. Major, being urged to a trial of the above- 
 mentioned remedy, submitted to it, though with some reluctance, as 
 lie conceded his term of life to be but short at most. Not having it in 
 his power to procure green mint, so as to get the juice, he used instead 
 thereof, a strong decoction of the dried herb : in other respects strictly 
 adhere'ngto the prescription, which had the desired effect. He begat* 
 the experiment in August, and within a week he had ocular demon- 
 stration of dissolution by the slightest touch of a particle that had 
 passed from him, which continued so to do without pain or the least' 
 obstruction, until the stone was entirely dissolved, an^ the cure com- 
 pletely effected before the ensuing spring. That from the time the dis- 
 order began to yield as aforesaid, he daily recovered his health, strength 
 snd flesh, and was in as good plight as ever, age excepted, being at the 
 time seventy two yean of age, with an appearance correspo 
 vain, his owu account ; and as he farther said, \TJtUat the s!'^
 
 USEFUL REC EIPTS. > 
 
 of the disorder from the time he began to use the above mearta 
 of cure. This, at his request, is communicated t'i the puH'ie by 
 
 DAN I El, ROiJEKDIEU. 
 
 7lst. Indian Method of Curing Spitting of Ifiooil. 
 [Coin uutcated in a letter to the late JDoctor vieati-3 
 
 THE following case is a very extraordinary one ; but I know the 
 gentleman to be a mail of veracity, and had this account from his own 
 mouth. He was of a thin, hectic constitution, and laboured under a 
 troublesome pulmonary cough for some years ; at last he was taker* 
 \vilh an hsemoplffi, for which lie had the" best advice he could pet in 
 Maryland, but he grew rather worse under the care of two physicians 
 who attended him tor several months; and at last lie was prevailed 
 upon to put himselt under the care of a negro fellow, who is the Ward 
 of Maryland : for be has the reputation of performing some extraor- 
 dinary cures, though nature lias the chief claim to them : but indeed 
 this was not the case here. In short, he advised the gentleman to go 
 into a warm bath twice a day, and sit up to his chin in it, for two or 
 three minutes at a time, and as soon as he came out to dash cold wa 
 ter several times on his breast, and to wear flannel next his skin. This 
 method soon relieved the gentleman ; and when I lelt Mary hind, which 
 \rasabout seven or eight years after the cure, he remained fr-r ir-mi 
 his luemoptce, eased very much of his cough, and went through a good 
 deal of exercise. 
 
 72d ..i Receipt for Bitters to prevent the Few and ^gue, and ali 
 other Fall. Fevers. 
 
 TAKE of common meadow calamus cut into srn^ll pieces, of rue a 
 wormwood and camomile, or centaury, or hoar-hound, of each two 
 ounces, add to tliem a quart of spring water, and take a wine glass full 
 of it every morning fasting. This cheap and excellent infusion is fus 
 more effectual than raw spirits, ir preventing fevers, and never sub- 
 jects the person who uses it to an offensive breath, or to the danger ok' 
 contracting a love for spirituous liquors. 
 
 T.id. .-J certain Cure for Corns. 
 
 TAKE two ivy leaves and put them into vinegr.r for twenty-fonv 
 hours; apply one of them to the corn, and when } ou find its virtue 
 extracted, apply the other, and it will effectually and speeciil; remove 
 the corn without the Ic-ast pain. 
 
 7 it.'i. To mtike the most cheap and simple Electric Machine. 
 
 T VKE a pn'co of plank eighteen or twenty inches square, nlace 
 two small posts at a distai ice that will ike the length of a bnlile it, at will 
 h. ild perhaps a quart ; the bottle must be round, and of flini glass, 
 (they may be had at the apothecaries for 3s. or 3s. and Gd.) put 
 j;i a bard wooden stopple, at the other end stick on a pice of hard 
 wood with any glutinous matter, such as shoemaker's wax or the like; 
 7truke a small hole in the center of this -wood, and the stopple, to re- 
 ceive two points which come thro' the posts ; thus thf bottle being 
 hung in a rolling position, let a band go round the neck, nnd he con- 
 veyed to a wheel, eight or nine inches over which turns with a crnnk, 
 Then take an eight ounce vial, coat it inside and out with tin foil ; 
 this may be stuck on with stiff glue or candied oil; the vial must 
 have a large nose, or it will be difficult to coat the inside ; cork it 
 tight, having a wire run through the middle of the cork with a com- 
 mon leaden bullet on the top ; bind the wire so that the ball may 
 come within half an inch of the cylinder or large bottle ; place it irj 
 the center of the cylinder, then having a piece of deer-skin leather 
 sewed up and stuffed in form of a p'mcusion, having amalgan rubbed 
 ^n one side, hold it to the cylinder opposite to the ball ; yut te 
 C c2
 
 fas USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 <hine in motion, an;l the fire will collect and fill the sraall vial. To 
 take a shock, iiolil the vial where it is> coated wuh one hand, toucfc 
 ..ill with the oilier. If a number of persoua wisli to take a siiocfc 
 at once, the person at one end of the circle holds the vial, whilst that 
 uii the oilier touches the ball ; the vial must not be coated within one 
 .'nth of the top. 
 
 To make amalgam, take half an ounce of speitar, melt it, mix with 
 it half an ounce of quick-silver ; whilst warm, grind it to a powder. 
 This machine is very useful where a stagnation of blood or any kind 
 of numbness has taken place ; for sudden pain, &c. The writer has 
 yeason to speak well ot this machine, as it was one time tlie means 
 of saVing his life. It is sincerely \vislied that a physician or some other 
 person would keep one in each town; the espenee is no more than 
 seven or eight shillings. 
 
 75th To Cure Children in the -aorst stage of Intoxication. 
 THK writer has twice known the instance ot" children, insensible 
 of the effect ot spirituous liquor, drinking to that degree that life was 
 despaired of. On their being placed in a tub of warm water over theic 
 hips and a tea-kettle of cold water being poured on their head, they 
 i'-umediately recovered, and are now in perfect health. If this receipt 
 may be the means of saving the life of but one child in the course 
 flf time, the writer will think himself r.chly paid for his trouble. 
 
 76<A. Cure for the Jlgue. 
 
 DRINK the decoction, (that is the boiUng of any herb) of camo 
 mile, and sweeten it with treacle ; which drink when warm in bed- 
 aurt sweat two hours. Or, to the wrists apply a mixture of rue, nitis- 
 rard, and chimney soot, by way of plaister. 
 
 77th. Cure for Jllmonda of the Eart fallen down. 
 TAKE a little bole armeniac in powder, and with it mix some 
 Venice turpentine, and spread it on sheep's leather, as broad as it 
 Stay, and apply it under the throat from ear to enr. 
 
 78th. A Cure for Frost Jiitten Feet. 
 
 TAKK the fat of a dung-hill fowl, and rub the place or places af- 
 fpcted with it, morning and evening, over a warm ftre ; at the same 
 time wrapping a piece of woolen cloth, well greased with the said fot, 
 j.-ound the frost bitten parts. IM two or three days they vill feel no 
 pain, and in five or six days will be quite cured. 
 
 Ji'ote. If the inner bark of the elder, or the leaves of plantain, are 
 first simmered in said, fat it will be the better. 
 
 7<Jlh. To Cure the dstfonii, or shortness of Breath 
 TAKE a quart of aqua vita;, tne ounce of anmseed bruised, one 
 ounce of liquorice sliced, and half a pound of stoned raisins ; let them 
 steep ten days in tlie above-mentioned, then pour it offinto a bottle, 
 \vith two spoonfuls of fine sugar, and slop it very close. 
 
 SOrA. To make Itch Ointment, a certain Cure far the Itch. 
 TAKE one ounce of gum arabic, dissolve in two gills of water ; then 
 "ake one pour.d of fresh butter, put it in with gum water, melt and try 
 tt together till the water is ov.t ; then let stand till no more than blood 
 .;, then add two ounces of spirits of turpentine and two ounces of 
 yed precipitate, stir and mix them with the butter and gum, and box 
 it up to keep it from the air, and fit for use. By carrying a box of it, 
 it will be a preventive against the disorder : it gives no disagreeable 
 smell froia the use of it. You may rub a little round your knees and 
 elbows, and you may sleep with a person actually afflicted with the 
 itch, without danger of catching the disorder: to cure the itch, take 
 ihis ointment, rub off the pimples, warm the ointment if the weathev 
 
 .w c M t aad rub it met (hem, and continue ft three times to
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 23*1 
 
 till the skin becomes smooth, which will be in a week or ten days;, 
 dint when going to bed : it is well to have clean linen, ixe. 
 8 ist. Cure for the Salt Rheum. 
 
 TAKE one ounce ol salts of tartar, dissolve it in twenty-six spoonMa. 
 of fair water ; then take one spoonful of pure lime juice and add a 
 lump of loaf sugar as large as a walnut, let it dissolve ; then add a 
 spoonful of the tartar liquor dissolved as abo\e, and give it the palieut 
 before eating, twice in twenty-four hours. 
 
 &2d. Jin effectual Cure for the Rheumatism. 
 
 WHEN the patient is afflicted with this painful d.sease, take the 
 tow of flax, and twist a large slack cord, and fasten it round the part 
 affected and continue wearing it uexi the skin ; it will effect a cure j 
 have faith try it and sec. 
 
 83th. Gowl Cider as easily made as bad. 
 
 TO make cider of early or late fruit, that will keep a length o$ 
 time, without the trouble of frequent drawing off Take the largest 
 cask you have on your farm, from a barrel upwards ; put a few stivk.s 
 in the bottom, in the manner that house-wives set a lye cask, so as 
 to raise a vacancy of two or three inches from the bottom ol the cask ; 
 then lay over these sticks either a clean old blanket, or if that be not 
 at hand, a quantity of swindling flax, so as to make a coat of about a 
 quarter of an inch thick, then put in so much cleaned washed sand, 
 from a beach or road, as will cover about six or eight inches in depth, 
 of your vessel ; pass all your cider from the press through a table 
 cloth, suspended by the corners, which will take om the pummice j 
 and pour the liquor gently upon the sand, through which it must be 
 suffered to filter gradually, and as it runs off by a tap inserted in youu 
 vessel, in the vacancy made by the sticks at the bottom, it will be 
 found by this easy method, as clear cider can be expected by the most 
 laborious process of refining; and all the mucilaginous matter, which 
 causes the fermentation and souring of cider, will be separated so as 
 to prevent that disagreeable consequence. 
 
 N. B. Otheife. methods may be easily invented for passing the cideg 
 {hrough the sailff, which is the only essential part of the above process 
 84Z/J. Muthod of making .tipple Brandt;. 
 
 The following reeeipt for making Apple Brandy, was communicat* 
 a] by Joseph Cooper, esq. of Gloucester county, New-Jersy, accom- 
 panied with a specimen of the liquor, made n the manner he re- 
 presented. The liquor is mild, mellow and pleasent ; and greatly 
 superior to apple spirits procured !-y the common process. 
 
 Put the cider, previous to distilling, into vessels free from must ofi 
 smell, and keep it till in the state which is commonly called good, 
 snund cider ; bat not till sour, as that lessens the quantity and injures 
 f3ie quality of the spirit. In the distillation, let it run perfectly cool from 
 the worm, and in the first time of distilling, not longer than it will 
 flash when cast on the. still head and alighted candle applied under if. 
 In the second distillation, shift the vessel as soon as the spirit runs be- 
 low proof, or has a disagreeable smell or taste, and put what runs af- 
 ter with the low wines. By this method, the spirit, if distilled from 
 good cider, w 11 take nei'.rly or quite one third of its quantity to bring 
 it to proof; for which purpose, take the last running from a cheese 
 of good water cider, direct from the press, unfermenu-d, and in forty, 
 eight hours the spirit will be milder and better flavoured than in seve- 
 ral years standing ,i manufactured in the common way. When the 
 .spirit is drawn off, which may be done in fi e or six days, there will 
 be a jelly, at the bottom, which may be distilled again, or put into the 
 Ijcst cider OF used for making ciiler royal, it being better for the pm>
 
 aO USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 pose that the clear spirit, as it will greatly facilitate in mining the 
 liquor. JOSEPH COOPER. 
 
 85 1 h. A Receipt to mtike an excellent American I fine : commu- 
 
 ntcated to the aarUoftm Society for promoting Agriculture mid 
 
 Domestic Matutfactorie* ; by Joseph Cooper, esq. oj Gloucester 
 
 county, JVew-Jersy. 
 
 I PUT a quantity of the comb, from which the honey had been 
 drained, into a tub to which 1 added a barrel of cider immediately 
 from the press : This mixture was well stirred, and left to soak for 
 one night. It was then strained, before a fermentation had taken 
 place ; and honey was added until the strength of the liquor was suffi- 
 eient to bear an egg. It wfis then put into n barrel ; and after the 
 fermentation commenced, tiie cask was filled every day, for three 
 or four days, that the filth might work out the bung hole When the 
 fermentation moderated, 1 put the bung in loosely, lest stopping it tight 
 i:iight cause the cask to burst. At the end of five or six weeks the 
 liquor was drawn off into a tub, anil the white of eight eggs, well beat 
 up, with a pint ofc'ew sand, were put into it I then added a gallon 
 of cider spirit ; and after mixing the whole together, I returned it into 
 the cask, which was well cleansed, bunged it tight and placed it in 
 proper situation for racking off when fine. In the month of April fol- 
 lowing,! drew it off into kegs, for use ; and found it equal, in my opin- 
 ion, to almost any fortign wine. In the opinion of many judges, it was 
 Hperioor. 
 
 This success has induced me to repeat the experiment for three 
 years ; and I am persuaded, that by using the clean honev, instead of 
 the comb, as above described, such an improvement might be made, 
 as would enable the citizens of the U States to supply themselves with, 
 a truly federal and whoisome wine, which would not cost one quarter 
 fit" a dollar per ~;:l!on, v.-ere all the ingredients procured at the market 
 price ; and would have this peculiar advantage over every other wine 
 hitherto attempted in this country, that it contains no foreign mixture, 
 but is made from ingredients produced on our own farms. 
 By order of the Society, 
 
 WM. COXB, jun. Secretary. 
 
 SC/A. A Method of making Currant Jflne, which had been practised 
 oti many and found to be genuine. 
 
 [Extracted from the Transactions of e Philosophical Sock ty of 
 Philadelphia.] 
 
 GATHER your currants when full ripe ; break them well in a 
 tub or vat; press and measure yourjuiee; add two thirds water, 
 and to each gallon of mixture, (juice add water) put three pounds of 
 muscovado sugar, the cieaner and drier the better ; very coarse su- 
 gar, first clarified, will do equally as well : stir it well till the sugar is 
 well dissolved, and then bung it up. Your iuice should not stand ovec 
 night if you can possiblv help it, as it should not ferment before mix- 
 ture. Observe that your cask be sweet and clean. Do not be prevail- 
 ed on to add more than one third of juice, as above prescribed, for 
 that would render it infallibly hard and unpleasent : nor yet a greater 
 proportion of sugar, as it will certainly deprive it of its pure vinous 
 taste. 
 
 OF MA.KIXG SUNDRY SORTS OF BRITISH WINES. 
 S7tfi. Currant Wine. 
 
 PICK the currants (when they are full ripe) clean from the stalks, 
 then put them into an earthen vessel, and pour on them fair and clean 
 hot water, that is, quart of water to a gallon of currants ; then 
 "braise OP marsh thejn together, and let them stand and ferment ;
 
 USEFUL .RECEIPTS. GOIi 
 
 uieft cover them For twelve hours, strain tlicm through fine iincfc 
 into a large earthen crock, (as they say in Sussex) and then put the 
 liquor into a cask, and thereto put ;i little ale-yeast; and when work- 
 ed and settled, bottle it off. This is exceeding pleasant, and very 
 wholesome for cooling the blood. In a weak's time it "will be fit for, 
 bottling. 
 
 88/A. Artificial Claret 
 
 TAKE six gallons of water, two gallons of the best cider, and 
 thereto put eight pounds of the best Ma'.aga raisins bruised ; let them 
 stand close covered in a warm place for two weeks, stirring them ever 
 17 two days well together ; then press out the liquor into a vessel 
 again, and add to it a quart of the juice of barberries, (which perhaps 
 is best) to which put a pint of the juice of black cherries : work it up 
 M'iih mustard seed covered with bread past for three or four days, by 
 the fire side ; after which, let it stand a week ; then bottle it off, and 
 it will become near as good, if not so as to exceed, common claret. 
 
 89/A. Gooseberry Wine. 
 
 The best way is to take for every three pounds of fruit, one pound of 
 sugar, and a quart of fair water ; boil the water very well, but you 
 .Must put in the aforesaid quantity of sugar when it is boiled ; bruise 
 the fruit, and steep it twenty -four hours in the water ; stir it some 
 time, then strain it oft* and put the sugar to it and let it stand in a run- 
 let close stopped for a fortnight ; then draw it off, and set it up in a 
 tellar, and in two months, it will be fit to drink. 
 QQth. Jtaspberry Jt'ine. 
 
 TAKE the raspberries clear from the stalks ; to a gallon of which 
 .put a bottle of white-wine, and let them infuse in an earthen vessel 
 two or three days close covered ; then bruise the berries in the wine, 
 and strain them through fine lineft gently ; then let it simmer over 
 a moderate firo ; skim oft' the froth, and then strain it again, and, 
 with a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar to a gallon, let it settle ; then, 
 in a half a pint of white wine boil an ounce of well scented cinnamon, 
 and a little mace, and put the wine, strained from the spiee, into it, 
 and bottle it up. 
 
 91 st. Damson Wine. 
 
 DRY the damsons in an oven after you have taken out your bread* 
 then to every quart of damsons put three quarts of fair water, but 
 first boil it very well ; then put the water and daniFons into a runlet 
 with sugar ; and having ntood a time sufficient, bottle it of. 
 
 92<7. Wine of drapes. 
 
 WHEN they are full ripe, in a dry day, pick off those grapes that 
 nre ripest ; and squeeze then* in a vat or press made for that pur- 
 pose, in which must be a fine canvass hag to contain the grapes, and 
 when in the press do not squeeze them so hard as to break the seeds 
 if you can help it ; because the bruised seeds will give the wine a dis- 
 agreeable taste : then strain it well, and let it settle on the U es in 
 such a cask or vessel as you may draw it off without raising the bot- 
 tom ; then season a cask well with some scalding water, and dry it 
 or sent it with a linen rag dipped in brimstone, l>\ fixing it at the 
 houe, by the bung or cork ; then put the wine into it, and stop it 
 rloe for forty-eight hours ; then give it vent at tlic hogue, with a 
 hole made with a giiiiblet ; in xthicli put a peg or fi-woet, that may be 
 easily moved with thu fingers ; t ! en, in about two d:<ys time, it will 
 be fiBfor drinking, and prove almost as good as French wine. 
 
 J.3J. IF me of Stra-wberries or Jfasberries. 
 
 MASH the berries, and put them into a linnen bag, as aforesaid 
 for flic grapes nnd squeeze them into a cask 3 and then let it work
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. 
 
 as in the aforesaid grape receipt, fcce. In this manner ui;'.\ ti;evy 
 wine be nude ; bat then you mil-it break the seed?, contrary to what 
 was said before concerning the grapes. 
 
 9 i.' A. *1 shor tuiiyfor Cherry ft; 
 
 SQCEEZE the juice of the oherriea into a cask, and thereto put a 
 ijuantity of sugar, corresponding to the quantity of juice ; anJ 
 xviiv':i stood a month, it will be a pleasant liquor. 
 95th. Slack Che>nj Wine. 
 
 IX the same manner, take one gallon or more of the juice of blaeb 
 cherries and keep it in a vessel close slopped till it works ; aa;l aftcc 
 It is fine, add an ounce of sugar to each quart, am! a pint of white 
 wine. 
 
 96/A. Mead. 
 
 TAKE six gallons of -water, and thereto put six quarts of honey, 
 stii-ii-i^it till the honey be thoroughly mixed ; HUM set it over the 
 a re, and when ready to boil, icum it very well : then put to it a 
 quarter of an ounce of mace, and as much ginger, a. id half an n 
 f nutmegs, some sweet marjoram thyme, and sweet briar, together 
 a handful : tlien boil them in the liquid, then let it stand by till cold f 
 and then barrel it up for use. 
 
 9T/A To make Deer, without *1Iatt. 
 
 TAKE thirteen gallons o!" wate'-, boil and scum it, put two pounds 
 of brown sugar smd two pounds of t"e icle to it ; boil the ii. 
 halt .MI !, our, strain the liquor thi-o' t. sieve, and put to it a ; 
 worth or two of b:vim, when cold ; work it a day and a ni[;''.t, then 
 turn it : let it st.'.nd in the barn-l a day and :. u bottle it, 
 
 and put into each bottle a tea-spoon full of brown sugar. 
 
 98M. To make good common Beer. 
 
 FOR a barrel of thirty two gaflttia take half a pound of hops, steep 
 in four g;i>; two hours, strain off, then take one pouml 
 
 essence of spruce, and one gallon of molasses ; mix them together, 
 and put it in the ban-.!, *r.d two cents worth of yeast, and fill with 
 water: ifit.issui,. nnt be wirmed, but warm it in winter; 
 
 when full shake it well, and stop it loosely and in four days it will be 
 fit for bjulmir, and use. 
 
 9'J.'A Fur preserving Apples thro 1 the toinler. 
 
 THE secret tor preserving appli-s through the winter, in a sound 
 ht.ato, is of no s.uall 'n:i;ortance. Some say that shutting them up in 
 a tight cask is an effectual method, audit seems probable- for they 
 soon rot in open ai'-. B-.it an easier method, and whnt has recom- 
 mended itself to me by the experience of several years, is as follows : 
 I gather them abo'it noon, a' the full of the moon, in the latter part 
 of September or beginning of October. Then spread them in a cham- 
 ber or garret, where they lie (ill about the last of November. 
 Then remove them into casks r boxes, in the cellar, out of the way 
 of the frost ; but F prefer a cool part of the collar. With this manage- 
 ment 1 find I can keep them till the last of May, so well that not one 
 in fifty will rot 
 
 100?A. To pickle Cucumbers, green. 
 
 WASH them, and dry them in a cloth ; then take water, vinegar, 
 salt, fennel tops, some diil-tnps, and a little mace : make it sharp 
 enough for taste ; then boil it awhile, then take it off and let it stand 
 till cold ; then put it in the cucumbers and stop the vessel close, and 
 within a week they \vill be fit for use. 
 
 101,<,-/. To pickle French Beans. 
 
 TAKE them while young, and cutoff the stalks, then take good 
 vip.pgai 1 and boil it with pepper and salt ; season it to year palate, and
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. G03- 
 
 tel it stand till colJ ; then take t'le beans and put them into a stone 
 j:ir, placing dill between tlie layers, and then pui in iLe pickle, and 
 cover them close tor three weeks ; thei. take the pickle and boil it 
 again, and put it into the beans boiling hot ; cover them close, and 
 when cold they \vill be fit to eat. 
 
 Or, French beans may be pickled thus: Take your beans ancl 
 String them, boil them tender, then take them off and let them stand 
 till cold ; then put them into pickle of vinegar, pepper, sail, cloves, 
 n-.:;ce, ancl a little singer. 
 
 1O2J. To pickle jyiihntt.i, to eat like nusngoes. 
 
 TAKE green walnuts, bclbre the shell has grown loan} harduessiu 
 them; pick them from the stalk and put them in con! water, and set 
 them on a gentle fire, till the outward skins begin to peel olf ; then, 
 with a coarse cloth, wipe it off; then put them into a jar, and put watec 
 nd salt therein, shifting it once a day for ten days, till the bHUTness 
 anil discolouring of the water be gone ; then take a good quantity of 
 mustard seed, which beat up with vinegar, till it becomes coarse mus- 
 tard ; then take some clove of garlic, some ginger, and a little cloves 
 and mace ; make a hole in each nui, and put in a httie of th't ; thea 
 take white-wine vinegar, and boil them together, which put to tne nuts 
 boiling hot, with some pepper, gi ger, cloves and mace, as also, some 
 of the mustard seed and garfu-k, which keep close stopped for use. 
 
 \QS<1 TV pickle JHushrwms. 
 
 t FIRST blanch them over the crowi.s, ami barb them beneath ; then 
 put them into a kettle of boiling water, then take them forth and let 
 them drain; when they are cold, put them into your jar or glass, and 
 put to them cloves, mace, ginger, nutmeg aid whole-pepper ; then 
 take white-wine, a little vinegar, and salt ; then pour the liquor iuto 
 the mushrooms, and stop them close for use. 
 
 104M. To Pickle Lemon and Orange Peel. 
 
 BOIL them in vinegar and sugar, and put them into the same pick- 
 le : observe to cu.t them into small long thongs, the length of half the 
 peel of your lemon ; it ought to be boiled in witter, before it is boiled in 
 vinegar and sugar. 
 
 105?At To Preserve F rial green. 
 
 TAKE pippins, apricots, pears, plumbs, or peaches, -when they arc 
 green ; scaid them in hot water, and peel them ; then put them into 
 another water, not so hot as the first ; then boil them very tender, and 
 take the weight of them in sugar, and put to them as much water as 
 will make a syrup to cover them ; then boil the syrup till it be some- 
 what thick, and when cold put them together. 
 
 !06*A. To Preserve aaspdcrriet, 
 
 TAKE good raspberries that t;re not too ripe, but very whole ; take 
 awa) the stalks, and put them into a fiat bottomed earthen pan ; boil 
 sugar, and pour it over your raspberries, then let them stand to be 
 cool; and when they are cold, pour them softly into your preserving 
 kettle and let them boil till your syrup be boiled pretty thick: si-mil 
 them very well in the boiling ; this done, put them in pots, and when 
 old, cover them up close for use. 
 
 107 tti. To Preserve Barberries, 
 
 TAKE one pound of barberries picked from the stalks, put them 
 in a pottle-pot, and set it in a brass pot full of hot water, aid when 
 they are stewed, strain them, and put to the bi.rberrics one and an 
 half pounds of sugar, and to them put a pint of rosew;,tcr, and boil 
 them a little ; then take half a pound of the fairest clusters of barber- 
 you can get, and dip them in the syrup -whilst it is a boiling! thcr
 
 304 USEFUL RECEIPTS.- 
 
 take the barberries out, and boil the syrup till it is thick, 
 COM, put them in glasses with the syrup. 
 
 IQSlh. To Preserve Currants. 
 
 LAY a layer of currants, and then a layer of sugar, and then IK ; 1 
 
 them together as before prescribed for raspberries ; scum them in 
 
 .boiling till the syrup is pretty thick ; then take them oft', and when 
 
 ihey are pretty cold, put them in gullypots or glasses closely stopped. 
 
 109 /A. To Preserve Watnult green. 
 
 BOIL the walnuts till the water tastes bitter, then take them ofT, 
 and put them in eold water; peel off the bark, and weigh as much 
 'Sugar as they weigh, and a little more water will then wet the sugar; 
 set them on the fire, and when they boil up, take them off; let them 
 stand two days, and then boii again. 
 
 110//I. To Preserve Chernet. 
 
 FIRST take some of the worst cherries, and boil them in fair watetfc 
 and when the liquor is well coloured, strain it ; then take some of the 
 best cherries, with their weight in beaten su-nr; then lay one layer 
 of sug n .r, and another of cherries, till all is laid in the preserving ket- 
 tle; then pour s little liquor of the worst of cherries into it, and boil 
 the cherries till they are well coloured : then take them up and boil 
 the syrup till they will button on the side of a plate ; and when they 
 are cold, put them up in * glass close covered for use. 
 llltk. To Candy Cherries. 
 
 TAKE cherries before they be full ripe, and take out the stones : 
 then take clarified sugar boiled to a height, and pour it on them. 
 1 12lh. To Candy Pears, Plumbs, Apricots, #c. 
 
 TAKE them, and give every one a cut half through ; then cast 
 sugar on them, and bake them in an oven, as hot as for manchet, close 
 stopped ; let them stand half an hour, then lay them one by one upon 
 glass plates to dry, and they will appear very fine and clear : in this 
 manner you may candy any other fruit. 
 
 \\3>th. Of Jellies. 
 
 LET them be of apples, currents, raspberries, fccc. Take out tT.e 
 clear liquor when squeezed, and boil it with sugar till it is as thick as 
 -n jelly. Then put into glasses, and cover it close. 
 ll-ir/i. A most excellent Method of making Butter, as no-ui practised 
 
 in England, tultich effectually prevents its c}iangiv,g and becoming 
 
 ranh. 
 
 THE day before churning, scald the cream in a clean iron kettle, 
 over a clear fire taking care that it does not boil over. As soon as it 
 begins to boil, or is sufficiently scalded, strain it, when the particles of 
 milk which tend to our and change the butter are separated and left. 
 behind. Put the vessel in which it was strained in a tub of water, in 
 a cellar, till next morning, when it will be ready for churning, and 
 Become butter in less than a quarter of the time required by the com- 
 mon method. It will also be hard, with a peculiar additional sweet- 
 ness, and will not change. The labor in this way is less than the 
 other, as the butter conies so much sooner, and saves so much labor 
 in working out the buttermilk. By this method, good butter may up 
 made in the hottest weather. 
 
 11 5th. A method of Preserving' Eggs* 
 
 EGGS keep very well when >ou can exclude air; which is best 
 done by placing a grate in any running water, and putting eggs, as 
 the hens lay them, on the upper side of the grate, and there let them 
 lie, covered with water, till you are going to use them, when you will 
 hem as jrood as if they had been lain that day. This way answers 
 juxich bcttcr'thnn greasing ; as soraetim.es one plsce is missal Avhich
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS, 305 
 
 spoils the whole egg : even tbose that are fresh never eat so well. In 
 places -where p. ople are afraid their eggs will be stolen, they should 
 make a chest with a number of slits in it, that the water may get in 
 freely ; ihe top ot which being above the water, may be locked dowo,. 
 Mill-dams are the most proper for these chests or grates. 
 
 N. B. The water must continually cover the eggs, or they will 
 spoil. 
 
 116th. To Cure Hams, as is practised in Virginia. 
 TAKE six pounds of fine salt, three pounds of brown sugar, ov 
 three pints of molasses, and one pound of salt-petre powdered ; mix 
 all these together, to serve for twenty-four hams : rub each ham well 
 all over with this mixture, and pack them down in a cask or tub, and 
 let them so remain for five or six days; then turn them, and sprinkle 
 some salt liglitly over them, and so let them remain five or six days 
 more, then add brine or pickle strong enough to bear an egg, and 
 let them remain covered with it for a month, when they will be fit to 
 am oak. 
 
 117th. Another mode, equally as good and simple. 
 TO four gallons of soft river water, add one pound of brown sugars 
 four ounces of salt petre, and eight pounds i>f coarse salt. Boil all 
 these together, and carefully take off the scum as it rises ; when clear, 
 let it remain till cold, then pour it over the meat till covered, mid the 
 quantity of pickle must be increased according to the quantity of meat ; 
 Ihe meat must not be pressed, but put lightly into a cask, and remain 
 in for six or seven weeks, when it will bt fit to smoke. 
 ll&th. For a toater to JJestroy Bugs, Flies, Jlnts and other Insects., 
 
 on tender plu7its. 
 
 [Invented by C. Tatin, Seedsman and Florist at Paris.] 
 THE receipt for this valuable composition, and which obtained for 
 the ingenious author a reward from the Bureau de Consultant, who 
 desired it might be made as public as possible, is thus given iu the 
 celebrated Annalesde Chimie 
 
 Take of black soap four ounces, flour of sulphur four ounces, mush- 
 I'oomsof any kind four ounces, water wherein dung has been soaked, 
 two gallons: and thus in proportion. Divide the water into i (juai 
 parts; poor one part into a barrel, vat or any vessel of convenient 
 size ; which should be used only for this purpose ; let the black soap 
 be stirred in it till it is dissolved, and then add to it the mushrooms 
 after they have been slightly bruised. Let the remaining half of the 
 water be made to boil in a kettle : put the whole quantity of sulphur 
 into a coarse linen cloth, tie it up with a thread in form of a puree!, 
 and fasten it to a stone or other weight, to make it sink to the bottom. 
 During twenty minutes, being the time that the Boiling should con- 
 tinue, stir it well with a stick, and let the packet of sulphur be squeez- 
 ed so as to make it yield to the water all its power and colour. The 
 effect of the water is not rendered more powerful by increasing the 
 quantity of ingredients. The water, when taken off the fire, is to be 
 poured into the vessel, with the remaining water, where it is to be 
 Stirred a short time with a stick ; this stirring must be repeated every 
 day, till the mixture becomes faetid, (i.r putrid) in the highest degree, 
 Bxperienee shews, that the older and more foetid the composition is, 
 Ihe more quick is its action. It is necessary to lake care to stop the 
 Tessel well every time the mixture is stirred. When we wish to 
 make nse of this water, we need only sprinkle it on the plants, or 
 plunge their branches into it : but the best mannejf af using it. - * 
 *ject it on them with a syringe, or squirt goik 
 9 d
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTa 
 
 H9tL Tu Kill Lice or. Cattle. 
 
 TAKE a broad woolk-n li^t, as broad as jour hand, that \vill go 
 rOund about his i.eck ; then wet the list well in train oil, and stw it 
 :*bout the beast's neck, and the lice will come to il,and it will kill them 
 If there were ever so many ; daub some about the breast iu several 
 places and they Mill eorue to it, and it will kill then.. Xo flies iu 
 summer will come near any wound or sore, where this is allied, for 
 it will kill them. 
 
 I'-'OM. To Destroy JBugs, and rid Houses of them. 
 
 TO remove these noisome and troublesome vermin, take oil of 
 
 .turpentine, wash over the wails and bedsteads with it, or particularly 
 
 o thcro are any crevices, cracks or crannies, and they will die 
 
 uw;iy, and the room, alter some time using it, will no more be pestered 
 
 with them. 
 
 The juice of wormwood and rue is very good to wash the bed- 
 S crevices, or any place where you suppose they are, and if you 
 would lie sate among thousands in a room, rince your sheets in water, 
 ".viic-rein sassafras lias been well steeped, and they will not enter upon 
 .'hem ; or you may IMV that wood in slices among your linen, and ft 
 <\rill have the same effect. Keep your rooms airy and clean always 
 
 AGRICULTURAL, 
 To FAHMEHS. 
 
 .ctlwd to preserve IPhcat and Rye from the K 
 AS you stack wheat, en every Uvc or three layers of shea\es, spread 
 >T)me cider leaves and branches. This was communicated to me by a 
 farmer, who tried the experiment with success last year. The sa .,e 
 Jnformant adds, that he has read in history, that the same remed\ has 
 been applied in Europe, when they have occasion to lay up a seven 
 year's store, kc. As the remedy is easy, it is to be hoped thai farmers 
 n-iil avail themsehes of the advantage Exporters ot flour from the 
 states have nothing so much to fear. Insperiors ot flour ou,s;ht to be 
 'eel agai-ist this evil ; no such flour ought to be suffered to leave 
 tales. The credit of our flour abroad depends on the inspectors, 
 2\ . B. Lime, applied as above, will produce the same effect. 
 
 l'2-2tl. To preserve Indian Corn from Btrd*,&c. 
 TO prevent your Indian corn when planted, from being taken up 
 ids or destroyed by worms or insects, take about one pint of tav 
 to a bushel of seed" corn, and in the like proportion for a greater qunn- 
 UK! stir it well together till every grain receives a part of the tar. 
 .This will effectually answer the purpose required. 
 
 1 1 2S(1. For Inoculating Fiitit Trees. 
 
 AUGUST and September are the proper months to inoculate oc 
 
 iost kinds of fruit trees; an operation that eirery landholdev 
 
 Id have some knowledge of. When a tree has finished its growth 
 
 r, a bud is formed at the very tip or end of the twig ; which 
 
 ienotes that it is in a proper state to bud or inoculate. Some trees 
 
 'uleed an exception, as they continue growing almost the whole 
 
 n, and may be budded through all July and August. 
 
 "With a sharp knife, slit the hark of any twig not mo- e than half an 
 
 .inch thik, and not less than a quarter of an. inch. Carefully cut 
 
 A\ the bark, but not to wound the wood under it. Let the slit 
 
 /her more than aninchlon?. In like mannercut hidfan inch long 
 
 .: {iiis slit, a; the bottom, so that ibe t>vo cuts through the
 
 USEFUL RECEIPTS. SO/ 
 
 will resemble a j. bottom upwards. Then take a bud of the fruit 
 you wish to propagate, with its bark near an inch long, taking cure to 
 loosen it -from the woody part of the stem, so as to put it off from 
 your thumb and linger, separating the bark and the eye under the 
 bud from the wood. If the eye is left on the wood, you must throw 
 by the bud and take another. Then insert the bud under the JL, be- 
 fore described, ami bind it down with woollen strings, or well soaked 
 strips of bark of bas.s wood, leaving the eye of the bud to the air. In 
 two or three weeks, the bud will unite with the stalks, when the 
 string must be loosened. The stocks, may be cut away the next 
 spring. This method is on many accounts better than grafting.. It 
 gives the farmer another chance, provided his grafts fail in the spring, 
 Stone fruits succeed only or best with inoculation. Small twigs, too 
 small for common grafting, answer well and above all in this way, 
 very little injury is done to the stock. In a fruit country, this method 
 ou^ht to be well understood. A correspondent says, that cow-dung, 
 with the addition of a very little salt, is a good plaister for the wounds 
 of fruit trees. When large limbs are cut of, the stumps should be 
 Covered to keep out the air. Too much salt will spoil the tree. 
 
 1-24//*. To take a Film off a House's Eye. 
 
 BLACK Pepper, finely ground, and sifted thro' a piece of gauze; 
 add thereto fine ground salt, of each as much ;.s will lay on the point 
 of ease knife, mixing them well together ; then take as much dough. 
 as will thinly cover an ounce ball, make it flat, place the pepper and 
 salt thereon, and roll them up, making the same about the size of an 
 Ounce ball ; then put it as low down as possible in the off ear fastening 
 (he ear so as to prevent its falling out The above takes off the worsg 
 of films, and no way injures the horse. This receipt has been use<J 
 many years iu this place with the greatest success. 
 
 \-2$tb. A Cure for Sheep- Biting. 
 
 AX intelligent farmer in New-Jersey seized a dog which often wor- 
 ried and bit his sheep. lie tied the leg of the (ing by a tether to the 
 leg of a strong active ram, and placed them on the top of a hill. The 
 Kim immediately begun to kick and butt the dog, who after a little 
 snapping;, attempted to fly. The tether held hint, so that the ram 
 easily overtook, kicked and butted him. After a short time the ram, 
 excited to exertion, raced down the hill, and forced the dot; after him. 
 'When the dog was so punished as not to forget it, he was let loose, and 
 would never touch a sheep afterwards. 
 
 1'2G/A. ,/2/i eas'j and sure Method to find due North and South, 
 TAKE a smooth piece of board, draw on it four, five or six en c!e$ 
 Olsten it on the top of a post, stick a pin in the centre which the cir- 
 cles are drawn on within each other ; observe in the forenoon on which 
 eircle the shadow of the head of the pin strikes, and make a n ark; 
 then in the afternoon' observe when it strikes on the olhe; % side^ofthe 
 same circle ; tht u fi'id the centre on the circle, then -tnke a l,i 
 cne to the other, Mlueb, eanuot tail of being north and south.
 
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 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 
 
 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. 
 
 MAY ^ ?n06