^%,- 
 
1/ H 
 
 
DYER'S ASSISTANT 
 
 IN THE 
 
 ART OF DYING WOOL 
 
 AND 
 
 WOOLLEN GOODS. 
 
 EXTRACTED FHOM 
 
 The Philofcphical and Chymical Works of thofe 
 
 MOST IMINENT AUTHORS) 
 
 FERGUSON; DUFAY ; IIELLOT; GEOFFERY ; 
 COLBERT ; 
 
 And that reputable French Dyer, 
 
 MoNs. DF. JULIENNE. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH, 
 
 WITH 
 
 Additioss a>ul Pp.actlcal Explrime::^. 
 
 By JAMES HAIGH, 
 
 Late Silk and Muslin Dyer, Leeds, 
 
 A NEW EDITION. 
 
 PRINTED 
 For J. Mawman, (SuccefTar to Mr. Duly} in the Poultry, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 And for T.Wjlson & R. Spence, the Frmtsrs, F]i^h-Ouf?g,:;e, 
 YORK. 
 
 Jwjo 1800. 
 
THE PREFACE. 
 
 HERE are very few arts fo extenfive 
 as that of dvinsf ; and althoudi thofe 
 principal comnioditie.-, clotliing and furni- 
 ture, receive their chief iniprovement and 
 value therefrom, it is neverthelefs very far 
 from being brought to perfe6lion. A long 
 pra^iice, found judgment, and great atten- 
 tion, will form a good and expert Dyer. 
 ^lany Dyers can work with fuccefs in a 
 number- of colours only which depend on 
 each other, and are entirely ignorant of the 
 rell, or have but a very imperfect idea of 
 them. 
 
 A Philofopher, who ftudies the art of 
 dying, is in fome meafure afionilhed at the 
 multiplicity of new objefts which it affords^ 
 every (lep prefents new difficulties and ob- 
 fcurities, without hopes of any inftrutlion 
 from the common workmen, who feldom 
 know more than fafts and culiom. Their 
 manner of explaining themfelves, and their 
 common terms, only afford more darknefs, 
 which the uncommon and often ufeleiscir- 
 A 2 cumftartce 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 cumiLances of their proceedings render 
 more obfcure. 
 
 Before we enter into the particulars of 
 dying v.'ool, it is neccfl'ary to give an idea 
 <Df the primary colours, or rather of thofe 
 Avhich bear this name by the artifts ; for it 
 will appear by reading the celebrated works 
 of Sir Ifaac Newton on Light and Colours, 
 that they bear no affinity with thofe which 
 the Philofophcrs call by that name. They 
 .are thus named by the workmen, becaufe, 
 "by the nature of the ingredients of which 
 they are compofed, they are the bafis from 
 whence all others are derived. This divi- 
 fion of colours, and the idea which I intend 
 to give of them, are alfo common to the 
 different kinds of dying. 
 
 The five primary colours are blue, red, 
 yellow, brown, and black. Each of thefe 
 can furniih a great number of ihades, from 
 the lightefi: to the darkcfl ; and from the 
 com'binationof two or more of thefe different 
 fhades, arife all the colours in nature. Co- 
 lours are oftentimes darkened, or made 
 light, or confiderably changed, by ingredi- 
 ents that have no colour in themfelves ; 
 fuch are the acid, the alkalis, and the neu- 
 tral falts, lime, urine, arfenic, alum, aiid 
 fome others ; and in the greatcff part of 
 dyes, the wool and woollen goods are pre- 
 pared with fome of thefe ingredients, which 
 
 -of 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 of theinfelyes give little or no colour. It 
 may eafily be conceived what an infinite 
 variety muft arlfefrom the mixture ol thefe 
 different matters, or even from the manner 
 of.ufmg them ; and v/hat attention muit be 
 given to the minuteft circumilances, fo as 
 perfectly to fucceed in an art fo complicated, 
 and in which there are many difiicalties 
 
 It is not needful to be very particular In 
 defcribing the utenfds of a dye-houfe, as 
 they are commonly known; this v;ork being 
 defiffned for tlie exoerienccd Dver. A dve- 
 hoiafe lliouid, however, be erected on a fpa- 
 cious plan, roofed over, but admitting a 
 good light, and as nigh as poffible to a run- 
 ning water, which is very neceffary, either 
 to prepare the wool before it is dyed, or to 
 wafli it afterwards. The coppers ihould be 
 fet at the diftance of eight or ten feet, and 
 two or m.ore vats for the blue, according to 
 the quantity of work that is to be carried on. 
 
 The moft important point in dying the 
 primitive blue is to fet the vat properly at 
 work, and condufct her till llie is in a Itate 
 to yield her blue.- The fize of the wo^d 
 vat is not fixed, as it depends upon necef- 
 fity or pleafure. A vaf containing a^fegf- 
 head, or half that quantity, has often been 
 ufed with fuccefs ; but then they muft be 
 prevented by fome means from cooling too 
 iliddenly, otherwife thefe fmali vats will fail., 
 A S Another 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 Another kind of vat is prepared for blue : 
 this is called the indigo vat, becaufe it is the 
 indigo alone that gives it the colour. Thofe 
 that ufe the woad vat do not commonly ufc 
 the indigo one. 
 
 Hiere are two methods of dying wool of 
 any colour j the one is called dying in the 
 great, the other in the leffer dye. The firft 
 is done by means of drugs or ingredients 
 that procure a lafting dve, refill: the atlion 
 of the air and fun, and are not cafilv ftained 
 by iliarp or ccrrolive liquors. The contrary 
 happens to colours of the leffer dye. Tlie 
 air fades them in a fliort time, more parti- 
 cularly if expofed to the fun ; mofr liquors 
 ftain them, fo as to make them lofe their 
 firft colour. It is extraordinary that, as there 
 is a method of makino: all kinds of colours 
 by the great dye, the ufe of the leffer fliould 
 be tolerated ; but three reafons make it 
 difficult, if not impoilible, to prevent this 
 praftice. 
 
 ]ll. The work is much eafier. Mod co- 
 lours and fliades which give the greatcft 
 trouble in the great, are eafily carried on in 
 the lefler dye. 
 
 2d, ^loft colours in the leffer are more 
 bright and lively than thofe of the great, 
 
 3d, For this reafon, which carries more 
 weight, the leffer dye is carried on much 
 cheaper than the great. Tliis is fufficiert 
 
 to 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 to determine fome men" to do all in their 
 power to carry it on in prcfLrence to the 
 other. Hence it is that the true knowledge, 
 of chymirtry, to which the art of dying owes" 
 its origin, is of fo much ufe. 
 
 It may be obferv^ed, that all lading colours 
 are called colours ot the great, and the others 
 of the Icfier dye. Sometimes, the firft are 
 called fine, and latter falfe colours i' but 
 thefe exprellions are equivocal, for the fine 
 are fometimes confounded with the high 
 colours, which are thofe in whofe compo- 
 fition cochineal enters ; therefore, to avoid 
 all obfcurity, I fliail call the firil colours of 
 the greatj.and the latter colours of the IcfTer 
 dye.. 
 
 Experiiiients, (which are the beii guides 
 in natural philofophy as well as arts) plainly 
 fliow, that the difference of colours, accord- 
 ing to the foregoing diftintlion, partly de- 
 pends on the preparation of the fabjeft that 
 is to be dyed, and partly on the choice of 
 the ingredients which are afterwards ufed 
 to give it the colom*. I therefore think it 
 may be laid down as a general principle, 
 that all the invifible procefs of dying con- 
 fifts in dilating the pores of the body that is 
 to be dyed, and depofiting therein p^irticles 
 ot a foreign matter, which are to be de- 
 tained by a kind of cement which prevents 
 the fun or rain from changing them. To 
 A 4 make 
 
Via PREFACE. 
 
 make choice of the colouring particles of 
 fach a durability that they may be retained, 
 and fuiiiciently fet in the pore-s of the fub- 
 ]<^ opened by the heat of boiling water, 
 then contracled by the cold, and afterwards 
 plaiftered over with a kind of cement left 
 behind with the falts ufed for their prepa- 
 ration, that the pores of the wool or woollen 
 ftuif ought to be cleanfed, enlarged, ce- 
 mented, and then contra6\ed, that the co- 
 louring atom may be contained in a lofting 
 manner. 
 
 Experiments alfo fhow that there is no 
 colouring ingredient belonging to the great 
 dye which has not more or lefs an aftringent 
 and precipitant quality. That this is fuffi- 
 clent to feparate the earth of the alum; this 
 carthj icined to the colouring atoms, forms 
 a kind of laque, fimilar to that ufed by the 
 painters, but infinitely iiner. That in bright 
 colours, fuch as fcarlet, where alum cannot 
 be ufed, another body muft be fubfdtuted 
 to fupply the colouring atoms (block-tin 
 gives this bafis to the fcarlet dye). AMien 
 all thefe fmall atoms of ea^-thy-coloured 
 iaque have infmuattd themfelves into the 
 pores of the fubjecl that is dilated, the ce- 
 ment which the tartar leaves behind ferves 
 to mafticate thefe atom.s; and lafrly, the 
 contratfing of the pores, caufed by the cold, 
 ferves to retain them. 
 
 It 
 
PREFACE. Lt 
 
 It is certain that the colours of the falfe 
 dye have that defc6t only becaufe the iiib 
 jecl is not fufficientiy prepared ; fo that the 
 colouring particles being only depofited on 
 its plain furface, it is impollible but the 
 leaft: atlion of the air or fan mufl: deprive 
 them of part, if not of the whole. It a me- 
 thod was difcovercd to give to the colour- 
 ing parts of dying woods, the necelfary af- 
 tritlion which they require, and if the wool 
 at the fame time was prepared to receive 
 them, (as it is the red of madder) I am con- 
 vinced, by thirty experiments, that thefe 
 woods might be made as ufeful in the great, 
 as they have hitherto been in the Icller dye. 
 
 What I have faid lliall be applied in the 
 fcquel of this Treatife, where 1 llfall fliow 
 what engaged me to ufe them as general 
 principles. 
 
 I fliould have been glad to have feen a 
 work of this fort, (knov/ing the great need 
 there is of a chymical underftanding of this 
 art) figned with the name of fome perfoii 
 of difiinclion, to have given it a better face -, 
 yet, in defeft of that, I was prevailed upon 
 to undertake the tedious tafic. I dare not 
 flatter myfelf to have brought it to its laft 
 perfeftion, as arts daily improve, and this 
 in particular ; but I hope fome acknovv- 
 iedgraent will be due to me for bringing 
 this matter a little further out of that ob- 
 A 5 fcurity 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 fcurity in which it has laid, and for al^ft- 
 ing the Dyers in making difcoveries to help 
 to perfect this moft ufeful art. 
 
 I fliall now proceed to examine the five 
 primar}' colours above mentioned, and give 
 the different methods of preparing them 
 after the mofh folid and perm.anent man- 
 ner. 
 
 JAMES HAIGH. 
 
IXTRODVCTION. 
 
 THE materials of which cloths are 
 made, for the moft part are naturally 
 of dull and gloomy colours. Garments 
 would confequently have had a difagree- 
 able uniformity, if this art had not been- 
 found out to remedy it, and vary their 
 fliades. The accidental bruifmg of fruits 
 or herbs, the eflecl: of rain upon certain 
 earths and minerals might fuggeft the hrll 
 hint of the art of dying, and of the mate- 
 rials proper for it. Every climate furnilhes 
 man with ferruginous earths, v/ith boles of 
 all colours, with faline and vegetable ma- 
 terials for this art. The difficulty mulr 
 have been to find the art of applying them. 
 But how many trials and elfays mull: have 
 been made, before thev found out the moll 
 proper methods of applying them to ftutts, 
 fo as to liain them with beautiful and lall- 
 ing colours } In this confUls the principal 
 excellence of the Dyer's art, one of the 
 moft ingenious and difficult which we 
 know. 
 
 A 6 Dvinn; 
 
Xll IN'TFxODrCTION., 
 
 Dying is performed by means of limes, 
 falts, waters, leys, ferm.entations, macera- 
 tions. Sec. It is certain that dying is very 
 ancient. Tire Chinefe pretend that thev 
 owe the difcovery of it to Hoan-ti, jone of 
 their iirit.fovereigns. 
 
 One of the moft agreeable efTects of the 
 art of dvinc^, is the diverfifvinir the colours 
 of uuffs, "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 mak- 
 ing ufe of yarn of different colours in the 
 weavins:. 
 
 The firft of thefe inventions is attributed 
 to the Phrygians, a very ancient nation ; 
 the laft to the Bab}ionians. Many things 
 incline usto think that thefe arts were k no w^n 
 even in tlie times of which we are now 
 treating. The great progrefs thefe arts had 
 made in the days of Mofes, fuppofes that 
 they had been difcovered long before. It 
 appears to me certain, then, that the arts 
 of embroidery or weaving ftuffs of various 
 colours, were invented in the ages we are 
 novv' upon. But I {hall not inlift on the 
 inanner in which they were then practifed, 
 as I can fay nothing fatisfactory upon that 
 fjbjcct. 
 
 Another art nearly related to that of 
 eying, is tliat of cleaning and whitening 
 
 garmtr.t?.. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 garments, when they have been ftained and 
 fullied. Water alone is not fufficient for 
 this. AVe mull communicate to it, by 
 means of powders, aflies, &;c. that deterfivc 
 quality which is neceJTary to extra£l the 
 llains which they have contracted. The 
 anpientsknew nothing of foap, but fupplied 
 the want of it by various means. Job 
 fpeaks of wafliing his garments in a pit 
 with the herb borith. This pafl'age fhows 
 that the method of cleaning garments in 
 thefe ages, was by throwing them into a 
 pit full of water, impregnated with fome 
 kind of allies ; a method which feems to 
 have been very univerfal in thefe firft times. 
 Homer defcribes Nauficaa and ber com- 
 panions walhing their garments, by tread- 
 ing them with their feet in a pit. 
 
 With refpe6t to the herb which Job calls 
 borith, i imagine it is falworth. This plant 
 is very common in Syria, Judea, Egypt, 
 and Arabia, They burn it, and pour water 
 upon the alhes. This water becomes im- 
 pregnated with a very ftrong lixivial fait, 
 proper for taking ftains or impurities out of 
 wool or cloth. 
 
 The Greeks and Romans ufed feveral 
 kinds of earths and plants inftead of foap. 
 'Ihe favages of America make a kind of 
 foap-water of certain fruits, with which 
 they v.-aili their cotton-beds and other Huffs. 
 
 In 
 
XLV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In Iceland tlie women make a ley of allies 
 and urine. The Perlians employ boles and 
 marls. In many countries they find earths 
 which, dilTolved in water, have the property 
 of cleaning and whitening cloth and linen 
 All thefe methods might perhaps be prac- 
 tifed in the primitive ages. The neceflities 
 of all mankind are much the fame, and all 
 climates prefent them with nearly the 
 fame refources. It is the art of applying 
 them, which diftinguifhes polite and ci- 
 vilized nations from favagcs and barba- 
 rians. 
 
 « 
 
 a?A^- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 OF THE ART OF DYING WOOL AND 
 WOO Li EN STUFFS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. OfBLUE 19 
 
 II. Of the Garden-Woad or Paflel-Vat 22 
 
 The Vat fet to work 23 
 
 Marks how to conduct a Vat regularly 25 
 
 The opening of the Vat ■ 29 
 
 The Preparation of Lime, &c. 36, 37 
 
 III. Of the Field Woad -Vat 38 
 
 IV. The Indigo-Vat 41 
 
 Procefs of making the Indigo in America ib. 
 
 Method of working the Indigo Vat 43 
 
 V. The cold Vat with Urine 47 
 
 The hot Vat with Urine 48 
 
 Re-heating of the Vat with Urine 51 
 
 VI. Of the cold Indigo-Vat without Urine 53 
 
 Water of Old Iron . — 54 
 
 VII. Of the Method of dying Blue 56 
 
 The manufafturing of Paftel, or Garden 
 
 Vl'^oad in France ■ 78 
 
 Powder of Woad — - — 8i 
 
 VII. or 
 
XVI CONTEXTS, 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 VIII. Of Red 83 
 
 IX. or Scarlet of Grain Si 
 
 Preparation of the Wool for Scarlet 
 
 of Grain _— — - 85 
 
 Liquor for the Kermes — — 86 
 
 X. Of Flame-coloured Scarlet — — 95 
 
 Compofition for Scarlet 97 
 
 Water for the Preparation of Scarlef 100 
 
 Reddening 101 
 
 Experiments on Cochineal Liquor 114. 
 
 Violet witliout Bl-ue 115 
 
 XL OfCrirafon 117 
 
 LangaedoG Crimlon 120 
 
 Natural Crirafon in Grain — — 122 
 
 XII. Scarlet of Gum Laque ii>. 
 
 XIII. Of the Coccus Polonicus, a colouring 
 
 Infeft 126 
 
 XIV. OftheRedofMa<kler 12S 
 
 Purple with. Madder without Blue 1^6" 
 
 XV. OfYLLLOW 137 
 
 XVL Of BxowN 141 
 
 XVII. Of Black HS 
 
 Remarks on the Black D\e ' 150 
 
 XVIII. Of ihe Mixture of Blue and Red — 151 
 
 XIX. Of the Mixture <4 Blue ai;d Yellow 154 
 
 XX. Of the Mixture ot Blue and Brown 155 
 
 XXI. Of the Mix I ore of Biue and Black IJ'J 
 
 XXII. Of the Mixture of Red arid Yellow /"/•. 
 
 XXni. Of the Mixture of Red ai;d Brown 1(32 
 
 XXIV Of the Mixture of Yellow and Brown 1-C3 
 
 XXV. Of the Mixture of Brown and Black 164- 
 
 XXVI. Of the Mixture of the primitive Cokurs 
 
 taken three bv three ■■ 165 
 
 Variety of Carnation Colours lt>7 
 
 XXVII. Of the Manner of mixing Wool of dif- 
 ferent Colour?, for Cloths, or mixed 
 Colours, (Colours mixed in the 
 Loom) 169 
 
 XXVIII. Of 
 
CONTENTS. XVU 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 XXVIII. Of the Method of preparing the Pattern 
 
 Felts, or Mixture for an Eflay 171 
 
 XXIX. OfPoIilhRed ■ ■ HS 
 
 PART II. 
 
 ON THE LESSER DYE. 
 
 I. Of the dying of Wool by the Lefler Dye 175 
 
 11. Of the dying of Flock or Goats' Hair 177 
 
 Sulphuring of Wool ' 183 
 
 The Theory of the Dilfolution of Flock ib. 
 
 III. Of the Manner of ufing Archil IS? 
 
 Baftard Scarlet by Archil 1S9 
 
 IV. Of Logwood or Canipeachy ■ 191 
 
 The Raven Grey ■ 195 
 
 V. Of Saxon Blue and Green ib. 
 
 Blue on Cloth, Stuff, or Yarn 196 
 
 Chyniic for Green » " 197 
 
 VI. Of Brazil Wood 198 
 
 VII. OfFuftic . 201 
 
 VIII. OfRoucou 203 
 
 IX. Of the Grains of Avignon ■ 204< 
 
 X. Of Turmeric 205 
 
 XI. Of Silver Grey 20G 
 
 Another excellent Silver Dye 207 
 
 Inftrudions on the Proof of dyed Wool ^ 
 
 and Woollen StufFs ■■ ». 
 
 PART III. 
 
 ADDITIONAL ARTICLES. 
 
 I, Of Flowers —— . — 217 
 
 Of Blud^Iowers — ■ - . 218 
 Of Red and Yellow Flowers 219, 220 
 
 Of White Flowers i . 221 
 
 II. Of 
 
XVUl - CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PACE 
 
 II. Of Fruits 2-22 
 
 III. Ot Leaves 226 
 
 JV. Mr. Lewis's Hiftory of Madder, and Man- 
 ner of treating it ■< ■ i ■ 2C3 
 
 V. OfFuftic 231 
 
 VI. Of Nephritic Wood . , 232 
 
 VII. Mr. Fergufon's Hiftory of Logwood as a 
 
 colouring Drug ■ ■ ■ 233 
 
 VIII. The Procefs of Pruffian Blue 254 
 
 IX. Of Alkanet Root . 237 
 
 X, Of Alum 238 
 
 XI. Chjniical Hiftcrj of Saunders, end its 
 
 Diii'erence from other Red- Woods 259 
 
 XII. OfVerdign/e 240 
 
 TItE 
 
THE 
 
 dyer's assistant. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CHAP, I. 
 
 OF BLue. 
 
 WOOL and woollen ftuffs of all kinds, are 
 dyed blue without any other preparation 
 than wetting them well in luke-warm water, 
 fqueezing them well afterwards, or letting them 
 drain: this precaution is nectflarv, that the colour 
 may the moreeafily infinuate itfelt into the body of 
 the wc«l, that it may be equally difperfed through- 
 out ; nor is this to be O'nitted in any kind of co- 
 lours, whether ihe fubjetSt be wool or cloth. 
 
 As to wool in the fleece, which is ufed in ma- 
 rufadturing cloth, as well the mixt as ctner forts, 
 and which they are obliged to dye before ttiey are 
 fpun, they are prepared in another manner, viz. 
 they are fcoured, and thereby diveiled of the 
 
 natural 
 
20 THE DYERS ASSISTANT. 
 
 natural fat they had when on the body of the ani- 
 mal *, As this operation is properly the Dyer's, 
 and is indifpenfable in wool which is to be dyed 
 before it is fpun, let the colour be what it will, 
 1 fliall give the proper procefs. 
 
 This operation is not every where alike, but 
 this is the method followed in the manufadlory ot 
 Audly in Normandy, where cloths are moft beau- 
 tifully manufadured. 
 
 A copper containing twenty pails is ufed for 
 this purpofe j they put twelve pails of water, and 
 four of urine, (which is generally fermented) the 
 copper is headed, and when tlie liquor is^fo hot as 
 to bear the hand without fcsrldiiSg, ten or t A'elve 
 pouiids of wool, that ftill continues its natural fa-t, 
 are put in and Itft in tlie copper about a qi>3rter of 
 an hour, flirring from time to time with flicks j. 
 it is then taken out and put to drain on a fcray ; 
 from thence it is carried in a large fquare bafket» 
 and placed in running v/ater, two men (iirring it 
 to and fro for a confidcrabie time with long poles, 
 till it is entirely cleanfed of its fat ; then it is talcen 
 out and placed in a bafket to drain : while this 
 wool is thus preparing, a like quantity may be put 
 into the copper, and thus proceed till the whole is 
 fcoured. If the liquor is too much wafted, frefli 
 is to be added, made up of one part urine and 
 three parts water. They generally fcour a bale of 
 wool at once; if it weighed 25Clb. in the' fat, it 
 generally iofes 6olb. in fcouring; but this diminu- 
 tion of weight varies in proportion to the wool be- 
 ing more or lefs fcoured, and in proportion to the 
 more or lefs fat contained therein. Too much at- 
 tention cannot be paid to the fcouring, as it is 
 thereby better difpofed for the reception of the dye. 
 
 The 
 
 * The natural fat adhering to tlie wool preferves it in the wart- 
 houffj and alio from moths. 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 21 
 
 The fat, which is an oily tranfudation, and 
 flightly partaking of th« quahty of urine retained 
 by the fleece, which is too tiuck to let it out, is 
 foluble in water, ccnfequently, as water alone 
 could not feparate it, a fourth pnrt of urine is put 
 into the copper, which nriuft have been kept fome 
 days, in order to feparate its volatile falts. by fer- 
 mentation ; (I mean tliat it is necefiary this urine 
 iliould begin to acquire a ftrong fmell) this volatile 
 fait, being an alkali, forms with the fat a kind of 
 foap, which is always the refult of all oils and al- 
 kalis whatfoever mixed to?;ether. As foon as foap 
 is formed by the combination of thefe two princi- 
 ples, it becomes foluble in water, and is confe- 
 quently eafily carried off. A proof that a true 
 foap has been formed in this operation, is, that the 
 water which carries it away, whitens as long as 
 any fat is feparated from the wool : if there was a 
 ■fufficient quantity of fermented urine in the copper, 
 the wool will be well fcoured ; if it was not, all 
 the fat would net be changed into foap, and con- 
 fequently the \yool will remain greafy. The fame 
 operation might be performed with fixed alkalis, as 
 with 'the .lee of pot-a(h or pearl-afhes: but as this 
 lee would not only come dearer than urine, it 
 might alfo damage the wool, if the exaft propor- 
 tion was not applied. I am convinced by feveral 
 experiments, that thefe cauftic falts do eafily de- 
 ftroy all animal fubftances, as wool, fi'.k, &c. 
 
 1 beg the reader may take notice, that though in 
 the fequel I do not mention tiiis operation of fcour- 
 ing, it is neverthelefs neceffary for all wool that is 
 to be dyed before it is fpun, as alfo that it is necef- 
 fary to wet thofe that are fpun, and fluffs of all 
 kinds, that the colour may be the more equally 
 diffufed throughout. 
 
 0( 
 
22 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 Of the five primary colours mentioned in the 
 Preface, two ot them require a preparation given 
 by roncolcuring ingre-'ients, which, by the acidity 
 and hnenefs of their earth, difpofe the pores of the 
 •wool to receive the colour. This is called the 
 preparation i it varies according to the nature of 
 fnades and colours : the red, the yellow, and the 
 colours derived from them muft be fo treated ; 
 black muft have a preparation peculiar to itfelf ; 
 blue and brown require none ; it is iufHcient that 
 the wool be thoroughly fcoured and wetted ; and 
 even for blue, it fuffices to dip it into the vat, flir- 
 ring it well, and letting it remain, more or lefs, 
 according as the ground of the colour is wanted. 
 For this reafon, and ajib that many colours previ- 
 ouily require a blue ihade to be given to the wool, 
 I fliall begin with it, and give thereon the moft 
 exa£t rules in my power. It is an eafy matter to 
 dye wool blue, when the vat is once prepared, but 
 it is not fo eafy to prepare the vat, which is the 
 moil difficult part of the Dyer's art. ]n ail the 
 other prccefTes, it is fufhcient to follow the fimple 
 operations tranfmitted from mafters to apprentices. 
 Three ingredients arc ufed in the blue dye, viz. 
 garden-woad or pafte), the woad, and the indigo. 
 I (hall give the preparation of eacl), beginning with 
 the garden-woad. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF THE GARDEN-WOAD, OR PASTEL- V^^OAD. 
 
 THE garden-woad is a plant cultivated in 
 many parts of Holland and France, and 
 fDight be in Frgiand or Ireland, to the great ad- 
 vantage of the hufbandoian ; it is made up in bales, 
 
 generally 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 1^ 
 
 generally weighing from one hundred and fifty 
 pounds to two hundred ; it refembles little clods of 
 dried earth, interwoven with the fibres of plants; 
 it is gathered at a proper feafon, and laid up to rot, 
 and then made into fmall balls to dry. Several 
 circumftances are to be obferved in this preparation; 
 on this you may fee the regulations of Monf. Colber t 
 on Dyes ; the beft prepared comes from thediocefe 
 of Alby in France. 
 
 7 he Vatfet to TVork. 
 
 A copper, as near as pofTible to the vat is filled 
 with water that has ftood fome time, or, if fuch 
 water is not at hand, a handful of Dyer's woad or 
 hay is added to the water, with eight pounds of 
 cruft of fat madder. If the old liquor from a vat 
 that has been ufed in dying from madder can be 
 procured, it will fave the madder, and produce a 
 better effedl. 
 
 The copper being filled, and the fire lighted 
 about three in the morning, it muft boil an hour 
 and a quarter, (fome Dyers boil it from two hours 
 and a half to three ; it is then conveyed by a fpout 
 into the woad vat, in which has been previoufly 
 put a peck of wheaten bran. Whilft the boiling 
 liquor is emptying into the vat, the balls of woad 
 niuft be put one after another into the vat, that 
 they may be the eafier broken, raked, and ftirred ; 
 this is to be continued till all the hot liquor from 
 the copper is run into the vat, which, when little 
 more than half full, muft be covered with cloths 
 fomewhat larger than its circumference, fo that it 
 may be covered as clofe as polfible, and left in this 
 ftate for four hours. Then it muft be aired, that 
 is, uncovered to be raked, and frefli air let into it; 
 and to each bale of v^'oad, a good meafure of ware 
 
 fiung 
 
24- THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 flung In ; this is a concealed name for lime that has 
 been fljcked. This meafure is a kind of wooden 
 fhoveJ, which ferves to meafure the lime grofsly j 
 it is five inches broad and three inches and a half 
 long, containing near a good handful ; the lime 
 being fcattered in, and the vat well raked, ii mufl 
 be again covered, leaving a little fpace of about 
 four fingers open, to let in air. Four hours after, 
 ihe muft be raked, without ferving her with lime j 
 the cover is then put on, leaving, as before, an 
 opening for the air ; in this manner fhe muft be 
 let to ftand for two or three hours. Then fhe may 
 be raked well again, if fhe is not j-et come to 
 work ; that is, if file does not cafl blue at her fur- 
 face, and that fhe works or ferments flili, which 
 may be known by raking and plunging with the 
 flat of the rake in the vat ; being well raked, (he 
 is to remain fiill for one hour and a half more, 
 carefully obferving v;hether fhe cafts blue. She is 
 then to be ferved with v.ater, and the quantity of 
 indigo judged necefifary is to be put in : it is com- 
 monly ufed in a liquid f^ate, the full of a d\e- 
 houfe kettle for each bale of woad ; the vat being 
 filled within fix finger-breadths of her brim, is to 
 be raked and covered as before; an hour after 
 filling her with water, fhe muft be ferved with 
 lime, viz. two meafures of lime for each bale of 
 woad, giving more or lefs according to the quality 
 of the word, and what may be judged it will fpend 
 or take of lime. 
 
 I hope the reader will excufe my plainnefs ; this 
 Treatife being wrote for the Dyer, I muft fpeak the 
 language he is ufed to; the Philofopher will eafily 
 fubflitute proper terms, which perhaps the v^'ork- 
 man would not underf^and. There are kinds of 
 woad readier prepared than others, fo that general 
 and precife rules cannot be given en this head. It 
 2 mi " 
 
 % 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 25 
 
 muft alfo be remarked, that the lime is not to be 
 put into the vat till rtie has been well raked. 
 
 The vat being again covered, three hours after 
 a pattern niuft be put in, and kept entirely covered 
 for an hour ; it is then taken out to judge if (he be 
 fit to work. If fhe is, the pattern muft come out 
 green, and on being expofed a minute to the air, 
 acquire a blue colour. If the vat gives a good green 
 to the pattern, ihe muft be raked, fcrved with one 
 Of two meafures of lime, and covered. 
 
 Three hours after, 'fhe muft be raked, and 
 ferved with what hme may be judged neceffary ; 
 fhe is then to be covered, and one hour and a half 
 after, the vat being pitched or fettled, a pattern is 
 put in, which muft remain an hour to fee the ef- 
 tcifts of the vvoad. If the pattern is of a fine green, 
 and that it turns to a deep blue in the air, another 
 muft be dipt in to be certain of the tf^tO: of the 
 vat. If this pattern is deep enough in colour, let the 
 vat be fiJed up with hot water, or if at hand, with 
 old liquor of madder, and rake her well. Should 
 th.e vat ftiU want lime, ferve her with fuch a quan- 
 tity as you may judge fufticient by the fmell and 
 handling. This done, fhe muft be again covered, 
 and one hour after put in your ftuffs, and make 
 your overture. This is the term ufed for the firft 
 working of wool or ftuffs in a new vat. 
 
 J 
 
 Marks by which you may know hoh.v io conducl a 
 Vat regularly, 
 
 A. vat is fit to Work when the grounds are of a 
 green brown, when it changes, on its being taken 
 out of the vat, when the flurry is of a fine Turkifli 
 or deep blue, and when the pattern, which has 
 been dipt in it for an hour, comes cut of a fine 
 deep grafs green. When ftie is fit to work, the 
 B bever 
 
•26 TK£ dyer's assistant. 
 
 tever has a good appearance, clear and reddiQi, 
 ard the drops and edges that are formed under the 
 rake in lifting up the bever are brown, txamin- 
 ing the appearance of the bever, is lifting up the 
 liquor with the hand or rake, to fee what colcur 
 the iiquor of the vat has under its furface. The 
 fcdiment cr grounds n:,uft change colour (as has 
 been already obferved ) at being taken out of the 
 bever, and muft grew brown by being expofed to 
 the external air. The bever or liquor tnuft fe^t 
 neither too rough nor too greafy, and murt not 
 fn.ell either of lime or lee. Thefe are the d;uin- 
 guilhing marks of a vat that is ht to work. 
 
 Hoiu to know when a Vat is crcclid by too gnat or 
 too fmall a Quantity of Lime ; Extremes wijich 
 nH0 be avoided. 
 
 When more lime has been put in than was fuf- 
 ficier.t fcr the woad, it is esfily perceived by dip- 
 ping in a pattern, which, inftead cf turning to a 
 beaucl.'Ui grafs green, is only daubed with a fteely 
 green. The grounds do not change, the vat gives 
 fcarcely any fiurry, and the bever has a Arong 
 odor of quick lime, or its lees. 
 
 This error is rectified by thinning the vat, in 
 which the Dyers differ ; fome ufe tartar, others 
 bran, of which they throw a bufhel into the vat, 
 more or lefs i9;proportion to the quantity of lime 
 uied, ethers a pail of urine. In feme places a large 
 iron channg-diih is made ufe of, Icng enough to 
 reach from the ground to the top of the vat, this 
 chatin2;-.dilh or furnace has a grate at a foot diftance 
 frcm its bottom, and a funnel coming from under 
 this grate, and afccnding to the top of the chafing- 
 difh, .which is to give a;r to, and kindle the coais 
 Vthich are placed en the grate. This furnace is 
 
 funk 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 2/ 
 
 funk in the vat, near to the furface of the grounds, 
 fo as not to touch them, and is faftened with iron 
 bars to prevent its rifing. By this method the 
 Hme is raifed to the furface of the hquor, which 
 gives an opportunity to take off" with a fieve what 
 is thought fuperfluous; but when this is taken out, 
 the neceflary quantity of ware mufi: be carefully 
 ret^ored to the vat. Others again thin the vat with 
 pearl alhes, or tartar boiled in ftale urine ; but the 
 befl: cure, when fhe is too hard, is, to put in bran 
 and madder at difcretion ; and if fhe be but a little 
 too hard, it will fufiice to let her remain quiet four, 
 five, or fix hours, or more, putting in only two 
 hats full of bran and three or four pounds of mad- 
 der, which are to be lightly ftrewed on the vat, 
 after which it is to be covered. Four or five hours 
 after, flie is to be raked and plunged, and accord- 
 ing to the colour, that the flurry which arifes from 
 this motion, aillimes and imprints on the whole 
 liquor, a fre(h proof is tnade by putting in a 
 pattern. 
 
 If file is cracked, and cafls blue only when fne 
 is cold, fhe mufl be left undillurbed, fometimes 
 whole days without raking ; wlien fhe begins to 
 flrike a tolerable pattern, her liquor mufl: be re-- 
 heated "or warmed; then commonly, the lime, 
 which feemed lo have loft all power to excite a fer- 
 rrientation, acquires new ftrength, and prevents 
 the vat from yielding its dye fo foon. If flie is 
 to be haftened, fome bran and madder are to be 
 thrown on, as alfo one or two bafkets of new 
 woad, which helps the liquor that has been re- 
 heated to fpend its lime. 
 
 Care mufl be taken to put patterns in each 
 
 hour, in order to judge, by the green colour which 
 
 they acquire, how the lime is worked on. By thefe 
 
 trials fhe may be conduced with more exactnefs, 
 
 B 2 for 
 
28 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 for when once a vat is crackedv by too great or too 
 fmall a quantity of lime, (he is brought to bear 
 with much more difficulty. If while you are en- 
 deavouring to bring her to work, the bevcr grows 
 a little too cold, it muft be heated by taking off 
 fome of the clear, and inftead thereof, adding fome 
 warm water ; for when the bever is cold, the 
 woad fpends little or no li^ne ; when it is too hot, 
 it retards the action of the woad, and prevents it 
 from fpending ihe lime.; therefore it is better to 
 wait a little, than to haften the vats to come to 
 work when they are cracked . A vat is known 
 not to have been fufHciently ferved with lime, and 
 that (he is cracked, when the bcver gives no flurry, 
 but infiead thereof gives only a fcum, and when 
 (he is plunged or raked, (lie only works, ferments 
 and hi(res, (this noife is made by a great number of 
 air bubbles that burft as foon as they form) the li- 
 quor has alfo the fmell of a common fewer oriink, or 
 rotten eggs ; it is harfh and dry to the touch : tlie 
 grounds when taken out do not change, which ge- 
 nerally happens when a vat is cracked for want of 
 lime. This accident is chiefiy to be apprehended 
 when a vat is opened and a dip made in her ; for if 
 her ftate has not been looked into, both in regard to 
 the fmell as well as raking and plunging, and that 
 the Ruffs be imprudently put in when the woad has 
 fpent its lime, it is to be feared the vat may be loft ; 
 for tl^.e fluffs being put in, the fmall quantity of 
 lime that fli!I remains in a ftate to a<St, flicks to 
 them, the bever is diverted of it, and tlie fluffs only 
 blotted ; thefe muft be immediately taken out, and 
 a quick remedy applied to the vat, to preferve the 
 remaining part of the dye, which is done by put- 
 ting in three or four meafures of lime, more or lefs, 
 according as the vat is cracked, and that without 
 raking her bottom. 
 
 It 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 29 
 
 It Is alfo to be obferved, that if in raking and 
 plunging the fermenration ceafes, and the bad fmell 
 change, it is then to be fuppofed that the bever or 
 liquor alone has fuffered, and that the grounds are 
 not yet in want. When the fermentation is in 
 part or totally abated, and the bever has a fn:iell of 
 lime, and feels foft to the touch, the vat is to be 
 covered and left at reft j and if the flurry ftill re- 
 mains on the vat an hour and a half, a pattern is to 
 be put in, which muft be taken out one hour after, 
 and you are to be guided according to the green 
 ground it will take. But generally vsts that are 
 thus cracked, are not fo foon brought to a ftaie-fic 
 for dying. 
 
 The Opening of the Vat. 
 
 The vat being come to work, the crofs muft be 
 let down, and about thirty ells of cloth, or the 
 equivalent of its weight of wool well i'coured, 
 (which is firft intended to be dyed of a Periian blue 
 to make a black afterwards) having returned this 
 ftirring feveral times, which muft have alwa}s been 
 covered with the liquor, the cloth muft be twifted 
 on the rings faftened to the jack at the top of tlie 
 vat ; if it be wool, it is to be dipt with a net, v^'hich 
 will ferve to wring it : the cloth muft be opened by 
 its lifts to air it, and to cool the green, that is, to 
 make it lofe the green colour it had coming out of 
 the vat, and take the blue. If this cloth or wool 
 was not deep enough for a mazarine blue by the 
 firft dipping, it muft get another, by returning into 
 the vat the end of the piece of cloth which iirft 
 came out ; and according to the ftrength of the 
 woad, you muft give to this ftriking two or three 
 returns, as may be thought neceffary for the in- 
 tenfity of the blue required. If the woad be good, 
 B 3 fuch 
 
20 ^ THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 fuch as the true L'Auragais is commonly, after tak- 
 ing out the firft ftirring, a fecond may be put in at 
 this firft opening of the vat. After' making this 
 opening, which is alfo called the firft rakinz, the 
 vat is to be again raked, and fcrved with lime at 
 difcretion, obferving that it has the fm'ell and touch 
 conformable to what has been laid down before, 
 and taking notice, that in proportiofi as the dye di- 
 minifhes, fo docs the ftrength of the vvoad. 
 
 If the vat be in good order at the firft opening, 
 three or four ftirrings may be made, and the next 
 day, two or three more, only obferving not to 
 hurry her, or to work -her as ftrong as at firft. 
 That the vat may turn to as much profit as pof- 
 fible for the fiiades of blue ; firft, all ftuffs in- 
 tended ro be black, are dyed ; then the king's blue; 
 after thtfe the green brown : the violets and 
 Turkifti blues are commonly done in the lift rak- 
 ings of the fecond day of the opening. The third 
 day, if the vat appears much diminifhed, ftie tnuft 
 be filled with hot water within four inches of tlie 
 brim. This is called filling the vat. 
 
 The latter end of the week, the light blues are 
 made, and on Saturday night, having raked the vat, 
 ihi is to be ferved a little more than the preceding 
 day, that (he may keep till' Monday. 
 
 Monday morning the bever is put on the fire, 
 by paffing it from the vat into the copper by a 
 trough, which refts on both ; this clear bever is 
 emptied to the grounds, and when it is ready to 
 boil it muft be returned into the vat, raking the 
 p rounds, as the hot liquor falls from the trough ; 
 at the fame time may be added a kettleful of prepar- 
 ed indigo. 
 
 When the vat is filled within four inches of the 
 brim, and well raked, (he muft be covered, and 
 two hours after a pattern put in, which muft re- 
 main" 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 3I 
 
 main not more than an hour ; linne mud be added 
 according to the fhade of the green, which this 
 proof pattern rtiall have tsken, and at the expira- 
 tion of an hour or two, if the vat has not fufFi^red, 
 the fluff is to be put in ; hiving conducted it be- 
 tween two waters for about half an hour, it is 
 wrung, and a dip is again given to it, as was dor>e 
 in the new vat. This vat heated again, is con- 
 cluded in the fame manner, that is, three rakings 
 are made the firfl day, obferving at each raking, 
 whether fhe wants iime ; for in this cafe, the 
 quantity judged neceffary muft be given. 
 
 Blue made of woad alone, according to the 
 opinion of fome perfons prejudiced in the favour 
 of old cuftoms, is much better than that wliich the 
 woad gives with the addition of indigo. But then 
 this blue would be much dearer, beoaufe woad gives 
 much lefs dye than indigo, and it has been found 
 by repeated experience, that four pounds of fine 
 indigo from Guatimala, produced as much as a bale 
 of Albigeois woad or paftel ; and five pounds as 
 much as a bale from L'Auragais, which generally 
 weighs two hundred and ten pounds. So the ufmg 
 of the indigo with the woad is a great faving, as 
 one vat with indigo fhall dye as much as three 
 without it. 
 
 Indigo is generally put into new vats after the 
 woad yields its blue, and a quarter or half after fhe 
 is to be ferved with lime; as this folution of indigo 
 is already impregnated with fome of its difTolution^ 
 the lime mufl be given with a more fparing hand 
 than where the woad is ufed alone. At the re-heat- 
 ing, the indigo is put in on Saturday night, that 
 it may incorporate with the bever, and that it may 
 ferve as garnifh by its lime. The indigo that is 
 brought from Guatinvala in ^ America is the befl ; 
 it is brought over in the fhape of fmall flones, and 
 B4 ©f 
 
32 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 of a deep blue ; it muft be of a deep violet colour 
 within, and when rubbed on the nail, have a copper 
 hue ; the lighteft is the beft. It is neceffary to ob- 
 ferve, that for the better conducting of a woad vat, 
 and to prevent accidents, a manufacflurer ought to 
 have a good woadman, this is the name given to 
 the Journeyman Dyer, whofe principal buiinefs is 
 to conducl the woad, practice has taught him more 
 than this treatife can furnifn. 
 
 I Ihall make ibme refiedions neceflary to attain 
 a more perfect knowledge of this procefs. The 
 woad vat mull never be re-heated but when fit for 
 working ; that is, fhe muft have neither too much 
 nor too little lime, but be in fuch a ftate as only to 
 want heating to com.e to work. It is known file 
 has too m.uch lime (as has been before obferved) 
 by the quick fmell ; on the contrary, a want is 
 known by t])e fwsetiili fmell, and by the fcum which 
 rifes on the furface by raking, being of a pale blue. 
 
 Care muft be taken when a vat is intended to 
 be re-heated, not to ferve her with lime in the 
 evening, (unlefs in great want of it) for if flie was 
 too much ferved wirli it, (lie might next day be too 
 hard, as the Dyers term it ; for by heating her again, 
 a greater action is given to the lime, and makes 
 her fpend it the quicker. Frefti indigo is commonly 
 put into tlie vat, each time flie is re-heated, in pro- 
 portion to the quantity to be dyed. It would be 
 r.eedlefs to put in any, if there was but little work to 
 do, or only light colours wanted. It was not per- 
 mitted by the ancient regulations of France, to 
 put more than ftx pounds of indigo to eacli b^le of 
 v.oad, becaufe the colour of the indigo was thought 
 not lafting, and that it was only the great quantity 
 of woad v.hich cculd fecure and render it good ; 
 but it is now afcertained, both by tlie experiments 
 of Moniieur Dufay, and thofe which 1 have fmce 
 
 made 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 33 
 
 made, that the colour of indigo, even ufed alone, 
 is full as good, and refifts as much the adion of the 
 air, fun, and rain, as that of paftel or woad. 
 
 When a vat has been heated two or three times, 
 and a good part has been worked off, the fame li- 
 quor is often preferved, but part of the grounds are 
 taken our, which is replaced by. new woad j (this 
 is called vamping); the quantity cannot be pre- 
 fcribed on this occafion, for it depends upon the 
 work the Dyer has to do. Practice will teach all 
 that can be wiflied for on this head. There are 
 Dyers who preferve liquor in their vats feveral years, 
 renewing them with woad and indigo in propor- 
 tion as they work them ; others empty the vat en- 
 tirely, and change the liquor when the vat has been 
 heated fix or feven times, and that (he gives no 
 more dye. A feries of pradice alone will Ihow 
 which of thefe is preferable. It is however more 
 reafonable to think, that by renewing it now and 
 then, more lively and beautiful colours may be 
 obtained, and the beft Dyers follow this method. 
 
 In Holland they have vats v.'hich do not require 
 
 to be fo often heated. Mr. Van Robbais had iome 
 
 of thefe made fome years fince for their royal ma- 
 
 nufadtory at Abbeville. The upper parts of thefe 
 
 vats, to the height of three feet, are of copper, and 
 
 the reft lead : They are alio furrounded with a 
 
 fmall brick wall, at feven or eight inches from the 
 
 copper ; in thi'j interval embers are put, wh.ich 
 
 keep up the heat of the vat a long time, fo that fhe 
 
 remains feveral days together in a condition to be 
 
 worked, without the trouble of heating her over 
 
 again. Thefe vats are much more coftly than the 
 
 others, but they are very convenient, efpeciaily for 
 
 the dipping of very light colours ; becaufe the vat 
 
 is always lit to work, though fhe be very weak ;, 
 
 this is not the cafe of the others, which oencrally 
 p ^ • < 
 
34- THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 m:.k.e the colour a E-^eat deal deeper than required, 
 unlefs they are fet to cool confiderably, and then it 
 happens that the colour is not fo g^od, nor has it 
 the fame bnghtnefs. To make t ii:fe light colours 
 in common vats, it is better to work fome pui pofely 
 that are ftrong with woad and weak of i."dii:o ; 
 fuch give their colours flower, and light colours are 
 made with greater eafe. 
 
 As to the vats made after the Dutch fafhion, 
 and vvr.icii have already been mentioneJ, the four 
 w'l.ich Mr. Van !<.^b'oais has in his manutaclory, 
 are fix feet in depth, of which three feet and a half 
 in the upper pan are copper, and the two feet and 
 a half of the bottom are lead. Fhe diameter at 
 the bottom is four feet and a half, and that at the 
 top live feer four inches. 
 
 To return to the obfervations on heating the 
 common vats. If the vat was heatel when cracked, 
 that is, when (he has- net quit? lime enough, rtie 
 would turi. in the heating without being perceived, 
 and perchance be entirely loft, as the- beat vve-uld 
 foon finifh the fpcnding of the lirr.e. which was in 
 too fmnli a quantity. If this is perceived in time, 
 it muft be helped by pouring it back into tl,e vat 
 without more heatmg ; then feed her v.ith lime, 
 and not heat her till {he is come to work. 
 
 On the re-p.esting. fome of the grounds muft be 
 put into the crpper with the liquor or beverj and 
 irreat care muft be taken not to boil it, becaufe the 
 volatile neceffary in this operation would evaporate. 
 There are fome Dyers, who, in heating their vats, 
 do not pat in the in./igo immediately after the liquor 
 is pour^c" from the c pper into the var, but wait 
 fome hr urs till they fee her come to work : (his 
 they do z^ a precautiun, left tlie vat ftiouid fail, and 
 the indigo be left ; but by this method, the indigo 
 does not fo freely yield its colour, as they are 
 
 obliged 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 35 
 
 obliged to work her as foon as (he is fit, that (he 
 may not cool, lb thAt the indigo, not being entirely 
 diflblved, nor altogether incorporated, has no effect:. 
 Jt is therefore better to put it into the vat at the 
 /ame time the liquor is caft in, and rake her well 
 after. If th3 vat is heated over again without her 
 cofning to work, fhe muft not be fcummed as in 
 the common heatings, as the indigo would be car- 
 ried off thereby, whereas, when Ihe has worked, 
 this fcum 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 muft 
 wait for her till fuch time as fhe has fpent it, or it 
 may be accelerated by heating it, or by putting in 
 ingredients which deftroy in part the a£tion of the 
 lime, fuch as tartar, vinegar, honey, bran,fome mine- 
 ral acid, or any matter that will become four; but all 
 thefe correctors wear out the dye of the indigo and 
 woad, fo that the befl method is", to let it fpend of 
 its own accord. A vat is not commonly fed with 
 lime, but on the firft, fecond, and fometimes the 
 third day, and it is a!fo remarked, not to dip the 
 violets, purples, or any other wool or fluffs which 
 have previously a colour that may beeafily damaged; 
 the fucceedmg day after its being fed with lime, 
 as it is then too aftive, it dulls the drft colour ; the 
 firth or fixth day the crimfon may be dipt to give 
 them a violet, and the yellows for green ; foilowmg 
 this rule, the colours will always be bright. 
 
 When a vat has been re- heated, (hz pnufl: come 
 to work before fhe is ferved with lime; if this was 
 done a little too foon, (he would be cracked ; the 
 fame thing would happen if fome of the grounds 
 were put into the copper. The moft efFectual me- 
 tl)od in this i-afe is to let her relt before (he is 
 worked, until (he comes to, whicti often happens ■ 
 in two, three, or fdur hours, and fometimes a day. 
 B6 Byy 
 
36 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 By ufing light or weak, lime, (he grows too hard ; 
 becaufe this light lime remains in the liquor, and 
 does not incorporate with the grounds. This is 
 known by the ftrong fmell of the liquor, and on 
 the contrary the grounds have a fweetifh fmell, 
 whereas the fmell ought to be equal in both. The 
 beft way then is, to let it fpend itfelf, by raking 
 her often, in order to mix the lime with the grounds, 
 until the fmell of the vat is reftored, and the flurry 
 becomes blue. 
 
 A woad vat may be fet without the addition of 
 indigo, but then fne yields but little colour, and 
 only dyes a fmall quantity of wool or fluffs ; for 
 one pound of indigo, as has already been obferved, 
 affords as much dye as fifteen or fixteen pounds of 
 woad. J fet one of this kind to try the qualities of 
 v.'oad by itfelf, and I could not find that indigo was 
 any way inferior to it, either for the beauty or fo- 
 lldity of the colour. As lime is alwaysufed, and 
 fometimes four liquors, in the fetting of a vat, this 
 is the proper place to fpeak of their preparation. 
 
 Preparation of Lime. 
 
 That the lime may be properly flacked for the 
 Dyer's ufe, feveral pieces are immerfed in water, 
 one after another, and when each has remained till 
 it begins to crackle, they are taken out to put in 
 others, and after this manner they are caft into an 
 empty vefTel, where the lime finifhes flacking, and 
 reduces itfelf to powder, confiderably augmenting 
 its bulk ; it is afterwards fifted through a canvas, 
 and kept in a dry hogfhead. 
 
 Sour liquors are not only neceffary in fome cir- 
 cumftances of fetting a woad vat, but alfo in fome 
 of the preparations given to wool and fluffs pre- 
 
 vio\:s 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 37 
 
 vlous to their being dyed ; they are prepared after 
 the following manner. 
 
 Preparation 0/ ^our Liquors, 
 
 ■ •" ,-< ; :,{\r\ ' '.^- • 
 
 A copper of the fize required is filled with r^^ver 
 water, and when it boils, it is flung into a hog- 
 Ihead, where a fufficient quantity of bran has been 
 put, and ftirred with a ftick three or four times a- 
 day. The proportion of bran and water is not 
 very material ; I have made a good liquor by put- 
 ting three buHiels of bran into a veffel containing 
 two hundred and fourfcore quarts. Four or five 
 days after, this water becomes four, and confe- 
 quently fit for ufe in all cafes, 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 quan- 
 tity of fourwater has been pur, will be harder to 
 fpin, as the fediment of the bran forms a fort of 
 ftarch that glues the fibres of the wool, and pre- 
 vents their forming an even thread. I-muft here 
 take noticeof the bad cuftom of letting fourliqucrs re- 
 main in copper- vefliels, as I have feen in fomeeminent 
 dye-houfes; for this liquor being an acid, corrodes 
 the copper, and if it remains long enough to take 
 in a portion of this metal, it will caufe a defect 
 both in the dye and in the quality of the fluff: in 
 the dye, becaufe the diflblved copper gives a greenifli 
 caft; in the quality of the ftufi^, becaufe the copper 
 diflblved preys on all animal fubftances. The 
 Dyers are often ignorant of the caufe of thefe de- 
 fers. 
 
 I flatter myfelf to have omitted no effential point 
 on the woad vat : if any difficulties or accidents, 
 which I have mentioned, are not found in the prac- 
 tice- 
 
38 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 tice t'ey are not cot;fiderabie, and an eafy remedy' 
 v;ill be found by thofe who make thcmfelves fami- 
 liar with the working part. 
 
 1 he reai-iers who hj" ".no idea of this work, may 
 
 , . , ,. Is ho, • ' 1 / 
 
 think me too prohx, ano nr.d repetitions ; but thole 
 
 who intend to make ufe of what I have taug!;t in 
 this chapter, will perhaps reproach me foTnot hav- 
 ing faid enough on the fubj:61:. 
 
 Thole that read this chapter with attention, will 
 not be furprized that the mafter-pi'sce for appren- 
 tices to Dyers of the great dye, is, to fet the woad 
 vat and work her. 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 OF THE FIELD WOAD VAT. 
 
 I HAVE but little to fay on this woad vat, dif- 
 fer en r^frdrh' that wl'iich hag been related of the 
 -paftel or garden woad. The woad is a plant cul- 
 tivated in Nor. randy, arid prepare- after the Ta-ne 
 manner the garden woad is m Languedoc. The 
 method of cultivatii:g it may be fceh in the French 
 ''General Irllruiftions on Dy.'s," of the '28th of 
 March, 1671, from the article 259 to 288, where 
 it treats of the culture and preparation of the paf^el 
 and woad. The woad vat is fet at work after the 
 fame manner as that of paftcl ; all the difference 
 is that it has Icfs flrergth and yields lefs dye. There 
 follows a dcfcription of the woad vat, which I car- 
 ried on in fii:all, and in a bath heat fimilar to that 
 of the psi^ei in the foregoine chapter. 
 
 I placed in a copper a fmall vefle! 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 fame time a good 
 
 handful 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 39 
 
 handful of wheaten bran and live pounds of woad. 
 The vat was well rnkcd anc: covered ; it was then 
 five in the evening ; it W\\s agam rake.i at feven, 
 nine, twelve, two, and four o'clock j the woad was 
 then working, that is, the vat was flovviy coming 
 to work, as i have already related of that of the 
 paftel. 
 
 Pretty large air bubbles forined theinfelves, but 
 in a faiall quantity and had fcarcelv a!;y colour. 
 She was then ferved with two ounces of linie and 
 raked. At five o'clock a pattern was put in; v/hich 
 was taken out at fix, raking her; this pattet'n be- 
 gan to have fome culour ; another was put in at 
 feven, at ei.;ht flie was raked, and the pattern came 
 out pretty bright ; aii evince of indigo wa? then 
 put in ; at nine another pattern, at ten (he was 
 raked, and one ounce of lime was added, becauf'e 
 (he began to have a Iwtetilh fmell ; at eleven a 
 pattern, at twelve flie was raked ; it was thus con- 
 tinued till five, then three ounces of indigo were 
 put in, at fix a pattern, at feven (he was raked. It 
 would then have been proper to have ferved her 
 with water., as ihe was at that time perfeclly come 
 to work, the pattern that was taken out being very 
 green, and turning' of a bright blue. But befidcs 
 that I was fatigued, having fat up the whole night, 
 1 chofe rather to put her back to the next day, to 
 fee her efFe<5l by day-light , and for that purpofe, I 
 put one ounce of lime, which kept her up till nine 
 in the morning: from time to tiire patterns wefe 
 put in, the laft that w;;s taken out was very beauti- 
 ful ; file v^'3s ferved with a liquor compofed of water, 
 and a fmall handful of bran. She was raked, and 
 patterns put in from hour to hour ; at five fhe was 
 come to work ; ihe was afterwards ferved with 
 lime, and raked to prefcrve her till fhe was to be 
 re- heated. 
 
 Some 
 
40 THE dyer's ASSISTAN-T. 
 
 Some time after I fet another with the woad alone 
 without indigo, that I might be able to judge of the 
 lafting of the dye of the woad, which, upon trial, 
 I found to be as good as the paftel or garden woad. 
 Thus all the fuperiority the paftel has on the woad, 
 is, that the latter yields iefs dye than the former. 
 
 The little varieties that may be obferved in fet- 
 ting thefe different vats at work, prove, that there 
 are many circumftances in thefe procefTes that are 
 not abfolutely necefTary. It appears to me, that the 
 only important point, and that to which the great- 
 eft attention is to be given, is, in the condudling 
 the fermentation with care, and not to ferve her 
 with lime, but when judged neceflary by the indi- 
 cations I have laid do\Nn. As to tb.e indigo being 
 put in at twice, or altogether, a little fooner or 
 later, it appears very indifferent. The fame may 
 be faid of the weld, which I made ufe of twice, 
 and fupprefied the two other times, and of pearl- 
 alhes, which I added in a fmall quantity in the 
 fmall paftel vat, and fupprefled in the woad vat. 
 In fhort, I believe, and it appears to me to a de- 
 monftration, that the greateft regard is to be had 
 to the proper diftribution of the lime, throughout 
 the whole ccurfe of the working of the vats, either 
 to fet them at work, or to re-heat tliem. I muftr 
 alfo add, tliat wlien a wcad vat \k fet to work, fhe 
 cannot be too often infpeited into to know her 
 ftate ; for if there are fome that are backward 
 (which is attributed to the weaknefs of the woad) 
 there are alfo others that very quickly come to- 
 work. I have feen a middling one of feventy 
 pounds of woad, poifoned j becaufe the woad man 
 neglecled to infpefl her as often as Ihe required, 
 and file had been two hours fit to work before 
 he difcovered it ; the grounds were entirely com.e 
 up to the furface of the liquor, and ths whole had 
 
 a very. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 4I 
 
 a very four fmell ; It was not pofllble to bring her 
 back, and they were obliged to fling her away, as 
 fhe would in a fhort time have dontradled a fcctid 
 fsnell. The retarding of the adion of the vat 
 may alfo proceed from the temperature of the air ; 
 for the vat cools a great deal fooner in winter than 
 in fummer; tlierefore it becomes neceffary to watcli 
 it attentively, though commonly they are fourteen 
 or fifteen hours before they come to work. 
 
 I fhall endeavour to explain, in the fequel, how 
 the colouring part of this ingredient, fo neceffary 
 in dying, difplays itfelf; but I mufl: firft of ail 
 fpealc ot vats which are prepared from indigo. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 THE INDIGO VAT. 
 
 Procefs of making the Indigo in America. 
 
 INDIGO is the fecula of a plant named 7//// or 
 anil; to make it, three vats are placed the one 
 over the other, in form of a cafcade ; in the firft, 
 called the ffeeper, the plant is put in with its leaves, 
 •bark, and flowers *, and filled with water; fome 
 time after, the whole ferments, the water grows 
 intenfely hot, thickens, and becomes of a blue 
 colour bordering on the violet; the plant, accord- 
 ing to the opinion of fome, depofmg all its lalts, 
 and,^ according to others, all its fubftance. In 
 this ftate, the cocks of the fleeper are turned, and 
 all the water let out ftained with the colouring 
 
 * In the village of SarguJTa, near the town of Amadabat, the 
 Imljans only iife tlie leaves of the anil ; they fling away the reft 
 of the plant. The bell indigo comes from thence. 
 
 parts 
 
42 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 parts of the plant into the fecond, called the beater j 
 becaufe this water is beat by a mill or machine that 
 has long iVicks, to condenfe the fubftance of the 
 indigo, and precipitate it to the bottom. By this 
 means the water becomes clear and colourlefs, Hke 
 common water; then the cocks are turned, that 
 the water may run off from the furface of the blue 
 fediment ; after which, other cocks are turned that 
 are at the bottom, that all the fecula may fall into 
 the third vat, called the repofer; for it is there the 
 indigo remains to dry ; it is then taken out to be 
 made into cakes, &c. See, en this fubjeift, Hif-oire 
 des Antilles^ pare le Pert Labett. 
 
 At Pondicherry, on the coaft of Coromande], 
 tliere are two kinds of indigo, the one a great deal 
 finer than X.\\t other ; the beft is feldom ufcd but to 
 lufrre their filks, the inferior in dying. They 
 augment in price according to their quality; there 
 is fo-.ne which coft from jf pagcdas the bar (which 
 weighs 48 pounds) to 2C0 pagodas. The moft 
 beautiful is prepared nigh Agra. There is alfo a 
 very good kind tiiat comes from MafiJupatan and 
 Ayanon, where the Eaft-Tndia Company have a 
 fsclory. At Chandernagcr it is called nil! when 
 it is prepared and cut to pieces. The indigo of 
 Java is the beft of &11 ; it is alfo the r^eareft, and 
 confequently few Dyers ufe it. Good indigo ought 
 to be fo light as to float on the_ water; the more it 
 finks, the more it may be fufpeiled of being adul- 
 terated by a mixture of eartn, cinders, or pouiided 
 fiates. It muft be of a deep blue, bordering on 
 the violet, brilliant, lively, and ihining ; it muft 
 be finer within, and appear of a Ihining hue. Its 
 goodncfs is tried by diffolving it in a giais of water ; 
 if it be unmixed and well prepared, it wiiidilTolve 
 entirely J if fophiftlcated, the foreign matter will 
 fink to the botto>n. Another method of trying 
 
 it 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 43 
 
 it is by burning ; good indigo burns entirely away, 
 and when adulterated, the mixture remains after 
 the indigo Is ccnfumed. 
 
 Powdered indigo is much more fubje£t to adul- 
 teration than that which is in cakes : for it is a dif- 
 ficult matter that fand, powdered Hates, &c. fhould 
 unite fo as not to form together in different places 
 layers of different matters j and, in this cafe, by 
 breaking the lump indigo, it is eafily difcovered. 
 
 Alethod of working the Indigo Vet. 
 
 There are feveral methods of preparing the in- 
 digo vat } I fried all tliofe I knew, and they all 
 fuccecded. I (hall defcribe them after the mcft exait 
 manner, beginning v.'ith that which is the moft in 
 ufe, and ahncfl: the only one known ar Paris. 
 
 It is a vat which is about five feet in height, 
 two feet diameter, and becomes narrow towards 
 the bottom ; fhe is furrounded with a wall that 
 Jeaives a fpace round her, which ferves to hold 
 embers. Jn a vat of this fize, two pounds of in- 
 digo may at leaft be ufed, and five or fix for the 
 greateft proportion. To fet a vat of two pounds 
 of indigo in fuch a veiTel that may contain about 
 fourfcore quarts, about fixty quarts of river water 
 are fet to boil in a copper for the fpace of half an 
 hour, with two pounds of pearl afhes, two ounces 
 of madder, and a handful of bran j during this, 
 the indigo is prepared after the following manner : 
 ', Two pounds of it are weighed out, and caft 
 into a pail of cold water to feparate the earthy 
 parts. The water is afterwards poured off by in- 
 clination, and the indigo well ground ; a little 
 warm water is put into it, (baking it from fide to 
 fide ; it is poured by inclination into another veffei; 
 what remains is ftill ground, and frefh water put 
 
 in, 
 
44 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 in to carry off the fineft parts, and thus continued 
 till all the indigo is reduced into a powder, fine 
 enough to be raifed by the water. This is all the 
 preparation it undergoes. Then the liquor which 
 has boiled in the copper with the grounds are pour- 
 ed into the high and narrow vat, as ilkewire the 
 indigo; the whole is then raked with a fmall rake, 
 the vat is covered, and eir.bers placed round her. 
 If this work was begun in the afternoon, a few 
 embers are added at night ; the fame is repeated the 
 next day morning and night. The vat is alfo 
 lightly raked twice the fecond day; the third day, 
 the embers are continued to be put round, to keep 
 up the heat of the vat ; {he is raked twice in the 
 day: about this time, a fhining copper-coloured 
 fkin begins to appear on the furface of the liquor, 
 and appears as if it was broken or cracked in fe- 
 veral places. The fourth day, by continuing the 
 fire, this fkin or pelicle is more formed and clofer ; 
 the flurry, which rifes in raking the vat, appears, 
 and the liquor becomes of a deep green. 
 
 When the liquor is in this (late, it is a lign that 
 it is time to h.l che vat. For this purpofe a frefli 
 liquor is made, by putting into a copper about 
 twenty quarts of water, with one pound of pearl 
 afhes, a handful of bran, and half an ounce of 
 madder. This is boiled a quarter of an hour, and 
 the vat is ferved with it ; (lie is then raked, and 
 caufes a great quantity of flurry to rife, and the 
 vat comes to work the next day ; this is known by 
 the quantity cf flurry with which fhe is covered 
 by the fkin or copper-fcaly cruft which fwims on 
 the liquor, which, although it .appears of a blue- 
 brown, is never thelefs green underneath. 
 
 This vat wa-, much longer coming to its colour 
 than the others, becaufe the fire was too ftrong 
 the fecond day, oiherwire fee would have been fit 
 
 to 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 45 
 
 to work two days fooner. This did no other 
 damage but retarded her, and the day (he came to 
 work, we dipt in ferges weighing thirteen or four- 
 teen pounds. As this caufed her to lofe her 
 ftrength, and the liquor being diinin.ifhed by the 
 pieces of ftufF that had been dyed in her, Ihe was 
 ferved in the afternoon with frefh liquor, made 
 with one pound of pearl afhes, half an ounce of 
 madder, and a handful of bran ; the whole was 
 boiled together in a copper for a quarter of an hour; 
 the vat being ferved with it the was raked, covered, 
 and a few embers put round. She may be pre- 
 ferved after this manner feveral days, and when fhe 
 is wanted to work, flie niuft be raked over night, 
 and a little fire placed about her. 
 
 When there is occaflon to re-heat, and add in- 
 digo to this kind of vat, two thirds of the liquor 
 (which then is no more green, but oi a blue-brown 
 and almoft black) is put into a copper ; when it is 
 ready to boil, all the fcum that is formed at the top 
 is taken off with a fieve ; it is afterwards made to 
 boil, and two handfuls of bran, a quarter of a 
 pound of madder, and two pounds of pearl aHies 
 are added. The fire is then removed from the 
 copper, and a little cold water caft into it to ftop 
 the boil ; after which the v/hole is put into the vat, 
 with one pound of powdered indigo, diluted in a 
 portion of the liquor as before related ; after this 
 the vat is raked, covered, and fome fire put round ; 
 the next day flie is fit to work. 
 
 When the indigo vat has been re-heated feveral 
 times, it is neceflary to empty her entirely, and to 
 fet a frefh one, or fhe will not give a lively dye ; 
 when fhc is too old and flale, the liquor is not of 
 fo fine a green as at firft. 
 
 I put feveral other vats to work after the fame 
 method, with different quantities of indigo, from 
 
 one 
 
46 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 one pound to fix ; always obfervin^ to augment or 
 diminilh the other ingredients in propcrtion, but 
 always one pound cf pearl afhes to each pound of 
 indigo. 1 have fince made other experiments, 
 which proved to me that this proportion was not 
 abfolutely neceiTar}' ; and I make no doubt but 
 that feveral other means might be found to make 
 the indigo come to as perfedl a colour. I fliall, 
 nevertlielefs 5 proceed to Tome ether obfervations on 
 this vat. 
 
 Of ail thcfe I fct to work, after the manner de- 
 fcribed, one only failed me, and that by neglect- 
 ing to put fire round her the tecond day. She never 
 came to a proper colour ; pov/dered arfnic was put 
 in to no effect; red-hot bricks were alio plunged 
 in at different times ; the liquor turned of a green- 
 ilh hue, but never came to the proper colour ; and 
 having attempted feveral other means without fuc- 
 cefs, or without being able to find out the caufe of 
 her not fucceeding; I caufed the liquor to be emp- 
 tied and ca{\ away. 
 
 All the other accidents that have Iiappened me 
 in conducting ihe indigo vat, have only lengthen- 
 ed the operation ; fo that this procefs may te look- 
 ed upon as very eafy when compared to that of the 
 woad vQt. I have alfo made feveral^ experiments 
 on both, in which my chief view was to ihorten 
 the time of the common preparation ; but not 
 meeting with the delired fuccsfs, I fhall not relate 
 them. 
 
 The liquor of the incigo vat is not ex^dlly like 
 that of the woad ; its furface is cf a blue- brown, 
 covered with coppery fcales, and the under part of 
 a beautiful green. I he ftuff or wool dyed in this 
 is green when taken out, and becomes blue a mo- 
 ment after. — ^Ve have already feen that the fame 
 happens 10 the fluff dyed in the woad vat; but it is 
 
 remaikable, 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 47 
 
 remarkable, that the liquor of the laft is not green, 
 and yet produces on the wool the fame effed: as 
 the other. It muft alfo be obferved, that if the 
 liquor of the indigo vat be removed out of the 
 , veflel in which it was contained, and if too long 
 expofed to the air, it lofes its green and all its qua- 
 lity, fo that, although it gives a blue colour, that 
 colour is not lafting. 
 
 I (hall examine this more particularly in the fe- 
 quel, and endeavour to give the chymical theory of 
 this change. 
 
 C H A P. V. 
 
 THE COLD VAT WITH URINE. 
 
 A VAT is alfo prepared with urine, which 
 yields its colour cold, and is worked cold : 
 for this purpofe four pounds of indigo are powder- 
 ed, which is to be digefted on warm afhes twenty- 
 four hours, in four quarts of vinegar ; if it is not 
 then well difTolved, it muft be ground again with 
 the liquor, and urine is to be added little by little, 
 with half a pound of madder, which muft be well 
 dikjted by ftirring the liquor with a ftick ; when 
 this preparation is made, it is poured into a veflel 
 filled witli 250 quarts of urine ; it matters not 
 whether it be frelh or ftale ; the whole is well flir- 
 red and raked together night and morning for eight 
 days, or till the vat appears green at the furface 
 when raked, or that (lie m.akes flurry as the com- 
 mon vat ; (he is il^en fit to work, without more 
 trouble than pievioufly raking her two or three 
 hours before. This kind of vat is extremely con- 
 venient, for when once fet to work, Ihe remains 
 good till fhe be entirely drawn, that is, till the in- 
 digo 
 
4? THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 digo has given all its colour ; thus fhe may be' 
 v.orked at all times, whereas the common vat muft 
 be prepared the day before. 
 
 This vat may at pleafure be made more or lefs 
 confiderable by augmenting or diminilhing the in- 
 gredients in proportion to the indigo intended to 
 be made ufe of; fo that to each pound of indigo 
 add a quart of vinegar, two ounces of madder, and 
 fixty or feventy quarts of urine. This vat comes 
 fooner to work in fummer than in winter, and 
 may be brought fooner to work by warming fome 
 of the liquor without boiling, and returning it into 
 the vat; this procels is fo fimple that it is almoft 
 impofTible to fail. 
 
 When the indigo is quite fpent, and gives no 
 more dye, the vat may be charged again without 
 fetting a new one. For this purpofe, indigo muft 
 be difiuived in vinegar, adding madder in propor- 
 tion to the indigo, pouring the whole into the v::t, 
 and raking her night, and morning, and evening as 
 at firft, {he will be as good as cefcre ; however fhe 
 muft not be charged this way above four cr five 
 times, for tlie ground of the madcier and iniligo 
 would cuil the liquor, and in confeqoence render 
 the colour Isfs bright. I did not try tliis metiiod, 
 and therefore do not anfwer for the fuccefs ; but 
 here fellows another with urine wir.ch gives a very 
 lafting blue, and which 1 prepared. 
 
 Hot Vat with Urine. 
 
 A pound of Indigo was lleeped twenty-four 
 hours in four quarts of clear urine, and when the 
 urine became very blue, it was run through a fine 
 fieve into a pail, and the indigo which could not 
 pafs, and which remained in theHeve, was put with 
 four quarts of frefh urine 5 this was fo continued 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 49 
 
 till all the indigo had parted through the ficve vviih 
 the urine ; this lafted about two hours. At four 
 in the afterncon three hoj^fheads of urine were put 
 into the copper, and it was made as hot as could 
 be without boiling. The urine cart up a thick 
 fcum, which was taken up with a broom and caft 
 out of the copper. It was thus fcummed at dif- 
 ferent times, till the-e only remained a white and 
 ligjit fcum ; the urine, by this means fufRciencIy 
 purified and ready to boil, was poured into the 
 wooden vat, and tlie indigo prepared as above, put 
 in ; the vat was then raked, the better to mix the 
 indigo with the urine: fo on after, a liqucr was 
 put into the vat, made of two quarts of urine, a 
 pound of roach-alum, and a jiound of red tartar. 
 To make this liquor, the alum and tartar were firft 
 put into the mortar, and reduced to a tine powder, ' 
 upon which the two quarts of urine were poured, 
 and the whole rubbed together, till this mixture, 
 which rofe all of a fudden, ceafed to ftrment : it 
 was then put into the vat, which was ftrongly raked; 
 and being covered with its wooden cover, (he was 
 left in that ftate all night ; the next morning the 
 liquor was of a very green colour ; this was a flgn 
 rtie was come to work, and that (he might have 
 been worked if thought proper, but not!un<y was 
 dyed in her; for all that was done, was only, pro- 
 perly fpeakii-.g, the firfl preparation of the vat, and 
 the indigo which had been put in was only intended 
 to feed the urine, fo that to finifh the prepnraticn 
 the vat was let to reft for two days, a'ways covered, 
 that ftie might cool the flower; then a fecond 
 pound of indigo was prepared, ground with puri- 
 fied urine as before. About four in tie afternoon 
 all the liquor of the vat was put into the copper ; 
 ii was heated as much as poflible without boiling ; 
 fome thick fcum formed on it which was taken ()ii\ 
 ^ and 
 
to THE DYik's ASSISTANT. 
 
 aii'' the liquor being ready to boll was returned into 
 the vat. At the fame time the ground indirro was 
 put in, with a liquor made as above of one pound ot 
 alurn, one pound of tartar, and two quarts of urme, 
 a frefn pound of madder was alfo zAdcd ; then the 
 vat was raked, well covered, and left fo the whole 
 niaht. The next morning fhe was come to work, 
 the liquor beine very hot, and of a very fine green, 
 file was worked with wcol in the fleece, of which 
 thirty pounds were put into the vst. It was weh 
 extended and worked between the hands, that the 
 liquor might the mere eafily fcak into it ; tl'.en it 
 was left at red for an hour or tv\o, 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 hotter the 
 is, the better (he dyes, and when cold acts no more. 
 When the wool came to the (liade of the blue re- 
 ouired, it was taken out of the vat m parcels, about 
 the bignefs of a man^s head, iwirted and wrung 
 over the liquor as they v.-ere taken out, ti 1 from 
 £re^n,as they were coming out of the vat, they be- 
 came blue. This change from green to blue iS 
 made in three or four minutes. Thefe thirty 
 vpounds being thus dyed, and the green taken oft, 
 the vat was raked, and fuffered to reft for two 
 hours, being all th:it time well covered ; then thirty 
 pounds more were put in, which was wdl extended 
 ^vilh the hands, the vat was covered, and in tour 
 or five hours this wool was dyed at the height or 
 fhade of the firft thirty pounds ; it was then taken 
 out in heaps, ann the green taken off as betore. 
 This done, the vat had ftillfome little heat, but not 
 fufficient to eye frefh wool ; for when ^^ has rtot 
 a fufiicient heat, the colour (he gives would neitlier 
 be uniform nor lalVing, fo that it muft be re- heated, 
 and fredi indigo put in as before. This may be 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 5I 
 
 done as often as judged proper, for this vat does 
 not fpoil by age, provided, that whilft (ho is kept 
 without working, a little air is let into her. 
 
 Re- beating of the Vat with Urine. 
 
 About four in the afternoon, the whole liquor 
 of the vat was put into a copper, and a fufticicht 
 quantity of urine added to this liquor, to make up 
 tl\e deficiency that had been loft by evaporation 
 during the preceding work. This -filling com- 
 monly takes eight or nine pails of urine j the liquor 
 was then heated and fcummed as before, and whea 
 ready to boil, returned into the vat with a pound 
 of indigo, and the liquor above defcri'oed, confuT:- 
 ing of alum and tartar, of each one pound, mad- 
 der one pound, and two quarts of urine. After 
 raking the vat well, and covering her, Pae was left 
 at roft the whole night. 
 
 Tlie next day fhe came to work, and fixty pounds 
 of wool were dyed in her at twice as before, it is 
 after this iv.anner all the re- heatings mull be done 
 the evening before the dying,and thefe re- heatings 
 may extend to infinity, as the vatjOnce fet, ferves a 
 long ti ;.■!€. 
 
 i muff here obferve, that the greater the quan- 
 tity of in<.li;i;'. put in at once is, the deeper the blue: 
 thus, indcad of one pound, four, five, or fix pounds 
 ni2y be put in together; nor is it neceilary to aug- 
 ment the dofe of alum, tartar, or madder, of which 
 ingredients the liquor is compofed ; but if the vefiel 
 hold more than three hoglheads then the dofe of 
 thefe muft be augmented in proportion. The vat 
 I have mentioned held three, and was too fm.ill to 
 dye at one time a .fufticie:it quantity of wool. to 
 make a piece of cloth, viz. fifty or fixty pounds ; 
 f jr this purpofe it would be neceffary that the vat 
 
C2 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 fhculd contain at leaft fix hogOieads, and from this 
 a doubie advant:.ge would ai fe. x. All the wool 
 Will be dyed in three or four hours> whereas dyin^^ 
 it at twice, it takes eight or ten hours. 2. At 
 t'iC end of three hours, in which time the wool 
 vould be dyed, taken out, and the green taken cfF, 
 the vat being yet very hot; after raking and letting 
 her reft a couple of hours, the fame 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 cfT, always takes a finer colour 
 thjn new or white wool, which might remain 
 iwer.ty hours in the vat. 
 
 Great care mufl be tsken to air and take off the 
 preen of the dyed parcels of wool that are taken 
 cut cf tlv€ vat haftily, that the air may ftiike them 
 eqaa'ly, without which the blue colour will not be 
 u'ifcrm thrcughcut the wool. 
 
 There are manu'aciurtrs who fay that cloths, 
 w)-cfe wool has received this ground cf blue with 
 urine, cannot be perftQly fcoured at the fulling 
 rr.ill, even at twice; others vouch the contrary, 
 2:-d'l am of opinion the laft fpeak the truth ; yet, 
 it the fiifl are right, it might be fufpecled tl.at the 
 a imal oil of the urine becoming r-finous by dry- 
 i:r2 on the wool, or by uniting with th.e oil with 
 v.hivh the wool is moifttned ; for its other prepara- 
 tions mere ftrongly refift the fuller's earth and foap, 
 than a fimple oiF by expreflion. To remedy this, 
 the wool ought to be well wafhed in a running 
 water after it is dved, twifted, aired, the green taken 
 off and cooled. 'Be it as it may, the woad vat will 
 aiv'avs be preferred in the great dye-houfes to thole 
 kii.d's of indigo vats made with urine or otherwife ; 
 a- d for this'^reafon, that with a good woad vat, 
 ar^d an ingenious woad man, much more work is 
 dtfpatched than with all the other blue vats. 
 
 '^ 1 have 
 
THE DYERS ASSISTANT. 53 
 
 I have defcribed the indigo vats in this treatife, 
 not with a defign to introduce them in the hrg,e 
 manufat^lories, but to procure- eafy means to the 
 Dyers in fmall, and fmall manufadtories, to whom I 
 wirti this work, may be of as much advantage as to 
 the others. I fhall t'nerefore here defcribe a cold 
 vat, which may be ufed with advantage by thole 
 who dye fmall ftuffs, in whofe compofition thread 
 and cotton enter. The colour is lafting, but ca:.- 
 not be made ufe of for wool. 
 
 C H A P. VI. 
 
 OF THE COLD INDIGO VAT WIHOUT URINE. 
 
 Ir is cuftomary nt Rouen, and in fome other 
 cities of France, to dye in a cold indigo vat, 
 different from that defcribed in the foregoing chap- 
 ter, and more covenicnt, as flia comes to work. 
 fooner, and has no bad fmell. She is prepared 
 after the following manner: 
 
 Diffjlve three pounds of indigo powdered fine- 
 ly, in a glazed earthen pot, with three pints o£ 
 ftrong foap- boiler's lees, which is a ftrong Ice of 
 foda and quick lime. The indigo takes abouc 
 twenty- four hours diffolving, and when perfedlly 
 fo, remains fufpended in the liquor, thickens it, 
 and gives it the coafulence of an extradl. At the 
 fame time, three pounds of fifted flacked liir.e 
 muft be put into another vefTe], with fix quarts of 
 water, and boiled together for a quarter of an hour ; 
 when fettled, the clear is poured off by inclination. 
 Then three pounds of green copperas are to be dif- 
 folved in this clear litiie- water, and the whole let 
 to reft till the next day. Three hundred quarts < f 
 water are then put in a large deal-vefifel (no other 
 C 3 wood 
 
54 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 wood but deal will do, for it would dull and blacken 
 the dye, efpecially if if was oak.) The two folu- 
 tions which were maie the day before are put in, 
 the vat, is well raked, and AiiFered to reft. 1 have 
 leen her come to colour in two hours after, but 
 this never tails to happen the next day at farihert. 
 She makes a ereat deal of flurry, and the liquor 
 becomes ur" a tine green colour, but a little more 
 orv the yellow than the green of the common vat. 
 
 When this vat begins to fpend herfcif, Hie is to 
 be qu ckened without putting in frefh indigo, by 
 making a fmall liquor with two pounds cf green 
 copperas, diiTolved in a fulBcient quantity of lime- 
 water; but when the indigo has fpent all its colour, 
 (he ir.uft t;e re-charged by putting in frelh, dilTolved 
 in fucli a iee as has been defcribed. 
 
 IVater af Old Iron. 
 
 Some Dyers put into this vat a little water of 
 old iron, it is a mixture of vinegar and water, in 
 which fome old iron nails have been put to ruit. 
 'J hey lay thi< makes the colour more hiling, but I 
 have experienced, that it is fufHciently fo without 
 this, and ss good as ah the other blues, of wliich 
 I havf: bttore given the prqjaration. 
 
 I fet feveral fmali vats ; t ofe that required to 
 be licaied were put in a bath or fand heat, in fmall 
 eiafs bodies j and thrfe that are worked cold were 
 left v;ithout doing any thing to them. 1 hefe laft 
 are eafy, being fuJiicient to diminilh the quantity 
 of liquor, and of all the ciher ingredients, in pro- 
 p.rrion to the vefTei that is to be fet, and it is ai- 
 xnoft impofiihle to rail. 
 
 As to that which 1 firft defcribed, which is fet 
 hot, as it is fomewhat more difficult, and that fe- 
 veral mi^ht be willing to try the e'xperiment, which 
 
 in 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 55 
 
 in itfelf is curious, and neither requires expence 
 ror apparatus to perform in fmall, 1 fliaH give the 
 procefs of one which fuccceded perfectly, and in 
 which 1 had delignedly put a greater quantity of 
 indigo than ufuallyis done in the common propor- 
 tion. 
 
 I boiled two quarts of water Vv'ith two fcruples 
 of madder and tour ounces of pearl-afhes ; after 
 boiling a quarter of an hour, I !>ul it into a body, 
 which held about four quarts, and had been pre- 
 vioully heata^i with warsn water,- atul in wliich I 
 had put a quarter of a handful of bran. The 
 whole was well ftirred with a deal fpatula, the glafs 
 body put on a very gentle fand-heat, which only 
 kept it warm, and pretty near the fame degree of 
 heat that is required for the common indigo vat. 
 
 The fire was kept all night, and the ne.xt day 
 under the fand-heat, without any feniible change 
 happening; it was only ftirred twice a-day. The 
 next clay fome flurry began to rife, and a copper- 
 Coloured fkin formed on the furface, and tlie liquor 
 was of a green-brown ; it was then filled up with 
 a liquor made of a quart of water, two ounces 
 of pearl-aflies, and a little bran. I mixed the 
 whole together, ther. let it reft. It c^mie perfedHy 
 well to colour, and the next day I dyed feveral 
 middling pieces of ftuiTs and wool. Thefe fmall vef- 
 fels may be re-heated and charged again as cafily 
 as a large one. 
 
 1 think i have nothing more to fay concerning 
 -the method of fetting to woik all thefe kinds of 
 blue vats ; yet I am perfuaded that there are feveral 
 other means pradifed in different places, and that 
 it is even eafy to contrive new ones ; liowevcr, I 
 can affirm that all thofe which ] have defcribed are 
 very fure, and th^t- they have all been worked 
 feveral times with tlie fame fuccefs. 
 
 C4. CHAP. 
 
56 THE dyer's assistant, 
 
 CHAP. vn. 
 
 OF THE METHOD OF DVING BLUf. 
 
 'HEN the vat is once prepared and come 
 to work, the dying of wool or ftufFs is 
 eafy. Wet ihem we!) in clear warin water, wring- 
 iiig and dipping them in the vat, and keeping them 
 in more or iefs time, according as the colour is re- 
 t;uTed in fliade. From time to time the fluff is 
 aired, tiiat is, taken out of the vat and wrung, fo 
 that the liquor may fall back into the vat, and ex- 
 pofed a little to the air, which takes off the green 
 in one or two minutes ; tor let what vat foever be 
 ufed, the fluff is always green at its coming our, 
 and only takes the blue colour in pr >portion as the 
 air adls upon it. Jt is al'b very necciliry to let the 
 green go off' before it is returned into the liquor to 
 receive a fecond (hade, as being then better able to 
 judge of its colour, and knov/ if it is requifite to 
 give what is c.iUed one or feveral returnings. 
 
 It is an ancient cuHom among Dyers to reckon 
 thirteen ftiades of blue from the deepeft to the 
 Jight(ff. Although their denominations be fome- 
 what arbitrary, and that it is impoiTible exactly to 
 iix the juft pafTi^ge from Oi.e to the other, I fliail 
 r.otwlthllandlng give tlie names. They are as fol- 
 low, beginning with the lighted:: miik-blue, pearl- 
 blue, pale blue, fijt-blte, middling- blue, (ky blue, 
 queen's blue, turkilh-blue, watchet-blue, g?.ner- 
 blue, mszare-n-blue, deep-bine, and very deep blue, 
 'i hefe diftiniftions are not equally received by 
 all Dyers, nor in all provinces, but the mcft part 
 are known ; and it is the only method that can be 
 taken to give an idea of the fame colour, whgfe 
 only difference is in being more or iefs deep. 
 
 Ir 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 57 
 
 It Is esfy to make deep blues. I have already 
 faid, that to effed this, the wool or fluffs are 
 to be returned feveral times into the vat j but it is 
 not (o in refpe£l to light blues ; for when the vat is 
 rightly co ne to work, the wool can feldom be left 
 in fliort time enough, but that it takes more than 
 the fhade required. It often happens when a cer- 
 tain quantity of wool is to be dipped, and that it 
 cannot ^11 be put in at the fame time, that what 
 goes in at {v(i is deeper than the other. There 
 are fome Dyers who, to obviate this inconveniency 
 in making very light blues, which they call milk 
 and water, take fome of the liquor of the indigo 
 vat, and dilute it in a very great quantity of luke- 
 warm water ; but this method is a bad one, for tha 
 wool dye-i in this mixture has not near fo lading a 
 colour as that dyed in the vat; as the altering iii- 
 gredients which are put into the vat with the in- 
 digo, ferves as much to difpofe the pores oi" tiie 
 fubje6V which is dipped in, as to the opening of the 
 colouring facula which is to dye it, their con- 
 courfe being necefTary for the adheflon.of the co- 
 lour. The befl method of making thefe very 
 light blues, is to pafs them either ina woad or in- 
 digo vat, out of which the colour has been work- 
 ed, and begins to cool. Fhe woad vat is Aill 
 preferable to thatof the indigo, as it does not dye 
 fo foon. 
 
 The blues made in vats that have been workel 
 are duller than the others ; but they nay be pretty 
 fenlibly roufed by pafTing the wool or fluffs in boil- 
 ing water. This prcidice is even neceflary to the 
 perfeition of all blueMh^des; by this the colour is 
 not only made brighter, but alfo rendered more 
 fecure, by taking off all that is not well incorpo- 
 rated with the wool ; it alfo prevents its fpoiting 
 the hands or linen, which commonly happens, and 
 C 5 the 
 
5? THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 the Dyers, to gain time, negle6l this precaution. 
 After the wool is taken out of the warm water, it 
 is necelBry to walh it again in the river, or at leaft 
 in a furiicient quantity of water for the earring off 
 all the fuperfiuous loofe dye. 
 
 The bell method to render the blue dye trlghter, 
 is by tiling them with a thin hquor of melted foap, 
 and arterwards clcanfmg them from the foap by 
 warm water, and, if convenient, by rinfing them 
 in an old cochineal liquor. This meihod is to be 
 Tsken with deep blues ; but if the fame was taken 
 with very hght blues, the)^ v/ould lofe their bright 
 blue luftre, and incline to grey. 
 
 1 hope to have removed all difficulties on the 
 preparation cf blue, and in the method of dying it. 
 Some Dyers, for tliC fake of gain, fpaie the woad 
 and indigo,- and ufe for blue, orchei or logAOcd, 
 and bra-^il jthis ought to be e::prefs!y forbid, though 
 this adulterfated blue is often brighter than a laP.ing 
 and legitimate blue. 1 fha'l take notice of this in 
 the chapters treating; on the lelVer dye. 
 
 1 iiijli now explain the theory of the invllibis 
 change cf the blue dye. This colour, which I 
 Ihall here only confider in relation to its ufe in the 
 dying of ftufFs cf what kind foever, has hitherio 
 been exrraded cniy from the vegetable world, and 
 it does not appear that we can hope to ufe in tliis 
 art the blues the psinters employ : fuch are the 
 Pruflian blue, which holds of tiie animal and mi- 
 neral kind*; the azure, which is a vitrihed mi- 
 neral fublhnce ; the ultrattiarine, which is pre- 
 pared from a hard itonej the earths that have_a 
 blue colour, &c. Thefe, matters cannot, without 
 lofing their colour in whole or in parr, be reduced 
 
 into 
 
 * T74?, Monf. Macquer, of the Royal Academy of Sc'e.-irtr* 
 four-« the means of uli ig the PruflTian falae to rfye filk and c!oth» 
 ;". i bl'at wholj brightnei'i /ccsirid nl :hc blues hitherto kncvo. 
 
THE dyer's ASSISTAN'T. ^ 
 
 into atorrs fufficiently minute, fo as to be fufpended 
 in the faline liquid, v;hich mud penetrate the fibres 
 of the aniina! and vegetable fubflances of which 
 fluffs are mannfa61:ured ; for under this name linea 
 and cotton cloths muft be comprehended, as well 
 as thofe wove of fiik and woul. 
 
 Hitherto we know but of two plants that yield 
 blue after their preparation : the one is viie iiatis or 
 glauflum, which is called pafccl in Languedoc, and 
 woad in Normandy. Their preparation confifts 
 in a fermentation continued even to the putrefac- 
 .tion of all the parts of the plar.t, the root excepted ; 
 and ccnfequently in the unfolding of al! their prin- 
 ciples into a new combination, and freih order of 
 iheie faine principles, from whence follows an 
 union of infinite tine particles, which, applied to 
 any ibbjefl whatever, reflects the light on thera 
 very difrerent from what it would be, if thcfe lame 
 particles were fliil joined to thofe which the fer- 
 jvieatation has feparatcd. 
 
 The other plant is the anil, whicli is cuklvpted 
 in the £all and Well Indies, out of .which they 
 prepare that fecula that is fent to Eijrope under the 
 rinsne of incHgo. In the preparation of this plant 
 the Indians and Americans, more induilrious than 
 ouriflves, liave found out the art of feparating only 
 the colouring paits of the plant frotn the ufelefs 
 ones ; and the French and Spanifh colonies have 
 imitated them, and thereby made a confiderable in- 
 crer.fe of commerce. 
 
 That the indieo, fuch as is imported from Ame- 
 rica, fhouid' depofit on the wool or fluffs the co- 
 louring parts required >;v: the Dyer, it is infuied fc- 
 veral v;ays, the procffles of which we have already 
 • given. They may be reduced to tliree ; the coJd 
 indigo vat may ferve for thread and cotton ; thciic 
 that are made ufc of hot, are fit for fluffs of any 
 .kind whatever. C 6 
 
6o THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 In the cold vat, the indigo is mixed with pearl- 
 a(hes, coppera-i cr green vitriol, lime, madder, snd 
 bran. The hot vats are either prepared with water 
 or urine j it with water, pearl- aihes, and a littie 
 madder muft be added ; if with urine, alum and 
 tartar muft be joined to the indigo. Both of thefe 
 vats, principally intended for wool, require a rro- 
 derate degree of heat, but at the fame time ftrong 
 enough for the wool to take a hfting dye, 1 mean 
 fuch £3 will withftand the deftroying a£\ion of the 
 air and fjn, the proof rf dyes. 
 
 I l^^ve prepared, as I faid before, thefe three vats 
 in fmall, in cylindrical glafs veflels, expofed to the 
 light, in order to fee what psfied before the infufion 
 came to a colour* thst is, whether it was green 
 beneath tl.e f!urry at the furface, which is a fign of 
 inttrnal fermentation. I have faid that tlie green 
 co.cur of the liqaor is a condition abfolutely eflen- 
 tia!, and without which^ the colour the fluff would 
 ttkt would not be a gocd dye, and would ahr^oft 
 entirely difappcar on the leaft proofs. 
 
 I fhall now give a dcfcription of the cold indigD 
 vat in fmall, for the changes are much better feen 
 in her, and for this reafon, that what happens in 
 the two others is not very eflcntially different. It 
 is proper to take notice, that whai 1 friall call par:^ 
 in this Obfervation of Experiments, is a mcafure 
 of the weight of four drachms, of all matter either 
 liquid cr folid, and that it will be this quantity that 
 muft be fuppcfed, each time that I ufe that word 
 in the detail cf thei'e experiments. 
 
 I put three hvmdred parts of water into a veffe!, 
 containing five hundred and twelve, cr eight quarts, 
 in which I dilfo'ved fix parts of copperas, which 
 gave the liquor a yellow dye. Six parts of pot- 
 aflies were alio difiblved by themfelves in thirty-fix 
 pans of water. The folution made, I digefted in 
 
 it 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 6 I 
 
 It fix parts, or three ounces, of inoigo of St. Do- 
 mingo well ground ; it was left over a very gentle 
 fire three hours. The inciigo fwelled, and t^-.klng 
 up a larger fpace, rofe from the bottom of this al- 
 kaline liquor, with which it formed a kind of thick 
 fyrup, which was blue. This was a proof that the 
 indigo was only divided, but not dilToIved i for had 
 its folution been perfefl, that thick liquor would 
 have been green ioftead of blue ; for all liquor that 
 has been tinged blue by a vegetable of any kind, 
 grows green on the admixion of an alkaline fair, 
 either concrete or in a liquid form, whether it be a 
 fixed or volatile. 
 
 From hence the reafon is difccvered why indigo 
 does not dye a fluff of a lalVing blue when its li- 
 quor is not green ; for its folution not being com- 
 plete, the alkali cannot z6i upon thefe firft ele- 
 trentary panicles ; as for example, it a6ts on the 
 tinifiure ot violets, which is a perfect folution of 
 the colouring parts of thofe flowers, which it turns 
 green in an inftant, and on the firft contact. 
 
 I poured this thick blue liquor into the folution 
 of vitriol, and after well (baking the mixture, I 
 added fix parts of lime that had been flacked in the 
 air; it was cold weather when this experiment was 
 made ; the thermometer was at two degrees undtr 
 the freezing point, v/hich was the caufe that this 
 was near four days coming to a colour, and the 
 fermentation, which mufl naturally enfue in all 
 vitriolic liquor, where an alkaline fait has been put 
 in, fuch as pot-afhes, and an alkaline earth, was 
 carried on with fo much flownefs that very little 
 fcum appeared on the furface of the liquor. In a 
 hot feafon, and by making ufe of lime newly cal- 
 cined, thefe kind of vats are fometimes fit to dye 
 in four hours. 
 
 £acb 
 
62 THE DY£R*S ASSISTANT. 
 
 Each time I ftirred the, mixture with a fparula, I 
 obferved tliat the iron of the vitriol or copperas was 
 the tirft thst precipitated to the bottom of th;-vi{re!> 
 and thit the alkaht.e fait had precipitated it, to join 
 itfeir to the acid. TliUS in this proctfs of the cold 
 indigo vat, a rartsr of vitriol after the onanner of 
 Tachenius is ff.nxied; wh.erea'j by ihecoiTiinon me- 
 thod of preparing this neutral fait, the acid of 
 vitriol is poured on a true alkalii e fait, fach as fait 
 of tartar or pot-allics. This again is a circuni- 
 ftance that leads infer.fibly to the theory of tlie 
 good dye. 1 deSre the reader to take notice of 
 this, as ir will occur in t! e fequel of this obferva- 
 tiou, as we]) as in other chapters. 
 
 'Ihc earthy, parts of the iixe precipitate next 
 after the iron -, they are eafi'v difiinauifned by the 
 whitenefs, which aife-yct difficult to diltinguifli 
 v^heri the colouring parts cf the indigo are fuffi- 
 cier.tly ioo'.e.ied. in Ihort, under this wl'.ite ecrth 
 ■ the lecu.a of the indigo cepofits itfelf, and by de- 
 grees rarilie; in fuch a n'-anner, tl.at this fubftance, 
 which the firfl d2y was only the eighth of an inch 
 above the precipitated lirre, rofe infennbly within 
 half an inch of the furface of the liquor, and the 
 third day grew fo opaque and muddy, that nothing 
 fuiiher could be difiinguifhcd. 
 
 Th.is rarcf.:(5t!on of the inJiio, flow in winter, 
 quick in fummer, and which may be accelerated m 
 winter by heating the liquor to hi teen or tixteea 
 degrees, is a proof that a real fermentation hap- 
 pens in the mixture, -which opens ti.e little iump3 
 of indigo, and divides them into particles of an ex- 
 treme finenels; then their furfaces being multiplied 
 almoft ad injinitum, they are fo much the more 
 equally diftributed in the iiquor, which depodts 
 them equally on the fubje^b d'pp-d in to i^ke liis 
 dye. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 6} 
 
 If fermentation comes on hafti'y, or in a feW 
 hours, whether on account ot -the heat of the air, 
 or by the help of a fmall fire, a great quantity of 
 flurry appears j it is blue, and its reflection they 
 have alfo named coppery, becaufe the colours of 
 the rainbow appear in it, and the red and yellow 
 here predominate ; however this phsenomenon is 
 not peculiar to indigo, fince the fame reflection is 
 perceived in all mixtures that are in actual fermenta- 
 tion, and particularly in thofe which contain fat 
 particles blen>-^ed wit!! falts, urine, foot, and feveral 
 other bodies put into fermentation, (how on their 
 furface the fa;jie variegated colours. 
 
 The flurry of the indigo vat appears blue, be- 
 caufe expofed t J tf.e external air ; but if a fmail 
 portion ot the liquor which is under it be taktn up 
 with a fpoon, it appears more or lefs neen in pro- 
 portion as it is filled with colouring particks. In 
 the courfe of this obfervation, 1 (hall fnow the rea- 
 fon of this -difrerence, or, at iealf, a probable ex- 
 plication of this change of blue, which, as I have 
 faid before, is abfolufely neceflfary for fucceeding'ia 
 the procefs dcfcrifced. 
 
 VVhen the vat is in this flate, it has already ^eea 
 faid that cotton, thread, cloths wove from then, -Sec. 
 may be dyed in her, and the colours whichi they 
 take are of the good dye; that is, this cotton and 
 thread will nnaintain then), even after remaining a 
 fuitable time in a folution of white foap, acfualiy 
 boiling. This is the proof given theai prrterafele 
 to any othei^, becaufe the linen and cotton clollis 
 
 "Vinuft be wafhed with foap when dirty. 
 
 Though the indigo liquor which is in this ftate 
 can make a lafting dye without the addition of any 
 other ingredient ; the Dyers who ufe this cold va£ 
 add, as in the other hot vats, a deccdlion of mad- 
 
 , (Ser and bran inxrommon water run through a fieve j 
 
 " this 
 
64 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 this is what they call bever. They put madder to 
 infure, as they fay, tlie colour of the indigo, be- 
 caufe this root affords a cole ur \o adhefive that it 
 {lands all proofs ; they put the bran to foften the 
 water, which they imagine generally to contain 
 foTie portion of an acid fat, which, according to 
 their opinion, muil be deadened. 
 
 This was the opinion of the French Dyers 
 againft indigo in the days of Monfieur Colbert ; and 
 as this minifter could not fpare lime to fee the ex- 
 periments performed in his prefence, on ihe foun- 
 dation of this report, he forbad indigo to be ufed 
 alone. But fince the Government has been con- 
 vinced, by new ex()€riments naae by the late Mr. 
 Dufay, that the {lability of t'.e blue dye of this in- 
 gredient was fuch as could be defired ; the new re- 
 gulation of 1^37 licenfes the Dyers to ufe it alone, 
 or mixed with woad ; fo thst if they continue to 
 ufe the madder, it is rather becaufe this root giving 
 a pretty deep xt&^ and this red mixing with the 
 blue of the indigo, gives it a tint which approaches- 
 the viclet, and a!fo a fine hue. 
 
 As to the bran, its ufe is not to deaden the 
 pretended acid fairs, but to difperfe throughout a 
 quantity of fizey matter j for the fmall portion of 
 flour which remains in it, dividing itfelf into the 
 liquor, mu{l diminifli in fome nieafure its fluidity,, 
 and confequently prevent the colouring particles 
 which are fufpcnded m it, being precipitated too 
 quick, in a liquor which had not acquired a certain 
 degree of tiiickne^s. 
 
 Notwithflandmg this diflributed throughout the 
 liquor, as well from the bran as the madder, which 
 alfo affords fomething glutinous, the colouring par- 
 ticles will fubfide if the liquor remait.s fome days 
 without being flirred ; then the top of the liquor 
 gives but a feeble tint to the body dipped in, and if 
 
 a flrong 
 
THE DVER'S assistant. 65 
 
 a ftrong one is wanted, the mixture muft be raked, 
 and left to reft an hour or two, that the iron in 
 the copperas, and the grofs parts of the lime may 
 fall to the bottom, which oiherwife would mix with 
 the true colouriiig panicles, and prejudice their 
 dye, by (^epofiting on the body to be dyed a fub- 
 ftance that would have but little adhefion, which 
 in drying would become friable, and of which each 
 minute part would occupy a fpace, where the true 
 colouring particle could neither introduce nor de- 
 pofit itfelf by an imniediate contacSt on the fubjc(5l. 
 
 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 proportion 
 of water is not neceflary, more or lefs may be put, 
 but 1 wanted to fill my vefTel, which contained 512 
 parts. I palTed this bever through a cloth and 
 fqueezed it, putting this liquor, ftiil hot, and which 
 was of a blood-red, into the imligo liquor, obferv- 
 ing the neceflary precautions to prevent the break- 
 ing of the glafs vefl'ej* The whole was well 
 ftirred, and two hours after the liquor was green, 
 and confequenlly fit for dying. It dyed cotton of 
 a lafting blue, fomewhat brighter than it was be- 
 fore the addition of the red of madder. 
 
 I Ihall now endeavour to find out the particular 
 caufe of the folidity of this colour; perhaps it may 
 be the general caufe of the tenacity of all the reft ; 
 for it appears already, from the experiments above 
 related, that this tenacity depeitds on the choice of 
 falts, which are added to the decoctions of the co- 
 louring ingredients, when the fame ingredients 
 contain none in themfelvcs. It from the confe- 
 quences which fliall refult from the choice of thefe 
 falts, of their nature, and of their properties, it 
 be admitted (and it cannot be fairly denied) that 
 they afford more or lefs tenuity in the homogeneous 
 
 colouring 
 
66 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 colcuHn^ parts of the dying ingredients, the whole 
 theoiy of this art will be difcovered, without hav- 
 ing recourfe to uncertain or contefted caufes. 
 
 One may eafiiy conceive that the falts added to 
 the indigo vats not only open the natural pores of 
 the luhje£t to be dyed, but alfo unfold the colcur- 
 ing atoms of the indigo. 
 
 In the other preparations'of dyes (ro be men- 
 tioned hereafter) the v.'ool'.en fluffs are boiled in a 
 folution of fairs, v.hich the Dye?;; call preparation. 
 In this preparation tart?.r ani nhim are generally 
 ufed. In fotne liours the fluff is taken out, iTight- 
 ly fqueeztd, and kept da"np f rfome days in a cool 
 place, that the faline liquor wLiich remains in it may 
 •ftill ad, and prepare it for the reception of the dye 
 of thefe ifigredients, in the decoction of which it 
 is plunged to boil again. Without this prepara- 
 tion, experience fliuws that the colours'will not be 
 lafting, at leaft for -he greateft part -, for it mufl: 
 be owr.ed that there are fome ingredients which 
 yield laAing colours, though the (haff has not pre- 
 viouily undergone this preparation, becaufe the in- 
 gredient contains in itlelf thefe falts. 
 
 It IS therefore necefTjty, that the natural pores 
 of the fibres of the wool thould be erihuged and 
 cleanfed by the help of thofe falts, which are aU. 
 ways fomewhat corroding, and perhaps il'.ey open 
 new pores for the reception of tiie colouring atoms 
 contained in the ingredients. The boiling of this 
 liquor drives in the atoms by repeated ftrokeSi 
 The pores already enlarged by thefe falts, are fur- 
 ther dilated by the best of the boiling water ; they 
 are afterwards contrafled by the external cold when 
 the dyed matter is taken cut of the copper, when 
 it is expofed to the external air, or when it is 
 plunged i.nto cold water. Thus the colouring atom 
 is taken in, and detained in the pores or fifiures of 
 
 * the 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 67 
 
 the dyed body, by thefpringinefs of its fibres, which 
 have contradted and reftored themfelves tb their 
 firft ftate, and have re-aflunned their primary ftifF- 
 nefs upon being expofed to the cold. 
 
 If, befides this fpring of the fides, of the pore, 
 it be fuppofed that thefe fides have been plaillered 
 inwardly with a layer of the faline liquor, it will 
 appear plainly that this is another means employ- 
 ed by art to detain the colouring atom ; for this 
 atom, having entered into the pore, while the 
 faline cement of the fides was yet in a ftate of fo- 
 lution, and confequently fluid ; and this cement 
 being afterwards congealed by the external cold, 
 the atom is thereby detained ; by the fpring which 
 has been mentioned, and by this faline cement, 
 which by cryflalization is become hard, forms a 
 kind of maftic which is not eafily removed. 
 
 If the coloured atom, (which is as fmall as the 
 little eminence that appears at the entrance of the 
 pore, and v>'ithout which the fubjedl would not ap- 
 pear dyed) be fufiiciently protuberant to be expofed 
 to more powerful fhocks than the refiftance of the 
 fides of the cement that retains it, then the dye re- 
 fuliing from all thefe atoms fufficiently retained, 
 will be extremely lafiing, and in the rank of the good 
 dye, provided the faline coat can neither be car- 
 ried off by cold water, fuch as rain, nor calcined 
 or reduced to powder by the rays of -the fun; for 
 every lafting colour, or colour belonging to the 
 good dye, mufi withfiand thefe two proofs. No 
 other can reafonably be expedled in ftuffs defigned 
 for apparel or furniture. 
 
 I know but of two falts in chymifiry, which-, 
 being once cryfializ.-d, can be moifiened with 
 cold water without diflolving; and there are few 
 befides thefe that can remain fcveral days expofed 
 to the fun, without being reduced to a flour or 
 
 white 
 
68 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 white powder. Thefe are tartar, either as taken 
 from the wine veffels, or purified, and tartar of 
 vitriol. The tartar of vitriol may be made by mix- 
 ing a fait already alkalized, (or that may become 
 fuch when the acid is drove out with a fait whole 
 acid is vitriolic, as copperas and alum); this is eafily 
 efFecled \i it be weaker than the acid of vitriol, and 
 fuch is the acid of all effential falts extracted from 
 vegetables. 
 
 In the procels of the blue vat, whicli I tried in 
 fmall, to difcover the caufe of its efFe£ls, cop- 
 peras and pot-a(h, (which is a prepared alkalij are 
 mixed together; as foon as rheie fol«tions are 
 united, the alkali precipitates the iron of the cop- 
 peras in form of powder almofl black ; the vitriolic 
 acid of the copperas, divcftevi of its metallic bafis 
 by its union with the alkali, forms a neutral fait, 
 called tartar of vitriol^ as when matJe with the fait 
 of tarrtar and the vitriolic acid already feparatei 
 from its bafis; for all alkalis, from whatever ve- 
 getables they are extracted, are perfecflly alike, pro- 
 vided they have been equally calcined. 
 
 More difficulties will occur with regard to the 
 water for the preparation of other colours, fuch as 
 reds and yellows. It may be denied that a tartar 
 of vitriol can refult from the mixture of alum and 
 crude tartar boiled -together ; yet the theory is the 
 fame, and I do not know that it can be otherwife 
 conceived. The alum is a fair, confifling of the 
 vitriolic acid united with an earth ; by adding an 
 alkali, the earth is immediately precipitated, and 
 the tartar foon forms ; but inftead of this alkaline 
 fait, alum is boiled with the crude tartar, which is 
 the effential fait of v;ine, that is, a fait compofed 
 of the vinous acid, (which is more volatile than the 
 vitriolic) and of oil, both concentrated in a fmall 
 portion of e^rth. 
 
 Thi« 
 
TiiE dyer's assistant. 6iJ 
 
 This fait, as is kn iwn to .chymi(!«, becomes 
 alkali by diverting it of its acid. Thus when the 
 alum and crude tnrtar are boiled together, befides 
 the imprelTion which the fibres of the fluff to be 
 dyed receive from the firft of thefe falts, which is 
 fomewhat corrofive, the tartar is alfo purified, and 
 by tlie addition of the earth, which is feparated 
 from the alum, (and wl^ich has near the fame ef- 
 fe<5V upon the tartar, as the earth of Mervie/fy 
 which is ufed at Montpellier in manufaduring 
 cream of tartar) it becomes clear and tranfparent. 
 It may very probably happen, that the vitriolic acid 
 of the alum, driving out a part of the vegetable 
 acid of the tartar, a tartar of vitriol may be formed 
 as hard and tranfparent as the cryflal of tartar. 
 Admitting one or other of thefe fuppofitions, con- 
 fequently there is in the open pores of the wool a 
 faline cement which cryftalizes as foon as the ftufF 
 which comes out of the dye is expofed to the cold 
 air, which cannot be calcined by heat, nor is fo- 
 luble in cold water. I could not avoid making this 
 digreffion. 
 
 This theory is common to the indigo vat, where 
 urine is ufed inllead of water ; alum and crude 
 tartar in the place of vitriol and pot-a(hes. This 
 urine vat gives a lafling dye only when ufed hot, 
 and then the wool mufl remain in an hour or two 
 to take the dye equally. As foon as the vat is cold, 
 {he f^rikes no more dye; the reafon of this would 
 be difficult to difcover in an opaque metal vat, but 
 in a glafs vciTel it is eafily ken. 
 
 1 let this little glafs proof vat cool, and all the 
 green colour, which was fufpended in it while hot, 
 precipitated little by little to the bottom ; tor then 
 the tartar crjflalizing itfelf, and reuniting in 
 heavier mafTes than its moculas were during the 
 heat of the liquor, and its folution, it funk to the 
 
 bottom 
 
70 THE DYERS ASSISTANT. 
 
 bottom of the veffel, and carried with it the co- 
 louring particles. 
 
 When I reftored this liquor to its former degree 
 of heat, after fhaking it, and letting it fettle a 
 while, I dipped a piece of cloth, which I took out 
 one hour after, with as lafting a dye as the firft ; 
 fo that when this vat is ufcd and fit to work, the 
 tartar is to "be kept in a ftate of folution, which 
 cannot be done but by a pretty ftrong heat. The 
 alkali of the urine greens it, the alum prepares the 
 fibres of the wool, and the cryftal of tartar fecures 
 the dye by cementing the colouring atoms depofited 
 in the pores. 
 
 There ftill remains a difficulty with refpedtto the 
 indigo vat, in which, neither vitriol, alum, or 
 tartar are ufed, but only pearl-aflies in equal quan- 
 tity with the indigo, and which is pretty brifkly 
 lieated to dye the wool and ftuflPs. But before I 
 enter into the caufe of the folidity of its dye, which 
 is equal to that of the other blue vats where the 
 other falts already mentioned enter, I mufl examine 
 into the nature of pearl-afhes, which are the lees 
 of wine dried and calcined : it is therefore an alka- 
 line fait,, of the nature of fait of tarcar, but lefs 
 pure, as proceeding from the heavieft parts of the 
 dregs of wine, and confequently the moft earthy ; 
 befides, the. alkali of the pearl-aflies is never as 
 homogeneous as ihe alkaline fait of tartar well cal- 
 cined, and there are fcarcely any pearl-aflies not 
 purified, from wi.ich a confiderable quantity of tar- 
 tar of vitriol may not be obtained : it is even pro- 
 bable by an experiment which I have related, that 
 it might at length be entirely converted into this 
 neutral fait; the fame may be faid of pot-afhes, 
 and of all other alkaline falts, whQle bafis are not 
 that of the marine fait. 
 
 2 The 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 7 1 
 
 The want of this homogeneous quality, is the 
 caufe that pearl-aOies never fall entirely into deli- 
 quium in the air; therefore iince experience fliows 
 that there is a tartar of vitriol already fornrted in the 
 pearl-alhcs, it is evident that this indigo vat, which 
 does not give a good dye until the liquor has been 
 fo bri&iy heated as not to fufF.f the hand without 
 fcalding, will difl";lve the fmall portion of tartar of 
 •vitriol thnt is contained in it, and confequently 
 this fait will introduce itfelf into the pores of the 
 wool to cleanfe and cement them, and will coagu- 
 late therein on the wool being taken out of the li- 
 quor, and expofed to the air to cool. 
 
 I mufl: now give the reafon why the indigo vat 
 is green under the firft furface of the liquor; why 
 this liquor muft be green that the blue dye may l^e 
 lading, and why the fluff that is taken green out 
 of the liquor becomes blue as foon as it is aired. 
 All thefe conditions being of necefiity common to 
 all indigo vats either cold or hot, the fame explica- 
 tion will ferve for them all. 
 
 X. The flurry which rifes on the furface of the 
 indigo liquor when it is fit to dye is blue, and the 
 under part of this fcum is green ; thefe two cir- 
 cumflances prove the perfedt folution of the indigo, 
 and that the alkaline ialt is united to its colouring 
 atoms fince it greens them, for without they v/ould 
 remain, blue. 
 
 2. Thefe circumftances prove that there is alfo 
 in the indigo a volatile urinous alkali, which the 
 fixt alkali of the pct-afh, or the alkaline earth of 
 the lime difplays, and which evaporates very fhortly 
 after the expofition of this fcum to the air. The 
 exiftence of this urinous volatile appears plainly 
 by the fmell of the vat during the fermentation ; 
 when ftirred, or when heated, the fmell is (harp, 
 and refembles that of ftinking meatroafted. 
 
 3. In 
 
72 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 3. In the preparation of the anil, in order to 
 feparate the fecula, a fermentation is continued 
 to putrefadlion. All rotten plants are urinous. 
 This volatile urinous quality is produced by the 
 intimate union of fahs with the vegetable oil, or 
 is owing to a prodigious quantity of infers falling 
 on all tides of fermenting planks, and attra<5led by 
 the fmell exhaling from them, where they live, 
 multiply, and die in them, and confequently depoilt 
 a number of dead bodies ; therefore to this vege- 
 table fubftance an animal one is united, whofe fait 
 is always an urinous volatile. This fame urinous 
 quality exifts alfo in the woad, which is prepared 
 after the fame manner, viz. by fermentation and 
 putrefaction, and which will be fun her explained 
 in the abridged narrative of its preparation. 
 
 "4. And laftly, if indigo or woad be diftiUed in 
 a retort, either alone, or (which is much better) 
 with fome fixed faline or earthy alkali added to ir, 
 a liquor will be obtained, which, by all chymical 
 effays, produces the fame effeds as volatile fpirits 
 of urine. 
 
 Why does not this volatile urinous quality in 
 the indigo caufe it to appear green, fince it muft 
 be equally diftributed through all its parts ? And 
 why does indigo, being difTolved in plain boiling 
 water, tinge it t'ue and not green ? It is becaufe 
 this volatile urinous fait is not concreted ; that it 
 requires another body more a<S^ive than boiling 
 water to drive it out of the particles furrounding. 
 it ; and the folution of indigo is never perfecfted by 
 water alone ; whatever degree of heat is given, it 
 is only diluted, and not difTolved in it. Indeed this 
 dccovStion of indigo blues the ftuffs that are clipped, 
 but the blue is not equally laid on, and boiling 
 water almofl inflantly difcharges it. I fhall en- 
 deavour to anfwer this by an example drawn from 
 another fubjedf. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 73 
 
 Salt ammoniac, from which chymifts extrad the 
 moft penetrating volatile fpirit, has not that quick 
 urinous fmell by diflblving and boiling it in water ; 
 either lime, or fixed alkaline fait, muft be added' 
 to difengage the urinous volatile parts. In like 
 manner, the indigo requires fixed faline, or earthy 
 alkalis, to be exactly difcompofed, that its volatile 
 urinous fait may be djfcovered, and that its colour- 
 ing atoms may be reduced probably to their ele- 
 mentary minutenefs. 
 
 I nov,' come to the fecond quality required. 
 The liquor of the indigo vat muft be green, that 
 the dye may be lafling ; for the indigo w^ould not 
 be exactly diffolved, if the alkali did not adt upcn 
 it. Its folution not being as perfe"^ as it ou^ht to 
 be, its dye would be neither equal nor hfting'; but 
 as foon as the alkaline falls a6t upon it, they mufl 
 green it; for an alkali, mixed with the blue juice 
 or tindture of any plant or flower, immediately 
 turns it green, when equally diftributed on all its 
 colouring parts. But if by evaporation thefe fame 
 parts, coloured, or colouring, have re- united them- 
 felvies into hard and compa'a mafles, the alkali will 
 not change their colour till it has penetrated, di- 
 vided, and reduced them to their primary finenefs. 
 This is the cafe with indigo, whofe fecuia is the 
 dry infpiffatcd juice of the anil. 
 
 With refpcdi to the laft circumftance, which is 
 that the ftufF muft be green on coming cut of the 
 liquor, and become blue as foon as it is aired, 
 without which, the blue would not be of a good 
 dye, the following reafons may be given : it is taken 
 out green becaufe the liquor is green ; if it was not, 
 the alkaline fait put into the vat would not be 
 equally diftributed, or the indigo would not he ex- 
 aaiy dilToived. If the alkah w^s not eq>tJElly di- 
 ftributed, the liquor contained in the vat would net 
 D be 
 
74 T^£ DY£R S ASSISTANT. 
 
 be equally faline : the bottom cf this liquor would 
 contain all the fait ; tie upper would be inlipid. 
 In this cafe, the ftuff dipped in would neither be 
 prepared to receive the dye, nor to retain it ; but 
 when it is taken out green at the end of a quarter 
 ^f an hour's dipping, it is a proof that the ]iquor 
 wcs equal]}' faline, and equally loaded with colour- 
 ing atoms ; it is alfo a fign, that the alkaline falts 
 have infinuated themfelves into the pores of the 
 fibres of the fluff and enlarged them, as has been 
 obferved, and perhaps hive formed new ones. Now 
 there can be no doubt that an alkaline fait may 
 have this effe£l on a woollen ftufF, when it is evi- 
 deut that a very fharp alkaline ley burns and dif- 
 /o'ves almcfl in an inflant a flock of wool Or a 
 feather. 
 
 A procefs in dying called, by the French, fsvie 
 ie Icurre^ that is, the melting or dilTolving of flock 
 cr hair, is ftill a further example. The hair, which 
 is ufed and boiled in a folution of pearl-afhes in 
 urine, is fo perfedlly difTolved as not to leave the 
 leaft fibre remaining. Therefore if a lixivium, 
 ext:en>ejy fharp, entirely deftroys the wool, a ley 
 which fliall have but a quantity of alkaline fait fuf- 
 ficicTit to acl on the wool without defl^roying it, 
 wiii prepare the pores to receive and preferve the 
 cclc'c:ring aroms of the indigo. 
 
 The fluff 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 ereen colour, it evaporates, and the blue ap- 
 pears again ; if it is the fixed alkaline that caufes 
 this ereen, not only the greatefl part is carried off 
 by the ftrcng exprellion cf the fluff, but what re- 
 inains can have no more action on the colouring 
 parr, lecaufe the fmall atom cf tartar of vitriol, 
 
 whkb 
 
THE dyer's assistant. -75 
 
 which contains a coloured atom ftill Icfs than itf^lf, 
 is cryftalized the iniknt of its expoiitlon to the 
 cold air, and contrading this farne colouriniT atom 
 by the help of the fpring at the fides of the oore, it 
 ^ entirely preffes out the remainder of the' alkali, 
 which does not cryftalizeas a neutral fait. 
 
 The blue is roufed, that is, it becomes brighter 
 and finer by fcaking the <!yed fluff in war 7-! \vater, 
 tor then the colouring particles, which hsd only a 
 fuperticial adherence to the fibres of the wool, are 
 carried off. Soap is ufed as a proof of the laftino- 
 of the blue dye, and it miift ftand it, for the foap° 
 which IS only ufed in a Anall quantity in pronortioa 
 to the water, and whofe acHon on the dyed pat- 
 tern is fixed to five nr^inutes, is an al.kali, miti<rated 
 
 T?- ^%°!'' '''''"'^ """"^ ^'^ "PO" 3 neutraffalt. 
 n n difcharges the pattern of any part of its cnjour 
 It IS becaufe its parts were hut fupcrficially adher- 
 ing; bcfides, the little faline cryftal which is fet 
 m the pore, whofe ufe is to cement the colourin^^ 
 atom, cannot be dillolved in fo (hort a time, fo as 
 to come out of the pore with the atom it retains 
 
 This treatife lays down the effay of a method 
 ot dying different from any hitherto offered I 
 appeal to ph.lmophers, who would think little of 
 a hmple narrative of procofles, if I did not at the 
 lame time give their theory. I fhall follow this 
 method in the other experiments on reds the 
 yellows, or other limple colours, as it is ablolutely 
 neccflary to have a knowledge of them hef..re en- 
 tenng on the compound, as thefe are generally but 
 colours laid on one after the other, and fcldom 
 mixe,: together in the fame liqu.vr or decoclion. 
 1 bus })av;ng once the knowledge of what pro- 
 
 n^nreeafiy knowx,, it the fecond coloir can take 
 place m the fpaces the firft have leftemptv ^vi:haut 
 dilplacins the firft. *^ ' 
 
^6 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 This is the idea w!;ich I have formed to myfelf 
 of the arrangement of different colours laid on the 
 fame fluff, for it appears to me a matter of great 
 difficulty to conceive that the colouring atoms can 
 place themfelves tlie one on the other, and thus 
 form kinds of pyramids, each flill- preferving their 
 colour, fo that from a mixture of the whole a 
 compound colour fhall refult, and which, notwith- 
 flanding, fliall appear uniform, and as it were 
 homogeneous. To adopt this fyflem, we muft 
 fuppofe a tranfparency in thefe atoms, wliich it 
 v.'ould be difHcuIt to demonftrate ; and further, 
 that a yellow atom mufl place itfelf immediate on 
 a blue one, already fet in the pore of the fibre of a 
 fluff, and that it muft remain there flrongly bound, 
 fo that they muft touch each other with extreme 
 fmooth furfaces, and fo with every new colour laid 
 on. 
 
 It is not eafy to conceive all this, and it appears 
 more probable, that the fir(f colour has only taken 
 up the pores that it found open by the firfl prepa- 
 ration of the fibres of the fluff; that on the fide of 
 thefe pores there remains more ftill to be filled, or 
 at leaft fpaces not occupied, where new pores may 
 be opened to lodge tho new atoms of a fecond co- 
 lour, by the means of a fecond preparation of 
 water, compofed of corroding falts, which being 
 the fame as thofe of the firfl preparing liquor, will 
 not deflroy the firfl faline cryflals introduced into 
 the firfl pores. 
 
 What has been already faid with regard to the 
 indigo vat, may alfo ferve to explain the a(5lion of 
 the woad vat on wool and fluffs ; it is only fuppof- 
 fmg in the woad, that falts do naturally exifl, pret- 
 ty near of afiinity to thofe that are added to the in- 
 digo vat. It appears by the defcription given of 
 th£fe vats, that the woad vat is by much the moil 
 
 difficult 
 
THE dyer's assistant, "Jf 
 
 difficult to conduct. I am convinced that tliefe dif- 
 ficulties might be remo'/ed, if an attempt was made 
 to prepare the ifatis as the anil is in the Weft In- 
 dies. 1 (hall therefore compare their difierent pre- 
 parations. I have taken the foilowins; narrative 
 from the memoirs of Mr. Aih'uc^s H'jioire 
 Naturelle du Langucdoc. Paris, Cavalitr J 737, 
 in 4to, p. 330 and 331. 
 
 '' Accordmg io the opinion of Dyers, woad 
 " only gives feeWe and languiihii^g colours ; 
 *' whereas thofe uf t!ie indigo ari: lively and bright. 
 *■*■ ITiis opinion I ciar.t is cooiovmable to reafun ; 
 " the indigo iy a fine fublle powder ; confrquently 
 *' capable to penetrate the fluffs eaUiy, and give 
 " them a (hining colour. The woad, on the con- 
 " trary, is only a grofs plant, loaded with many 
 " earthy parts, which flacken the adion and mo- 
 *' tion of the finer parts, and prevent theai from 
 *' acting efFedually. 
 
 " I know but one way to remove this inconve- 
 " niency, that is, to prepare the woad after the fame 
 " manner the indigo is prepared ; by this means, 
 *' the colours obtained from the woad would ac- 
 *' quire the lively and bright qualities of thofe pro- 
 " cured from the indieo, without diminilhing in 
 *' the leaft the excellency of the colours produced 
 ** by the woad. 
 
 *' I have already made in fmall * experiments on 
 *' what 1 propofe, and thofe experiments have fuc- 
 " ceeded, not only in the preparation of the powder 
 " of woad, but alfo in the ufe of this powder for 
 "dying." 
 
 D3 It 
 
 * As fhis ingenious man has fucceeded in fmall experiments, 
 it is probable he would alfo in the laige ones; and then this plant 
 cafi y culcvated in England, wpuld well recorr pence the pains of 
 the hulbandman. 
 
78 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 It is Incumbent on thofe who have the public 
 good at heart, to caufe trials at large to be made, 
 and if they hav^ the faccefs 'that can reafonably be 
 expeded, it will be proper to encourage thofe who 
 cuhivate woad, to follow this new method of pre- 
 paring it, and offer premiums to enable ttiem to 
 fuilain the expeiices this new pra<Slice will engage 
 tliem in, uniil tl:e advantage they will reap from it 
 may be fufficient to determine them to follow it. 
 
 I fhall now prcpofe the means to fucceed in Mr. 
 Aftruc's experiments, and thefe means naturally 
 refult from confidering the method ufed in Lan- 
 guedoc lor the preparation of woad, and the inge- 
 nious metiiod by which they feparatc the fecula of 
 the anil in America. I have already given the 
 preparjtion ot this laft ; thofe who defire a fuller 
 tJC'Vnption may confult I'Hijloire des Antilles du 
 P. du Tcvtre & du P. Labat. The following 
 picpjration of the paHel, or garden woad, is thus 
 tltlcribcvi by lAx. Allruc. 
 
 The manufa^uring of Pojlel^ or Garden Woad in 
 France* 
 
 Peafants of Abbigevois diflingulfh two kinds of 
 woad feci ; the one violet colour, the other yel- 
 low : they prefer tlie former, becaufe the woad that 
 (hoots from it bears leaves that are fmooth and po- 
 lifhed, whereas thofe that fpring from the yellow 
 are hairy ; this fi!is them with earth and dufl, 
 which makes ih? woad prepared from them of a 
 wcrfe quality. This v/oad is called pafelbourg^ or 
 bourflaignc. 
 
 The v.oad at firft fhoots five or fix leaves out of 
 the ground, which fiand upright whilft green; they 
 are a foot \orM. and fix i' chs broad ; they begin 
 to ripen in June j Ihey aie known to be ripe by 
 
 their 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 79 
 
 dieir falling down and growing yellow ; tliey are 
 then gathered, and the ground cleared froiii weeds, 
 which is carefully repeated each crop. 
 
 If there has been rain, a fecond crop is ob-> 
 tained in July ; rain ar dry weather advances or 
 retards it eight days. I 'he third crop- is at the lat- 
 ter end of Auguft ; a fourtii the latter eivd of Sep- 
 tember ; and the fifth and lail about the tenth of 
 November. This lafl crop is the mcil confider- 
 able, the interval being longer. The plant at 
 this crop is cut at the root from Whence the leaves 
 fpring. This woad is not good, and the laft crop 
 is forbid by the regulations. The. woad is not to 
 be gathered in foggy or rainy weather, but in ferene 
 weather, when the fun has been out fome time. 
 
 At each crop the leaves are brought to the mill 
 to be ground, and reduced ta a fine pafle ; tliis is 
 to be done fpeedily, for the leaves when left in a 
 heap ferment, and foon rot with an intolerable 
 ftench. Theie mills are like the oil or bark- mills, 
 that is, a mill-fl:one turns round a perpendicular 
 pivot in a circular grove or trough, pretty deep, in 
 ,which the woad is ground. 
 
 The leaves thus mafhed and reduced to a pafle, 
 are kept up in the galleries of the mil!, or in the 
 open air. After preffing the pafte well with the 
 hands and feet, it is beat down and made finooth 
 with a fiiovel. This is called the woad piled. 
 
 An outward cruft forms, which becomes blackifli; 
 when it cracks, great care muft be taken to clofe it 
 again. Little worms will generate in thefe crevices 
 and fpoil it. The pile is opened in a fortnight, 
 well worked between the hands, and the cruft well 
 mixed with theinfide; fometimes this cruft requires 
 to be beat with a mallet to knead it with the reft. 
 
 This pafte is then made into fmall loaves or 
 
 round balls, which, according to the regulations, 
 
 D 4. luuft 
 
So THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 muft weigh a pound and a quarter. Thefe balls 
 are well prcfied in the making, anH are tb.en given 
 to another, who kneacs them again in a wooden 
 ci){h, lengthens them at both ends, mak-ng them 
 oval znd fc'-'t oth. Laftiy, they are given to a 
 third, who finifhes 'them in a leffer bowl difh, by 
 prefling and perfedily uniting them. 
 
 The parte] or woad thus prepared is called Paflel 
 tn Cccaigne\ whence arifes the provtrb. Pan de 
 Cicaigm ; which fignifies a rich couniry, bccaufe 
 this coui try * where the woad grows, enriched it- 
 feif forrr;erly by the ccrarDerce of this drug. 
 
 Thefe balis f are fpreid en hurdks, and expofcd 
 to the fun in 6ne weather j in bad weather they 
 are put at the top of the mill. The woad that has 
 been expofed fome hours to the fun, becomes black 
 on the ouiiide, whereas that which has been kept 
 within doors is generally yellowifli, particularly it 
 the Wcsther has bren rainy. The merchants pre- 
 fer ti^;e former ; this makes little diftcrence as to 
 its xiit; it is in general always yeilowifli, as the 
 pecfants mollly work it in rainy weather, when 
 they cannot attend their rural employments. 
 
 In fummer, thefe balls are commonly dry in fif- 
 teen or twenty daySj whereas in autumn thofe of 
 ihc ]3il crop are Ion? in drying. 
 
 The good balls v. lien broke are of a violet co- 
 lour within, and have an agreeable fmell ; wl.creas 
 thofe that arc of an earthy colour and a bad 
 Imell, are not good : this proceeds from the ga- 
 thering of the woad during the rain, when the 
 leaves were filled with earth. Their goodnefs is 
 
 alfo 
 
 * UAhigeuh & Laurag is. 
 
 + There is a place in Indie, the name I fio not recollea, where 
 the anil is prepared after the manner of the woad, and the indigo 
 conr.«» frorti it in lumps, containing all the ufclefs parts of ihc 
 .plant. - It is very dificult to prepare a blue va: with it. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. Si 
 
 alfo known by their .weight, being light when they 
 have taken too much air, or rotten by not having 
 been fufticientiy preft. 
 
 Poivder of Woad, 
 
 Of thefe balls well prepared, the powder of 
 woad is to be made ; for this purpofe a hundred 
 thoufand at leaft are required. A diftant uara or 
 a warehoufe niuft be procured, larger or finalier 
 according to the quantity intended to be made. 
 It mufl be paved with bricks and lined with the 
 fame, to the height of four or five feet ; the walls 
 would be better to be or ftone to that height, yet 
 often the walls are only coated with earth j this coat 
 breaking off and mixing with the woad is a great 
 prejudice to it. In this place the balls are reduced 
 to a grofs powder with large wooJen inulitts. 
 This pt/Wder is heaped up to the height of four 
 feet, referving a fpace to go round, and is moiften- 
 ed with water; that which is flnny*'is beft, pro- 
 vided it be clear J the woad thus moiftened, fer- 
 ments, heats, and emits a very thick ftinking 
 vapour. 
 
 it is f^irred every day for twelve days, flinging it 
 by fh.jvels full from one (ide to the other, and 
 moiflenmg it every ^day during that time; a'ter 
 which no more water is liung on, but only ftirred 
 every fecond day; then every third, fourth, and 
 filth; it is then heaped up m the middle of the 
 place, and looked at from time to time to air it in 
 D 5 cafe 
 
 * 1 can fee no reafon why (limy water, and yet to he r'ear, is - 
 prtlerrtci. it appears lo n.e rlui cltnr river waiei would be more 
 ffcurej with thik they would &void the iiu-«)nvenitnses that n;uft 
 atteo'l a ftahcing water, always filled with h'tl)j or of a muddy 
 wattr, which contains uukfa^rth, and which n;uft make the . 
 dje uneven. 
 
82 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 cale it (hculd heat. This is the paflel or garden 
 woad powder tA fcr fale to the Dyers. 
 
 Air. Aftruc, to prove that the fale of woad fcr- 
 fnerly enriched ihe higher Languedoc, quotes the fol- 
 lowing palTage from a book entitled Le Alarchand. 
 " Forrr.erly they tranfported from Toulouze to 
 BourJeaux, by the river Garonne, each year a 
 hundred thoufand bales of woad, v/hich on the fpot 
 are worth at leaft fifteen livres a bale, which 
 amounts to 1.500.000 livres ; -frooi whence pro- 
 ceeded the abundance of money and riches of that 
 country." CaHel in his Msmoirs de V Hijio'ire du 
 Languedoc^ in 1633, P- 49* 
 
 The comparing -of thefe two methods of pre- 
 paring the woad and indigo may be fufficient to a 
 perfon of underitandi.-.g, who mi^ht be appointed to 
 try, by experi.nents, the pofllbiiity of extracting a 
 fecula from the ifatis of Languedoc like that of the 
 anil. It is neither tlie Dyer or Manutaclurer that 
 ought be applied to for that purpofe ; both would 
 condemn the |;rrje6l as a novelty, and it would re- 
 quire many experiments, which in general they are 
 not accudomed to. 
 
 1 could wiih tliis experiment was tried in gre^t, 
 fo that at lealt fifty pounds of this fecula might be 
 get, that fevsral vats might be fet in cafe the firfl 
 fliuuld fail. Whoever does try it, fhould be very 
 careful to defcribe all the circumilances of the pro- 
 cefs. Perhaps it mia,ht not fucceed at the firfl 
 crop of the leaves of the "t^Oidi^ becaufe the heat in 
 June is not fufficient, but probably he m.ight meet 
 with fuccefa in Augufl. 
 
 If this fucceens, there are without douht feveral 
 ot^^er plants of the fame quality as the ifatis, and 
 wli.ch yielas a like fecula. 
 
 It is alfo probable that the dark green of feverul 
 plants is coropofcd of yellw^v, srld blue parts ; if by 
 
 fermentaticn 
 
THE dyer's assistant. S^ 
 
 fermentation the yellow could be deftroyed, the 
 blue would remain. ^ Tins is not a chimerical idea, 
 and it is eafy to prove that fome ufe might be de- 
 rived from fuch an experiment. 
 
 CHAP. viir. 
 
 OF RED. 
 
 RED, as has been faid, is one of the primary 
 or mother colours of the Dyers, in ihe 
 great dye there are four principal reds, which are 
 the ba(is of the reft. Thefc aie, 
 
 I. Scarlet of grain. 2. The fcarlet, now in 
 ufe, or flame-coloured fcarlet, formerly called l^utch 
 fcarlet. 3. Thecrixr.fon red. Axid, 4.. The mad- 
 der red. 
 
 1 here are alfo the bailard fcarlet and the baftard 
 crimfon ; but as thefe are only mixtures of the 
 principal reds, they ought not to be coufidered as 
 particular colours. 
 
 The red, or nncaret of bourre *. was formerly 
 permitted in the great dye. 
 
 All theie different reds have their particular 
 fhades from the deeped to the llghte'l, but they 
 furm feparjte cLifTes, as the fnades of the one never 
 fall into thofe ol' the other. 
 
 The reds are worked in a different manner from 
 the blues, the wool or ftuffs not beinj; immediately 
 dipped in the dye, but previouily receivinj^ a prepa- 
 ration which gives them no colour, but prepares 
 them to receive that of the colouring in<jredlent. 
 
 D6 This 
 
 * This colour is given with weld aad gou's haJjr;^oil'jJ. in pot- 
 
 a/lics, and !i a bright orange red. .' • ■■ ■•' 
 
S4 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 This Is called the water of preparation; It is com- 
 inoniy made with acids, fuch as four waters, alum 
 and tartar, r.qua fortis, aqua re^alis, kc. Thefe 
 preparing ingredients are ufeci in different quanti- 
 ties, according to the colour and ihade required. 
 Galls are alfo often ufed, and fonaetirr.es alkaline 
 falts. This 1 fhall explain in the ccuife of this 
 treatife, when I conne to the method of working 
 each of thefe colours. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 OF SCARLET OF GRAIN. 
 
 THIS colour is called fcarlet of grain, becaufe 
 it is made with the kermes, which was 
 long thought to be grain of the tree on which it is 
 found. It was formerly called French fcarler, 
 imagining it to be firft found out in France, and 
 is now known by the name of Venetian fcarlet, 
 being much in ufe there, and more made than in 
 any o'her place. The fafhion pafTed from thence 
 into France and other countries. It has indeed 
 Jefs luftre, and is browner than the fcarlet now in 
 fafbion ; but it has the advantage of keeping its 
 fcrightnefs longer, and does not fpot by mud or 
 acid liquors. 
 
 The kermes is a gall infe<S, which is bred, lives, 
 and multiplies upon the i/ex aau/eato cocci glandif- 
 crcy C. B. P. S: rne comes from Narbonne, 
 but greater quantities from Alicant and Valentia, 
 and the peafants of Languedoc yearly bring it to 
 Montpelier and Narbonne. The merchants, who 
 buy them to fend abroad, fpread them on cloths, 
 and fprinkle them with vinegar, in order to kill 
 the little infgdts that are within, which yield a red 
 
 powder, 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 85 
 
 powder, which is feparated from the (hell after 
 drying, and is then paflied through a fievej tliis is 
 done particularly in Spain. 
 
 They then make it up in bales, and in the middle 
 of each a quantity of this powder is inclofed in a 
 leather bag, in proportion D the whole bale. 
 Thus each 1^'yer has his due proportion of this 
 powder. Thefe bales are gcrierally fent to Mar- 
 feilles, from whence t'ley are txported to the Le- 
 vant, Algiers, and Tunis, where it is greatly made 
 ufe of in dyin^. 
 
 The red draperies of the fiiiures in the ancient 
 tapeftry of Brulfels, and other manufa6tories of 
 Flanders, are dyed with this ingredient ; and fome 
 that have been wrouL ht upwards of two hundred 
 years, have fcarceiy loft any thing of the brisht- 
 nefs of the colour. I (hall now proceed to 2ive 
 the method of making this fcarlet of grain, which 
 is now feldom ufed but for wools deligned for 
 tapeftry. 
 
 Preparation of the Wool for Scarlet of Grain. 
 
 T.venty pounds of wool and half a buftiel of 
 bran are put into a copper, with a fuffici^nt quantity 
 of water, and fufFered to boil half an hour, ftirring 
 it every now and then j it is then taken out to 
 dram. 
 
 It is neceflary to obferve, that wlieaever fpun 
 wool is to be dved, a ftick is pafled through each 
 batik (which cc^imonly Weighs one pound) and 
 thev remain on he fti k during the C'urle of the 
 work to prevent their entanglir.g. This ftick alfo 
 enables the Dyer to return the hanks with more 
 eaie, by plunemg each part fucceflively in the li- 
 quor, by winch thty take an equal dye ; by raifiug 
 tiie hank with a ftick, and drawing it half way 
 
 out 
 
86 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 cut cf the copper, fe-'zing the other end of the hank 
 with the i-tber hand, it is plunged towards tie bot- 
 tom. If the wool be too hot, this may be done 
 with two fticks, ?nd the ofiener this is repeated, 
 the more even will be the dye ; the ends of the 
 fticks are then placed on two poles to drain. Thele 
 poles are ^xed in the wall above the ccpper. 
 
 L'.quorfor the Kermts. 
 
 While this prepared wool is draining, the cop- 
 per is emptied, and frelh v.'ater put in, to which 
 is added about a nfth of four water, four pounds 
 of Roman alum grolsjy powdered, and two pounds 
 of red tartar. The whole is brought to boil, and 
 that inllaf:t the hanks are dipped in (on the fticks) 
 which are to remain in for two h- urs, ftirring 
 them continually one after the other after the me- 
 thod already laid down. 
 
 I mui^ in this place obferve, that the liquor »n 
 which the alum is put, when on the point ot boil- 
 ing fometimes rifes Jo fuddenly that it comes over 
 the copper, it not prevented by adding cold wat-r. 
 If, when It is nling, the I'pun wool is ;nitin?)y put 
 in, it ft ps it, ana produces tlie fame effeds as 
 cold water. 
 
 The liquor does not rife fo fuddenly when there 
 is a large quantity of tartar, a in the procefs j but 
 when the alum is ufed alone, for.etiir.es above 
 halt the liquor comts over the copper whe.n it 
 begins to boil, if not prevented by the method de- 
 fer ibed. 
 
 When the wool has boiled, two hours in this 
 liquor, it is taken out, left to drain, gently fquecz- 
 ed, and put into a linen bag in a cool place for 
 five or fix days, and fometimes longer ; this is 
 called leaving the wool in preparation. This is to 
 
 mskc 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 87 
 
 make it penetrate the better, and helps to augment 
 the adion cf tlie falts, for as a part of the liquor 
 always fiie-s off, it is evident that the remaining-, 
 being fuller of faline particles, becomes more active, 
 provided there remained a fufficient quantity of 
 humidity ; for the falts being cryftalized and dry, 
 would have no more action. 
 
 I have dv;elled much longer on this preparing 
 liquor, and the method of making it, than I ihall 
 in the fequel, as there are a great number ot co- 
 lours for which it is prepared pretty near in the 
 fame proportion, fo that when this happens, I fhall 
 flightly defcribe it, mentioning only the changes 
 that are to be made in the quantity of alum, tartar, 
 four water, or other ingredients. 
 
 After the fpun wool has been covered^five or fix 
 days, it is fitted to receive the dye. A frelh liquor 
 is then prepared according to the quantity ot 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-colouied 
 fcarlet 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 
 (ftiil moift, 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 berore, 
 and grown dry, it muft be liahtly pafled through 
 lukewarm water, and well fqueezed before it is 
 dyed. 
 
 Previous to its being dipped in the copper with 
 the kermes, a handful ot wool is calt in, which is 
 let to boil for a minute : ti.is takes up a kmd of 
 black fcum, which the kermes tail up, by which 
 the wool that is afterwards dipped acqu res a hner 
 colour. This handtui of wool being taker, out, 
 the prepared is to be put in. The hanks are pafled 
 
 on 
 
88 THE DY£R's assistant. 
 
 on fticks as in the preparation, continually ftirring, 
 and airing them one after the other, it mu!^ boil 
 after this manner an hour at leaft, then taken out 
 and placed tn the poles to drain, afterwards wrung 
 and wa(hed. 
 
 The dye ftill remaining in the liquor, mav fer\'e 
 to dip a little 'rclh parcel of prepared woci; it will 
 take fome colour in prnprrtion to the goodnefs and 
 quality of the ketmes put into tiie copper. 
 
 When different (hades are wanted, a iefs quan- 
 tity of kernics is vifed, fo that for twenty pounds of 
 prepared wool feven t r eight are lufficient. 
 
 I he quantity of wool that is to have the iichteft 
 ihade is ft; It to be clipped, and to remain no longer 
 in than the time fufficieru to turn it and make it 
 take tlie dye equally. T hen the next rieepeft ihade 
 intended is c'ipped, and left to remain fome time 
 longer; after' this manner tb.e w:rk is continued 
 to the l2i% which is left as long as requifite to ac- 
 quire the neccfTary (hade. 
 
 Tt e f eafon ot wm king the lightell (hades firft, is, 
 that if the yarn is left too long in, no damatie Ts 
 <^one, as that hank mav ferve for a deeper (hade ; 
 whereas, if they beein by a ceeper, there wculd be 
 no rcTiievy if a failure happened in feme of the 
 lighter (haiie The fame caution is t<j be taken 
 in all colours wJiofe Ihades are to be different. 
 
 There are feldom more (hades than one from 
 the colour row fpoken of; but as the working 
 .part iS the fame roi all colours, what has been laid 
 on this 'uhjecrt will ferve for the re(l. 
 
 The yarn thus dyed, before bringing it to the 
 river, tray be pafied tnrcugh lukewarnn warer, in 
 •wh. -h a fmall qL,^ntity of (oap has been perfedly 
 <l!lToived ; this gives a brightnefs to the colour, 
 but at the fame tim faddens it a little, that is, gives 
 it a iitiie cait of the cri;iifon. As I (hall often 
 
 make 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 89 
 
 make ufe of the terms rouzing and faddening^ efpe- 
 ciaily in the acids, it is neceflary to explain their 
 meaning. 
 
 Saddening^ is giving a crimfon or violet caft to 
 red ; foap and alkaline falts, fuch as ley of allies, 
 pot-afhe", lime, fadden reds; thus they ferve to 
 brip.g them to the fliade required when too bright, 
 and that they are too much rouzed. 
 
 Rouzing^ is doing quite the reverfe ; it is giving 
 a fire to the red, by making it border on the yellow 
 or orange. This is performed on wool by the 
 means of acids, as red or white tartar, cream .of 
 tartar, vinegar, lemon juice, and aqua fortis. 
 Thefe acids are added more or lefs, acccrdiug to 
 the depth of the orange colour required. For ex- 
 ample, if the fcarlet of grain was wanted to be more 
 bright, and approach fomewhat nearer to common 
 fcarlet, a little of the fcarlet compofition, which 
 fhall be fpoken of, muft be poured into the liquor 
 after the kermes is put in, and the brown colour of 
 that liquor would immediately be brightened by 
 the acid, and become of a brighter red , the wool 
 dipped in would be more liable to be fpotted by 
 mud and acid liqux)*s : the reafon will appear in the 
 next chapter. 
 
 I have made various experiments on this colour, 
 in order to make it fitter and brighter than what it 
 generally is, but I never could extra<5l a red that 
 was to be compared to that of cochineal. 
 
 Of all tlie liquors which I made for the prepara- 
 tion of the wool, that which was made with the 
 preparations juff mentioned fucceeded befl:. By 
 changing the natural dye of the kermes, by dif- 
 ferent kinds of ingredients of metallic folutions, 
 &c. various colours are made, which I (hall im- 
 mediately fpeak of. 
 
 I fhall 
 
90 THE dyer's assistant, 
 
 I fliall fay but little about dying fiuifs with this 
 red, as the proportion cannot be prefer i bed for each 
 yard of fluff, on account of their breadth and thick- 
 nefs, cr the quantity of \vo®l entering the r compo- 
 fition ; pra6tice alone will teach the necelLry quan- 
 tity for each fort of ftufF; however, not to work 
 in the dark, or to'try experiments at random, the 
 furefl: way will be to weigh the fluffs, and to di- 
 minifh about one-fourth pacf of the colouring in- 
 gredients laid down for fpJb wool, as fluffs take 
 up lefs colour inwardly, tlfeir texture being more 
 compacS^, prevents its penetration, whereas yarn 
 cr wool in the fleece receives it equally -within and 
 without. vvi. 
 
 The alum and tartar for the Tiqunr of prepara- 
 tion for the fluffs mufl be diminjfhed in the fame 
 proportion, and they are not to remain in the pre- 
 paring 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 incomparate it with cloths 6f a 
 mixed colour, or to make full cloths, it will liave 
 a much finer effe6l than if the wool had been dyed 
 in the red of madder. 1 fhall mention this in 
 defcribing the compound colours in which the 
 kermes is ufed, or ought at leafl to be ufed in pre- 
 ference to madder, which does not give fo fine a 
 red, but, being cl.eaper, is. commonly fubftituted 
 for it. 
 
 Half- grain fcarlet, or baftard fcarlet, is that 
 which is made of equal parts of kermes and mad- 
 der. This mixture affords a very holding colour, 
 not bright, but inclining to a blood red. It is pre- 
 pared and worked in the fame manner as that made 
 of kermes alone. This dye is much cheaper, and 
 the Dyers commonly make it lefs perfedi by di- 
 minifliing the kermes and augmenting the madder. 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 9I 
 
 . By the proofs that have been made of fcarlet of 
 grain, or k^rmes, wliether by expofing it to tlie 
 {an, or by different proofs, it is certain there is not 
 a more holding or a better colour ; yet the kermes 
 is no where in ufe but at Venice. The mode 
 ,of this colour has been entirely out fince the making 
 of flame-coloured fcarlets. This fcarlet of grain 
 is now called a colour.of bullock's blood ; never- 
 thelefs, it lias great adVantages over the other, for 
 it neither blackens nor foots, and greafe may be 
 taken out without prejudice to its colour ; but it 
 is out of fart^on, and that is fufficicnt. This has 
 entirely put a flop to the confumption-of kermes 
 in France. Scarce a Dyer knows it, and when 
 Monfieur Colbert wanted a certain quantity for 
 the experiments above related, he was obliged to 
 fend for it to Languedoc, the merchants of Paris 
 keeping only a fufficiency for medicinal purpofes. 
 
 When a Dyer is obliged to dye a piece of cloth, 
 known yet under the name of fcarlet of grain, as 
 he has neither the knowledge of the kermes, nor 
 the cuftom of ufing it, he makes it of a cochineal, 
 as I fhall relate in the following chapter ; it comes 
 dearer, and is iefs holding than that made of the 
 kermes. The fame is done in regard to fpun wool 
 defigned for tapeftries, and as this fhade is pretty 
 difficult to hit with cochineal, they commonly mix 
 • brazil wood, which hitherto has been a falfe ingre- 
 dient, permitted only in the leffer dye. For this 
 reafon all thefe kind of reds fade in a very fhort 
 time, and though they are much brighter than re- 
 quired, coming out of tiie hands of the workman, 
 they lofe all their brightnefs before the expiration 
 of a year ; they whiten or become exceeding grey ; 
 it is therefore to be wiflied that the ufe of kermes 
 was again eftablifhed. It is alfo certain, that if 
 fome Dyer fet about ufing it, there are feveral cc- 
 
 loufs 
 
92 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 Icurs that might be extracled from it -.vith more 
 €afe and lefs expence than the commci method ; 
 for thefe co.ours would bt better and more hold'ng-, 
 and he would thereby acquire a greater reputati.)n. 
 I have made above fiity experiments with the 
 Vermes J from which feme u'.e !n praiftice n.av arife ; 
 I ftsl! only relate fuch as have produced xhe m it 
 (Lnguiar co'ours. 
 
 By mixing the kermcs wiih cream of tariar> 
 without alum, and as much of tliC ccrnpofition 
 as wonld be ufed for the makins a Icarlet with co- 
 cliineal, you have in one liquor an exceeding bright 
 cinnamon, tor nrthinij but"tiie acid entering in the 
 iLixmre, the red parts of the kermes become fo 
 minute that they almoft eJ'cape the fight. But if 
 this cinnamon colour he pafTed through a liquor of 
 Roman alum, part of tiiis red appears again ; 
 whether it be by the addition or the a.um that 
 drives out a part of the acid of the comp.fi'. ion, or 
 the earth of the alum precipitated by the aftriction 
 of the kermes, which has the efFedl ofgalls^ I know 
 not ; but this red thus reftored is not tine. 
 
 With cream of tartar (the cortipofition for fcar^ 
 let) and alum, in greater quantity than tartar, the 
 kermes gives a lilac colour, which varies according 
 as the proportion of ingredients are changed. 
 
 If in the place of alum and tartar, ready pre- 
 pired tartar of vitriol is fubftituted, v.hich is a very 
 hard fait, refulting from tJic mixture of the vitriolic 
 acid and a fixed alkali, fuch as the oil of tartar, 
 pot-aflies, &c. an.i if, I fay, after boiling the kermes 
 in a folution of a fmail quantity of this fait, the 
 fluff be dipped in and boiled one hour, it acquires 
 a tolerable handfome agath grey, and in which very 
 little red is feen, for the acid of the compofitioa 
 bavins too much divided the red of the kermes, and 
 the tartar of vitriol, not containing the earth of the 
 
 alum. 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 93 
 
 •alum, it could not re- unite thefe rerl atoms, dif- 
 perled by precipitation. Ti^efe agath -reys are of 
 , the good dye, for, as I have obferved in the chapter 
 treating of indigo, the tartar of vitriol is a hard 
 fait, which is not calcined by the fun, and is indif- 
 foluble in rain water. 
 
 Glauber faits mixed with the kermes entirely de- 
 ftroy its red, and give an earthy grey that does 
 not ftand the proof, for this fait neither refifts cold 
 w.^ter nor the rays of tlie fun, which reduce it into 
 powder. Vitriol or green copperas, and blue vitriol 
 feparated fubftituted for alum, but jjined to th.e 
 cryftal of tartar, equally deftroy or veil the red of 
 the kermes, which in thefe two experiments pro- 
 duce the fame efFeit as if galls or fumach had been 
 made ufe 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. 
 
 Inftead of blue vitriol, I ufed a folution of cop- 
 per* in aqua fcrtis, which alfo produced an olive 
 colour ; a convincing proof that the kermes has the 
 precipitating quality of the galls, fince it precipi- 
 tates the copper of the vitriol as a decodlion of gall- 
 nut would. 
 
 There is great probability that what renders the 
 red of tiie kermes as holding as that of madder, is 
 from the infedts feeding on an aftringent fhrub, 
 which, notwithftanding the changes made by the 
 digeftion of the juices of the plant, ftill retains the 
 aftringent quality of the vegetable, and confequently 
 the virtue, and fo gives a greater fpring to the pores 
 of the wool to contract themfelves quicker and with 
 greater ftrength, when it comes out of the boiling 
 water, and is expofed to the cold air j for I have 
 
 obferved 
 
 * Verdigrife, 
 
94 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 obferved that a'l barks, roots, weeds, fruits, and 
 other matters that have forae allriclicn, yield colcuis 
 of the good dye. 
 
 Violets zuithout Blue. 
 
 The white vitriol of goflar, whofe bafis is the 
 zkick, being joined with the cryftal cf tartar, 
 changes the red of the kermes into a violet. Thus 
 v.ith one colouring ingredient, and fimple changes, 
 violets are made without a blue ground ; for tnis 
 compound cclcur, hitherto only obtained by putting 
 a blue on a red, or a red on a blue, is made as 
 well with cochineal, or even ^ith madder, as (hall 
 be fhov.'n treating of thefe two ingredients. Vv'hite 
 vitriol being extracted from a mine, containing 
 lead, arl'enic, and feveral other natters, whcfe re- 
 crements melted afterwards with fand and alkaline 
 falts, vitrifies into a blue mafs, called /^^v. I fuf- 
 pe£led the white vitriol might contain a portion of 
 this blue, which, with the red of the kermes, might 
 have changed to a violet, and confequently that the 
 mine of i]\e bifmuth, which really contains this 
 blue matter, znd the biimuth itfeif, would produce 
 tlie fame effect as wl ite vitriol ; neither was I mif- 
 tsken in my conjeciure; for having put fotne of 
 the extract of the mine of bifmuth in the liquor of 
 kermes, and fcn-je of the folution of the bifmuth 
 itfeif, upon another decodlion of the fame ingre- 
 dient, they both dyed cloth of a violet colour. I 
 fhall not here give the procefs of extracting the 
 mine of bifmuth, for it is a cifficuk operation for a 
 Dyer. However, if the reader is defirous to know 
 what I mean by the extraction of the mine of bif- 
 muth, he will find the prccefs in the Royal Aca- 
 demy of Sciences for the year ly^Jt where there is 
 a menicir on fvmpathetic inks. As to the folution 
 
 of 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 95 
 
 of bifmuth, which produces almoft the fame effe£l, 
 it is made after the following manner : 
 
 Take four parts of fpirits of nitre, and four parts 
 of very clear water, which mix together, and dif- 
 folve therein one part of bifmuth, or tin glafs, broken 
 in fmail pieces, put the laft little by little into the 
 liquor, left they fliould occafion too violent a fer- 
 mentation. Acids put in too great abundance in 
 the liquor of the kermes, whether it be fpirits of 
 vitriol, aqua fortis, vinegar, lemon juice, even four 
 water, fo greatly divide the red colouring particles, 
 that the cloth receives but a cinnamon colour, bor- 
 dering on the aurora, if there is too much acid, and 
 a little redder if there is lefs. 
 
 Fixed alkaline falts, mixed with four water and 
 cream of tartar, in the place of alum, do not de- 
 ftroy the red of the kermes as acids do, but faddens 
 and muds it if too much be put in, fo that the cloth 
 receives only a faded lilac colour. 
 
 Other experiments, ftill more diverfified than 
 thofe here related, prefented an infinite variety 
 cf colours, but nothing more beautiful than what 
 may be done with cheaper drugs than the kermes i 
 I Ihall therefore pafs them over. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 OF FLAME-COLOURED SCARLET. 
 
 FLAME-coloured fcarlet, that is, bright- colour- 
 ed fcarlet, known formerly under the name of 
 Dutch fcarlet, (the difcovery of which Kunkel at- 
 tributes to Kufter, a German chymili) is the fineft 
 and brighteft colour of the dye. It is alfo the mod 
 <roftly, and one of the hardeft to bring to perfection. 
 It is not eafy to determine the point .of perfection, 
 
 for, 
 
gS THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 for, independent of (iifftient tr.fli's concerning the 
 choice of ccJL-ur', tliere are aifo general fancies, 
 Nvhich ciake ct.rtairj colours .ncre in falljion at one 
 time rhan anctl.er; when this happens, afliionable 
 colours becotne p"rtedt ones. Fori»,ejly fcarlcts 
 were chcfen full, deep, and of a degree of bright- 
 nefs wliich the fight eafily bore. At tins tirr.e they 
 iT;u{l be on the orange, full of fire, and of a bright- 
 ncfs which dazzles the eye. I Ihall not decide 
 which of thefe two fafliions deferve the preference, 
 but (hall give the rr.ethod of making them both, 
 and all the fliades which hold a medium between 
 ihele extremes. 
 
 Cochineal, which yields this beautiful colour, 
 and is aifo called raeflick, or tefcalle^ is an infect 
 that is gaii^ered in great quantities in Mexico. 
 The natives and Spsriards, who have but frnall 
 eftabjifliments there, cultivate them, that is, csre- 
 fully gather tliCm from the plant en which they 
 feed before the ramy feafon. They kill and dry 
 thcfe deligned r.r fale, and preferve the reft to mul- 
 tiply when the bad feafon is over. This infe^ 
 fee^s and liteds upon a kind of prickly opuhtia, 
 which they csll tcpal. It may be preserved in a 
 dry place fur ages witliout fpoiling. 
 
 The cochineal fylveflre, or campeffiane, is aifo 
 brought rroni 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 cpuntias ; it is there expofed in the 
 rainy Aafon to all the humidity of the air, and diss 
 naturally. This cochineal is always fmaller tb>an 
 the fine or cultivated ; the colour is more holding 
 and better, bvi- has not the fame brightnefs, neither 
 is it profitable to. uie it, fi^ice it requires four parts, 
 and fometimes more, to do what may be done 
 with cne of fine. 
 
 2 Sometirr.es 
 
THE DYtR's ASSISTANT. 97 
 
 Sometimes they have damaged cochineal at Ca- 
 diz; this is line cochineal that has been wetted 
 with fait water, occafioned by fome (hipwrcck or 
 leakage. 'Thefe accidentrs confukrably dinninifii 
 the price, the fea fait faddening the dye. This 
 kind ferves only to make purples, and even thofe 
 are not the bed. However, a perfqn in 1735 
 found the fecret to turn this to almoft as mucfi 
 advantage for fcarlet as the fined cochineal. The 
 difcovery of this fecret is eafy, but let him that 
 poffefTes it enjoy it, I fhall not deprive him of the 
 advantage he might have in it. 
 
 Every Dyer has a particular receipt for dying 
 fcarlet, and each is fully perfuaded that his own 
 is preferable to all others ; yet the fuccefs depends 
 on the choice of the cochineal, of the water ufed 
 in the dye, and on the manner of preparing the 
 folution of tin, which the Dyers call compofition 
 for fcarlet. 
 
 As it is this compofition which gives the bright 
 flaiiie colour to the cochineal dye, and v.'hich 
 without this acid liquor would naturally be of a 
 crimfon colour, I (hall defcribe the preparation 
 that fucceeded beft with me. 
 
 Compofitian for Scarlet, 
 
 Take eight ounces of fpirit of nitre, (which Is 
 
 always purer than the common aqua fortis mortly 
 
 ufed by the Dyers) and * be certain that it con- 
 
 £ tains 
 
 * Diflblve in a fjr.all quantity of fpirit of nitre as much filrer 
 as it will take J put a few drops of this into fome of the fpirit cf 
 nitre that is to be proved ; if this fpirit remains tranfparenr, it is 
 pure; tut if a white cloud be perceived, which will afterwards 
 form a fediment, it is a fign that there is a commixture of vitriol 
 or fpirit of fait. In order therefore to rentier the fpirit t f nine ab- 
 . folaiely pure; drop the folution of filter gradually into it, fo long 
 
§8 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 tains no vitriolic acid ; weaken this nitrous zad 
 by puttins into it eight ounces of filtered river 
 water; difToIve in it, little b\ liit'e. half an ounce 
 o( very white lalt amn^oniac, to make it an aqua 
 regia, becaufe fpirits of nitre akne wa i ct dif- 
 folve b!jck-tin. Laftly, add two drachms or Talt- 
 petre ; this might be omitted, but J Lbierved that 
 it was of uie in nr.nking :he dye f-r.coth and equal. 
 In this squa r^gia thus weakened, ciiloive one 
 ounce of the beft hl:ck-tin, which is firft granul- 
 ated cr made roiaii while mieltcd Dy caft.ng ir irom 
 a iieight into a veflel of cold-water. Tl.efc fmall 
 grains of tin are put into tlic difiblvent one by one, 
 letting the .firft d;ffol\'e bttore putting in others j 
 this prevents the Icis of the red vapcurs, which 
 would rife in great abuncance, and be loft if the 
 diiTolution of tne rretal was rnac'e too haiVily ; it is 
 necefTarv to prekrve thefe vapours, and, as Kunkel 
 cbferved, they greatly ».ontribu'e towaiv's the 
 brightneis of the colour, e.ther becaufe thefe 
 vapours are acids that evaporate and are loft, or 
 contain a fulphur peculiar to faiipetre, which giveg 
 a brightnefs to the colour. This method is indeed 
 much longer than that ufed by the Dyers, who im- 
 mediately pcur the aqua fortis upon the tin reduced 
 to fmall piece?, and wait till a ilrcng fermentstion 
 enfues, and a great quantity evaporates before 
 they weaken it with common water. When the 
 tin is thus diiTcived, this fcsriet compofition is 
 made, and the liquor is of the beautiful colour of 
 diiTolved gold, without any dirt or black .fediment, 
 
 as 
 
 as It O-.aH produce the leaft turbidr.efs, time being given for the 
 ipirit to beccme clesr betwixt each addiricn. The {-/.Tit c( nitre 
 b£Jnf then po'jred cff from t e fedin.ent, will be perfefUy pure } 
 a:>.d if this fediir.er.f, which is the Giver precipitated, he evapo- 
 ratid to dryrefs, jud then infofed in a crucibie with a fnriail 
 ^•jar.tiry of any fcxed alkaline fa^t, i; wUi be reduced to i:» pr^- 
 *ii D,eta:!.r.e flste. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 99 
 
 as I ufed very pure tin without allay, and fuch as 
 runs from the firft melting of the furnaces of , 
 Cornwall. This folutionof tin is very tranfparent 
 when newly made, and becomes miiky and opaque 
 during the great heat of fummer; the greateft part 
 of the Dyers are of opinion, that it is then changed 
 and good for nothing; yet mine, notwithltanding 
 this defe£^, made as bright fcarlet as if it had re- 
 mained clear ; befides, in cold weather, what I 
 made recovered its firft tranfparency. It muft be 
 kept in a glafs bottle with a ftopper, to prevent the 
 evaporation of the volatile pans. 
 
 As the Dyers do not attend to this, their com- 
 pofition often becomes ufelefs at the end of twelve 
 or fifteen days. I have laid down the beft method, 
 and, if they feek perfedion, they will abandon 
 their old practice, which is imperfed:. 
 
 The Dyers in France firft put into a ftone vefiel, 
 with a large opening, two pounds of fait am- 
 moniac, two ounces of refined faltpetre, and two 
 pounds of tin reduced to grains by water, or, 
 which is ftill preferable, the filings of tin; for 
 when it has been melted and granulated, there is 
 always a fmall portion converted into a calx which 
 does not diffolve. They weigh four pounds of 
 water in a feparate veftel, of which thev pour about 
 two ounces upon the mixture in the ftone vefTel ; 
 they then add to it a pound and a half of common 
 aqua fortis, which produces a violent fermentation. 
 When the ebullition crafes, they put in the fame 
 quantity of aqua fortis, and an inftant after they 
 add one pound more. They then put in the re- 
 mainder of the four pounds of water they had fet 
 £fide; the vefiel is then clofe covered, and the com- 
 pofition let to ftand till the next day. 
 
 The fait petre and fait ammoniac are fometitnes 
 
 tlifiblved in the aqua fortis before the tin is put in ; 
 
 E 2 ' thev 
 
100 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 they pradice both methods indilcriminately, though 
 it is certain that this laft method is beft. Others 
 mix the water and aqua fortis together, and pour 
 this mixture on the tin and fah ammoniac. In 
 ihorr, every Dyer follows his own method. 
 
 [Voter for the Preparation of Scarlet. 
 
 The day after preparing the compofition, the 
 water for the preparation of fcarlet is made, which 
 differs from that made in the preceding chapter. 
 
 Clear the water well. For each pound of fpim 
 wool, put twenty quarts of very clear river water 
 (hard fpring water will not do J into a fmal! copper. 
 When the water is a little more than lukewarm, 
 two ounces of cream of tartar finely powdered, 
 and one drachm and a half of powdered and fifted 
 cochineal is added. The fire is then made a httie 
 Wronger, and when the liquor is ready to boil, two 
 ounces of the compofition are put in. This acid 
 iiiftantly changes tlie colour of the liquor, which, 
 from a cri'Tifon, becomes of the colour of blood. 
 
 As foon as this liquor begins to boil, the wool is 
 dipped in, which muil have been previoufly wetted 
 in warm water and wrung. The wool is conti- 
 nually worked in this liquor, and left to boil an 
 hour and a half; it is then taken out, flightly 
 wrung, and waftied in frefli water. The wool 
 coming out of the liquor is of a lively fle^ colour, 
 cr even fome fhades deeper, according to the good- 
 nefs of the cochineal, and the ftrength of the com- 
 pofition. The colour of the liquor is then entirely 
 pafTed into the wool, remaining almofl as clear as 
 common water. 
 
 Tals is called the water of preparation for fcar- 
 ler, and the firfl: jJreparation it goes through before 
 it is dyed j a preparation abfolutely necefiary, 
 
 without 
 
THE DY£R*S ASSISTANT. lOI 
 
 without vihich the dye of the cochineal would not 
 be fo good. 
 
 Reddening. 
 
 To finifh it, a frefh liquor is prepared with clear 
 water, the goodnefs of the water being of the 
 greateft importance towards the perfeilion of the 
 leaflet. An ounce and a half of ftarch is put in *, 
 and when the liquor is a little more than luke- 
 warm, fix drachms and a half of cochineal finely 
 powdered and fifted is thrown in. A little before 
 the Hquor boils, two ounces of the compofition is 
 poured in, and the liquor changes its colour as in 
 the former. It muft boil, and then the wool is 
 put into the copper, and continually ftirred as in 
 the former. It is likewife boiled an hour and a 
 half J it is then taken out, wrung, and walhed. 
 The fcarlet is then in its perfe£l:ion. 
 
 One ounce of cochineal is fuf£cient for a pound 
 of wool, provided it be worked with attention, and 
 after the manner laid down, and that no dye re- 
 Hiains in the liquor. For coarfe cloth lefs v/ould 
 do, or half as much for worfted. However, if it 
 was required to be deeper of cochineal, a drachm 
 or two might be added, but not more, for it would 
 then lofe its luftre and brightnefs. 
 
 Though I have mentioned the quantity of the 
 cornpofition, both in the water of the preparation 
 and the dye, yet this proportion is not to be taken 
 as a fixed rule. 
 
 The aqua fortis, ufed by the Dyers, is feldom 
 of an equal ftrength ; if, therefore, it be always 
 mixed with an equal quantity of water, the com- 
 pofition would not produce the fame eflfeit ; but 
 tlicre is a method of afcertaining the degree of 
 E 3 acidity 
 
 * Starch foftens it, 
 
JG2 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 acidity of aqua fortis. For example, to ufe that 
 only, two otnces of which would diffolve one 
 ounce of filver. This would produce a compo- 
 fition that would be always equal, but the quality 
 of the cochineal would then produce new varieties,, 
 and the trifling difference tliat this commonly caufcs 
 in the fliade of fcarlei is of no great fignihcaticn, 
 as more or lefs may be ufed to bring it precifely to 
 tlie colour defired. If the compofiuon be -weak, 
 and the aforefaid quantity not put in, the fcarlet 
 will be a little deeper and fuller in colour. On the 
 contrary, if a little more is added, it will be more 
 on thcvorange, and have what is called more fire j 
 to rectify v;hich, add a little of the compofition, 
 ftirring it well in the copper, having firfl taken out 
 tht v/ool ; for if it was to touch any part before it 
 was thoroughly mixed, it would blot it. If, en the 
 contrary, the fcarlet has too much fire, that is, too 
 iTiUch on the orange, or too much rouzed, it mufk 
 be paficd through clear warm water; when finiftjed, 
 this I'addens it a little, that is, diminifhes its bright, 
 crange ; if there ftill remained too much, a little 
 Pvoman alur. muft be mixed with the hot water. 
 
 For fpun wool that is to have all the various 
 Ihades of fcarlet, about half the cochineal, and half 
 the compofition for full fcarlet is fufficient. The 
 cream of tartar muft: alfo be diminifhed propor- 
 tionabiy in the water of preparation. J he wool 
 riiufi be divided into as many hanks or Hcains as 
 there are to be Ciades, and when the liquor is pre- 
 pared, the (kains that are to be lighteft are firft to be 
 dipped, and to remain in but a very Ihort fpace of 
 time; then thofe that are to be aJittle deeper, which 
 mull: remain in fomewhat longer, and thus pro- 
 ceeding to the deepefl ; the wool is then to be 
 walhed, and the liquor prepared to finifli them. In 
 this liquor, each of thefe Ihades are to be boiled 
 
 one 
 
THE dyer's assistant. lOJ 
 
 one after the other, beginning always with the 
 lighteft, and if any are perceived nor to be of the 
 proper (hide, they muft be pafTed again through 
 the iiquor. The eye of a Dyer will readily judge 
 of the (hades, and a little pratStice will bring this 
 to perfection. 
 
 The Dyers are divided in opinion of what metal 
 the boiler (houIJ be made In Languedoc they 
 ufe thofe made of the fineft block-tin, and fcveral 
 Dyers in Paris follow the (ame method. Yet that 
 great Dyer, M. de Julienne, whofe fcarlets are ia 
 high repute, ufes brafs. The fame is ufed in the 
 great manufadtory at St. Dennis. M. de Julienne, 
 to keep the ftuifs from touching the boiler, makes 
 ufe of a large rope-net with clofe ma(hes. At St. 
 Dennis, in(\ead of a rope- net, they have large 
 bafVets, made of willov/llripped of the bark, and 
 not too clofe worked. 
 
 As fo much had been faid concerning the metal 
 of the boiler, I tried the experiment. I took two 
 eils of white (edan cloth, which I dyed in two fepa- 
 rate boilers of equal fize ; one was of brafs^ futed 
 with a rope- net, the other of block- tin. The co- 
 chineal, the compofition, and other ingredients, 
 were weighed with tl'ie utmoiV accuracy, and boiled 
 precifely the fame time. In fhort, I took all pof- 
 iible care that the procefs fhould be the fame in 
 both, that if any difference arofe it might only be 
 attributed to the difrerent metals of the boiler.^ 
 After the firft liquor, the two pieces of cloth were 
 abfolutely alike, only that which had been boiled in 
 the tin veffel appeared a little more ftreaked and 
 uneven, which, in all likelihood, proceeded from 
 thefe two ells of cloth being lefs fcoured at theinill 
 than the two others; the two pieces were tinifhed 
 each in the feparate boilers, and both turned out 
 veiy tinei but that which had been made in the tin 
 i-' 4 boikr 
 
104 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 boiler bad a little mere fire than the other, and th« 
 1 jft v/as a little more faddeiied. h would have beea 
 an eafy matter to have brought them both to the 
 fame (hade, but that was not my intention. 
 
 From this experiment, i conclude, that when a 
 brafs boiler is ufcd, it requires a little more of the 
 cornpofiiion than the tin one ; but this addition of 
 ti»e compcfition mskes the clcth feel rough; to 
 avoid this defecl, the Dyers who ufe brafs veffels 
 put in a little turmeric, a drug of the Dye, but 
 wiiich gives to fcarlct that ihade which is now in - 
 faihion ; I mean that flame- colour, which the eye 
 is fcarce able to bear. 
 
 This adulteration is eafily difccvered by cutting 
 a piece of the cloth ; if there is no turmeric, the 
 web will be of a fine v/hite, but yellow if there is. 
 \Vljen the web is dyed the fan;e as the furface, it 
 is fiid that colour is webbed, and the contrary, when 
 the middle of the weaving remains white. The 
 lawful fcarlet is never dyed in the web : the adul- 
 terated, where the turmeric or furtic has been made 
 ufe cf, is more liable to change its colour in the 
 air than the other. Eut as tiic brighteft fcarlets 
 are i:iow in fafliion, and muft have a yellow caft, it 
 is better to tolerate the ufe of turmeric, than to ufe 
 too great a quantity of thecompofition to bring the 
 fcar'et to ti.is fhade ; for in this laft cafe, the cloth 
 would be damiaged by it, would be fooner fpotted 
 by dirt from the quality of ilie acid, and would be 
 more eaCly torn, becaufe acids ftifien the fibres of 
 the wool, and render them brittle. 
 
 1 muft alfo take notice, that if a copper veflel is 
 ufed it cannot be kept too clean. 1 have failed 
 fcveral times with my patterns of fcarlet, by not 
 having the copper fcoured. 
 
 I cannot help condemning the common pradlice 
 of fome Dyers, even the mofl eminent, who pre- 
 pare 
 
THE dyer's assistant. IO5 
 
 pare their liquor over-night, and keep it hot till 
 next morning, when the)^ dip in their fluffs ; this 
 they do not to lofe time, but it is certain that the 
 liquor corrodes the copper in that fpace, and by in- 
 troducing particles of copper in the cloth, preju- 
 dices the beauty of the fcarlet. They may fay they 
 only put in their compofition juft at the time when 
 tiie cloth is ready to be dipt in the copper ; but the 
 cream of tartar, or the white tartar, which they 
 put in over- night, is an acid fait fufficient to cor- 
 rode the copper of the veflel, and form a verdigrife, 
 although it dilutes itfelf as it forms, ftill has not a 
 lefs effe£^. 
 
 It would therefore be better to make ufe of tin 
 boilers, a boiler of this metal mud contribtfte to 
 the beauty of fcarlet ; but thefe boilers of a fufficient 
 fize coft much, and may be melted by the negli- 
 gence of the workmen, and there is a difficulty in 
 carting them of fo great a fize without fand-flaws, 
 which mud be filled^ Now if thefe fand-holes 
 are filled with folder, there muft of neceffity be 
 places in the boiler thai contain lead ; this lead in 
 time being corroded by the acid of the compofition, 
 •will tarnifh the fcarlet. But if fuch a boiler could 
 be csft without any fand-holes, it is certain iuch 
 a one would be preferable to all others, as it con- 
 trades no ruft, and if the acid of the liquor detaches 
 fome parts, they cannot be hurtful. 
 
 Having laid down the manner of dying fpun 
 wool in fcarlet, and its various fhades, 'which are 
 fo necelTary for tapeftry and other work, it is proper 
 to give an idea of the dying of feveral pieces of ftuff 
 at one time. I fhall relate this operation as it is 
 pradlifed in Languedoc. I made the trial on fome 
 ells of fluff, which fucceeded very well, but this 
 fcarlet was not fo fine as the flame-coloured, 
 
 E.5 Th':T§ 
 
106 THE DYER'iS ASSrSTAWT. 
 
 There are two reafons why the wool Is not dyed 
 before ic is ipun (tor fine colours) firi^ in th.e courfe 
 of the manufadturing, that is, either in the fpinnhig, 
 carcing, or weoviog, it would be almofl: iir^pofTible 
 in a large workfhop, where there are many work- 
 men, nut that fome particles of white wool, or fome: 
 other colour would mix, which v;ouId fpoil that of 
 the ftuff by blotting it ever fo little j for that reafon, 
 the reds, the blues, the yeliows, the greens, and 
 all other colours that are to be perfc£lly uniform, 
 are never dyed before they are manufa6fured. 
 
 The fecond reafon, which is peculiar to I'carler, 
 or rather to ccehineal, is, that it will not ffand the 
 nulling, and as the greateft part of high fiufFs muft 
 be ir.ilied after they are taken from the loom, the 
 cochineal would lofe part of its colour, or at leaft. 
 would be greatly faddened by thsfoap, which pro- 
 duces this eit^iEt by the alkaline fait which deftroys 
 ■the brightnefs given to the red by the acid. Thefe 
 are t!ie reafons that the cloths and fluffs are not 
 dyed in icarlet, light red, crlmfon, violet, purple, 
 and other light colours, but after being entirely 
 milled and drefied. 
 
 To dve, for example, f>ve pieces of cloth at one 
 time of five quarters breadth, and containing fifteen 
 or fixreen eiis eacli, the following proportsoiis are 
 to be obferved. Put into a {tone or gljzed earthen 
 pot tvjulve pounds of aqua fortis, and twenty pounds 
 of water, to wh;d"i add a pound and a half of tin,, 
 inside in grains by running it in water, or nled. 
 The diiToiution is msde quicker or flower, accord- 
 ing to the greater or lefTer acidity of the aqua fortis. 
 Trie whole is left to refl twelve liours at leaff, 
 duriiig which time a kind of black mud fettles at 
 the bottom of tlie vt-lTel ; what fwinis over this fe- 
 diii.eiit li poured off by incliintion y this liquor is 
 
 ciear 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 10/ 
 
 clear and yellow, and is the compofition which is 
 to be kept by itfelf. 
 
 This prccefs differs from the finl in the quan- 
 tity of water mixt with the aqua fortis, and in the 
 final! quantity of tin, httle of which^mufl remain 
 in the liquor, fince aqua fortis alone cannot dilToIve 
 it, but only corrodes it, and reduces it to a calx, 
 as there is neither fait petre, nor fait ammoniac 
 which would form an aqua regia. However, the 
 effevSl of this compolition differs from the firft only 
 to the eyes accuflomed to judge of that colour. 
 
 This compofition made without fait ammoniac, 
 and which has been of long ufe amongft a great- 
 number of manufavSlurers at Carcaffone, who cer- 
 tainly imagined that its effecSt was owing to the 
 fulphur of the tin, can only keep thirty-fix hours 
 in ^winter without fpoiling, and twenty-four hours 
 in furamer j at the expiration, of which it grows 
 muddy, and a cloud precipitates to the bottom of 
 the veffel, which changes to a white fediment.. 
 This is the fmall quantity of tin, which was 
 fufpended in the acid, but an acid not prepared for 
 that metal j the compofition which ought to be 
 yellow becomes at that time as clear as water, and if 
 ufed in that ftate v/ould not fucceed ; it would have 
 the fame effect as that which would become milky. 
 The late M. Baron pretended to have been the 
 firft difcoverer at Carcaffone of the neceffity of 
 adding fait ammoniac to hinder the tin from pre- 
 cipitating. U fo, there was no one in that town 
 that knew that tin cannot be really diffolved but by 
 aqua regia. 
 
 Having prepared the compofition as I have de- 
 fcribed it after M. de Fondriers, about fixty cubi- 
 cal icet of water arc put into a large copper for 
 the ii/e pieces of cloth before mentioned, and 
 wiica tiie water grov.'s warm, a bag with bran is 
 
 £ 6 UUt; 
 
10% THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 put in, fjmetimes alfo four waters are ufed : the 
 one and the other ferve to correct tl-.e water, that 
 is. to abforb the eartlw and alkaline matters which 
 may be in it, and which, as I have already faid^ 
 fsddens the dye cf the cochineal, for the efFccl of 
 the water ought to be well known, and experience 
 will teach whether fuch expedients ihould be ufed, 
 cr whetlier the water, being very pure and denulated 
 of falts and earthy particles, can be ufed without 
 fu:h helps. 
 
 Be tliat as it will, as loon as the water begins to 
 1)5 little more than lukewarm, ten pounds of pow- 
 dered cream of tartar is flung in, that is two 
 pounds for each piece of clnh. T!ie Tquor is 
 then raked flrongly, and when it grows a little 
 hotter, half a pound of powdered cochineal is caft 
 in, which is well mixt with flicks ; immediately 
 a^ter, twenty- feven pounds of the compof^tion very 
 cTesr is poured in, which is alfo well ftirred, and 
 as f'on as the liqi^or begins to boil, the cloths are 
 put in, wMch are made to boil flrongly for tvvo 
 hours, furring them continually by the he'p cf the 
 wynch ; they are then taken cut upon the fcray, and 
 ■well handled three cr four times from end to end, 
 by pafling the lirts between the hands to air and 
 ccoi them. Thev jre afterwards walhed. 
 
 Af:er the cloth has been wafhtd, the copper is 
 emptied and a frefii lii^unr prepared, to which, if 
 r.eceilary, a bag with bran cr fome four water is 
 acded ; bur if the water i<: o^ a good quality, thele 
 sre to be omitred y when the liquor is ready to boil, 
 elihr pounds ai^d a quarter of powdered and. fifted 
 cochineal is put in, which is to be mixed as equal- 
 ly as pcluble th.-ou';:hout the liquor, and having left 
 off ftirrine, it is t > be obforved when the cochineal 
 rift^s en the furfsce of the water, and forms a cruft 
 ot the colour of the le.s of the wine i the inllant 
 
 tills 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. IQ9 
 
 this cruft opens of itfelf in feveral places, eighteen 
 or twenty pounds of the compofition is to be added. 
 A veflel with cold water muft be at hand to caft 
 on the liquor in cafe it fhould rife, as it fometin^eff 
 does, after the compofition is put in. 
 
 As foon as the compofition is in the copper, and 
 equally diftributed throughout the whole, the cloth 
 is caft in, and the wynch ftrongly turned two or 
 three times, that all the pieces may equally take 
 the dye of the cochineal. Afterwards it is turned 
 fiowly to let the water boil, which it muft do very 
 faft for one hour, always turning the wynch, and 
 finking the cloth in the liquor with flicks, when by 
 boiling it rifes too much on the fijrface. The 
 cloth is then taken out, and the lifts pafTed between 
 the hands to air and cool it ; it is then wafned, 
 after which it is to be dyed and dreiTed. 
 
 In each piece of the Langueooc fcarlet cloth 
 there is ufed, as has been fhown, one pound and 
 three quarters of cochineal in the dye and prepara- 
 tion ; this quantity is fufRcient to give the cloth a 
 very beautiful colour. If more cochineal was 
 added, and a deeper orange-colour required, the 
 quantity of the compofition muft be augmented. 
 
 When a great quantity of fluffs are to be dyed 
 .in fcarlet, a confiderable profit arifes by doing 
 them together, for the fame liquor ferves for the 
 fecond dip which was ufed for the firft. For 
 example : when the five firfl pieces are finiflied, 
 there always remains in the liquor a certain quan- 
 tity of cochineal, which in hven. pounds may 
 amount to twelve ounces ; fo tliat if this liquor 
 be ufed to dye other fluffs, the cloths dipped in 
 it will have the fame fhade of rofe colour as if 
 • they had been dyed in a frefh liquor with twelve 
 ounces of cochineal ; yet this quantity may vary 
 pretty much, according to the quality or choice 
 
 of 
 
110 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 ©f the cochineal, or according to the finenefs it- 
 has been reduced to when powdered. 1 fnall fay 
 no more of this before I ftnifh this chapter ; but 
 whatever colour may remain in the liquor, it de- 
 ferves fome attention on account of the high price 
 ©f this drug. The fame liquor is then made ufe of 
 for other five pieces^ and lefs cochineal and compo- 
 fition are put in proportion to\vhat may be judged 
 to remain ; fire and time are aifo faved by this, and 
 roft- colour and fltfli-colour may aifo be produced 
 from it ; but if the Dyers have no leifure to make 
 thefe different liquors in twenty four hours, the 
 colour of the liquor corrupts, grows turbid, and 
 lofes the rofe-colour entirely. To prevent this cor- 
 ruption fome put in Roman alum, but the fcarlets 
 which are prepared after that manner are all fad- 
 dened. 
 
 When cloths of different qualities, or any other 
 fluffs are to be dyed, the furefts method is to weigh 
 them, and for each hundred weight of cloth add 
 about fix pounds of cryfial or cream of tartar, 
 eighteen pounds of compofition in the water of 
 preparation, as much for the reddening, and fix 
 pounds and a quarter of cochineal. Thus in pro- 
 poition for one pound of ftuff ufe one ounce of 
 cream of tartar, lix ounces of compofition, and 
 one ounce of cochineal ; fome eminent Dyers at. 
 Paris put two- thirds of the compofition r.:.J a fourth 
 of the cocluneal in the water of preparation, and 
 the other third of tlie compolition with three- 
 fourths of the cochineal in reddening. 
 
 It is not cuftomary to put cream of tartar in the 
 reddenitig, yet I am certain, by experience, that 
 it does not hurt, provided the quantity does not ex- 
 ceed hair the weiuht ot the cochineal, and it ap- 
 peared to 'ne t.) make a more hllmg colour. 
 Soiiie Overs nave made fcarlet with three dippings ; 
 
THE DYERS ASSISTANT. I If 
 
 namely, a firfl: and fecond water for preparation,, 
 and then the reddening ; but ftill the fame quantity 
 of drugs is always ufed. 
 
 1 obferved, in the foregoing chapter, that the 
 little ufe made cf kermes for the brown or Vene- 
 tian fcarlets, obliges moft Dyers to make them 
 with cochineal j for this purpofe a water of prepa- 
 ration is made as ufual ; and for the reddening,, 
 eight pounds of alum are added for each hundred 
 weight of fluff; this alum is diflblved by itfelf in 
 a kettle, with a fufEcient quantity of water, thea 
 poured into the liquor before the cochineal is put 
 in. The remainder is performed exadlly as in the 
 common fcarlet ; this is the Venetian fcarlet, but 
 it has not near the fame folidity as if made with, 
 the kermea. 
 
 Tiiere are no alkaline falts which do not fadden 
 fcarlet; of this number are the fait of tartar, pot- 
 aflij pearl- aflies calcined, and nitre fixed by fire; 
 therefore alum is more generally ufed ; and if 
 thefe aikalire falts be boiled with the fluffs, they 
 would confiderably damage them, for they diffolve 
 all animal fubftances. if the alum be calcined, it 
 is i^iil the more fecure. 
 
 The redder the fcarlet Is, the more it has been 
 faddened ; from thence it appears tliat thefe co- 
 lours lofe in tlie liquor that browns them-a part of 
 their ground ; however one cannot brown in the 
 good dye but with falts. The late M. Baron ob- 
 ferves, in a memoir he gave fome time ago to the 
 Koyal Academy of Sciences, that all the falts he had 
 made ufe of tor browning, making the colour 
 fmooih, and preferving its brightnefs and deepnefs, 
 he h.-i.i fuccccdcd belt with fait of urine, but, as 
 he ohicrvcs, it is too troubldbme to make this fait 
 in any quantity,- 
 
 I faid. 
 
112 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 I faid, in the beginning of this chapter, that the 
 choice of the water for dying of fcarlet was very 
 material, ss the greateft part of common water 
 faddens it, for they moftly contain a chalky, cal- 
 caneus earth, and fometimes a futphureous or vi- 
 tric'ic acid ; thefe are commonly called hard waters, 
 that is, they will not difloive foap or boil vegeta- 
 bles well. By finding a method of abforbing or 
 precipitating thefe hurtful matters, all waters may 
 be equally good for this kind c{ dye : thus, if al- 
 kaline matters are to be renvDved, a little four 
 water produces this effect; for if five or fix buckets 
 of thefe four waters are mixed with fixty or feventy 
 of the hard water befcre it comes to boil, thefe 
 alkaline earths rife in a fcum, which is eaiily taken 
 off the liquor. 
 
 All that I have hitherto faid in this chapter is 
 for the inflru£lion of Dyers ; I fhall new make an 
 attempt to fatisfy the philcfopher how thefe dif- 
 ferent effefts are produced. 
 
 Cochineal, infufed or boiled by itfelf Jn pure 
 water, gives a crimfon colour bordering on the 
 purple; this is its natural colour; put it into a 
 glaf?, and drop en it fpirits of nitre ; this colour 
 will becom? yellow, and if you itill add more, you 
 wVil fcarcely perceive that there was originally any 
 red in the liquor ; thus the acid dtflroys the red by 
 diffoiving it and dividing its parts fo minutely that 
 they efcape the fight. If in this experiment a vi- 
 triolic, inf^ead of a nitrous acid be ufed, the firft. 
 changes of the colour will be purple, then purpled 
 lilac, after that a light lilac, then flelh-colour, and 
 laf^iy, colourlefs. This bluifh fubftance, which 
 mixes with the red to form a purple, may proceed 
 from that fmall portion of iron, from which oil of 
 vitriol is rarely exempt. In the liquor of prepa- 
 ration for fcadetj rto other fait but cream of tartar 
 
 is 
 
THE dyer's assistant. II3 
 
 is ufed, no alum is added as in tlie common pre- 
 paring water for other colours, becaufe it would 
 t'adden 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 ufe, which may fet in the pores of the wool 
 by the help of the cryftal of tartar. 
 
 This white calx is found in the folution of very 
 pure tin, and if the experiment of the dye is tnade 
 in any fmall glazed earthen veflcl, immediately oa 
 the cochineal's communicating its tin£lure to the 
 water, and then adding the compolition drop by 
 drop, each drop may be perceived with a glafs or 
 lens, to form a fmall circle, in which a brifk fer- 
 mentation is carried on ; the calx of the tin will be 
 feen to feparate, and inftantaneoufly to take the 
 bright dye, which the cloth will receive ia the fe- 
 quel of the operation. 
 
 A further proof that this white calx of tin is ne- 
 ceflary in this operation, is, that if cochineal was 
 ufed with aqua fortis, or fpirits of nitre alone, a very 
 ugly crimfon would be obtained ; if a folution of 
 any other metal was made ufe of in fpirits of nitre, 
 as of iron or mercury, from the firft would be had 
 a deep cinder-grey, and from the fecond, a chef- 
 nut colour with green ftreaks, without being able 
 to trace in the one or other any remains of the red 
 of the cochineal. Therefore, by what 1 have laid 
 down, it may be reafonable to fuppofe, that the 
 white calx of the tin, having been dyed by the 
 colouring parts of the cochineal, rouzed by the acid 
 of the diffolvent of this metal, has formed this kind 
 of earthy lake, whofe atoms have introduced them- 
 felves into the pores of the wool, which were opened 
 by the boiling water, that they are there plaiftered 
 by the cryftal of tartar, and thefe pores, fuddenly 
 contrading by the immediate cold" the cloth was 
 
 expofed 
 
114 "^^^ dyer's assistant. 
 
 expofed to by airing, that thefe colouring particles 
 are found fufficiently fet in to be of the good dye, 
 and that the air will take off the priaiitive bright- 
 nefs, in proportion to the various matters with 
 which it is impregnated. In the country, for ex- 
 ample, and particularly if the fituation be high, a 
 fcarlet cloth preferves its brightnel's much longer 
 than in great cities, where the urinous and alkaline 
 Tspours ai e more abundant. For the fame reafon, 
 the country mud, which in roads is generally hut 
 an earth diluted by rain water, does not ftain fcarlet 
 as the mud of towns where there are urinous mat- 
 ters, and often a great deal of dilTolved iron, as in 
 the flreets of great cities, for it is well known that 
 any alkaline matter deftrcys the eitecl which an acid 
 has produced on any colour whatfoever. And for 
 the like reafon, if a piece of fcarlet is boiled in a 
 ley of pot-afli, this colour becomes purple, and by 
 a continuation of boiling it is entirely taken out j 
 thus from this fixed alkali, and the crynal of tartar, 
 a fblubie tartar is made, which the water diflolves 
 and eafily detaches from the pores of the wool: all 
 the maftic of the colouring parts is then deftroyed, 
 and they enter into the leys of the fairs. 
 
 1 have tried feveral experiments on the dye of 
 cochineal, to ditcover v.'hat might be produced from 
 the union of its red with other different matters, 
 which generally are not efleemed colouring ; but I 
 fhall only relate here fuch as had the moft fingular 
 cfFeds. 
 
 Experiments on Cochineal Liquor. 
 
 Zinc difTolved in fpirit of nitre changes the red 
 of cochineal to a llatey violet-colour. 
 
 The fait of lead, ufed inrtead of cream of tartar, 
 makes a liUc fomewhat faded j a proof that fome 
 
 portion- 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 115^ 
 
 portion of lead is joined to the colour of the cochi- 
 neal. 
 
 Vitriolated tartar made with pot-afh and vitriol 
 dertroys its red, and there only remains an agath 
 grey. 
 
 Dif.'Yiuth diflblved in fpirit of nitre, weakened by 
 an equal part of common water, and poured on the 
 liquor of cochineal, gives the cloth a dove-grey, 
 very beautiful and very bright. 
 
 A folution of copper in fpirit of nitre not weak- 
 ened, gives to the cocliineal a dirty crimfon, 
 
 Cupullated filver, a cinnamon colour, a little on . 
 the brown. 
 
 Arfenic added to the liquor of cochineal, gives a 
 brighter cinna;non than the preceding. 
 
 Gold diffolved in aqua regia gave a flreaked 
 
 chefnut, which made the cloth appear as it it had 
 
 betn manufaf^ured with wool of different colours. 
 
 Mercury diflolved with fpirit of nitre, produces 
 
 pretty near the fame effed. 
 
 Glauber's falts alone deftroys the red, like the 
 vitriolated tartar, and produces like that an agath 
 grey, but not of the good dye ; becaufe this fait 
 ealily diffolvcs even in cold v/ater, and befides it 
 calcines in the air. 
 
 The fixed fait of urine gives a cinder-grey co* 
 lour, where nor the leaft tindlurc of red is per- 
 ceived, and like the foregoing is not of a good dye^ 
 for it is a fait that cannot form a folid cement iu 
 the pores of the wool, as it is folubk by the moii^ure^ 
 of the air. 
 
 Violet without Blue, 
 
 Laftly, the extra£l of bufmuth changes the cochi- 
 neal red to a purple, almoft violet, as beautiful as 
 if this red had been put on a cloth that had beei^ 
 previoully dyed of a Iky- blue. 
 
Il6 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 From thefe experiments it is evident, that the 
 falls and metallic folutions yield particles which 
 unite themfelves with the particles of the colouring 
 ingredients ufed in dying, and which faits and par- 
 ticles contribute greatly to the tenacity of colours. 
 
 Before I finifh this chapter on fcarlet, I mufl add 
 fome obfervations which perhaps the reader may be 
 glad to know. 
 
 Neither the mud of the ftreets nor feveral acrid 
 matters can ftain fcarlet, if the fpotted part is im- 
 mediately wafhed with plain clean water and a 
 clean cloth j but if the mud has had time to dry, 
 then the fpot appears of a violet black ; this cannot 
 be taken off but by a vegetable acid, fuch as vine- 
 gar, lemon-juice, or a warm folution of white tar- 
 tar flightly loaded with falts ; but if thefe acids are 
 not made ufe of with precaution and /kill in taking 
 off" the black fpot, a yellow one will fucceed ; be- 
 caufe, as has been faid before, the acids roufe and 
 even deflroy the red of the cochineal. 
 
 But there are fome for which the colour muH be 
 difcharged, and the ftuff dyed again. There are 
 other falts, befides alkalis which will difcharge the 
 colour of fcarlet ; for if a piece of fcarlet cloth be. 
 put into the water of preparation for that colour, it 
 will lofe a great part of its colour, infomuch, that if 
 it w'as fewed with two or three pieces of white cloth, 
 it would be difficult after one hour's boiling to dif- 
 tinguifh which was the fcarlet from the otl.ers ; but 
 if it was boiled afrefh in a liquor, of cochineal or in 
 the reddening, it would regain its firff colour. 
 
 Scarlets always lofe {ovnc part of their brightncfs 
 in the drelHng, for the drefling lays the hair, 
 and forces the fibres to be almoft parallel to the 
 web. In this cafe the cloth has numerically lefs 
 furface, and confequently lefs rays of light are re- 
 fleded from it. Befides the exiremity of the hair 
 
 is 
 
THE dyer's assistant. II 7 
 
 is always moft penetrated with the dye which caufes 
 the bright'^.efs, and when it is laid on the cloth, the 
 greateft part of thefe points appear no more. 
 
 c 
 
 C H A p. X[. 
 
 OF CRIMSON. 
 
 RLVISON, as I have already obferved, is the 
 natural colour of th= cochineal, or rather, 
 that which it gives to wool boiled with aivrn and 
 tartar, which is the ufual water of preparation for 
 all colours. This is the method which is com- 
 monly pradifed for fpun wool ; it is almoft the 
 fame for cloths, as will be feen hereafter. 
 
 For each pound of wool, two ounces and a half 
 of alum, and an ounce and a half of white tartar, 
 are put into the copper. When the whole boils, the 
 wool is put in, well ftirred, and left to boil ^or ^wo 
 hours ; it is afterwards taken out, flightly wrung, 
 put into a bag, and left thus with its water, as for 
 ihe fcarlet in grain, and for all other colours. 
 
 For the dye a freHi liquor is made, in which 
 three- fourtlis of an ounce of cochineal is added for 
 each pound of wool. When the liquor is little 
 more than luke-warm, the cochineal is put in, and 
 when it begins to boil, the wool is caft in, which 
 h to be well ftirred with fticks ; it is to remain 
 thus for an hour j when taken out, wrung and 
 wafhed. 
 
 If degrees of (hades are required, (whofe names 
 are merely arbitrary) proceed, as has been already 
 related for the fcarlet, ufing but half the cochineal 
 at firft, and beginning with the lighteft. 
 
 The 
 
Il8 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 TliC besuty of crimfon ccnRfts in its bordering 
 -as much as pcffible on the grifdelin, a colour be- 
 tween a grey and a violet, I made feveral trials to 
 bring criir.fon to a b.igher perfection than moft 
 X)yers have hitherto done, and indeed I fucceeded 
 fo as to mske it as fine as the falfe crimfon, which is 
 -always brighter than the fine. 
 
 This is the principle on which I worked. As 
 all alkalis fsdden cochineal, I tried foap, barilla, 
 pot-afb, pearl afiies ; all thefe falts brought the 
 crimfon to rhe fhade I wanted, but at the fame 
 time, they ttrnifhed and dirniniflied its brightnefs. 
 I then betliou^ht myfelf to make ufe of volatile 
 alkalis, and I found thst the volatile fpirit of fait 
 ammoniac produced a ver}' good efFe£l ; but this 
 fpirit inftantly evaporated, and a pretty confiderable 
 quantity was ufed in the liquor, which greatly aug- 
 mented the pri:e of the dye. 
 
 I then had recourfe to another expedient vrhich 
 fucceeded better, the ex pence of which is trifling. 
 This was to make the volatile alkali of the fait am- 
 moniac enter into the liquor, at the very inflant 
 that it comes out of its bafis ; and to efteci this, 
 after my crimfon was made after the ufual manner, 
 I pafied through a freJh liqucr, in which 1 had dif- 
 folved a little of the fait aTimoniac, As foon as 
 the liquor was a little tnore than luke-warm, I 
 flung in as much pot-sfh as I had before of fait 
 ammoniac, and my wool immediately took a very 
 brilliant colcur. 
 
 This method even fpares the cochineal ; fcr this 
 new liquor makes it rife, and then lefs may be 
 ufed than in the common procefs ; but the greateft 
 pirt of Dyers, even the moil eminent, fadden their 
 crlmfons with archil, a drug of the fa'.fe dye. 
 
 \'ery beautiful crimfons are alfo made by boiling 
 the wool as for the common fcarlet, a.nd then boil- 
 ing 
 
THE dyer's assistant, H^ 
 
 It In a fecond liquor, whith two ounces of alutn 
 and one ounce of tartar, for each pound of wool, 
 leaviDg it one hour in the hquor. A frelh liquor is 
 then prep-red, in which fix drachms of cochineal is 
 put for every pound ■:>( wool. After it has re- 
 mained an hour in this liquor, it is taken out, and 
 paflec) imintdjately tarough a liquor of barilla and 
 ialt ammoniav. By this method, gradations of very 
 be uiiful crimfon ftiades are made by diminilhing 
 the quantity or the cochineal. It is to be obferved, 
 that in this procefs there are but fix drachms of 
 cochineal to dy each pound of wool, becaufe in 
 the firft liquor a drachm and a halt of coch'tieal is 
 ■ufed tor each pound. It is alfo neceflaty to remark, 
 that, to fadden thefe crimfons, the liquor of the 
 alkaline fait and fait ammoi.iac be not made too 
 hot, becaufe the feparation of the volatile fpirit of 
 this la it fait would be too quick, and the cryrtal of 
 tartar of the iirft liquor would lofe its proper efFedt 
 by being changed, as I have already faid into a 
 foluble tartar. 
 
 The fame operation may be done by ufing one 
 part of the cochineal fylveftre inflead of the fine 
 cochineal, and the colour is not lefs beautifol, for 
 commonly four parts of fylveflre have not more 
 effect in dying than one part of fine cochineal. 
 The fylvefire may alfo be ufed in dying fcarlet, 
 but with great precaution ; it fliould only be ufed 
 in baftard fcariets and half crimfons. I (hall fpeak 
 of this when I treat of thefe colours in particular. 
 
 When a fcarlet is fpotted or fpoiled in the ope- 
 ration by fome unforefeen accident, or even when 
 the dye has failed, the common remedy is to make 
 it a crimfon, and for that purpofe, it is dipt in a 
 Jiquor where about two pounds of alum are added 
 for each hundred weight of wool. It is imme- 
 diately 
 
120 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 diately plunged in this liquor, and left there until it 
 has acquired the (hade of the crimfon defired. 
 
 Languedoc Crimfon, 
 
 I fliall now fhow the method they follow in Lan- 
 guedoc to make a very beautiful fort of crimfon, 
 or the cloths exported to the Levant, but which 
 is not fo much faddened as that which I have juft 
 fpoken of, and which refembles much more the 
 Venetian fcarlet. For five pieces of cloth the 
 -hquor io prepared as ufual, putting bran if necefl'ary. 
 When it is more than lukewarm, ten pounds of 
 fea-falt are put, inftead of cryftal of tartar, and 
 when it is ready to boil, twenty-feven pounds of 
 the fcarlet cumpofition, made after the manner of 
 carcafline already defcribed, are poured in, and 
 without adding cochineal the cloth is paffed through 
 this liquor for tv^o hours, keeping it always turn- 
 ing with the wynch, and continually boiling. It is 
 afterwards taken out, aired and wafhed ; then a 
 frefh liquor is made, with eight pounds and three 
 quarters of cochineal powdered and fifted, and 
 when it is ready to boil, twenty-one pounds of 
 compofition are added ; the cloth is boiled for three 
 quarters of an hour with the common precautions, 
 after which it is taken out, aired and waflied : It 
 is of a very fine crimfon, but very little faddened ; 
 if it is required to be more faddened, a greater 
 quantity of alum is put into the firft liquor of pre- 
 paration, and in the fecond lefs of the compofition, 
 the fea-falt is alfo added to this fecond liquor; a 
 little pravSlice in this method will foon teach the 
 Dyer to make all the ftiades that can properly be 
 derived from crimfon., 
 
 Whenever cochineal has been ufed, there is 
 found at the bottom of the reddening liquor a 
 
 quantity 
 
THE DVER S ASSISTANT. 121 
 
 quantity of very brown fediment, wl^'ch Is flung 
 away with the liquor as ufelefs. I examined it 
 and ound, that the liquor for the reddening of 
 fcarlct contained a precipitated calx of tin : I 
 united tb.is metal with a great deal of trouble; the 
 remaining parts of this fediment are the drofs of 
 the white tartar, or of the cream of tartar, united 
 with the grofs parts of the bodies of the cochineal, 
 which is, as has already been faid, a finall infe61. 
 I walhed thofe little animal parts in cold water, 
 and, by fhaking this water, I colled^ed, with a 
 Imnll fieve, what the agitation caufed to rife on the 
 furface. 
 
 At'ter this manner I feparated tliefe light parts 
 from tl-e earthy and metallic; I dried tliem fepj- 
 rately, then levigited them with equal weight of 
 frefh cryftal of tartar ; I boiled a portion with a 
 little alum, and put in a pattern of white cloth, 
 which boiled for three quarters of an hour, at the 
 end of which it was dyed of a very beauniu! crim- 
 fon. 
 
 This experirrent having convinced me, that by 
 powdering and fiftmg the cochineal as is commnnly 
 pra'difed, all the profit that might be extiaded 
 from this dear drug is not obtained, i thouc/ht 
 propf^r to communicate this difccvery to the Dyers, 
 that they might avail thcmfelves of it by the me- 
 thod following. 
 
 Take one ounce of cochineal powdered and 
 fifted as ufual ; mix with it a quarter of its weight 
 of very white cream of tartar very cryllalline a'nd 
 very airy ; put the whule en a hard levigating 
 flone, and levigate this mixture till it is reduced 
 to an impalpabh powder; make ufe of this cociii- 
 mal thus preparec. in the liquor, and in the redden- 
 ing, fubtrsfting frcm the crejm of tartar, which is 
 to be ufed in the liquor, \h.Q fmall quantity before 
 ^^ ufed 
 
122 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 ufed with the cochineal. What is put to the red- 
 dening, although mixed with a fourth of the fame 
 fait, does not prejudice its colour, it even appeared 
 to me that it was more folid. Thofe that will fol- 
 low this method will find that there is about a 
 fourth naore profit to be obtained by it. 
 
 The Natural Crmfon in Grain. 
 
 In proportion for every pound of cloth or other 
 things, take two ounces of tartar pure, and two 
 ounces of alum ; boil them with the goods an 
 hour and a half; then rince the goods very well 
 from the boiling. The kettle muft be filled 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 foften it. Scum the fcurf off when it begins 
 to boil, and put in an »unce of well powdered 
 grain, with one dram of red arfenic and onefpoon- 
 ful of burnt wine lees ; this gives a pretty luflre ; 
 then wafli and rince it well, and you have a moft 
 beautiful colour. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 SCARLET OF GUM-LACQUE. 
 
 THE red part of the gum-lacque -may be alfo 
 ufed for the dying of fcarlet, and if this fear- 
 let has not all the brightnefs of that made of fine 
 cochineal alone, it has the advantage of being more 
 lading. 
 
 The gum-lacque, which is in branches or fmall 
 fticks and full of animal parts, is the fitteft for dy- 
 
 ingo 
 
THE dyer's ASSrsTAN'T. I23 
 
 I'ng. It muft be red within, and its cxlernal parts 
 of a blackifti brown ; it appears, by a particular 
 examination made of it by M. Geoffrey fome years 
 fince, that it is a fort of hive, fomewhat like that 
 of bees, wafps, &c. 
 
 Some Dyers make ufe of it powdered snd tied 
 in a linen bag; but this is a bad method, for ihere 
 always paffes throui2;h the cloth fome refi.o'is por- 
 tion of the gum, which melts in the boiling water 
 of the copper, and flicks to the cloth, where it be- 
 comes fo ad;-,erent wiien cold, that it mud be 
 fcraped off with a knife. 
 
 Others reduce it to powder, boil it in water, and 
 after it has given ail its colour, let it cool, and the 
 refinous parts fall to the bottom. The water is 
 poured out, and evaporated by the air, vdiere it of- 
 ten becomes fliriking, and wlien it has acquired t!;e 
 confiftence of thick honey, it is put up into voffels 
 for ufe. Under this form it is pretty c'ifikult jUilly 
 to determine the quantity that is ufed; tl is induced 
 me to feek the means of obtaining this tinfiure fe- 
 parated from its refinous gu;», without being 
 obliged to evaporate Co great a qu3ntity of water to 
 have it dry, and to reduce it to powder. 
 
 I tried it with weak iime water, with a decc6^ion 
 of the heart of agaric, w'ith a decoclion of com- 
 frey-foot, recommended in an. ancient book of 
 phyfic; in all thefe the water leaves a part of the 
 dye, and it ilill pafles too full of colour, and it 
 ought to be evaporated to get all tl'.e dye; this 
 evaporation I wanted to avoid, therefore 1 made 
 ufe of mucilaginous or llimy roots, which, of thetn- 
 felves gave no colour, but whofe mucilage might 
 retain the colouring pnrts, fo that ttiey might re- 
 main with it on the fil^^er. 
 
 The great comfrey-root has, as yet, the bell 
 
 anfwcred my intention : 1 ufe it dry and in a grofs 
 
 ■F 2 powder, 
 
124- THE DVER S AiSI^TAKT. 
 
 powder, putting half a dram to each quart of wa- 
 ter, which is boiled a quarter of 311 hour, pafTin^ 
 it through a hair lleve. It immediately extracts 
 from it a beautitu! crimfon tinclure; put the vefTel 
 to (i\2t(\ in a nioderate heat for twelve hours, (bak- 
 ing it feven or eight tirres to mix it with tiie gum 
 that remains at the bottom, then pour eft the wa- 
 ter that is loaded with colour in a \t{U:l fufficientJv 
 large, that three-fourths may remain empty, and 
 nil it v\ith cold water : then pour a very Imail 
 quantity of f^rorg fclutio:^. ct R.oman alum on the 
 tincture; the mucilagincu? or llimy dye precipitates 
 3!l"e!f, and if the W2ttr which appears on the top ap- 
 pears ftiil coloured, add Tome drops of the folutioa 
 of alum to finifh the precipitation, and this re- 
 peat till the water becoir.cs as clezr as common 
 water. 
 
 When the crifr<fon muciiage or llime is all funk 
 to the bottom of tl^.e vciTel, draw cff the clear 
 water, and filter the remainder i alter v.hich, dry 
 it in the fun. 
 
 If the firfl: miucilsginous water has not extracted 
 ail the colour of the gum-lacque, (which is known 
 by the'remaining being of a weak ilraw colour) repeat 
 the operation until ycu feparate ail the dye the 
 gum-lacque can lurnilh ; and as it is reduced to 
 powder wh.en dry, the quantity to be ufed in the 
 dye is more exacily afcertained than by evaporat- 
 ing it to the confiftence of an extract. 
 
 Good gum-]a:que, picked from its iticks, yields, 
 dried and powdered, but little more dye than one- 
 fifth of its weight. Thus at the price it bear^ at 
 prefci.i, there is not (o great an advantage as 11. any 
 may imajiine in ufing it in the place of cochineal ; 
 but to make t'r.e fcarler colour more lailing than it 
 commonly is, it may be uied in the firft liquor or 
 preparation, and ccchineal for reddening. 
 
 If 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 125 
 
 If fcarlet is made of gum-lacque, extra£teJ ac- 
 cording to the method here taught, and reduced 
 to poAYler, a caution is to be taken in diflulving it, 
 which is ufelefs when cochineal is ufed ; tiut is, if 
 it was put into the liquor ready to boil, the Dyer 
 would lofe three quarters of an hour, before it 
 would be diflMved entirely; therefore for defpntch, 
 put the dofe or this dry tindlure into a large canhen 
 veflel, or into one of tin, pour war;Ti v.atcr on ir^ 
 and wlien it is well moiilened, add tlie necefiary 
 6o{e of the compofition tor fcarlet, ftirrip.g the 
 mixture v\e!l with a glafs peAle. Tlii* powder, 
 which was of a dirty deep purple, as it diiToIves 
 takes fire- coloured red extremely tri^:..! ; pcuT 
 the dilTolution into the liqut-r, in which was pre- 
 vioufly put the cryfial of tartar, and as foon as this 
 liqu'-r begins to boil, dip the cloth in, keeping it 
 continually turning. The remaining part of the 
 operation is the fame as that of fcarlet with cochi- 
 neal : the extract of gum-lacque, pr-.-pared Accord- 
 ing to my method, yields about one-id, uh more of 
 dye than cochines!,at leaft than that \\hich 1 made 
 life of for this comparifon. 
 
 If inAead of the cryftal of tartar and the com^ 
 pofition of fome fixt alkaline fait or lime water is fub- 
 ftituted, the bright red of the gum-lacque is 
 changed into the colour of lees of wine, fo that 
 this dye docs not fadden h eafily as that of 
 cochineal. 
 
 If inftcad of thefe alteratives, fait ammoniac is 
 ufed by i'fcif, cinnamon or clear chtfiut colours 
 are obfained, and that according as tiiere is more 
 or lefs of this fait. I have made twenty other ex- 
 periments on this drug, which I fliall not relate 
 Jiere, becaufe they produced none but common 
 colours, and whicli may ht eafier had fro:i) ingre- 
 dients of a lower price. My experiaients were 
 F 3 with 
 
125 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 with a view of improving the red of the lacque, 
 and the meihcd I l.ave here laid co'An to extra<5t 
 its colouring parts anfwers extremely well ; tlie 
 more in^re.iients that are difcovered for fcarlet, the 
 lefs will be the coft ; for, although thefe experi- 
 ments made on cochineal, lacque, and other drugs, 
 n-isy appear ufeiels to fome Dyers, they will not be 
 10 to others who ftudy to improve this art*. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Ct THE COCCUS POLOXICUS, A COLOURING INSECT. 
 
 /■ I ^HE coccus pokniius is a little round infect, 
 % fcmcwhat lefs than a coriander feed j it is 
 found flicking to tlie roots of the pclygonum cccci- 
 ferum ivccnam fiore majore perenni of Ray, and 
 which aI. Tournefort has named alchymiiii gra- 
 Tvinco fciis rnajore f,ore. According to A'l. Brevn, 
 it abounds in the palatinate of Kicvia, bordering 
 the Ukran.a, towaulsthe towns of Ludncw, Piatka, 
 Stcbd\ztze, and ether fandy places of Lkraniaand 
 roGcha, of Volhinia, of the grand duchy of Li- 
 thuania, ir.d even in Pruilia, towards Thorn. 
 
 Thofe that gather them fay, that imirediately 
 nftcr the fummer fo'ftice the coccus is ripe, and 
 full of iis purple juice. They ho:d in their hand 
 a {lvzW hollow fliade, made in the {^lape of a Pnep- 
 herd's crook, which has a ftiort handle. With 
 0!ie hand ihcy hold the plant, railing it out of the 
 grcund with the other, armed with this inftrumer.t; 
 they tl.en ihake cif thefe little infecls, and place the 
 plant in the fauie hole in order to preferve it. 
 
 Having 
 
 • The cclojrng parts of the gntn-lacqce may be e>:!rafled by 
 cominor. r.vtr water, by ir.akir.g it a lit;;.- more than la!:s-warm, 
 and inclcErs the pcwdcr^d l&cqae in a coa?fe wcoUsobsg. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 12/ 
 
 Having feparatcd the coccus from the earth, 
 which they do by a riddle made for that purpofe,. 
 their chief care is, that it fnould not change into 
 a fmaii worm ; tor this purpofe they fprinkle it 
 with vinegar, and fometimes with very cold wa- 
 ter ; they then brinst them to a warm place, or 
 elfe expofe them to the fun to dry j without thi^, 
 thefe inieils would dcftroy thsmfelves, and if they 
 were dryed too precipitately, they would lofe their 
 beautiful colour. Sometimes they feparate tiicfc 
 fmall infe£^s from their veficles or bladders with 
 the ends of their fingers by a gentle preflbre, whicii 
 they form into final! round cakes. The Dyers pay 
 dearer for this dye when in lump than wi^en it is 
 in grain. 
 
 Bernard de Bernitz, from whofe book I have 
 taken this, adds, that the great marechal Konitf- 
 poliki, and fome other Pohfli noblemen, who had 
 lands in the Ukrania, fet this gathering of the coc- 
 cus to the Jews at a confiderable profit, and caufed 
 it to be gathered by their vafi^ls ; that the Turks 
 and Arminians, who bought this drug of the Jews, 
 vfed it tor the dying of wool, fiik, the manes and 
 tails of their horfes ; that the Turki(h womerv 
 made ufe of it to paint their fingers' ends of a 
 beautiful carnation colour ; and that formerly the 
 Dutch ufed to buy the coccus at a high price, and 
 mixed it with an equal quantity of cochineal ; that 
 with the dye of this infed and chalk, a lacque for 
 the painters might be made as fine as the Florence 
 lacque ; and that a beautiful red W'as prepared 
 from it for the toilet of the ladies in Fraiice and 
 Spain. 
 
 F 4 ^ CHAF. 
 
128 THE dyer's assistant, 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 0? THE RED CF MADDER. 
 
 THE root cf madder is the only part cf this 
 _^ plant which is uTed in dying. Of all the 
 rers this is the moil laHine, v.hen it is put on a 
 cloth 1. r Auft that is thcrcughly fc-ured, then pre- 
 pared with the falts with which it is to be boiled 
 two or three hours, without which, this red, fo 
 tenacious after the preparation of the fubjecl, 
 would fcarceiy relift inore the proofs of tl.e reds 
 than any other i gredients of the tdlfe dye. This 
 is a proof ti.at the pores cf the fibres of the wool 
 ouglit not orJy to be w.U fcoureu from the yolk 
 or un^^uous trsnfpiration ot the animal, wnich 
 iTiay have re;T)ained, notwithftanding the fcouring 
 of tiie wool after the comm.-.n manner with water 
 and urine ; bu: it is alfo necefiary, that thefe fame 
 pores be plaillered inwardly \Mth fotne of thofe 
 falts which are called hard, hecaufe they do not 
 calcine in the air, and cannot be dilTjlved by rain 
 wattr, or by the moiAure or the air in rainy 
 weather. Such is, as has been faid before, the 
 white trude t-rtar, the red and the cryftal of tartar, 
 ot w'nich, according to common cuftom, about a 
 fourth is put into the preparing liquor, with two- 
 ihirds or three- fourths of alum. 
 
 The beft madder roots come ^nerally from 
 Zealand, where this plant is cultivated in the illands 
 of Ter{^:e«, Zerzee, Sommerdyke, and Thoo'en. 
 That from tiie tiiH of thefe iflands is elteeined the 
 beft; the foil is ciay, fat, and fomewhat fait. The 
 lands that are deemed the bed for the cultivation 
 of this p'ant are new lands, that only ferved for 
 pailure, which are always ftefhtr and moifter than 
 cihers. The Zealar.dcrs are beholden to the re- 
 fugees 
 
thj: dyer's assistant. 129 
 
 /"ugees of Flanders for the cultivation and great 
 commerce o( this root. 
 
 It is known in trade and dying under the names 
 of grape- madJerj bunch madder, &c. It is how- 
 ever the fame root ; ail the difference in regard to 
 its quality is, that the one kind contains pith and 
 roof, and the other has the fmall fibres from its 
 principal root adhering to it. 
 
 Both are prepared by the fame work, which I 
 (hall not relate the particulars of here, as it would 
 only ferve to lengthen this treatife to no purpofe. 
 
 They chooie the fineli roots for the fiift fort, 
 drying them with care, grinding them and feparat- 
 ing the rind at the mill, and prefcrving the middle 
 of the root ground in hogfheads, where it remains 
 for two or three years ; for after this time, it is 
 belter for dying than it would have been coming 
 from the mill ; for if madder was not kept clofe 
 after this manner, the air would fpoil it, and the 
 colour would be lefs bright. It is at fird yellow, 
 but it reddens and grows brown by age ; the hcf\ 
 is of a fafFron colour, in hard lumps, of a ftrong 
 fmell, and yet not difagree.ible. It is alia culti- 
 vated about Lifle in Flanders, and feveral other 
 places of the kingdom, where it v/as found to 
 grow fpontaneouily. 
 
 The madders which are made ufe of in the Le= 
 vant and in India, for the dying of cottons, are 
 fomewhat different from the kinds ufed in Europe,- 
 it is named chat on the coail of Coroinandel. This' 
 plant thus caiied, grows abundantly in the woods' 
 on the coaft of Malabar, and this ch:dt is the wilcF 
 fort. The cultivated comes from Vafur and 'Fuc- 
 corin, and the mofl efteemed of all is the chat of 
 Perfia, named dtwias. 
 
 They alfo gather on the coaft of CoromaiJel 
 
 the root of another plant called ra^ de chaye, or 
 
 F 5 root 
 
13^ THE DYZR's assist AKT. 
 
 root cf colcur, srid which was thought to be a 
 kind of ruh':a tinSiirum, but is the root of a kind 
 oi gallium fijre albo.^ as it appeared by obfervations 
 fent from India in 1748. It has a Icng (lender root, 
 U'liich dyes cotton of a tolerable handrcme red, 
 when it has received all the preparations previous 
 to the dye. 
 
 At Kurder, in the neighbourhood of Smyrna, 
 and in the countries of AkilTar and of Yordas, they 
 cultivate another kind of madder, which is called 
 in tlie country ckioc-lsya ek'im kaz^'.a. This of all 
 the madders is the befl: for the red dye, by the 
 proofs that have been made of it, and tar mere 
 efteemed in the Levant than the nneft Zealand 
 madder the Dutch bring there. This madder fo 
 much valued is called by the modern Greeks lizari, 
 and by the Arabs /ij/'m *. 
 
 There is another kind of msdder in Canada 
 called iYjTa-voyana. It is a very fmall roDt, which 
 produces pretty near the fame effect as our Euro- 
 pean madder. 
 
 The water of preparation f-Dr madder red :. 
 pretty near the fame as for kerme?, that is cctn- 
 pofed of alum and tartar. The Dyers do not agree 
 as to the proportions ; but the beft appears to be 
 four ounces of alum and one of red tartar to eacH- 
 pound of fpun wool, and about one- tVrelith part of 
 four wate.'", and let the wool boil in it for two 
 hours. If it is fpun wool, leave it for feven or 
 eight days, that it may be well moiilened by ths 
 diflblution of thefe faits j and if it is cloth, finilh it 
 the fourth day. 
 
 To dye wool with madder, prepare a freia li- 
 quor, and when the water is come to a heat to bear 
 
 the 
 
 ♦ Thefe kinds of inadders give brighrer red; than tfae fceft 
 grape nsadcer of Zealand, for tisev are dyed in the air aiw noi ia 
 a ftovs. The msdder of Lanjue-cc, even that of Poitcu. fuc- 
 cceds 33 well as that of iLzari, ^en it is dri'id without £:c. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I3I 
 
 the hand, put in half a pound of the finefl: 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 muft not boil *. Shades from madder are 
 obtained after the manner laid down for other co- 
 lours, but thefe Ihades are little ufed, except in a 
 mixture of feveral colours. 
 
 When feveral pieces of cloth are to be dyed at 
 once in madder red, the operation is the fame, 
 only augmenting the ingredients in proportion -, 
 and let it be remarked that in fmall operations the 
 quantity of ingredients muft be fomewhat greater 
 than in great, not only in madder red> but in all 
 other colours. 
 
 Thefe reds are never fo beautiful as thofe of the- 
 kermes, and much lefs io than thofe of the lacque 
 or cochineal, but they cofl lefs, and are made ufe- 
 of for common fiufFs whofe low prices would not 
 allow a dearer dye. Moft of the reds fur the army 
 are of madder, faddened with archil or brazil, 
 (though thefe drugs be of the fafe dye) to make 
 them finer, and more on the velvet, which perfec- 
 tion -could not be procured to them even with- 
 cochineal, without confiderably augmenting the 
 price. 
 
 I have already faid that madder put on fluffs not 
 being prepared to receive it by the alum and tar- 
 tar-water, did in fact give its red colour, but that 
 which it dyed was blotted and net lairing, it is. 
 therefore the faitsthat fecure the dye; this is com- 
 mon to all other colours red or yellow, which can- 
 not be made without a preparing liquor. Now tbs 
 qucftion is, whether t^.ef€ a£t by taking off the re* 
 mams of the oily and fat traniplration of the Caeep^^, 
 F 6 ct; 
 
 * If madder is bollec', its rid becomes obfcure, and cf a bv.ck. 
 cobur. 
 
132. THE DVEH's ASilSTAMT. 
 
 or whether thst of the two falts, particuisriy that 
 which even cannot be carried by iuke-warm wa- 
 ter, remains tocatch, feiz.- and cement the colour- 
 ing atone-, openea or dilated by the heat of water to 
 receive it, and contrai^ted by the cold to retain it. 
 
 To determine which, ufe any alkaline fairs, fuch 
 as pctalTi, the clarified lays of oak-afhes, or any 
 other pure lixivial fait inftead of alum and tartar, 
 put in a due proportion fo as not to dilTolve ths 
 woo!, and afcerwards dip the fluff in madder li- 
 quor. This ftuff will come out coloured, but will 
 not hft, even boiling water will carry off three- 
 fourths of the colour. Now it cannot be faid that 
 a lixed alkaline fait is unfit to extract from tlie 
 pores of the wool the yolk or fat of the (heep, 
 fince lixivijl falts are ufed with fuccefs in feveral 
 cafes, to take the greafe cut of tluffs of what kind 
 foever they be, vi'hich water alone could not take off. 
 It is alfo well kr.own, that with fats foreign to tiie 
 i^uff, and an a.kaline fait, a kind of foap is formed 
 which water eafily carries off. 
 
 Again, take a piece of ftuff dyed in madder red, 
 according; to the ufual method, boil it fome time 
 in a folution of fixv alkaline falts, a fmall quantity 
 v/ill alfo deftroy the colour, for the fixt alkali, at- 
 tacking the fmall atoms of the cryftal of ^artar or 
 crude tartar, which lines the pores of the woo), 
 forms a foluble tartar, which water difiblves very 
 eafily, and confequently the pores being opened in 
 the hot vk'ater of the experiment, the col curing 
 atom cam.e out with the faline atom that fheathed it. 
 
 This fluff being wadied in water, the remain- 
 ing red colour is diluted, and a colour half browrt 
 snd half dirty remains. If, infiead of an alkaline 
 fait, foap is fuhfiituted, (which is an akaline fair, 
 mitigated by oil) and another piece of cioth dyed 
 alfo in madder, be boiled for a few minutes, the 
 
 red 
 
THE DYERS ASSISTANT. I 33 
 
 red will become finer, becaufe the alkali whicli is 
 in the foap being ftieathed with oil, it could not at- 
 tack the vesetable acid, and the boiling on'y car- 
 ried off the colouring parts ill ftuck together, and 
 their numbers diminilhing, what remains muft ap- 
 pear deeper or clearer. 
 
 1 mull aiib add, for further proof of the aflual 
 exiilerice of falts in the. pores of a fluff prepared 
 with alum and tartar, betorc dying it with madder, 
 that more or lefs tartar gives an infinite variety of 
 iliades with this root only ; for if the quantity of 
 alum be diirunifhed, and thst of the tartar aug- 
 mented, a cinnamon will be had, and ev? n if no- 
 thing but tartar alone be put into the liquor, the 
 red is loft, and a dt-ep cinnamon or brown-root 
 colour is obtained, though of a very good dye ; 
 for the crude tartar, which is an acid fait, has fo 
 much diff^lved the part which rtiould have pro- 
 duced the red colour, that there onlv remained a 
 very finall quantity, with the ligneous fibres of the 
 root, which, like all other common roots, does then 
 yield but a brown colour, more or lefs deep accord- 
 ing to the quantity ufed. I have already proved 
 that the acid which brightens the red, diffolves 
 them if too much is ufed, and divides them into 
 particles fo extremely minute, that they are not 
 perceptible. 
 
 If in the place of tartar, any fait which is eafily 
 diffolved be put will- rhe alum in the liquor, to 
 prepare the fluff for the madder dye, fuch as fait 
 petre, the greater part of the maddtir red becomes 
 ufelefs, it difappears, or does not ftick on, and 
 nothing is got but a very bright cinnamon, which 
 will not fufficicntly fland the proof, becaufe the 
 two falts ufed in the preparing liquor are not of 
 the harcinefs of the tartar. 
 
 Velatile 
 
I.34- THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 Volatile urinous alkalis which are obtained from 
 certain plants, fuch as the perllla, the archil of the 
 Canaries, and other nr>oiTes or lichens, deftroy alfo 
 the madder red, but at the fame time communicate 
 anotlier to it, for on experiment, madder prepared 
 after the manner of archil with fermented urme and 
 quick lime, produced only nut colours, but whicli 
 neverthelefs are lairing; becaufe there entered into 
 the liquor only the little portion of urinous volatile 
 that moiftened the madder which the boiling was 
 fufScient ro evaporate, ana tefides, the cloth was 
 fufficientiy furnifned with the falts of the liquor 
 made as ufual, to retain the colouring parts of the 
 dye. 
 
 When a pure red, that for cochineal an exam- 
 ple, is l:id upon a c'.oth firft dyed in blue, and af- 
 terwards prepared with the liquor of tartar, and 
 alum to receive and retain this red, a purple cr vio- 
 let is produced according to the quantity of blue cy 
 red. The no of madder has not this efie(5l, for it 
 is not a pure red like that of the cochineal, and a» 
 I faid above, it is altered by the brown ligneous 
 fibres of its root, and makes on the blue a cHefnat 
 colour, more or lefs deep according to the preced- 
 ing:, i:uenfity of the blue lirft laid on. If this chef- 
 Fiut colour is wanted to have purple cau, a little 
 cochineal muft be added. 
 
 In order to avoid this brown of the root, the 
 Dyers who make the beft reds of madder take great 
 heed t.^ ufe the liquor of madder a little mere tiian 
 lukewarm J the madder tarnifhes confiderably by 
 the heat of the vsater, extracting tlie particles which 
 dye brown, and unite themfeives with the red. 
 
 This inconveniency might be remedied, if at tlie 
 tinrie that the madder root is frefh a means cOuJd 
 be found to feparate from tl>e reft of this root the 
 led circle which is underneath its brown pelicle, 
 
 and 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I J9 
 
 and which furrounds the middle pith ; but this 
 ^vork would augment its price, and even then it 
 would not afford fo good a red as cochineal. How- 
 ever, it might be attempted to dye cottons red, 
 whofe price might bear the expences of this pre- 
 paration. 
 
 Madder being of all ingredients the cheapeft of 
 any that dye red and of the good dye, it is mixt 
 with others to diminifh the price. It is with mad- 
 der and kermes that the bailard fcarlets of grain 
 are dyed, othcrwife called half- grain fcarlets, ;ind 
 with inadder and cochineal the half-common fcar- 
 lets, and the half-crimfons are made. 
 
 To make the half- grain fcarlet, the water of 
 preparation, and all the reft of the operation is to 
 be performed after the fame manner as fcarlet 
 made of the grain of kt-rmes, or the common Vene- 
 tian, only the fecond liquor is compcfed of halt 
 kermes and half grape madder. 
 
 For the half-fcarlet and flame-colour, the cona- 
 poUtion and preparation is as ufual, nothing but 
 pure cochineal being put in, but in the reddening, 
 half cochineal and half madder is ufed : here al fo 
 the fylveftre may be made ufe of, for alter having 
 made the preparation with cochineal, for redden- 
 ing, ufe half a pound of cochineal, a pound and 3 
 half of fylveftre, and one pound of madder infiead 
 of cochineal alone, 
 
 That the wool and fluffs may be dyed as equally 
 as poffible, it is necefTary that the two kinds of co- 
 chineal be well rubbed or lifted, as alfo the madder, 
 with which they muft be well incorporated before 
 ihey are put into the liquor. This mufl be ob- 
 fcrved in all colours where feveral ingredients are 
 rnixt together. I his half fcarlet is finifhed like 
 the common fcarlet, and it may be faddened after 
 
 the 
 
136 THE DY£R's assistant. 
 
 the fame manner, either with boiling v/ater or 
 alum. 
 
 The balf-criinfon is made like the common 
 crimfon, only ufing half madder, and half cochin- 
 eal, the cochineal fyiveilre tray be ufed here alfo, 
 obferving only to retrench half of the common 
 cochineal, and to replace it with three times as 
 much of the fylvcftre. U a p;reater quantity of the 
 fylveftre was ufed, and more of the otiiei taken off, 
 the colour would not be fo fine. Various (hades 
 may be produced by augmenting or IfiTening the 
 ' madder or cochineal. 
 
 Purple with Madder wit I out Blue. 
 
 I fliall finilh this cliapter with an experiment 
 •jvhich afforded a pretty fine purple without cochin- 
 eal, or without the cloth being firft dyed blue. I 
 boiled a piece of cloth weighing half an ounce, with 
 ten grains of Roman a'utn, and fix grains of cry- 
 iial of tartar ; hair an hour after, I took it out, 
 Wrung it, and let it cool ; then added to the fime 
 liquor twenty-four grains of grape madder; after 
 it hatl furnifiied its dye to this liquor, fiill im- 
 pregnated witli fait?, 1 dropt in twenty-fcur drop? 
 of a folution of bifnfVJth, iriade with equalpans of 
 water and fpirit ot nitre, and then dipt my cloth 
 again. Hnlf an hour af;er, T took rt out, wrung 
 and wnfhed it; it was alnioft as fin"e a crimuni as 
 if it had been done vinh. cochineal, it had even a 
 fufficient ground to have remained in that fiate. 
 
 I dipt it again in the fame liquor, and boiled it 
 for a quarter of an hcur, it cartre out a pretty 
 brig^ht purple ; this purple, tried by tlie proof of a- 
 lum, rf^ufesand embelliAies itfelf, and by the proof 
 of foap it remained of a much finer red than the 
 common reds of madder. 
 
 If 
 
THE dyer's assistant. J 37 
 
 If the doth be kept for feveral days moidened in 
 its liquor of tartar and alum, and afterwards dyed 
 in frefh madder liquor, plain and without falts, 
 according to the common method, till it has ta- 
 ken a bright cinnamon colour, and to this liquor 
 be added the fame folution of bifmuth, a chefnut 
 colour, and no purple will be obtained. This 
 Ihows what exadtn.efs is required in defcribing the 
 procefles of dying, for want of which, all books 
 hitherto publifhed on this art have been ufelefs, as 
 they ntglecled to point out the neccflary circum- 
 flan'-es tor the fuccefs of the d( fired colour. 
 
 In this fecond experi-rent, ths cloth did at fird 
 take too much falts, they remained top long in ir, 
 and there was none in the liquor of the dye ; for 
 want of alum the purple did not appear, becaufe 
 the white earth of this fait could not precipitate it- 
 M( with the diffolved pans of the bifmuth, which, 
 as has been faid in the chapter of the kermes, carry 
 with them the blue parss of the fmalt, which is 
 always found in the mine of bifmuth, and a portion 
 of which very probably unites itfelt to this half r«ietal 
 during the melting. TWis mutual precipitation is 
 performed in operation of dying, by the help of the 
 aftringent parts of the ligneous fibres of the mad- 
 der root. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 OF yr.LLJW, 
 
 "Ithrrto ten forts of drugs have been named 
 for dyinj yellow, but by the proofs that 
 )iave been made it is certain there are but five that 
 are fufficiently lafting to be ufed in the good dye. 
 Several more might be added to ihefe five, as yel- 
 lows 
 
138 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 lows are eaCly ohtslned. I fliall therefore firft 
 fpeak of thefe five, which are t*<e weld or wold, 
 favor}', green wood, the yellow wood, and the 
 fenugreek, beccule thtle only are of t! c good dye. 
 The three firft are very common plants in Europe^ 
 the yeilovv wood comes from the Indies, and fenu- 
 gretk is found every wlicre. Weld is moft com- 
 lucnly ufed, as it gives the brighteil dye. I he 
 favciy ar.d the green weed are beit for v;ools that 
 are to be made gteens, becaufe their natural coljur 
 borders a little on the green ; the two others give 
 ihades of yellow fcmewhat different. 
 
 The yellows nicft known in the art of dying are 
 th.e Axaw yellow, the pale yellow, and the lemon 
 yellow. The orange yellows commonly made are 
 not fimple colours, theretore I Ihall not fpeak of 
 them here. 
 
 For dying yellow, the common preparing water 
 \&ith tartar and alum is ufed for wool or ftuffs, in 
 the proportion of four ounces of a!um for each 
 pound of wool, or twenty- five pountis for the 
 hundred, and one ounce of tartar, and the method 
 of boiling is tlie fame as before. For welding, 
 after the wool or Itufi" is boiled, put five or fix 
 pounds of weld in a frelh liquor for each pound of 
 f^uff ; let the weld be inclofed in a linen bag, that 
 it may not mix with the fluff, and that the bag 
 may not rife to the top of the copper, it mufl be 
 kept down with a heavy crofs of wood. Others 
 boil the weld till it has furniflied all its dye, and 
 finks itfelf to the bottom of the copper, at which 
 time they place on it a crofs or iron circle fitted 
 with a net of cords. Others take it out with a 
 rake when it is fufftciently boiled : fometimes yel- 
 low wood and other ingredients are mixed wi 
 the weld, according to the thade required, by aittr- 
 ijig the quantities and the proportions cf the lalts 
 
 ia 
 
THE DYERS ASSISTANT. I39 
 
 in the preparation, and the time of boiling. I know 
 by*experience, that thefe Ihades may be obtained 
 ad infinitum. This proof I have had in the efiays 
 I made with the flower of the virga, a very great 
 acquifition in the art of dying, if this plant was 
 in^iproved, which may be eallly done, fince it 
 ihoots a great m^ny flems, and whofe fmall ones 
 may be eafily trasifplanted, and produce quantities 
 in the courfe of one year. 
 
 Light (hades of yellow are obtained in the fame 
 manner as ail others fpoken of, only the preparing 
 liquor for thefe hght yellows muft be weaker. I 
 recommend twelve pounds and a half of alum for 
 each hundred pounds of wool, and the tartar in 
 proportion j but thefe Hght ftiades do not refift the 
 proofs as deeper (hades ^o^ made with the full pro- 
 portion of tartar. 
 
 Some Dyers endeavouring to help this, leave 
 the wool and fluffs for a longer time in the dye, 
 becaufe they take it flower in proportion to the 
 weaknefs of the liquor ; but if they put at the fame 
 time in the colouring liquor, wools whofe prepara- 
 tion rtiall have been different, they fhall take at the 
 fame time different fhades. Thefe liquors more 
 or lefs ftrong are called half-preparing liquors, or 
 quarter- preparing liquors, and they make great 
 rife of them in light Ihades of wool dyed in the 
 fleece, that is, before being fpun, and which are 
 intended for the tnanufa^turing of cloths and other 
 mixed fluffs ; becaufe the more alum there is in 
 the liquor of the wool, the more it is harih and 
 difficult to fpin, and it muft fpi;i thicker, and con- 
 fequently the fluff is coarfer. This obfervation is 
 not of great coniequence for fpun wool which is 
 intended for tapeflry or for fluffs. I only mention 
 it to fliow that the quantity of ingredients may be 
 
 lurnetimes varied without danger. 
 
 The 
 
140 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 The 3eIlow weed is ufed in chips, or In cq^rfe 
 (havings; by this means it is moie divided, and 
 yi^ilds Its dye tlie better, and a lefs quantity will 
 do ; which way fccver it is ufed, it is put into a 
 bag, tiiat it may not mix with the wool or (iaffs. 
 The fame precaution is ne^eflary fir ihe favory 
 and green wood, when they are niixtid with ti.e 
 weid to cliange its fhade. 
 
 I refer to the leiTer dye the five other ingredients 
 hitherto known which dye yel ow, and fhali only 
 obferve here in regard to ti.e g:od dye, that the 
 root of the dock, the bark of the afh-trce, parti- 
 cularly that which is raifed after the firft fap, the 
 leaves of almond, peach and pear-trees; in Curr, 
 all leaves, bark?, and roots, which by chewing (how 
 fome little r.ftridVion, give yeilows of the good dye 
 rrore or lefs fine, according to the time they are 
 boiled, and in proportion to the tartar and alum 
 ufed in the liquor: a proper quantity of alum brings 
 thefe yellows to the beautiful yelioAv of the weld. 
 If the tartar is in greater qusntiiy, thtfe yellows 
 will border en the orange ; and laftly, if thcfe in- 
 gredients are too much boiled, let th m be roots, 
 barks, or leaves, the yellow obrcurcs itfelf, and 
 takes brown {hndcs. 
 
 Although fome Dyers ufe turmerac in the good 
 dye, which gives an orange yellow, this praciics 
 is to be condemned, for it is a colour that foon 
 pifTes in the air, uiilefs it be fecured by fca-falt, 
 which fome Dyers do, who take care to keep this 
 impofition to themfrlves. Thofe who nuke ufe of 
 it in common fcarlets, to fpare cochineal, and to 
 give to their ftuiF a red bordering on the orange, 
 are bhmeable, for the fcarlets that have been dyed 
 after this manner lofe in a fliort tire that bright 
 orange, as I have already faid, they brown con- 
 fiderably in the air. Yet thefe fa'fificaiicns are 
 
 obliged 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I4I 
 
 obliged to be in fome meafure tolerated ; for at this 
 tiaie that bright orange being in faftiion, it would 
 be impcflible to give it to fcariet, without put- 
 ting a larger dofe of corr.poiition, whofe acids would 
 greatly liurt the cloth. The fullic wood is now 
 preferred in fcariet. 
 
 C H A P. XVI. 
 
 OF BROWN, 
 
 iROWN Is the fourth of the pri'nary colours. 
 _^ It is placed in this rank, becaufe it enters in 
 the compofition of a great number of colours. 
 The working it is different from others,' for com- 
 monly no preparation is given to wool to be dyed 
 brown, and, like the blue, it is only dipped in hot 
 water. 
 
 The rinds and roots of walnut, the rind of the 
 alder, fantal, fumach, roudoul or fovic, foot, &c. 
 are ufed in this dye. 
 
 The rind of the walnut is the green part that 
 covers the nut ; they are gathered when the nuts 
 are entirely ripe, then filled into great caflcs and 
 moiftened with water ; they are thus preferved 
 until tiie enfuing year, and longer if required. 
 
 The fantal or faundcrs is a hard wood brought 
 from the Indies ; it is commonly ufed ground to a 
 very fine powder, it is preferved for fome time in 
 this fiate in bags, to excite (as is imagined) a flight 
 fermentation, which they pretend makes it the 
 better for ufc, but I could find no difference. 
 
 This wood IS moft commonly ground with a 
 third pjft of cariatour wood, which foftens it ac- 
 cording to thofe who fell it. It is greatly inferior 
 to walnut rinds, for it hurts the wool by hardening 
 
 it 
 
142 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 it confiderably if ufed in large quantities, therefore 
 it is better not to ufe it for fine wools 2nd fluffs, 
 or at leaft to draw but the lighteft (hades, for then 
 its cffecft will be of lefs confequence. It is gene- 
 rally mixed with gal's, alder, bark, and fumach ; it 
 is only by this means that it gives its colour when 
 ufcf] alone, and unmixed with the cariatour wood. 
 It yields biit very lii'Lle Vvith the liquor cf alutn 
 and tartar unlcfs it he rafped. Nctwithftanding this 
 defe<£^, it is tolerated in the good dye, on account 
 of the folidity of its colour, which naturally is a 
 yellow-red-brown : it browns and grows deep in 
 the air, it lightens with foap, but I'ofes iefs by the 
 proof of alum, and ftill lefs by that of tartar. 
 
 Of all the ingredients ufe '! tor the brown dye, 
 the walnut rind is the beft ; its (hades are finer, its 
 colour is lafting, it foftens the wool, renders it of 
 a tetter quality, and eafier to work. To make 
 ufe of this rind, a copper is half filled, and when 
 it begins to grow luke-warm, the rind is added in 
 proportion to the quantities of (tuffs to be dyed and 
 the colour intended. The copper is then m.a^e to 
 boil, and when it has bciled a quarter of an hour, the 
 fluffs, v.hich were before dipped in v;arm water, 
 are put in. They are to be ftirred and turned until 
 they acquire the defired colour. If it is fpun v;co], 
 and that the (hades required are to be matched 
 with great exactnefs, a fmall quantity of rind is to 
 be put in riril, and the lighteft are fial made ; more 
 rind is then put in, and then the deepeft are made : 
 but to work with fluffs, the deepeft are generally 
 made firft, and as the colour of the liquor dimi- 
 nifhes, the lighteft are dipped ; they are aired as 
 ufual to cool them^ dricrd, and drefTed. 
 
 Next to the walnut rind is the root ; it gives a 
 
 great num.ber of fnades and pretty near the fame ; 
 
 thus they may be lubflituted the one for the ether, 
 
 2 according 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I43 
 
 according to the facility of obtaining them, but 
 there is a difference in the manner of ufing the 
 root. A copper is tilled three quarters full of river 
 water ; the quantity of root that is thought con- 
 • venient is cut into fmall pieces, and added in pro- 
 portion to the quantity of wool to be dyed and the 
 fhade required. 
 
 When the liquor is hot, fo as not to bear the 
 hand, the fluffs are put in and turned, until they 
 have the defired fliade, carefully obferving to air 
 them from time to time, and to pafs them between 
 the hands by the lifts, to make the fmall pieces of 
 roots that ftick fall off to prevent their blotting ; 
 but this may be remedied by inclofing the cut root 
 in a bag, as has been faid of the yellow root. The 
 fluffs that are to be of lighter fh.ides are then to 
 be dipped, and to be thus continued until the 
 root gives no more dye. If it is fpun wool, the 
 lightefl: are to be made firft to match them the bet- 
 ter, as I have already faid in fpeaking nf other 
 colours ; but above all, care mull be taken nor to 
 boil the liquor at firll, for then this root would 
 give all its colour to the firft: piece of ftuff, and 
 there would not remain fufficient for the reft. 
 
 The method of dying wool with roots is not 
 very eafy, for if great care is not taken to bring 
 the dye to a proper degree of heat, and to flir the 
 wool and ftuffs fo that they may be equally foaked 
 in the copper, they run the hazard of being made 
 too deep or of being blotted, which cannot be re- 
 medied but by giving them a chefnut, prune, or coffee 
 colour, as I (hall fhow when I treat of the colours and 
 fliades arifing from the mixture of black and brown. 
 
 To avoid this inconvenience, the ftuffs muft: be 
 continually turned round the wynch, and dipped 
 piece after piece, and great care muft be taken not 
 to boil the roots too much, but always to leave 
 
 fome 
 
144- THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 forr.e dying fubllance in them. When the wool 
 cr Huifs are dyed after this n^ethocJ, t!;ey are aired, 
 walhed, and dried. 
 
 The rrethod of treating the alder bark differs 
 not from tliat of the walnut-root before defcribed, 
 except that there is lefs darger in boiling it at the 
 beginning, as it tives lefs eround of colour to the 
 fluff. It is commonly ufed for thread, and for co- 
 lours that are to be fadden-^d with green copperas ; 
 it has however a good effect en wco! fr colours 
 that are not very deep, and it perfectly refifts the 
 action of the air and fun. 
 
 The fumach is prtiiy near the fame ; it is ufed 
 after the fame manner as the green lliells or in- 
 ward coats of walnuts ; it ftill gives lefs ground of 
 colour, and borders forrewhat on the green ; it is 
 often futftituted fcr gails in colours that are to be 
 faddened, and it anfwers penecl'.y wei!, but mufl 
 be ufed in larger quantities. 
 
 Thefe different rriarters are often mixed tcse- 
 ther, and as they are equally good, and produce - 
 nearly the fame effccf, they readily afford a variety 1 
 of fhades ; and yet there is nothing but pracfice 
 can teach this variety of brown if.aJes, tor they en- 
 tirely depend on the eye of the Dyer. 
 
 To ufe thefe ingredients (nixt, and ground faun- 
 ders together, put four pounds of this iaft into a 
 ccpper, half a pound of powdered gails, twelve 
 pcundsof elder bark, and ten pound of fumach, this 
 quantity will dye twenty-five or twenty- feven eils 
 of cloth } the v.hcle is boiled, and having ilacken- 
 ed the bcil by means of a little cold water, the c.oth 
 is put in, turned, ai.d well Airred for two hour? ; 
 after which it is taken out, aired and warned j otlier 
 fluffs that are to be of a lighter fhade are then put 
 in, and thus continued as Ici g aa the liquor af- 
 fords any colour. 
 
 The 
 
THE dyer's asshtant; 145 
 
 The quantity of ihefe ingredients is augmented 
 or diminiihed in propoition to the height of the 
 ihade, and the ftutTs or wool are boiled more of 
 lefs accordingly. I have already obferved that by 
 this means only the colour can be extracted trom 
 the faunders. 
 
 I have here treated of th.e faunders and the 
 rnanner of ufing it, although it fliouM have been 
 chfled with the lelTer dyes, as tliis woad ought 
 only to be ufed for ftuffs of low prices, becaufe 
 of thedeftdls before fpoken of; yet as it is v;oiked 
 ahr.ofi after the fame n>anner as the other ingredi- 
 ents for dying brown, and in feveral places is even 
 tolerated in the good dye, as. it refills the fun and 
 air as well as t;ie others, I thought it would not 
 be improper here to give the method of wotkip.;^ 
 it ; for the fame re?.fon I fliaH now defcribe the 
 method of dying with foot, though permitted only 
 in the lefler dye, having lefs folidlty than the reir, 
 befides hardening the wool, and giving a difagree-* 
 able fmell to the ftufTs. 
 
 The foot * is commonly put into the copper the 
 fame time as the water, and the whole is v.ell 
 boiled together; th.e ftuir is then dipt in, which 
 is to boil more or lefs, according to the iliadc re- 
 quired ; after v^hich it is taken out and aired, and 
 thofe put in wliich are to be lighter; they are then 
 to be well wafhed and dried, but it is better to boil 
 the foot in the water for two hours then let it fettle, 
 and empty the liquor into another copper, Vvfitliout 
 mixing the foot ; the wool and {luffs are put into 
 this liquor, and are lefs hardened and dried tliau 
 when they have been mixt with the foot itfelf, but 
 the colour is riot folid, and it is better not to m^ke 
 life of it for dying fluffs that bear a price, and 
 G more 
 
 * * Wood foot. 
 
146 THE DYLR's assistant. 
 
 ir.ore fo as all its flia.'es may be had by the fcre^ 
 going ingredients, which are better, more lafting, 
 and aifo fotten the woo!. 
 
 The Dvers of he lelTer dye ufually employ the 
 rlnc's of the nut and the root of the wahnn-trec 
 for thciT hrown colours ; the working of thffe two 
 ingredients bein? comtron to Dyers or the greater 
 and itfler dye ; but there are places where it is dif- 
 ficult to ohtain them, and then the faunders and 
 even foot are obliged to be ufed in their ftead. 
 
 What I have hitherto faid to account for the 
 foiidity ot the colours of t'ne good dye, may feem 
 nr<t to agree with br:.wn cclours fp-'ken of in this 
 chapter, fince ihefe are firmly applied on the wool 
 without any preparation to receive them by the 
 liquor of alum and tartar, "and confequently with- 
 out firft introducing into the pores of the fi:- res a 
 fait capable of hardenir.e iifelt m the cold, and to 
 Cerent the atoms that co'our the brown ; but it on 
 a chymical anahfis the green fhe'l of walnuts, the 
 root of the walnut-tree, t!-,e rial of alder, (houid 
 be proved to contain, befidcs their aftrinye. t pro- 
 perties, a vitriolated tartar, \%hi:h is a fair that 
 does nr t calcine in the fun, and that is only dif- 
 folved by boi;in2 water ; thi? I fay will convince 
 that thefe ingredients are fuficient of themfelves to 
 produce on the Ihjfts, without any fcreign help, 
 "the fa.Tie tffcdl as the other drugs, whofe colours 
 arc n>:t fet in with foiidity, but by the hr-ip of a 
 fait capable of ceuenting the colouring atoms, 
 
 1 he foot does not give lo lafting a brow n, be- 
 caufe it O'lv contains a v latile and an earthy fait 
 eafily difTolved, and in fa»5t the foot being only 
 cciri.iof%l of the lighTefl and mofl volatile parts of 
 comhuftible bo'ies, which hjve ferved as food few 
 the fire, it could not raife tartar of vitriol along 
 
 with 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I47 
 
 with it, viiiich is a fait that does not rife by heat, 
 and which is alfo feldoin (ound in the wood whicii 
 we comitioniy burn in our chimnies. 
 
 As 1 am not wilHng to omit any living within 
 the limits of my knowledge, on the article of 
 woi Hen dying, 1 fliall give two or three hmts on 
 the acid of vitriol. 
 
 if you would have a beautiful claret on wool, 
 fluffs, or cloth, boil in a copper ot a good fize, 
 redwood or faunders in proportion to the (haJe 
 you want, and two pou>ds ot logwo'-d, for forty 
 pounds of wool previoufly fc-^ured. When the in- 
 gred.ents h ve boiled iialt an h( ur, put a pi,,t of 
 oil of vitriol into a pail of cold water, and add it 
 to the liquor, when the wool inuft be put m, and 
 gently boiled for two or three hours. It it then to 
 be taken up on a fcray, that is, let acrcfs the cop- 
 per to drain, and five or fix pails of water poured 
 over it, l>.e copper muft be tlien run down and 
 filled as before with fair water, and when it is lior, 
 ten pounds of copperas and tour ounces of pearl- 
 alhcs muft be adc'ed, and the v.'ool returned and 
 well worked with a long pole to n.ake it even 
 
 The alhes (which are a fixed alkali) a6i upon the 
 logwood, and give- it a tire luftre ac the faaie time. 
 It weakens the a^id of the vitriol, and makes way 
 for the copperas to do its part, which would ot er- 
 wife be kept at a diflance ; the vitriol d es not 
 obftrudf the cloth in the fulling mili, fur thf- vi:rioI, 
 which fome fuppoie to be a great enei.y ir, the 
 mill, is divef^eu ot it.s acid by the (ir 'ng alkali 
 contained in the chamberley in fcouring, and the 
 colour remains pertedily vivid. If f r torry pounds 
 or wool, &c. ten pcu.ds of nut-^alls were bruifed' 
 and boiled with the above ingredients, the acid 
 therein contained woul produce as biliiant a 
 colour, andj if pofTible, more hcldiog than the 
 G 2 former j 
 
148 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 former ; but if galls are ufcd, the fame liquor will 
 do the faiTie buiii efs when the copperns is added 
 without 2(hes 2s a frefli water would when vitriol 
 js ufed. It ferry pounds of cloth, ftuff, or wcrfted 
 were boiled in a fufficient quantity of redwood or 
 iaunders, and one pint of prepared aquafortis be 
 added to the liquor after the g( ods have boiled aa 
 hour and a half, and then turned well for half an 
 hour, the colour will be vivid and fine ; the cop- 
 per muft be well cooled when tlie fpirits are put in. 
 
 When cloth or fluffs are dyed claret with oil of 
 -vitriol, great care muft be taken to turn them cot\- 
 tinually over the wench, and particularly in taking 
 out, obferve the inftant the laft end comes up to 
 take off into a large tub of cold water, that all 
 parts may cool alike, or the colour will be very 
 uneven, as the vitriol when hot will not bear the 
 air. 
 
 Oil of vitriol is fo ufcful a thing in dying, that 
 any colour, fave woaded blue or green, may, by 
 the help of its acid, be brought to a fine claret, 
 black not excepted. 
 
 CHAP. XVIi. 
 
 OF BLACK. 
 
 BLACK is the fifth of the primary colours. To 
 dye the beft and the mcft lively fhade, a velTel 
 fuficiently large muft be filled with foft water, and 
 for every hundred weight of cloth, thirty pounds of 
 logwood in chips muft be put in, with half a pail 
 ot'^elder bark and fix pounds of fumach ; boil thefe 
 ingredients together half an hour, when the cloth 
 may be entered (the copper being firft cooled by 
 ■^ the 
 
THE dyer's assistant, I49 
 
 the addition of cold water), and boiled an hour and 
 a half, being inftantly turned on the wynch to pre- 
 vent an unevennefs of dye. This operation being 
 ended, which is called a preparation or (luffing the 
 blacks, I (hall proceed to the finhhing. 
 
 A, fiTiall tub is to be placed at the (ide of the 
 copper, out of which it muft be iilled with hot li- 
 quor, in which put ten or fourteen pounds or cop- 
 peras to diilblve ; the cloth is then kept turning, 
 whilil a man with a piggin h ladiiig the copperas 
 water into the copper; the cloth is turned here at 
 3 boilinw heat one hour, then taken out and coo'ed 
 wdl in all parts alike ; when thoroughly cold,, re- 
 turn it into the copper, v/ith two haadfuls of cop- 
 peras, and boil it gently as bef jre for two hourSj 
 then cool it again. 
 
 Wliilil the fecond coo'.ing is carrying en, (ix 
 pounds of logwood, ten pounds of bark, 'and two 
 pounds of argil, with ten pounds of foda or co nmoa 
 afhes, and three pounds of copperas, muft be added 
 to the liquor ; thefe ingredients muft be made to 
 boil one hour, when the goods mull be turned and 
 workrd one hour. Kep the v/ynch continually 
 turning, always obfervmg that the fmall portion of 
 air which the goods receive by turning on the 
 wynch, contributes much to the beauty of the co- 
 lour. Some Dyers inftead of aihes ufe chaiiiberley, 
 but this is a bad cuftom. If they would become 
 good black Dyers, tiiey muft abandon their old 
 pradice, and by mixing their natural genius with 
 reafon and good fenfe, they, will f lon find by ex- 
 perience, that the acid of the argil ads only on the 
 vitriolic acid of th? copperas, and prevents a broAfn 
 or rufty hue that will un:iypidably proceed from the 
 )ogwj<xl ; the alkaline power of the. adies at •the 
 fame time forces it to afTume it natural violet co- 
 lour i that if too great a quantity of logwood is not 
 G 3 ufed, 
 
ISO THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 ufed, (which would certainly prejudice the colour) 
 and this rule carefully obferved, the black would 
 refeaible a raven's feather j they muft be well 
 wafhed at ttie fulling-mill. 
 
 I (hali not entertain the reader with a tedious re- 
 cital of the manner of treating tbofe goods whofe 
 fuperior quality renders it neediui that they fhould 
 previ' ufly be dytd blue, it is fuffiijient to know, 
 tl\at they rruft have a lefs proportion of ingredi- 
 ents, though the optrarion is the fame as that of 
 the common black. 
 
 W hen fi.,e cloth is to be dyed black, great care 
 muft be taken n.jt to let it hang on the wynch one 
 {ninutej it rr.uft be thrown off that inftant the laft 
 comes up ; otherwife its own weight when wet and 
 hot would fill it with wrinkles that would never 
 reir.ove. The fame caution mufl be taken when 
 the cloth is on the floor, to draw it between two 
 men over a Icng flick by the lifts, each taking hold 
 of one end with their left hand, to be continued 
 till cold before it be returned. 
 
 Re fh arks on the Blach Dye. 
 
 The moft efTeniial thing to be remarked is, that 
 it prejudices and weakens the goods; tor tliis rea- 
 fon rhole that are dyed *^!ack are fount ft worn out j 
 th'-v re l.owfvtr in all rather refpedls equal tothofe 
 that are dyed other colours. This defed is chiefly 
 to v,'^ uunLutea to the vitriolic acid of the cop- 
 perss, which is only imperteftly fjturated by the 
 iron ; as irtn ur.ited to ar^y other acid, and even to 
 ve;:etab!e acids, is capable of producing bla^k with 
 aftringcnt vejetabK-s. There is great caufe to 
 think that by iubftiruling other combinaiions of 
 this metal for '1 e copperas, this inconvenience 
 might be reme<!ied. 
 
 Thefs 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 151' 
 
 Thefe are certainly good and ufeful eflays to at- 
 tempt. It is not without caufe that tbe blacks are 
 dir?<Sted to be aired between the dippings, as it in- 
 finitely contribLUes to the beauty ot the dye; for 
 it is certain that this dye is different from molV 
 others which lofe of their colour in drying-; this^ 
 on the contrary, acquires a great deal; it is uni- 
 verfally known, that good writing-ink does nor 
 appear any thing near fo black when fre(h andr 
 recently ufed, as when dry, and that tv<:n it grows- 
 more black during a certain f^^^ce of time, Thft 
 fame happens to the bhek dye. The cloth is iiT 
 fome meafure of a grey blackilh colour i^mrediately 
 after the firft dip; it only acquires the benutiful 
 black en beiiig expofed to the air ; this is not the 
 .only fxriaiple of the influence of the air on coloursi 
 the. biue vat exliibits fomeihing like it. 
 
 CHAP, xviir. 
 
 OF THE MiXTUilE OF BLUE AND KED. 
 
 IN fpeaking of the red I olferved that there were 
 four different kmds in the good dye. We 
 ihall now explain the effe£t of thefe difF.rent reds 
 placed on a fluff that has been previoufly dyed 
 blue. If a blue ftuff is boiled in alum and tartar, 
 (after the manner and proportion taught m the 
 article of red, and which is attcrwards to be dyed 
 with kermes the following colours v-fill re.^ulr, viz. 
 The king's colour, the prince's colour, the panfy, 
 the Violet, the purple, and fevera! other like 
 colours ; but the kermes is feldom ufed for thefe 
 colours, on account of its hiiih price, and the 
 quantity which would be required, but rnore fo,. 
 G 4. becaufe 
 
JS'i. THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 becau.e cochineal \ieids a finer colour for this pur- 
 poi'e, and with greater eafe. 1 have already cb- 
 ferved that kerrr.es is feldom ufed, though there 
 are fever-1 compound colours in whiich it produces 
 a very good efrecl, as will be more particularly de- 
 fcribed. 
 
 When the kermcs is ufed to by a red rn blue, 
 it is indifferenc v.har ground of blue is lirft given, 
 cr whether it be given before cr after the ftufF is 
 dyed red, becsufe the c. lour cf the kermes is too 
 foiid to be changed by the li^ne ot the vvoad 
 vat^ (unlefs the vat be overloacled) or by the 
 pearl -afhes in the indigo, 'J^hus if the woad vat 
 is ngt too old, it tr.ay be begun by either of thefe 
 two colours at p eafure, or by that which is moft 
 convenient to match the fhade. Although I named 
 but a fmall number of colours, a great many may 
 be drawn from thefe two principal ones, accord- 
 in» as the or.e or the ether may be more predo- 
 minan:. 
 
 The mixture of blue with fire- colour fcarlet is 
 never ufed iu any or their Ihades. To convince 
 myfelf by experience, I took a piece of cloth dyed 
 in fcailet, and ciipt ir in the blue vat, and 1 dyed a 
 Kcond pie:e according to the method of dying 
 Icarlet, having previoufly dyed it blue. The one 
 and the other fucceeded very badly, and made a 
 kind of diili fpotted violet, fo it appeared that the 
 iv,o colours did not unste, but that they were laid 
 each on ciffercni pans or the wool. This no doubt 
 is caufed by the acids which enter the coa^pcfition 
 cf the fcariet. iiut without entering here upon 
 the phvfical reafon of this operation, which might 
 occafiou too lung a dificrtation, and tedious repe- 
 tition of what i liave already faid, the fact appears 
 luficiciit here : ir prcves iha no beautiful 'colour. 
 
 cau 
 
THE DYER 3 ASSISTANT. 153 
 
 can be had from the mixture of blue and fc:.r!et j 
 it rnuft be crinfon. 
 
 From the mixture oi- blue and crimfon, the 
 columbine, the purple, the amsranth, the panfy, 
 and the violet are formed ; thefe colours have alfo 
 a great number of Ihades which depend upoa the 
 ihades of ttie oiher colour, from whence they are 
 derived. 
 
 I have faiJ fo much on the primary, colours, that 
 no difficulty can remain in the execution of the 
 compound colours. 
 
 Stuffs or fpun v;ool are firft made of one colour, 
 and then ■ dyed of the other, precifely as if it was 
 wiiite; but it muil be obferved in this cafe, that 
 the fiufi .be lirfl dyed blue before it is made into 
 crimfon, for the reafon before given, ihat the 
 alkali of the one or other vat greatly obfcures the 
 br.ghtncfs of the red of the cochineal. 
 
 i"o make violets, purples, and other like 
 fliades, what I have already faid on crimfon is to 
 be followed, becaufe thefe colours will have nei- 
 ther brightnefs nor luftre, but by foUov/ing thepre- - 
 cautions necePfary.for iiae crimfons. 
 
 From blue, and the red of madder, proceeds 
 alfo the king's colour, the prince's colour, (but 
 innnueiy lefs beautiful than when tlve kermes is 
 made ufe of; for the red of the madder is always 
 obicured by the brown of its ligneous parts) the 
 snlnime, the tan-colour, the amaranth, the dry rofe, 
 always lefs bright than when the kermes is made 
 ufe of. Neverthelefs it is fometimes n.ixed with 
 madder, as 1 have already fsid, to make half- 
 grained fcarlets, and the colours which proceed 
 from it are always fi.ier than when msoder alone is 
 ufed on a ftufF dyed blue; madder is alfo (ni::^4 
 with cochineal, as in the half crimfons, :xn<i a great 
 nu.naber of very fine fnades are diawn fro.n tlien, 
 G 5 v/hich 
 
154 THE DYERS ASSISTANT. 
 
 which cannot have pDrtlcular natnes, but which 
 b' rder en tl.ofe I have juft metitioned. Some of 
 th fe iniy be made as fifie as if desrer ingre :ients 
 were made ufe of. It is the hufinefs and profit of 
 the Dyer not to ufe ire deareil, when the fame ef- 
 fc&s may be produced by the cheapeft ingredients. 
 It is impofli le fsr me to give any infiructions on 
 thi? a'-ticle, fi ice ufe alone can teach it. The old 
 liquor or madder and cochineal is often ufed, whofe 
 colours have not been entirely extracted, which 
 makes a confi.'erabie faving, and the colour is not 
 Jefs good. 1 can fay nothing pofitive on this, fince 
 the efreft which will refult from it depe.".ds en 
 what coi.'ur inay remain in the liquor, and on the 
 (hade intended. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 OF THE MIXTURE OF SLUE AND YELLOW. 
 
 FROM the mixture of blue and yellow but one 
 colour IS prO''uccd, which is green ; but 
 there are a variety ot fhides ; the principal ones 
 arc% the yellow green the li^ht green, the gay 
 green, the grafs green, the laurel greeri, the mjle- 
 qum tureen, tlie deep green, the fea green, the ce- 
 ladon green, the parrot green, the cabbage green, 
 and I Ihail add, the duck.- wing green, and the ce- 
 ladon green without blue. All thele Ihades, and 
 the inter medi.itc- ores, are made ofier the fame 
 mani r an with the fame eafe. The liuff or wool 
 dyed blue, lign- or dark, is boiled in alum and tar- 
 tar, as IS uiuaily done to make a white ftuff yel- 
 low, and then wuh weld, fav ry, or greening 
 wood. All thefe ingredients are equally good as 
 
 to 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 155, 
 
 to folidlty, but as their yellows differ a little, h do. 
 the greens that arile from their iTsixture. The 
 weld and the favory are tlie two plants that afford ' 
 the fineft oreens. 
 
 To make the green fhades which border on the 
 yellow, the ftuff muft be of a very light blue, and 
 boiled with the coiiiioon quantity of tartar and 
 alum to receive the yellow ; for without thefe falls 
 it would n -t be lafiing, (but for a parrot or cab- 
 bage green the blue mufl: be very deep) zi.d as it 
 is only to have a light yeilow, the fluffs inufl have 
 but a half preparation j I have already iiTentioiied 
 tlris ; fometimes even a quarter of the water for 
 the common preparation ib fufficient. 
 
 When the workmen make thefe colours, they, 
 often ufe the falts without weighing them, and 
 guefs at tiie quantity which they think necefiary for 
 the fh de intended; a long pradlice may in fome- 
 meal'ure make them pretty exadt, but it would be 
 frdi better if they did not truft to it. 
 
 I know by repeated experiments that thefe green- 
 blue ihades are as vvcil made by giving the ftulf 
 the common preparation. The yellov/ which is 
 afrerwards applied to it is the more lading, but on. 
 this occafion lefs wtrld is to he put into the liquor 
 of the dye, or any otiier colouring matter, and the 
 fluff mu ft remiin lefs lime in the liquor, notwith- . 
 landing two reafons induced to the contr:.;ry ; the .^ 
 firlt and moil intercfting to the Dyer is, that, they 
 would confume a greater quantity of drugs than is 
 neceffary ; and the fecon;i, that the lefs alum ufed 
 in the preparation, the more the foftneis and the 
 quality of the wool is preferved, and the lefs thefirft . 
 dye of blue is da^naged ; for the alu.n always greys 
 the blues a little. Thus it is better to kave ihe 
 Dyer to his cuftom of regulating the flren^th of 
 G6. " hb 
 
156 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 his preparalicn lo the neccflary piich to give ihefe 
 CO. curs. 
 
 I have faid that to dye green it was r.eceflary 
 t'"i3t the wool Ihould be previoufly blue; becauTe I 
 think that the two colours hid on in tliis order hold 
 better, and that the colour would not be fo good 
 if ctherwife done. Of t!:i& I afTure myfelt by mak- 
 ing the greens, of which I have fpoken, with the 
 fjve colouring matters already known, which make 
 a yellow of the good dye ; I have tried a yellow of 
 the raft.e materials, the contrary, having dipped 
 five yellow pieces in the woad var, and have had as 
 fii-.e greens as the firft. 1 expofed bothro the fum- 
 rr er's fu.n, and they have refifted fufficiently to be 
 eftcemed cf the good dye ; but thofe which had re- 
 ceived the blue before the )eiiov/ loft the leaft, fo 
 that in particuhr circuniftances the Dyer muft be 
 allowed to begin firft with yellow. But greens 
 which have the blue colour laft, will fully tr.e linen 
 mere than the others ; for if the blue has been nril 
 dyed, all that could be taken off was done by the 
 alum .iquor, which happens on the contrary when 
 the b.ue was put on lait ; the only remedy tor this 
 i?, to fcour the greeij well after it comes cut of the 
 copper. 
 
 Cioth dyed kii^g's blue, and greened wiih the 
 flower of ihe virga aurcu Canadieiyh^ make a very 
 fine gre-.n, provided 't has been bcijed in a liquor 
 with three times the weight of alum to one of 
 white tiiftar ; the green is net inferior to that made 
 of weld. 
 
 I have alfo greened blues with afh-bark povif- 
 dered ; they are of a very good dye, but not of a 
 fine co'our, and onlv fit for Hveries The leaves 
 of almond, pe xh and pear trees, &c. give yellow;:, 
 which kive to make green ihades, that are rather 
 difRcuIt to hit on at fi-'ft, 
 
 A fluff 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I57 
 
 A fluff dyed in the king's blue, well fcoured, 
 then boiled w-ith four parts of alum, and one of 
 tartar, takes a fine deep green of the fliade of a 
 duck's wing; but it mui\ be boiled for two hours 
 in a liquor, with a fufRcient quantity of the root 
 of Iharp- pointed dock grofsly bruifed. 
 
 This root, which grows in every liedge and 
 field, is a good acquifuicn to tlie art of dying ; for 
 with it, ar.d without any other addition but the 
 preparing liquor for the ftuffs, it produces an in- 
 finity ot fiiadef, from the itraw colour to a pietty' 
 fine olive ; oiily puitirig more or lefs to the lujuor,- 
 and boiling it from half an fiour to three hours, 
 Thefe fhides ftand all manner of proof. I flroniily 
 recommend the cultivation of this dock in damp 
 places, for its ufc hi dying. 
 
 T he celadon green (a particular colour) is much 
 admired by the luliabitancs of the Mediterranean, 
 and may in (irict buhnels be made in the good dve, 
 by giving a blue ground to the f^ufF. But this 
 (hade of blue ir>u(t be fo weak, that it is only a 
 miik and water colour, which is very difficult to 
 give fmoot'.i and equal. When this fhide h.as been 
 happily hit, it is eaiier to give the yellow dye that fuits 
 it, w'lih the virga au?-ea than with the weld, rhe 
 virga aurea is not known to the D) ers of Lan- 
 guedoc, who make moft of thefe kind of colours, 
 and as the neceffary blue (hades are diflicult to dye, 
 they are fomctimes permitted to dye celadons with 
 verdigrife, alihougli this colour be in the rank of 
 the lelTer dye. 
 
 The Dutch make this' colour perfe<2:Iy, and 
 render it more bfting than it commonly is with 
 the verdigrife. Here follows their method. 
 
 Two coppers are fet a little diftance the one 
 from the other. In the firft is put for two pieces 
 of cloth of forty. Eve or fiity elis long, eight or 
 
 ten 
 
15S THE dv;r's ass::tant. 
 
 ten pounc's of white f:ap cut hr-all and perfectly 
 iTielted. When the liquor is ready to boil, rhe 
 cloths are dipt in, and boil for lialf an h^ur. 
 Another liquor is prepared in the next copper, and 
 whtn it is I'calding hot a clcth bag is put in con- 
 taining eight or ten pounds of Cyprus or blue 
 v>rif)l, and ten or twelve pounds of iime, botli 
 powr'ered and we 1 mixt j this mixture rrtuii be as 
 equal z- polFible. The bag is moved about in the 
 hot water, but not boiling, till all the blue vitriol 
 is dilToAed in the liquor ; then a wynch is pur up, 
 fiirrounded hv a clesn linen cloth, and weli taltened 
 on ; one end ot the two cloths is put i)n the 
 vvvnch, which is turned iwiftly th-t the cl ths may 
 quickly p^ls thrcugli the foap liquor to that of the 
 vitriol ; then the wynch ss worlced more gently, 
 that the cloth may have time to charge itfclf with 
 the parts o* copper, which the li ne has fcattercd 
 in the .iquor, by feparatinjj ar :d precipitating them 
 from the vitriol w \:n contained them. The cloths 
 are left in t' is l.quor, wluch nhuit not bit until 
 thev hdve taken t e (hac^e ot the celadon that was 
 wanted ; then they are taken out an i well aired : 
 they muft be entirely cold refore they are walhed, 
 and muft touch no wood befr.re they aie, for the 
 wood fpots them ; for this reafon the wynch z?A 
 thrC hoile are furiounded with cioth. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 OF THE ^5IXTL'RE OF BLUE AN"t» BRO'.VI^. 
 
 Ln^TLE ufe is made of the (hade which 
 arifes from the mixture cf blue and brown : 
 thefc £re ■^reenjfh gieys, or a kind or Oiives, wiiich 
 are ciily fi: to match fhades fcr tapsftries; thefe 
 
 colours 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 159 
 
 colours are eafily made when wanted, and it is 
 equal to begin by the blue or the brown colour to 
 the fpun wool ; but care muft be taken that it be 
 well fcoured, as is done for the blue and the com- 
 pound colours which are fimfhed by dipping them 
 in the vat. Any fubflance that dyes brown inay 
 be equally made ufe of for thefe colours, and ioinc 
 give the (hade required better than others. 
 
 CHAP. xxr. 
 
 OF THE MIXTURE OF BLUE AND BLACK. 
 
 'O particular fha:!e arifes fronn this mixture, 
 ^ , except by the mixture of blue and grey, 
 (which are fhades of the black). In this cafe the 
 blue muft not be very deep, and is afterwards 
 worked the fame as the black, excepting', that the 
 colour not beina; fo dark lefs copperas enters in ; 
 but I repeat again tliat this colour ou'iht only to be 
 efteemed a fhade of the black Thus it may be 
 laid that no fhades are made from olue and black 
 ufcd by themfelves, and very few trom blue and 
 brown. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 OF THE MIXTURE OF RED AND YELLOW. 
 
 FROM fcarlet of grain or kermes and the yel- 
 low are formed the aurora, ttie marigold, and 
 the orange. The v;ool is firrt boiled m alum and 
 tartar, and dyed in cne of theie colours, and then 
 dipped in the fecond, or by mixing in the fame li- 
 quor 
 
i6o THE dvcr's assistant. 
 
 quor the kernies, the weld, the favory, Sec. and fa 
 dyit.2; it at once. Yet it is eaiier to attain the 
 exact (hades bv dyin^ it at twice ; for this reafon, 
 tlie wool or the itutF ir.ay be alternately paiTed in 
 the one or other Uquor, tili it be precifeiy ot the 
 defired colour. 
 
 The lobfter and pomegranate colours are done 
 exadly as fcarlet is, that is, boiled with cream of 
 tartar, cochineal, and the compofition, after which 
 thev are taken out, aired, and waihed. For the 
 finiihing, a frefli liquor is prepared as lor the 
 Larlet, ► ut without cr chineal ; in its ftead, a little 
 yeKovv \^'ooj ground is fubftitute;! -, this depends on 
 the colour the ftuff is intended to be of. The 
 more it borders on the orange, the more yellow 
 Viced is added, diminifhing the quantity ot the co-> 
 chineal. 
 
 i endeavoured to make this colour after three 
 different n.ethods, and lucceeded in ail j the firft- 
 is that which I have cefcnbed ; the fecond is by 
 putting tuilic inilead ot veLow weed, and this laves 
 a gre^t deal of cochineal, and the (h^de ot the 
 fuftic is a great deal more on the orange than the 
 yellow wood, but thefe ingredients are n-, t lafting, 
 and ought not to be u!ed but in the f iTer dye. 
 The method is with cochineal alone, by augment- 
 ing the quantity of the compofition, winch roufes 
 the coctMncal. and turns it to orange as nuch as 
 is ciefired ; but this is attended with verv great in- 
 convenience, jft, The Colour bcco.i es ver) ex- 
 penfive, becaufc it requires more cochineal than 
 common fcarlet, as the great quantity of the com- 
 poiiti'jn, which is an acid, makes it lofe part or its 
 ground. 2d, For the fame reafon tlie colour al- 
 ways ] oks ftarvcd, it appears as if the cochineal 
 had been fpared, the compofui n having difToived 
 part of it. 3dj This large quantity of compofition 
 
 hardens 
 
THK dyer's assistant. i6i 
 
 hardens the wool, and makes it more liable to be 
 fpotted by dirt and (harp liquor, and confequently 
 this method is the worft, 1 mentioned that the 
 Inconveniency of the fecond was ufing the fuftic, 
 which is a wood forbid in the good dye ; confe- 
 quently the firft ought to have the preference, if it 
 give the lobfter colour as bright as the fecond. 
 But this colour made by the yellow wood has not 
 all the folidity that might be deiired, as I have tried 
 by expofing it to the fun ; this at tirft appesrs ex- 
 traordinary, fince the ingredients ufed have all the 
 folidity poffible. But the reafon why they are not 
 fo good in the prefent cafe is, that the cochineal 
 ufeci in the fcarlet compofition and the cream of 
 tartar are too folid ; thun the lobfter colour lofes 
 nothing in the air. But the cafe is otherwife with 
 the yellow wood, though it be very lafling on the 
 wool boiled in alum and tsrtar, efpecially when a 
 little alum is added to the liquor of its dye; it is 
 not the fame as when the wool or fluff has received 
 the water fcr the fcarlet preparation in which no 
 alum can enter, and confequently when thefe fort 
 of colours are expofed to the air, they fadden in a 
 fliort time, that is, they Ici'e part of their orange 
 colour, produced by the mixture of the yellow with 
 the red, and the effcdt of the air upon this colour 
 is the fame, though it appears different from that 
 on all others, &c. that it commonly turns them 
 pale ; yet this one darkens and browns them by 
 taking away part of its bright orange. For it is 
 demotiflrated by fevera! chynVical experiments, that 
 there is a vitriolic acid in ti^ air like unto that 
 which may be extracled from alum. Now if a 
 fluif dyed lobller colour was to be pafTed through 
 a jiglit foiution of alum, the acid of the fait would 
 i:nmediately fadden it, and the red of the cochineal 
 would cclipre the orange dye ; the fame thing muft 
 
 then 
 
l62 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 then happen when fuch a colour is expofed to the 
 air, Vv'hich is itDpregnated with the fame acid. 
 
 Very tew (hades are made from the crimfonand 
 yellc w, bccaufe of the price of the liiA, and that 
 pretty near the fame fhades are made with madder 
 and kermes, yellow and half fcarlet of grain, as 
 well as from ihe yellow and halt crju^fon. It is 
 with thefe difFer^nt mixtures, that marigold, orange, 
 gold yellow, and other like (hades are made, which 
 are fimply produced hy the mixture of tlie yeli0\« 
 and red, and fometirries by yellow alone. 
 
 CflAP. XXI II. 
 
 OF THE -MIXTURE OF RED AND BROWN. 
 
 THE reds of the kermes and cochineal are 
 nor ufed in this mixture, for madder has 
 as gcod an effctfl on thofe which cannot become 
 briglu, becaufe of the dark obfcure col. ur uf the 
 brown, but after they are maddered, they are dipt 
 in the old liquors of cochinal or kermes ; yet a 
 liqu- r in thofe ingredients is felriom purpofely pre- 
 pared, being too dear for fuch common colours 
 which are as eafily made with madder. The ftufF 
 is to be boiled with a qyantity of alum and t rtar, 
 proportioned to the red fhade of mad 'er intended ; 
 it is then paflVd through a liquor of this root, and 
 afterwarrfs dipped and worked in a liquor ot walnut 
 roots or walnut rinds ; the following colours will 
 be produced, viz. cinnamon, tobacco, chefnut, 
 mufic, bear's h.alr, and numherhfs oihrs, by vary- 
 ing the ground of the madder froai the brownell 
 to the lighteil, and keeping then longer or fh.rter 
 in t!ie liquor of the roct. The proccfs m.ay bcgia, 
 witliin any one of tliefe colours, but the red isx:om.-> 
 
 monly 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 163 
 
 monly dyed firft, as the liquor proper for the mad- 
 der might hurt the brjvvn, therelore they are not 
 to be mixt as the red-and yellow are foiBeiimes. 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 OF THE MIXTURE OF YELLOW AND BROWN. 
 
 FROM this mixture are produced the {hades of 
 feulemort and bear's hair. 
 
 Soot is commonly ufed in thefe colours inftead 
 of the rinds 61' walnuts, or the root of the walnut 
 tree, as it makes them finer, but care muft be 
 taken tl^at the wool or ftufF be well fcoured after 
 it is dyed, to take off the bad fmell of the liquor; 
 for only the clear hqu r of the foot is to be ufed, 
 as has already been faid. I he walnut rinds are 
 preferable to the foot, unlefs obliged to match a 
 pattern of fc'ulemf}rt with the greateft exadnefs, 
 and which may fonetiines be done with the walnut. 
 
 Thefe are the only two browns refulting from 
 thefe fha'les, the fu nach and the alder bark not 
 givin;^ fufficient ground. 
 
 Wool muft be boiled in alum and tartar to dye 
 it yellow before it is made brown , but it itfh ^uld 
 not hive a fufficient ground ot yellow, it might be 
 pafTed atrelh tnrough the yellow dye, notwithftand- 
 ing it has been browned, though m fadt this method 
 of feeking exadly the ihade does not make fo laft- 
 ing a colour as when the yellow was at firft fuffi- 
 ciently dye 1 ; for wl.en the yellow is dyed firft, the 
 brown is a great deal brighter. 
 
 CHAP 
 
164 THE DY£R's assistant. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 OF THE MIXTURE OF BROWN AND ELACK. 
 
 FROM this rrixlure a great number of colours 
 may be extruded, as cofFre, chefnur, prune, 
 mufk, thorn, and feveral Hke (hades, wiv^fe num- 
 bers are almoir infinite, and of great ufe. The 
 method of working them is this : 
 
 After the wool or fttfls have been made brown, 
 as already defcribed, and that feyeral fliades have 
 previoufly been given ; as for example, a ftronger 
 brown tor the ccit'ee, chefnur, &c. gails, fumach, 
 and elder bark are put into a copper in proportion 
 to the quantities of ftufF to be dyed; the whole is- 
 boilcd fur one hour, after which green copperas is 
 to added. 7 he fluffs that are to be ligfitell, as 
 tlie thorn, are firfl dipped in this liquor, then 
 taken cur, and others that are to be browner are 
 put in, obferving to add copperas to the liquor 
 each time, and as occaficn may require, which is 
 known by its not browning the ftuff quickly, thus 
 continuing until ail the fluits are browned : the. 
 liquor mufl not boil, nor be of a greater degree of 
 heat than the hanJ can bear. 
 
 When the galls and other ingredients are boiled, 
 cr Id water is added to refrefh the livjuor before the 
 ftufF is put in: this is a precaution that-is abfolutely 
 neceffary, as I have often faid. The ftufFs are firft 
 to be dipped in luke-w?rm water before they are 
 put info the copper, leil fince they v/ere browned 
 they fhould have dried ; and they mufi be aireJ 
 when they have remained fome time in the brown- 
 ing, by palling thC'Ti between the hands bythehiis, 
 without which they would perhi;ps fpoil, blot, and 
 be unequally dyed, and the brown, for want of 
 
 airing. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 165 
 
 airing, would not be laftins:, as there would not 
 be a fucceflive congelation of the faline parts of the 
 vitriol. 
 
 I have now fliown all the neceflary colours or 
 fhades wliich may be produced by the mixture 
 of the primitive colours taken two by two, and 
 have given a minute defcription both of their 
 efFetSfs and the method of producing them. There 
 being but few colours which may not be greatly 
 varied, it depends on the judgment of the Dyer to 
 choofe the eafieft, provided the colour be equally 
 jfine. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 GF THE MIXTURE OF THE PRIMITIVE COLOURS, 
 TAKEN THREE BY THREE. 
 
 FROM blue, red, and yellow, the red olives and 
 grcenifh greys are made, and fome other like 
 ihades of little ufe only for fpun wool defigned for 
 tapeftry. It would be a repetition to give the method 
 of ufing thefe colours, having fufHciently explained 
 it in the preceding pages. 
 
 In the mixture, > where blue is a (hade, it is 
 ufual to begin with it ; the ftuflp is afterwards 
 boiled to give it the other colours, in which it is 
 dipped alternately one after the other ; notwiih- 
 flanding they are fometimes mixed together, and 
 are as good, provided they are colours which re- 
 quire the fame preparation ; for example, the mad- 
 der-red and the yellow. As to the cochineal and 
 kermes, they are feldom ufed in thefe common 
 colours, but only light colours which have a bloom 
 or vinous hue, and which muft be bright and bril- 
 liant, and then they are not ufed in the laft liquor, 
 
 that 
 
i66 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 that is, the fluff is only dipped in when it has re- 
 ceived the riher colours, unltfs they are to be 
 greyed a little, which is laflly done by pafling them 
 throucrh the browning. It is i^i pcflible to give 
 any precife rules for this work, and the it aft pradtice 
 of ihefe rules will teach more than 1 could fay in 
 many volumes. 
 
 Olives are made from blue, red, and brown, 
 from the deepeft to ihe li hteft, and by giving a 
 little fhade of re.<, the flatcd greys, the lavender 
 greys, and fuch like. 
 
 From the blue, the red, and the black, an in- 
 finite nu:Tiber ot grty of all (hares are made, as 
 the fage erey, the pi-eon grey, the flate grey, the 
 lead grey, the kir.g's and pnrKe's col( ur, browner 
 than ufual, and a variety or other colours almofl 
 iirnurrierable. 
 
 From sellow, blue, and brown, are made the 
 greens, goofe 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 
 oranee, g<.ld colour, rriarigold, ftulemrirt, old car- 
 nations, burnt cinnam- n, and tobacco of all kinds. 
 From the red, yellow, and biack pretty near the 
 fame as the laft, and the deep feu'emort ; as alfo 
 the ox hair and brown nut, and others of the like 
 kind. 
 
 I give this lif^ of colours only as a table to fhow 
 in general what ingredients are made ufe of to 
 make thele forts of colours, which alfo partake of 
 feveral others 
 
 F(jur or five of thefe colours may be mixed to- 
 gether ; however this is rarely done: a n)ii:ufe 
 detail on this fubje6t would be ufelefs, becaufe all 
 that may be done is ottentimes fuptrf^uous. 1 fhall 
 new only relate the manner in which I have feen 
 
 ;ibout 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 167 
 
 about forty different fhades of carnations made in 
 fpun wool i this fxnrTiple will fh)w what may be 
 done in all other cafes. Thre were none of thofe 
 bnght (hades ot fcarlet in thefe which are made as 
 in the chapter on that colour. 
 
 Variety of Carnation Colours, 
 
 All thefe flefh or carnations were old carnations, 
 or (hades of it, fo that they were all obliged to he 
 taken from the mixture of the red of kermes, yel- 
 low, brown, and bUvk. 
 
 An un-qual preparation was firft given to the 
 wool, referving tor^he lighter (hades thofe whofe 
 preparing liquors had been weakert. When they 
 had remained as ufual four or tive days in the 
 liquor, the li^jhter (ha^^es were dyed ; thefe colours 
 were difpofed in f mr different veffels, which were 
 always kept fufnciently hot without boiling. A 
 fkain of wool was immediately dipped in the liquor 
 of the kermes for a minute, it was taken out, 
 wrung, and paffed through a liquor of weld, and an 
 irtftant after through a brown one, and it became 
 of the colour required by the Dyer \ he immediately 
 dipped anbther, which remained a litle longer in 
 each liquor: he went on after this manner, and 
 when, after being ftDngly wrung, and feeined to 
 want a little red or any other colour, he dipped it 
 in the liquor which it appeared to want. By this 
 niethod he brought all his colours to the defired 
 fhade, and pafT^d through the brown thofe that 
 were required to be deeper. I was fully perfuaded 
 by this method of working, that only pjtience and 
 pradiice were wanting to make all the colours 
 which can be conceived. 
 
 Too much caution cannot be given in this kind 
 of work, to begin always with the li^hteft Ihades ^ 
 
 for 
 
i68 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 for it often happens that they are kept too long in 
 fome of thefe liquors, and then that Ikain inuft be 
 made into a darker fliade. But when once the 
 hghter fhades are matched, and in a right degrada- 
 tion, the reft are eafily made. 
 
 What I have been fp^aking of, relates only to 
 'vs'ool intended for tapeftry, when it is neceffsry that 
 the fnades be carried on with tiie greateft degree of 
 precifion, without which it would be impoffible to 
 imitate the flefh colours of the painter. 
 
 With regard to (luffs, it feldom or never hap- 
 pens, tliat they are made in thefe gradations of 
 (hades, or that (o many colours are mixed together; 
 two or three are generally fufncient, fince it has 
 been fiiown what a variety of colours arofe from 
 their combination, that even names cannot be 
 found for them. 
 
 I think I have omitted nothing regarding the 
 dying of wool or woollen (ix^ffs in the great and 
 good dye, and I make no doubt but that by exactly 
 following wliat I have laid down, each colour and 
 all the Ihades may he executed to the greateft per- 
 feiilion, as well in fleece wool, fpun wool, as on 
 fluffs mianufa^lured in white. 
 
 1 think it yet neceflary to add Something in re- 
 gard to mixed fluffs, that is, v/hofe wool is 
 mixed before the ma.tufailuring ot the fruff, and 
 to teach the method by .which this mixture of 
 dyed wool is performed, to be afterwards carded 
 an(! fpun to form a colour refuiting from thofe dif- 
 ferent wools. 
 
 It may he objefled, that this article rather re- 
 lates to tt.e manufaduring of ftuffs than their 
 dyes ; but to ihis 1 anfwer, that fometimes colours 
 aie made by mixing wool of different fhades, 
 whofe cclours would not e^^fily be imitated by dy- 
 ing the fluff of a compound colour ; fome of thele , 
 2 . - r different 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 169 
 
 different (hades compofed of ingredients which 
 would require a different preparation ; whereas 
 by dying every part ot the wool feparately, the 
 mixture is made without any difficulty ; it cannot 
 tlierefore be improper here to give the manner of 
 mixing together wool of different colouis, and 
 I fnall alfo give the manner of making mixtures for 
 an effay or proof in fmall, (which is always recef- 
 fary; to choofe tliat which produces the moft agree- 
 able effedl. 
 
 CHAP. XXVIL 
 
 OF THE MANNER OF MIXING WOOL OF DIFFFRENT 
 COLOURS FOR CLOTHS OR MIXUD COLOURS. 
 
 Colours 77iix£d in the Loom. 
 
 ONE example of the method of mixing (af- 
 ter the moft ex3(5t manner pcffibic) uool 
 of different colours, will be fufficient, and it will 
 be eafily applied in all other cafes required. Sup- 
 pofe a mixed cloth of a coffee colour to be made, 
 the following is the method of the manufadurers 
 of Languedoc, and pr.'ity near the fame is prac- 
 tifed in all other manufactories. 
 
 Three hundred and fifty pounds of wool are 
 firft dyed coffee colour, which is called the 
 ground wool, that is, that which prevails in the 
 fiuffs ; after which are taken five pounds of wool 
 dyed in madder- red or kcrmes, and two pounds 
 dyed in king's blue; thefe laft are called the wool 
 of mixture. This wool is diftributed to different 
 perfons placed in a ring in a large room. The 
 fador, or he that has the care of the mixture, 
 H ftands 
 
1^0 THE dyer's AS5ISTANT. 
 
 -ftands with a flick in his hand in the centre of this 
 circle, the iricn being at fix tee t diftance from himj 
 eight or ten are generaily employed at this work, 
 snd all tl^.e wool is piven to them. In the prefent 
 cafe, for example, fix will be eoiployed in bearing 
 the prevailirg wool or coffee colour, oie the blue, 
 snd another the red ; but they muft be fo fituated 
 that there may be three toge:her who have the 
 ccfTee co.oured wool, then he that has the red, then 
 three with the coffee colour, and iaflJy lie that has 
 the blue. When there is a greater nuirber of 
 colours, they are thus equally diftributed, cbferving 
 to di^dc them, as much a^ poflible, the one from 
 the other. 
 
 The nen thus difpofed walk flowly round the 
 faclor, keepit ii an equal diftance, and each flep 
 they tske they caft at tlie feet of tlie faflor a fmall 
 lock of the wool they carry, with this difference, 
 that thofe tiiat h^ve the red or the blue, having 
 but a firall quantity to diftribute, fling but little 
 each time, whereas the others muft fling much 
 more. The faiior (tirs the wool with his flick 
 whilfl the n:en a'-e flinging it, and tiut the mixture 
 f^iould be perfedi, they muft all have diilributed 
 their wool at one and the fame time. The fatSlor 
 then mixes it again, and gives it to the carders. 
 
 The carding makes a perfe«5l mixture, (o »hat 
 r.o particular colour is to. be diftinguilhed, ar.d it 
 appears of one uniform colour; it is afterwards 
 fpun, the cloth manufactured, and brought to the 
 mill. The i'r.portance of this mixture being 
 exactly made is ealily conceived, for if thefe colours 
 were unequally ciflriLuted, the cloth would appear 
 full of blots. 
 
 As in the compofiiion of thefe mixtures it is 
 not pcffible to judge exactly of the effetl which 
 niay be produced by the combination of all thefe 
 
 colours 
 
THE dyer's assistant. lyr 
 
 colours In different proportions, I fliall give a 
 method of making a proof in fniali, that a colour 
 formed after this manner by a known proportional 
 mixture, it may be executed in great, and be cer- 
 tain that the colour of the fluff will be equal to that 
 of the pattern. 
 
 CHAP, xxviir. 
 
 OF THE METHOD OF PREPARING THE PATTERN 
 FELTS, OR MIXTURE FOR AN ESSAY. 
 
 THIS little work is very fimple and very ufe- 
 ful, as it will fiiovvT in an hour what a mixt 
 cloth will be after it is m2nufa6tured, and even 
 when it is entirely drcfled. For this purpofe, wool 
 of different colours are taken, and after having 
 weighed each exactly, the mixture is made with 
 the fingers in the proportion which is judged fuf- 
 licient, but the whole in a very fmali quantity; 
 fo that the mixture being made, it mny not exceed 
 the hignefs of the fill. This wool is then moifien- 
 ed with a little oil, and carded feveral titr.es with 
 ft^nail cards, till all thefe colours are well incorpo- 
 rated together and perfcdly well mixt. This wool, 
 which is extremely open and of the fquare form of 
 the card, is folded four times, and gently prefied be- 
 tween the hands. It is then plunged into a flrong 
 foap water, and putting it again between the hands, 
 it is ftrongly preffed at different times, ftriking 
 fornetimes one hand on the other. It is then 
 gently rubbed betwixt the two hands, which hardens 
 the wool by contrading it 2II manner of ways, and 
 making it occupy lefs fpace. It is then dipped again 
 in the foap water, a!;d continued to be felted, until 
 it hiS acquired fQtne confidence, and that it becom.es 
 H 2 like 
 
I'Z THE dyer's ASSISTAN'T. 
 
 like felt, and pretty near the fame confiftence as the 
 corrtmon cloth. This felt is then a true copy of 
 what tlie cloth will be after its manufacturing ; for 
 vhen it h:s been well felted, that is, that the 
 wool has been equall)' and caremijy extended un- 
 der the hand con.ii g from the card, it is as equal 
 and as fmcoih as the cloth itfelf czn be. To finifh 
 it alfo as perfectly as the cloth, after it has been 
 wafhed to take oft the foap, it is dried and put 
 between two papers, and preft with an iron fome- 
 what hot: by this means it acquires a luftre which 
 n-;akes it appear like a cloih which has been entirely 
 creiTed. 
 
 If the colour of the felt is approved of, the mix- 
 ture in great is made for the cicih, by following 
 the fame proportions exactly, and it will cer- 
 tainly be like the pattern, for not only the wool of 
 different colours are as entirely miixt and clofed one 
 to the other in the felt as in the cloth, but the foap 
 which has been made ufe of to felt it, has pro- 
 duced th^ fame cffcci as that which happens to the 
 cloth in the fulling-mill, for there are feveral colours, 
 and particularly thofe that have been browned, that 
 15, in whofe compoHtions there are fliades of black 
 and grey, which Icfe in the mill part of their brown- 
 ing, fo'that it muft always be d)ed of a deeper 
 colour than intended to be after finiftiing : this de- 
 fect of foiidity in the browning does not hinder it 
 from ftanding very well the acVion of the air, but 
 it is eafily fpotted by acid liquors, as has been be- 
 fore {aid. The colours that have been faddened 
 in the woad or indigo vat are not liable to this, 
 they fcarce !ofe any thing in the mill. The felt 
 produces the f:ime effect, and it Is certain that the 
 fluff will not !• fe more in great at the mill than the 
 felt did with foap; confequently this preliminary 
 operation oi the felt may be looked upon as a furc 
 
 guide 
 
THE DYER*S ASSISTANT. 1 73 
 
 guide for the choice and aflbrtment of wool In mixt 
 cloths. 
 
 Thefe patterns are made ftill better with black 
 foap, but it gives them a difagreeable fmeil, which 
 is not eafily taken off by repeated wafliings. 
 
 The felts, when made, may be dyed for fluffs, 
 in which it is required that one colour fhould cover 
 the other, for then, after the ftuff fliould have been 
 mixt with the fame colours as the feit, it might be 
 dipt in the fame dye through which that had beea 
 paffed, and by this means it would be of the fame 
 colour as the felt ; but this is not to be done to the 
 ftufF till it comes from the mill, has been Ihecred, 
 and nothing remains but to drefs it. This method 
 will be of great ufe when it is a mixt cloth in whicii 
 cochineal has been ufed, for it faddens too much 
 and fpoiis at the mill ; fo that when it is ufed in 
 mixt rtufls, a frelh liq^uor muft be made, in which 
 the cloth muft be dipt, when it requires no more 
 drefling than that which is given to cloth dyed 
 white after it is come out of the dye. 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 POLISH RED. 
 
 BEFORE I enter upon the colours of the leffcr 
 dye, I fhall give the procefs of a very excel- 
 lent colour, called Pollfh red. 
 
 If you would dye forty pounds of wool this 
 bright and holding colour, boil ten pounds of nut 
 galls, in a copper fufficiently large, an hour and a 
 half i then cool the liquor with cold water about 
 ten degrees under a boiling heat, becaufe the mad- 
 der fliould not boil, and add beft madder in pro- 
 portion to the fhade required, from fourteen to 
 H 3 twenty 
 
i;4 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 twenty pounds. V.'ork thefe ingredients with the 
 wool for two hours with long poles, that it may 
 dye in ali parts ahke. Rince it well, and you 
 have the true polifti red. If you would have a 
 dark colour, ufe a little aflies. Obferve to have the 
 wool well fcoured. This procefs v/iil hold good 
 In cloth and other things. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 DYER'S ASSISTANT, 
 
 PART IL 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF THE DYING OF WOOL BY THE LESSEH DYE.- 
 
 Obferved in the beginning of this Treatife, that 
 the ciying of woo), or woo'lea ftuffs manu- 
 fadured from it, wese c'lftinguifhed by the great 
 and lefTer dye. The French regulations have 
 fixed what the quahty of the wool and fluffs are to 
 be, which are to be dyed by the great or lefTer dye. 
 This diftinftion has been founded on this principle, 
 that fluffs of a certain value, and which generally 
 conflitute the upper part of clothing, fhould 
 receive a more folid and lafting colour than fluffs 
 of a low price, which would be dearer and become 
 lefs faleable, were they obliged to be dyed by the 
 good dye, as the good dye is a great deal more ex- 
 penfivetban the leifer, and that ftuffs of low price, 
 which are permitted to be dyed by the lefTer dyr, 
 are generally ufed to make linings, fo that they are 
 little expofed to the action of the air, and if th.ey 
 are put to other ufes they are Toon worn out, on ac- 
 H 4 count, 
 
176 THE DVEK's assistant. 
 
 count of the wesknefs of their texture ; and cofi- 
 fequently t!\ere is no neceffi'v for their colours 
 being fo ialting as th^t ct a iluff of 2 rr.uch longer 
 duration. 
 
 I have related in the prtceciing treaiife, v.ith the 
 greateft exaclrefs and precifion in my power, the 
 method of executing by the good dye all in-aginable 
 colours ; I (hall do the fame in that which concerns 
 the ;e;Ter dye, and fha.l lay down the ir.ethod of 
 making the lame colours with other ingredients 
 th.an I have hitherto fpcken of, and which, though 
 tliey have not the foJidity of the iiril, often have 
 the advantage of yielding mere lively colours j 
 beSdes which, the greater part give a fnaocther 
 colour, and are worked with greater facility than 
 the irgredients of the good dye. 
 
 Th.ei'e are the advantages cf thefe fubftances 
 which are called falfe ingrec.ents, and thcugh it is 
 to be vvifhed that their ufe was not fo general, it 
 iruil be agreed that they have their utility for Auffs 
 lei's txpcfed to the air, or whofe colour does not 
 flard in. need of a long duration. I might alfo 
 add, that the colcurs are naoft comrrcnly forted 
 with greater eafe, and with more expedition, in the 
 leiTr dye th'n can be dene in the great. 
 
 I ih'-ll n^t follow the fan:e order fcr this kind of 
 dve as I did for the good, ilnce in this no primary 
 colours are known. Few ferve as a grourid fcr 
 ethers : the greatefl part do not srife from a com- 
 bination cf two or feverai fixple colours, in 
 fhort, th.ere are colours, fuch as the b'ue^&c. which 
 are feidom or never made i.i ihe lefler dye. 
 
 This is the crc'er which I propcfeto follow, and 
 ihali firll: fet forth the names cf ail the ingrecienrs 
 which rar-iculariy belong to the ielTer dye, and then 
 give the method of ufmg each of t'-.efe ingredients, 
 and ihe extradicn of ail the co-ours they can yield. 
 
 It 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I77 
 
 It win be found that feveral of thefe ingredients 
 produce fimilar colours, (o that it would have beea 
 impoflible to have treated of them feparately, with- 
 out tiring the reader with tedious and troublefome 
 repetitions. 
 
 The ingredients are flock or goat's hair mad- 
 dered, archil, logwood, brafil, fuftic, roncou, 
 grains of Jvignon, turmeric, or terra merrita. t 
 Ihall not here fpeak of the fanders or loot, though 
 thefe ingredients particularly belong to the lefler 
 dye ; I have already given the manner of ufing 
 thefe laft. 
 
 GHAP. IT. 
 
 OF THE BYING OF FLOCK OR GOAT's HAIR. 
 
 THERE are two preparations very different- 
 one from the other in the dying of flock : 
 the firft is with madder, and belongs to the great 
 and good dye; the fecond is to diflblve it and make 
 ufe of it ; this belongs to the leffer dye The 
 dying with flock was formerly permitted in the 
 good dye, but was rather on account of its being- 
 extradled 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 colour that reufts the air 
 lefs. It is certainly fcr this reafon that it >vas 
 reftrained to the lellerdye in the nev>^ regulation of 
 France in 1737. Yer, as by the fame regulation, 
 it is not permitted to the Dyers of the lelTer dye to 
 ufe madder, nor even to keep it in their houfes ; 
 it has been enaded, that only the Dyers of the 
 great dye fliould be fuftered to madder flock, and 
 thefe of the leffer dye to diffolve and ufe ir. 
 
 H 5 This. 
 
Iy8 TK£ DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 This maddering of fiock ought to have found z 
 place in the foregoing Treatife, but that 1 chofe 
 rather to clafs together all operations that have any 
 necelTary connection, than to ftick too fcrupuloufly 
 to that difTinction of the great and lefTer dye, which 
 is the particular obje£l of the civil government of 
 that art, and which upon fomeoccafions might have 
 made me fall into fome obfcurities, or run into 
 continual repetitions j befides, the government of 
 dying is not the arc confidered iti itfelf. 
 
 To madder the flock or goat's hair, four pounds 
 cf either of them is cut and well feparated, that 
 the dye may penetrate the better. It is boiled two 
 hours in a fufficient quantity of four water ; then 
 it is drained for an hour, and put into a middling 
 copper, halt filled with water, with four pounds of 
 roach alum, two pounds of red tartar, and one 
 pound of madder. The v.hole is boiled for fix 
 hours, putting in hot water as the liquor waftes ; 
 it is left all night and next day in this liquor ; the 
 third day it is taken out and drained in a ba&et. 
 Some Dyers let it remain eight days, but it often 
 happens that by this delay in a copper vefTel it is 
 tarnilhed by the liquors corroding a part of the 
 copper J a middling copper is then filled to the two- 
 thirds with hah four water and half common 
 water, and when the liquor is ready to boil, eight 
 pounds of m.adder, v.-ell cut and crufhed between 
 the hands, is added. When the madder is well 
 iriixed in the liquor, four pounds of flock or hair 
 is put in and boiled for fix hours ; it is then 
 well wafhed, and the next day it is maddered a 
 lecond time after the fame manner, only putting 
 in tour pounds of madder infiead of eight, which 
 were before ufed. After this fecond maddering, jt 
 is 'veil wa(hed and dried i it is then almoil black 
 j^rj fit for ufe. 
 
 It 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 1 79 
 
 It appears by this operation, that four p:5undsof 
 flock or hair is loaded wich thirteen pounds of the: 
 dye of madder, yet there ftili remains fome Dye in 
 the liquor, which is then called an old maddering, 
 and which is preferved for ufe on certain occafions, 
 as in tobacco, cinnamon colour, and feveral others. 
 
 When the flock is thus maddered by the Dyer o^ 
 the great dye he felis it to Dyers of the lefl^r, who 
 have (hen the liberty to difTjlve and ufe it ; this is; 
 liTe common method, which has many diffecultieSj 
 and is known but to few Dyers. Madder is here- 
 by made fine. 
 
 'About half an hour after fsven in the morning,., 
 fix pails full of clear water are put into a middling, 
 copper, and when the water is lukewarm, five 
 pounds of pearl-afhes are put in :.. the whole is 
 boiled tiil eleven, and the. liquor is then confider- 
 ably diminifhed, (o as to be held in a lefTer copper, , 
 into which it is emptied, obferving firft to let the 
 dregs of the pearl- aflies fubfide, that none but the 
 clear may be ufed. 
 
 A pail fuM of t'lis liquor is afterv^ards put into 
 the middling copper, having firrt fcoured it well,. 
 and a little fire made under it; the four pounds of 
 maddered flock are fcattered in by degrees, and- 
 at the fame time a little of the lukewarm and 
 faline liquor of the fmall copper is added to keep 
 down the boiling, which rifes from time to lime to 
 the top of the copper, in which the operation is : 
 performing. 
 
 Wlien all the flock and the liquor of the little - 
 copper are put into the middling one, a p-ai! fail of v 
 clear water is put on the dregs of the pearl-aihes 
 remaining in tr.e little copper. This water ferves 
 to fill the middling one as the liquor in it evapo- 
 rates. All this flock melts, or is diiTjlved by the 
 actijn of the pearl- a'hes, and after the firil half 
 H.6. hour 
 
iBo THE DYEk's ASSISTANT. 
 
 hour, not the leaft hair is to be perceived. The 
 liquor is -then of a very deep red. The whole is 
 then boiled without any addition, ti,l three in the 
 arrerncon, thst tl:e whcle diffoluiion of the flocks 
 may be the more exacily performed. Then a llick 
 is plscetl upcn the copper, and upon this ftick is 
 placeJ a pail of fermented urine, in which pail a 
 I'mall hole has been previoufly made towards its 
 lower part, and a little ftraw put into ir, that the 
 Drine may very ilowly run into the copper ; whilft 
 it is running, the liquor is made to boil flrongly, 
 and this urine makes good what may be loft by 
 evaporsticn. This operation continues five hours, 
 during which time three paiis fuil of urine are dif- 
 charged into the copper, being made to run fafter 
 when the boil is (Wronger, than when moderate. 
 It is here to be obferved, that, on account of the 
 iinall quantity of fiock in the experiment which I 
 lay down here, five pounds only of pearl- alhes are 
 ordered ; for when thirty pounds of fiock are dif- 
 Ibived at ore time, which is the common cuftonv 
 of the French Dyers, they put twelve ounces of 
 pear!-2(hes to each pound or flock. 
 
 During the whole time of this operation, a ftrong 
 volatile Imell of urine is emitted, and there fwims 
 en the furface of the liquor a brown fcum, but 
 much more fo after the addition of the urine. The 
 liquor is known to be fufficient'y done when this 
 xifes no more, and that the boil rifes but gently, 
 that is what happened to the operation now related, 
 at eight in the evening. The fire is then raked 
 our, 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 fmall pieces of paper : the 
 firrt were very brown, and they became continually 
 lighter, and united themfeives more and more, in 
 
 proportion 
 
THE dyer's assistant. i8| 
 
 proportion as the volatile part of the urine a£led on 
 the colouring parts of the liquor. 
 
 Nothing now remained but to dye the wool ia 
 the liquor thus prepared, and which is called melt- 
 ing of flock ; this is the eadeft work belonging to 
 the Dyer. A quarter of an hour before the dying 
 is begun, a little piece of very clean roach alum is' 
 put in, and the copper is well raked to melt it. 
 As this liquor which was in the middling copper 
 had been covered the whole night, and the firi" had 
 not been put out, the liquor was ftill fo hot as not 
 to fuffer the hand. The cleareft was taken out 
 and brought into a fmall copper, with a fufficient 
 quantity of lukewarm water, fome wool dyed 
 yellow with weld was dipped in it ; it immediately 
 became of a fine orange, bordering on the flame 
 colour, that is of the colour called nacarety and 
 known to the Dyers by the name of nacaret of flock, 
 becaufe it is commonly made with melted flock. 
 
 Twenty hanks of white wool were dipped one 
 after the other in the fame liquor, beginning by 
 thofe that were to have the deepefl: ground, and 
 leaving them longer or ftiorter in the liquor ac- 
 cording to the fllade required. An affortment was 
 made after this manner from the nacaret, or bright 
 orange red, to the cherry colour. It ought to be 
 obferved, that in proportion as the liquor was con- 
 famed, frefli was taken from the middle-fized cop- 
 per, great care being taken not to ftlr the fediment 
 St the bottom ; a little fire was alfo kept under 
 the fmall copper, to keep the liquor always in the 
 fame degree of heat. The wool is thus dipped 
 until the whole liquor is ufed, and all the colour 
 drawn out. But the lighter colours could not be 
 dyed in it ; for when the colour of the liquor is 
 once weakened, as it ought to be for thefe colours, 
 it is generally loaded with filth, which would take 
 off the brightnefs required in thefe fhades. 
 
 The 
 
1^2 THE DYIR's assistant. 
 
 The following is the method of msking fhades 
 lighter tlisn the cherry colour. A cojjper is filled 
 with clear water, and five or fsx hanks of wool 
 d\ed of lije deepeft dye from the flock, that is, 
 from the fiiade that immediately follows the 
 nacarat, are put in. As foon as the water boils, it 
 takes out all the colour, the wool had, and it is' in 
 this frelh liquor that the other wool that is to be 
 dyed is dipped, from tliC cherry colour to the paleft 
 ficfh rolour, obferving always to begin by the 
 deeped (hides. 
 
 I^.Ioft of the Dyers who do not knov7 how to 
 melt the fiock, or who will not give themfelves 
 that trouble, buy fome pounds of this fcarlet of 
 flock, which they ufe after this mjnner, to make 
 all the liihter ih^des, which, as hiS been faid, is 
 dene with much eafe. This operation (hows what 
 little dependence can be put on the felicity of a 
 colour that pafles fo qui:kly in boiling warer. And 
 in fa<5>, it is one of the worft colours there is in 
 dyi.ig, and on that account the new. regulation has 
 taken it from the great dye, and permits it in the 
 leiler for the re^fons above rsentioned- 
 
 Thus a very bad colour n.ry be had from an 
 insredient which, of all thofe tliat are ufed in dying, 
 is perhaps the bei^ and the mcfl curable ; yet when 
 this hair, dyed with ail the neceffary precautions to 
 infure the colour as much as poiTible, ccmes to be 
 ciSblved or melted in a liquor of pearl-sfhes, its 
 colour, by acquiring a new luflre, lofes all i;s foii- 
 dity, and can only be ranked in the number of the, 
 faifell dyes. 
 
 it may appear that the little foiidity of this 
 cclour proceeded from the woo! !ia\ing no prepa- 
 ration, and retaining no f-lt be/ore its being dipped 
 in the diiTolved fleck ; but I found that this was 
 iiQt the caufe : for 1 dipped in this liquor woo] 
 
 boiied 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 1 83- 
 
 boiled as ufual, and other woo! differently prepared, 
 without finding that the colour of tiie latter had. 
 acquired any more folidity; the luftre was iefs, that. 
 is, it came cut more faddcned than the wool that 
 had been dyed in.it without any preparation. 
 
 Though i have faid that wcio! receives no prepa- 
 ration before its being dyed in a difTolution of 
 flock, it is ncverthelefs neceflary to fulphur thofe 
 that are to make clear Ihades, for that gives them 
 a great brightnefs and luflre, as the difTolved flock 
 is applied on a ground a great deal whiter than it 
 would be without the vapour of the fulphur, which 
 cleanfes it of all its hhh. The fame thing is done 
 for the light blues, and for fome other colours j 
 but this operation is feldom made ufe of but for 
 wool intended for famples or tapeftry. 
 
 Sulphu7'big of Wcol. 
 
 The Dyers do not do this, becaufe of the flink- 
 of the fulphur, or rather to avoid the trouble. 
 Ncverthelefs, to give an idea of it, the white wool 
 is fufpended on hoops or perches in a clofe room, 
 and under this wool chafHng-diflies are placed with 
 lighted coals, on which powdered fulphur is caft. 
 The room- door is afterwards fhur, that the fmoke 
 may be the longer retained and acl on the wool, 
 which is to remain till it is entirely whitened; it. 
 ie then called fulpliured wool; and this is thie pre- 
 paration it muft receive to give a brightnefs to 
 the rofe, cherry, and fle(h colours, which are made 
 from the difiblution of flocks. 
 
 ^he Theory of the Dljfoiution of Flock. 
 
 The reafon why from an ingredient, fuch ?,s the 
 root of madder, perifhable colours are produced. 
 
 from 
 
184 THE over's assistant. 
 
 from diflblved flock, Is not difficult to affign. In 
 the firfk operation of maddering the flock, the red 
 of the madder was fixed in the hair by the prepa- 
 ration of alum and tartar as much as pofTible, but 
 as it is overloaded with this colour, it is eafy to 
 conceive that the fuperfluous colouring atoms 
 being only applied on thofc which already filled 
 the pores of this hair, thefe alone are really re- 
 tained in the pores, and are cemented by the falts. 
 The hair thus reddened by the madder fo as to be- 
 come almoft black, would lofe a great deal of the 
 intenfity of its colour, if it was boiled in any 
 liquor, was it even common water ; but to this 
 water, pearl-aflies are added in equal weight with 
 the flock already dyed, which is to be melted in it; 
 confequently there is a very ftrong lixivium of fixed 
 alkaline falts made. I have already faid in another 
 place, in the foregoing Treatife, that very flrong 
 alkaline leys deftroy the natural texture of almoft 
 all animal fubftancc-s, as alfo gums and reflns ;- in 
 (hort, that an alkaline fait is their difTolvent. In 
 the prefent operation, the lixivium of the pearl- 
 aflies is very concentrated, and very acrid, and 
 confequently in a flate to melt the hair, which is 
 an animal fubftance, which it does very quickly, 
 and with a ftrong fermentation, which fliows itfelf 
 by the flrong and violent elevation of the liquor ; 
 confequently it deftroys the natural texture of each 
 cf thefe hairs, and the fides of the pores being at 
 the fame time broken and reduced to very minute 
 parts, thefe fides having neither confidence nor fpring 
 to retain thefe falts, and the colouring particles that 
 were llicking to them. Therefore the animal par- 
 ticles of the hair, the colouring parts of the mad- 
 der, the faline parts of tiie liquor, and the alkali 
 cf the pearl-aflies, are all confounded together, and 
 form a new mixture, which cannot afford a laf^ing 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 185 
 
 dye, becaufe from thefe faline parts mixed toge- 
 ther there cannot be formed a fufficient quantity 
 of falts capable of cryftalization, and producing 
 moleculas, which can refift cold water and the rays 
 of the fun. In (hort, it could not form a tartar of 
 vitriol, becaufe the alkaline fait is in too great a 
 proportion. 
 
 To rouze the deep and overloaded dye of the 
 madder firft applied on the flock, and after con- 
 founded by the melting of this hair in the mixture 
 already fpoken of, putrified urine is added in a con- 
 fiderable quantity ; this is a further obftacle to 
 cryftalization ; confequertly wool not prepared by 
 other faits, and dippe j in a liquor thus compofed, 
 can only be covered by a fuperficial colour, which 
 finds no prepared pores, or any thing faline in thofe 
 pores, which may ce'.nent the colouring atoms ; 
 therefore fuch a dye muft quit its fubjedl: on the 
 leaft effort of what nature ibever it be. 
 
 But wool prepared by the liquor of tartar and 
 alum, does not take a more lafting colour, in the 
 liquor of the meki.'d flock, than wool nut prepared 
 by thefe falts ; for a liquor which abounds with 
 fixt alkaline falts attacks the tartar left of the pre- 
 ceding preparation in the pores of the wool. This 
 tartar changes its nature, and from being hard to 
 diffolve, as It was Ipefore, it becomes a foluble 
 tartar, that is, a fait that difiblves very eafily in the 
 coldeft water. 
 
 It may perhaps be objedled, that particles of 
 alum remain in the pores of the prepared wool, 
 that from thefe particles of alum, as well as from 
 a portion of the fame fait which is put mto the 
 liquor, reddened by the melting of the flock, the 
 alkali of the pearl-afhes mulT: fornr\ a tartar of 
 vitriol, which, according to my principles, ought 
 to fecure the dye. 
 
 Tq 
 
i86 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 To this T anfver, that the urine i)inders the 
 co.Tibination of thefe two falts, which is r.eceffary 
 for the foriT.aricn cf the tartar of vitriol ; if even 
 this hindrance did not exill, the quantity of this 
 fa!t, which I have named bard in another place, 
 could not be fufficient to ccnient the colour m the 
 pores of the wool, or put them in a itate to retain 
 the colouring atoms. Further, tlie (bsrpnefs of 
 the alkaline falts in this liquor, which is cspabJe of 
 entirely diiTolving the hair boiled in it, would 
 equally be able to diflblve the wool, were it boiled 
 as the fiCrck wys. But yer, though a degree of 
 I.eat is not given to the liquor, which would be 
 neceflary for this total deftruction, it is eafily con- 
 ceived, that if the fum of the deftroying aciicn is 
 not the fame, at leiil a psit exifts, which is iliH 
 fufficient to corrode the fides of the pores of the 
 wool, to enhrge thetn greatly, and to render them 
 unfit to reuii-. the cclsuring atoms; to this may be 
 added, that the hair is melted in the liquor, and 
 confequently mixt with the colouring parts of ths 
 madder in a great quantity j that ihefe are hetero-^ 
 geneous parts, which prevent the immediate con- 
 ta(Sl of the fame colouring parts, and that from all 
 thefe obftacles taken together, the colour muft be 
 rendered lefs durable and lefs holding than any of 
 the lelTcr dye. This, experience fufficiently proves, 
 for if a f^ain of red wool dyed in this manner, be 
 put into boiling water, the colour will be taken cS. 
 entirely. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 187 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF THE MANNER OF USING ARCHIL. 
 
 ARCHIL is a foft parte, of a deep red, which 
 being fimply diluted in hot water affords a 
 number of different fhades ; there are two kinds, 
 the moft common which is not fo fine or fo good, 
 is generally made in Auvergne, of a lichen or fort 
 of mofs, very common on the rocks of that province: 
 it is known under the name of Archil of Auvergne, 
 or Land Archil. The other is a great deal finer 
 and better ; it is called the Archi! of Herb, or of 
 the Canaries, cr Cape Verd Archil ; it is prepared 
 in France, England, Holland, and other places. 
 
 The workmen who prepare this herb Archil, 
 make a fecret of the preparation, but the particu- 
 jars may be found well related in a Treatife of M. 
 Pierre Antoine Mkhsli^ which bears for title, Al^ya 
 Plantarum Genera^ therefore I fliall upt hejre\ givtj 
 the method of preparing it. 
 
 When a Dyer wants to afTure himfelf that the 
 Archil will produce a beautiful effetSt, he mufl 
 extend a piece of this pafte on the back of his hand 
 ryid let it dry, afterwards wafhing his hand with 
 cold water. \i this fpot remains with only a little; 
 of its colour difcharged, he may judge the Archil 
 to be good, and be afTured it will fucceed. 
 
 I ftiall now give the method of ufmg the pre- 
 pared archil, but I fliall only, treat of that of thei 
 Canaries, and juft mention the difference between, 
 it and that of Auvergne. A copper is filled with 
 clear water, and when it bepns to be luke-warm, 
 the proper quantity of archil is put in and v;ell 
 ftirred: the liquor is afterwards heated almoft to 
 foiling, and the wool or ftuffs are dipt without any 
 
 preparation 
 
i88 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 preparation, only keeping thore longer in that are 
 to be deeper. 
 
 When the archil yields no more colour at this 
 degree of iieat, the l:quor is made to boil to extract 
 the remainder; but it it is archil of Auvergne, the 
 colours drawn after this manner will be fadder than 
 the firft, on account of the boiling of the liquor. 
 The Canary archil, on the contrary, will lofe 
 nothing of its brightnefs, if even the liquor boiled 
 from the beginning. This lafV, though dearer, 
 yields much mere dye, fo thst tr.ere is mere profit 
 in making ufe of it, befides its fuperiority over the 
 other in beauty and eoodr.efs cf colour. The 
 natural colour which is drawn both from the one 
 and the other archil, is a fine gris-deJin, border- 
 ing on the violet. The violet, the panfy, the 
 amaranth, and fevera! like colours are obtained 
 from it, by giving the ft'jft' a grounJ of blue more 
 or lefs deep before it is palled through the archil. 
 
 It muft here be cbfcrved, that to have the clear 
 fhades of* thefe colours as bright as they ought to 
 be, the wool ought to be fulphured, as was faid iti 
 the foregoing chapter, either before it is dipped in 
 the archil, for the gris~de-lin^ or before it is dyed 
 blue for the violet and other like colours 
 
 This way of uHng archil is the fimplef^, but the 
 colours that proceed from it are not lafting. It 
 may be imagined that the colours would be better 
 by giving a preparation to the wool previous to its 
 being dyed, as is practifed in the great dye, when 
 madder, cochineal, weld, &cz. are ufed ; but ex- 
 perience fhows the contrary, and I have ufed the 
 archil on v/ool boiled in alum and tartar, which 
 did not refill the air more than that vJhich had re- 
 ceived no preparation. 
 
 There is, notwithftandirg, a method of uling 
 the Canary archil, and giving it almoft as much 
 
 duration 
 
THE dyer's assistant. iSq 
 
 duration as the moft part of the ingredients of the 
 good dye ; but then its natural colour of gris-deJm 
 is taken off, and it acquires a red or fcarlet, or 
 rather a colour known under the name of baftard 
 fcarlet. The colours of the kermes or Venetian 
 fcarlet, and feveral other fhades that border on the 
 red and the orange, may alfo be drawn from it, 
 Tliefe colours are extradted from the archil by tlie 
 means of acids, .and all thofe that are thus made 
 may be looked upon as much more hfting than the 
 others, though ftridly fpeaking, they are not of the 
 good dye. 
 
 There are two methods of extracting thefe red 
 colours from the archil. The firft is by incor- 
 porating fomc acid in the compofition itfelf that is 
 made ufe of to reduce this plant to a pafte (fuch as 
 is known to the Dyers under the name of archil). 
 I have been afTured that it may be made violet and 
 even blue, which probably is done by tlie mixture 
 of fome alkalis, but 1 muft confefs I could not 
 fucceed in it, although I made above twenty trials 
 for that purpofe. I fhall now proceed to the fecond 
 method of extradling from archil a beautiful and 
 pretty lailing red, and which 1 executed four times 
 with fuccefs. 
 
 Bajlard Scarlet by Archil. 
 
 Prepared archil from the Canaries is diluted as 
 ufual in warm water, and a faiall quantity of the 
 aommon compodtion for fcarlet is added, which is 
 as has been ihown in the preceding treatife, a folu- 
 tion of tin in aqua-regia^ weakened with water ; 
 this acid clears the liquor immediately and gives ic 
 a fcarlet colour. The wool or fluff is then to be 
 dipped in this liquor, and left till it has received 
 the (hade required. If the colour (hould not have 
 
 brightnefs 
 
IQO THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 brigbtnefs enough, a little tnore of the compcntion 
 muft be put in, and pretty near the fame method 
 riiuft be followed zs in ^be dying of common 
 fcarlet : I tried to muke it in two liquors as the 
 fcariet, that is, to boil the ftuff with the compo* 
 fition, and a fmall quantity or archil, and alter- 
 wards to fini'h it wish a greater quantity of both, 
 and I fu7ceedcd equally; but the operation is 
 longer after this manner, and I have fomeiimes 
 made as fine a colour in one liquor. Thus the 
 Dyer may take his choice of either of thefe 
 methods. 
 
 I cannot exadlly fix the quantity of ingredients 
 in this operation. Firfl, As it depends on the 
 fhade that is to be eiven to the ilaiJ. Second, 
 As it is a new procefs in dying, I have not had 
 fufficient experiirents to know with exacVncfs the 
 quantity of archil and compofition which ought to 
 be ufed : the fuccefs z'Co depends on the greater or 
 lefi'er acidity of the compcfition. In fliort, this 
 method of dying with archil is fo eafy, that by 
 making tv^o or three trials in fmall, more know- 
 ledge will be acquired from it th.an I could teach 
 in a large volume: I muft only add, that tlie more 
 the colour drawn from this ingredient approaches 
 the fcarlet, the more Isfting it is. I have made a 
 great number of (liades from the farr.e archil, and 
 which confequently oniy differed by the greater or 
 ]efs quantity of tiiC compc fition, and I always 
 fouiid that the more tl;e arcliil went from the 
 natural colour, the more lading it became, fo thst 
 when 1 brought it to the fliade known by the name 
 of bsflard fcarlet, it withliood the action of the air 
 and elTay proof almoft ss well as that which is 
 commoi^ly made vith cochineal or madder. 
 
 U too much compofition be put in the liquor, 
 the wool will become of an orange colour, and 
 
 difatrei;abie. 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. I9I 
 
 x!ifagreeable. The fame thing alfo happens with 
 cochineal, io that this is not an inconvenience 
 peculiar to this dye; befides it is eafily avoided by 
 proceeding gradually in the addition of the compo- 
 fition, ar.d by putting a fmall quantity at firft. 
 
 I have tried the different acids in this fcarlet 
 con:ipcrition, but none fucceedcd well ; vinegar 
 did not give a fufficient rednefs to the liquor, and 
 the fluff dyed in it only took a colour of lees of 
 wine, which even was not more lafting in the air 
 than tliat of the archil in its natural flate, and other 
 acids faddened the colour. In (hort, it appears 
 that (as in fcarlet with cochineal) a metallic bafe 
 extremely white muft be united to the red of the 
 archil, 2nd this bafis is the ca'x of tin. I have re- 
 peated the fame operation with the archil of 
 Auvergne, but the colours were not near fo fine or 
 fo good. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 OF LOGWOOD OR CAMPEACHY. 
 
 TiIEcampeachy wood, known under the name 
 of logwood, is of grest ufe in the lefTer dye, 
 and it were to be v.ilheJ that it was not ufsvi in tl^.e 
 good dye, for the colour which that wood produces 
 lofes its brightnefs in a fhort time, and even dif- 
 appears in fome places oi^ being; expofcd to the air ; 
 the low price of this drug in fome meafure tolerates 
 its ufe ; but the principal reafon of uiing it is, that 
 by the means of different preparations and falts it 
 affords a gr^at number of colours and ihades, 
 which ate not eafily made by the ingredients of the 
 good dye alone. Yet it is pollible, as I have faid 
 before, to make all thefe colours without the help 
 
 of 
 
192 THH dyer's assistant. 
 
 of logwood ; therefore it was proper to forbid the 
 ufe of this ingredient in the good dye. 
 
 Logwood js neccfiary to foften and velvet the 
 blacks ; it is this velvet hue that gives that excel- 
 lency to the Sedan blacks. I fhall now add fome 
 little matter concerning the other colours in which 
 this wood is ufed, and I Ihall obferve, that when 
 any wood v.hatfoever is ufed in dying, it muft be 
 cut into fmall fliavings or chips, and put into a 
 bag, that it may not ftick to the wool or fluffs j 
 for the rough chips will not only tear the gocds, 
 but blot them in thofe places to which they ftick. 
 
 Logwood is ufed with galls and copperas for all 
 the ftiades of grey which border en the flate or 
 lavender, the pigeon grey, the lead grey, and 
 fuch like. To make thefe, a copper is filled with 
 clear water, and a proper quantity of galls is added ; 
 this mull be proporiioned to the quantity of fluffs 
 to be dyed, and to the depth of tlie ihade required. 
 A bag of logwood is put into this liquor, 2nd when 
 the whole has boi'ed and cooled, the fluff is dipped 
 in it, adding by little and little fome copperas )ire- 
 vioufly difToived in water. I cannot fix any exact 
 proportion of ingredients, as the Dyers of the leffer 
 dye are not accuftomed to weigh theai , they work by 
 the eye, and their bufinefs being to match low-priced 
 iluffs for linings of cloths for which they have the 
 patterns, they firfl make them lighter than is wanted, 
 and fadden them by adding copperas till they are 
 come to the fhade required. If thty find there is 
 not loowood fufficient, they add more ; they do 
 the fame when they have feveral fluffs to pafs 
 through tlie fame liquor, when they find the wood 
 they have given has yielded all its dye. This work 
 is not difficult, and only requires practice to judge 
 pretty nearly the quantity of ingredients to be ufed, 
 and to judge by the fluff, while svet, whether, 
 
 when 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I93 
 
 when dry, it would have the intended colour, 
 which is done by ftrongly wringing the end, and 
 blowing on it ftrongly : by this means, the greateft 
 part of the humidity, which has by twirting been 
 brought to the furface of the ftuff, is driven off; 
 then for an inftant the colour is feen pretty nearly 
 fuch as it will be when dry ; but this muft be done 
 by a quick eye, for in a moment after the adjacent 
 moifture is communicated to this dry place, and 
 then you mky, be deceived. 
 
 A pretty fine violet is alfo made "with logwood, 
 by firft boiling the wool as ufual with alum and 
 tartar, and afterwards, pafllng it through a liquor of 
 logwood in which a little alum is diflblved. But 
 it is made much finer by bluing and alwming the 
 fluff firft, then dipping it in a liquor of Brazil 
 mixt with a little logwood j this violet, though of 
 the ieffer dye, is much better than the former, be- 
 caufe the blue ground always fuftains the colour, 
 and makes it more holding. 
 
 The logwood alfo affords a blue colour, but it 
 lafts fo ill that this wood is feldom u fed for dying 
 blue. Yet if from curiofity you wifti to make a 
 trial, you need only prepare a liquor with log- 
 wood, and mix a little Cyprus or blue vitriol in it, 
 and dip the fluffs in this without any other prepa- 
 ration, and you have a fine blue. 
 
 By the fame means, green may be made in the 
 fame liquor. For this purpofe, logwood, French 
 berries or grains of Avignon and verdigrife are 
 put into a copper ; this mixture gives the liquor a 
 beautiful green colour ; the wool may be then dipt 
 to the height defired, and may be of any defired 
 fhade, by putting in more or lefs of the logwood 
 and Avignon grains. But this colour is not better 
 than the blue, and both ought to be excluded .^ 
 art of dying : I have given the procefs, merelner in. 
 1 of, and 
 
 ia 
 
194- THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 I might omit nothing which came to my knoA'- 
 iedpe concerning the art. 
 
 The u/e to which logwood is mcft commonly 
 applied in the ieflcr dye is lor plumb, prune colours, 
 purpies and their (hades. 
 
 This wood joined with gails, readily gives all its 
 colours to wool that has a ground of blue ; it is 
 faddened with a little green copperas, which browns 
 them, and by this means fome Ihades may be eafily 
 obtained which are much more difficult to hit in 
 the great dye, as the different degrees of faridening 
 are much more diiEcuit to match in a blue vat, 
 than by the help of the iron of the copperas. But 
 thei'e colours fade away very foon in the air, and in 
 a few days a great difference is feen between the 
 pans that were expofed to the air and thofe that 
 vrere covered. 
 
 Having experienced, as I faid in the preceding 
 chapter, that the fcar.et compofition changed the 
 coicur of the archil, and made it more lafting, I 
 tried what eife<5i it might produce on the logwood; 
 but what appeared (insular to me was, that what- 
 foever quantity of compofition I put into this 
 liquor, it rever loft its violet colour. Being 
 deiircus to put this to a further trial, 1 dyed a piece 
 of cloth with logwood, and put into the liquor a 
 quantity of compofition, pretty near equal to that 
 which I would have put for an equal dofe of archil : 
 the clot . took a pretty good violet colour. This 
 cloth was put in the weainer for twelve fuinmer 
 days, and the colour proved no better than if no 
 compofiion had been ufed. By adding a fmall 
 quantity of cr)ftals of tartar to another liquor 
 comp fed as the rormer, I had a mere lafting co- 
 jour, but confiuerably different. 
 
 ana 
 
 Jhi 
 
THE dyer's assistant. . i.g$ 
 
 The Raven Grey. 
 
 The raven grey on worfted or fluffs Is perfornned 
 in the foliowing manner. 
 
 In a copper fufficiently large for fixty pound 
 weight, diffolve eight ounces of alum, and work 
 the worfted on fticks very quick for the fpace of 
 half an hour at a boiling heat ; then take it up, and 
 add to the fame liquor three or four pounds of cop- 
 peras, and work it at a boiling heat for half an 
 hour longer ; while this is performing, the worfted 
 muft be wafhed, and one pail full of logwood 
 chips muft be boiled in another copper about 
 twenty minutes ; the worfted muft then be turned 
 very quick in the logwood decodion about half an 
 hour, when it muft be taken out, and returned about 
 ten or fifteen minutes in the deco£lion of alum and 
 copperas, as at firft. This laft operation is abfo- 
 lutely neceftary, as it contributes much to the 
 beauty and luftre of the colour, by difcharging the 
 gTofs particles of the logwood, and leaves a beauti- 
 ful raven grey. This procefs will hold good for 
 thin goods and coarfc cloth, but a lefs proportion 
 •of logwood will do. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 OF SAXON BLUE AND GR£EM. 
 
 I Place here among the lefler dyes that called 
 Saxon blue and green, which has been for fome 
 time greatly in fafhion, being finer and brighter 
 than any blue or green hitherto kn'^- 
 the greater or lelTer dye, b"^ 
 
 — wn either In 
 
 -J -« bears no proof, and 
 
 in 
 
J96 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 in twelve days expofition to the fun, it lofes a great 
 part of its colour. 
 
 Blue on C/othj Stuj^y or yarn. 
 
 Put into a glazed earthen-pot four pounds of 
 good oil of vitriol, with twelve ounces of choice 
 indigo, very finely ground and fitted j ftir this chy- 
 mical mixture very haftily and frequently in order 
 to excite a fermentation, and break the lumps with 
 a ftick vvhofe bark has been ftript off". It is 
 cuflomary with fome Dyers to put into this com- 
 pcfiticn a little antimony or faltpetre, tartar, chalk, 
 alum, or other things j but I find it fufficient to 
 mix the oil and indigo alone, and the colours will 
 be finer, for thofe neutral falts deflrcy the acid of the 
 vitriol and fully the colcur. In twenty- four hours 
 it is fit for ufe ; then a copper of a good fize is to 
 be filled with fair water, (into which one peck of 
 bran is put in a bag) and made pretty warm ; the 
 bran, after yielding its flour, muft be taken our, 
 and the chymic mixed well with water, in a piggin, 
 is put in according to the (bade required, having- 
 firfl put in a handful of powdered tartar j the 
 cloth, &c. is to be well wet, ^nd worked very 
 quick over the wynch for half an hour. The 
 liquor mu(\ be not be made hotter than that for 
 madc'cr red. Obferve, the hot acid ot the vitriol 
 would caufe the blue to incline to green if too 
 much heat was given. The cloth, fiufF, or yarn 
 muft be turned in this liquor very quick for half 
 an hour, and having been previcully very well 
 fccured, the colour will be brilliant and fir.e ; it is 
 belt after walhing to dry this colour in the (hade. 
 
 Chymic 
 
TH^ Desk's assistant. '97 
 
 Chymicfor Grteiti 
 
 Eight ounces of m(jigo is fufficient for four 
 pounds of oil for green, becaufe this mixture 
 works green (and would even dye a pea- green if 
 ufcd very hot) and therefore would not do for blue. 
 The indigo is better fufpended ia this mixture thaa 
 in the former, and is fuppofed to go further in 
 green. The goods, being well fcoured are to be 
 aluined ; for every twenty pound weight, two 
 pounds of alum is to be put into a copper with 
 fair water, and the goods boiled gently an hour 
 and a half; whilft this is performing, another cop- 
 per is got ready, in which fuHic chips are put to 
 Isoil ; if there are any to dye pea-green it is befl: to 
 <lye them fitil, not as pra(fi:ired in Tome dye-houfes, 
 for this great reafon, that when feveral parcels of 
 goods have been through the fatne liquor, there 
 remains a fcurf which the acid ext rafts, and that 
 is fure to ftick to the next parcel that goes in; and 
 if pea- green was the laft, the colour would be 
 dulled thereby. The greens (pea- green excepted) 
 are to be turned about ten minutes in the alum 
 liquor after they are dyed, in order to clear them 
 of the ftuff, and render the colour brighter. The 
 alum liquor is not to be hotter than that the hand 
 may be borne in. Obferve, if the alum was put 
 in (as is cuftomary in fome dye-houfes) with the 
 fiiftic, it would retard its working fo well ; for 
 alum, being an acid, v^'ould difcharge if ufed 
 with, as well as prepare for fuftic. 
 
 The reader will perhaps think me too tedious 
 in this procefs, and fay (becaufe he is not ufed to 
 this method) it is a fuperfluous work; but be af- 
 fured that the time loft in the procefs will be faved 
 in the fuftic, if attention is paid, 
 
 1 3 CHAP, 
 
158 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 OF BRAZIL WOOD. 
 
 UVDFR the general name of Brazil wood is 
 coTiprehended that: of Femarr.bouc, St. 
 i^iartha, Jspsn, and forre cihers which I Ihall not 
 here dirtinguilh, fince they are sll ufed after the 
 fame manrer rcr dying. Some give greater va- 
 ricy cf cciours than others, or finer ; but this often 
 proceeds frorr. the parts of the wood being more or 
 itfs expofed to the air, or that forre parts of it may 
 be retted. The foundeft or higheft in colour are 
 to be chofen for dyin^. 
 
 A;1 thofe woods give a tolerable good colour, 
 either uf^d alo e, m;xt with logwood, or with 
 other colouring ingrciiients. It has been fhown, 
 th't. in ihe falfe or biftard vioiet, a little Brazil 
 v?2S added to the Icgwood ; but in the vinous greys, 
 cr 'htfr >^hich have a caft of the red, a great deal 
 rrcre i? uf d. Sometimes cn!y, a fmal! quantity 
 or gs )s js fut with the Brazil, and it is faddened 
 with corp ras ; oftrn a)fo with logwood, archil, or 
 fcoif oilier mgredient, it is added according to the 
 ih?de, frcm whence it is rot pcC:^!e to give any 
 fixt ;u!e t r this kmd cf wo'k, en accrunt of the 
 inSi.ite var^ty ct (hades which are obtained frotn 
 thefe different mixrures. 
 
 Tne aturi^i col ur of the Brazil, and for which 
 it is m ft ufed, is the fiile fear et, which appears 
 f.r.e ^rd brivhi, but ;sr interior to the bnghtnefsof 
 the ccc> inea! cr gum lacque. 
 
 To extra*^ the colour from this wood, the 
 harceft water, fuch as wij! n-'t diflbKe fcap, muft 
 be raade ufe of tor river water has not nearly fo 
 gcoii an effccij it cvR. be cut into chips and 
 
 boUed 
 
THE dyer's assistant. I99 
 
 boiled for three hours; th? water is then taken out 
 and put into a large veflel, and frefh well-water 
 put on the wo 'd and boiled again for three hours; 
 this water is added to the firft ' ■ 
 
 This liquor, which is called juice of Brazil, 
 muft be old and fermented, and rope like an oily 
 wine before it is fit for ufe. To extrafl a bright 
 red from it, the fluff mud be filled with the falts of 
 the common liquor of preparation, but the alum 
 muft predommate, for the tartar alone, and alfo 
 four water, greatly fpoils the beauty of this colour: 
 in (hort, acids are hurtful to it, and difTolve its 
 red colouring part. Four ounces of alum for 
 each pound of ftufF is to be added to the liquor,^ 
 and only two ounces of tartar^ or even lefs. The 
 wool is to be boiled in it for three hours ; it is 
 then taken out and gently wrung, and thus kept 
 moift for eight days at leaft, that by the falts being 
 retained it may be fufficiently 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 fcummed. Dip the ftufF which 
 has remained eight or ten days moiftened in the 
 preparing liquor, and it mufl be well worked in it 
 without making the liquor boil too ftrongly, until 
 it be fmoothly and equally dyed. Care muft be 
 taken to wring a corner of this fluff now and then, 
 as I have already faid, to judge of its colour, for, 
 whilft wet, it appears at leaft three fhades deeper 
 than when dry. By this method, which is fome- 
 what tedious, very bright reds are made, perfeftly 
 imitating certain colours the Englifh fell under 
 the name of Campeachy fcarlets, which, by the 
 proof of dyes, are not found to be better than this, 
 only that they feem to have been lightly maddered. 
 
 This red, of which I have given the procefs, 
 
 and which is no where elfe defcribed, withftands 
 
 1 4 the 
 
20« THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 the weather three or four months in the vBJnter, 
 "^'ithcut lofing an^ of its ihade; en the contrary, it 
 faddsns, and tfecns to acquire a ground, but it 
 does not ftand the proof of tartar. 
 
 Some Dyer$ of the grear oye ufe Brazil to 
 heighten the red of madder, either to fave this 
 root, or make its red more bright than ufual. 
 This is done by dipping in a Brazil liquor a fluff, 
 begun with the madder, but this kind of fraudulent 
 dye is exprefsly forbid by the French regulations, 
 as well as any mixture of the great dye with the 
 \^:U hecaufe it can only ferve to cheat, and to 
 pafs for a fine madder red, a colour whi.h in a few 
 days ioles all its brightnefs along with the (hstie, 
 which has been drawn from the Brazil, prepared in 
 the common manner. 
 
 The lirft colour extracted from this wood is not 
 cf agGod dye, probably becaufe it is an indigefted 
 fap, and whofe colouring partjcles have not been 
 fufiiciemly attenuated to be retiined and fuiEcienfly 
 fixt in the pores of the wool dyed in it. Whea 
 thefe firft grcfs parts of the colour have been car» 
 ried ofF, thofe that remain in fmall quantity are 
 :l|ner, and mixing themfelves to the yeJiow partSi 
 which are furniftied by the pure woody parts, the 
 red refulting from it is more iafting. 
 
 By the means of acids, of" wh^t kind {oev(^, all 
 the red colour of this w.-od is carried olf or dii- 
 appears ; then the ftuft that is dyed by it takes a 
 hind colour, rnore or Jeis deep in proportion to the 
 time it is kept in the liquor, and this colour is of a 
 vtrygood dye. . . 
 
 it is faid that the Dyers of Ambolfe have a 
 raethod of binding the Brazil colour in this man* 
 r.cr j after their ftufTs lightly maudtrei.have been 
 pafied through a liquor of. weld, and conlequently 
 boiied twice in ajum and tartar, they put arienic 
 
 and 
 
THE dyer's assistant, 201 
 
 and pearl-afhes in the juice of Brazil, and it is 
 aflerted that this colour then refifts the proofs ; I 
 tried this procefs, but it did not fucceed. 
 
 When a very bright red is required from the 
 Brazil, I know by experience that it is polTible to 
 infure the colour drawn from it after fuch a man- 
 ner that, having expofed it thirty days to the rays 
 of the futntner's fun, it will not cliange ; but thsrfe 
 kind of colours are coffee and chefnut purples, i 
 
 To make thefe, I keep the fluff moiflened in its 
 liquor in a cellar for fifteen days ; this liquor is 
 prepared as for the reds, of wJuch 1 have heretofore 
 fpoken J 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 fluff, 
 and tlien boil it one or two hours, as I want the 
 fhade to be in deepnefs ; the ftuff is aired from, 
 time to time, and when it has taken the colour 
 defired, it is well cooled before it is walhed. This 
 fluff being brufhed, the nap layed, and cold-prelTed, 
 comes out very fine and very fmooth. 
 
 CHAP. VIL . 
 
 OF FUSTIC^ . 
 
 THE fuftic gives an orange colour that is not ■ 
 lafling; it is. commonly ufed in the lefTer 
 dye, like the roots or huiTss or walnuts, v/ithoiu 
 boiling the ftuff, fo that it is cifily managed. It 
 is often mixed with waiiiut hu(ks.and weld, to make ; 
 to'^acco and ciniia nan colours, and other • like : 
 fhades. But this wood is a very bad ingrediear, . 
 for its. colour being expofed to the air fora very 
 I 5 _, fhort £ 
 
202 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 fhcrt tirre lofes all its biightnefs and the greateft 
 part of its yellow fhade. 
 
 If a fluff dyed with fuftic is dipt in the woad vat, 
 a difagreeable olive enfues, which does not refift 
 the air, but fcon lofes its colour. 
 
 I have already faid that fuftic was made ufe of 
 in Langueiioc for making of lobfter colours for 
 foreign markets, as it greatly faves cochineal. For 
 this purpofe they mix weld, fuftic, and cochineal, 
 vith a little cream of tartar, in the fame liquor, 
 and the ftuff boiled in this liquor comes out of a 
 lobfter co'our, and accordingly, to the quantity of 
 thefe different ingredients, it becomes more or lefs 
 red, tending to tre orange. Alti-iough the method 
 of mixing together ingredients of the good with 
 thcfe of the Kffer dye ought to be condemned, yet 
 in this cafe, and for this colour only, which is in 
 ccnfiderable demand in the Mediterranean, it ap- 
 pears that the fuftic may be tolerated ; for having 
 attempted to make the fame colour, with only the 
 ingredients of the good dye, I did not get a mosc 
 lafting colour* 
 
 The change which the air produces in the lobfter 
 colour made wih fuftic is very fenfiVile, but it is 
 not fo difagreeable as the changes incident to 
 feversl other colours j for all the fhade goes off and 
 weakens at once, fo that it is rather a diminution- 
 than a change of colour; whereas the lobfter 
 colour made with the yellow wood becomes of a 
 'ZhsTTj colour. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 2.03 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 OF. ROUCOU. 
 
 THE roucou or racourt is a kind of dry paffe 
 brought from America ; this ingredient gives 
 an orange colour pretty near the fame as the fuftic, 
 and the dye is not more lading. However it is 
 not by the proof alum that the quality of the 
 roucou is to be judged, for this does not in the 
 leaft alrer its colour ; on the contrary, it becomes 
 finer and brighter, but the air carries it off, and 
 effaces it in a fhort time ; foap has the fame effef^> 
 and if is by this it muft be tried according to the 
 inftrudtions on thefe kind of proofs The place 
 of this ingredient is eafily fupplied in the good dye 
 by weld and madder mixt together, but roucou is 
 made ufe of in the JeiTer dye after the following, 
 manner. 
 
 Pearl -afhes are diffolved in a copper with a fuf- 
 ficient quantity of water ; it is well boiled for one 
 hour, that the aflies maybe totally diffolved ; then 
 as many pounds of rou ou as there are of afhes, 
 are added ; tiie liquor is well raked and fuffered to 
 boil tor a quarter of an hour; the wool or ftuffs 
 that are to be dyed are then dipt without any pre- 
 paration^ except dipping thegn in luke-warm water, 
 that the colour may fpread itfelf equally. 
 
 They are left in this liquor, working, them con- 
 tinually, until they are; come to the defu^ed fhadCi, 
 after which they sre.waflied and dried.. 
 
 The roucou is often mixt with other ingredients 
 of the leffer dye, but I cannot give any inftruc- 
 tions on thefe mixtures, as they depend on the 
 fhades you wifh to make, and are in themfelves 
 attended with no difficulty, 
 
 16 IJuy* . 
 
204 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 I bsve boiled the (luff in alum and tartar before 
 I dyed It with roucou, but though the colour was 
 more lafting it was not fufficientlyfo to be deemed 
 of the good dye. On the who'e, the rcucou is a 
 very bad ingredient for dying of wool, and is not 
 made much ufe of, for it is dear, and other ingre- 
 dients, that are cheaper and hold better, are ufed 
 in its ftead. 
 
 Wool dyed with roucou, and afterwards dipt 
 in the indigo or woad vat, takes a reddifh olive^ 
 which in a very (hort time becomes almoft blue 
 in the air, the colour given by the roucou difap- 
 pearing. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 OF THE GRAINS OF AVIGNON, 
 
 THE grains of Avignon are but little ufed in 
 dying, they give a pretty good yellow, but 
 net iafting, no mere than the green, produced by 
 dipping in the fame liquor a fluff.that has a ground 
 of blue. To work it, the fluff muft be boiled in 
 alum and tartar as for weld. Then a frcfh liquor 
 is made with thefe grains, and the fluff is dipt^ 
 and mufl lie in it longer or fhorter, according to 
 the fhade that is wanted. There is no difnculty 
 in working of it, fo I need only obferve that it 
 ought never to be ufed but when all other ingre- 
 <iient5 for dying yellow are wanting ; this muft 
 feldcm hsppen, as they are neither fcarce ncr dear. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
THE DYER*S ASSISTANT, 405 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 OF TURMERIC. 
 
 THE turmeric is a root that is brought from 
 the Eaft Indies ; that which comes from 
 Patna is mofl valued. The Indian Dyers call it 
 hakli ; it is aifo called concome in the regulations 
 of M. Colbert. It is reduced to a very fine 
 powder, and ufed pretty near the fame way as the 
 grain of Avignon, but in much lefs quantity, on 
 account of its yielding a great deal ot dye. It i3 
 fomewhat better than the other yellow ingredients 
 fpoken of in the preceding chapter, but, as it is 
 dear, it is a fufRcient reafon for feldom or never 
 ufing it in the lefler dye. 
 
 It is fometimes ufed in the great dye to gild the 
 yellows made with weld, and to brighten and 
 orange the fcarlets ; but this pradice is to be con- 
 demned ; for the air carries off all the colour of 
 the turmeric in a fhort tinne, fo that the gilded yel- 
 lows return to their firft ftate, and the fcarlets 
 brown confiderably ; when this happens to thefe 
 fort of colours, it may be locked on as certain 
 that they have been falfitied with this ingredient, 
 which is not iafting. 
 
 I omit fpesking of fafFron, which may alfo be 
 made ufe of to dye yellow, but which 1 believe is 
 not ufed ; firft, on account of its being dear; and 
 fecondly, becaufe its yellow is ftill wbrfethan thofe 
 of the two preceding ingredients. 
 
 This is all that remains for me to fay on the in- 
 gredients or the iefler dye, they are only to be ufed 
 for common and low-priced ftufFs. It is not that 
 I think it impoffible to extra^^: Iafting colours 
 from theno, but then thofe colours will not ftridly 
 
 ' • be 
 
ao6 THE dyer's assistant* 
 
 be the fame which thefe Ingredients yield naturally, 
 or by the ordinary methods, as that gum and 
 aftridlion which is wanting in them muft be added, 
 and then they are no more of the fame quahty ; 
 confequently the rays of light will be differently 
 refleded, and the colour will be different. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 OF SlLVhR GREY. 
 
 FOR pearl colour or filver grey, to dye forty- 
 pounds of woollen cloth or worfted, boil ia 
 a fmall copper four pounds of logwood chips for 
 half an hour, add to it fix ounces ot pearl-aflies, 
 and mix them well together ; while this is per- 
 forming, (having the- worftc' well fcourcd and 
 parcelled in hanks on the dyf-iiicks) heat a great 
 copper with clean water, ai.d put one peck of 
 wheat bran in a bag into the c -pperj let it remain 
 with often ftirring abi ut an hour j when the water 
 begins to toil, put in three cunces of alum, 
 which will throw the fiitr. or the water to the top, 
 when it a ufl: be taken off with the bowl j wafli 
 the worfled m rhis liquor about forty minutes, 
 when it n uft be tuken up, and three or fcur pails 
 of the logwood !iqu< r added to the alum water. 
 The gO"<1s. muft then be worked very quick for 
 forty minutes, when you n»ay add more lot wood 
 liquor if you fee occafion. Great care mufi be 
 taken a:ter walhing to dry this colour in^the fhade, 
 or it will pcHiaps chafige. 
 
 Some dye this. colour in one liquor and boil the 
 logwood in a bag. This procefs is lefs tedious, 
 but I firefer the former. It will be well for the 
 Dycrtot^kc notice, that if too great quantity of 
 
 slum. 
 
THE dyer's assistant, 207 
 
 alum or afhes are ufed herein, the colour will be 
 !mperfe«Sl ; for the alum, if ufed in a right propor- 
 tion, gives that bloom to the good which is necef- 
 fary for a pearl ; if too much, the contrary would 
 happen. The alhfs alfo, if ufed ir» too great quan- 
 tity, would make the colour too red ; this may feem 
 a contra didtion, becaufe the aflies are in alkali, but 
 but pradice will teach the truth. 
 
 Another excellent Silver Dye, 
 
 For twenty pounds weight of cloth or worfted^ 
 eight ounces of alum and twelve pounds of fenu- 
 greek muft boil with the goods halt an hour ; then 
 take it up, and add one pound of pearl-afhes and 
 eight ounces of Brazil wood ; boil them gently 
 with the goods half an hour j rince it and you have 
 a. beautiful colour. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ON THE PROOF OF 
 
 DIED WOOL AND WOOLLEN STUFFS, 
 
 AS it has been found that the methods pre- 
 fcribed for the proof of dves, by the thirty- 
 feventh article of the French regulations for the 
 Dyers in the good dye, of cloth, ferges, and other 
 woollen ftuffs made in 1669, and by article 220 of 
 the general inftrudions for the dying of wool of 
 all colours, and for the culture of drugs and ingre- 
 dients therein ufed made in 1671, were infufficient 
 for an exa<5l judgment of the goodnefs or falfity of 
 feveral colours, that tliey might fometimes \tid 
 into error, and leave room for difputes, different 
 tjjperiments have been made by the French kingls 
 
 order 
 
£08 TKS dyer's ASSISTAKf". 
 
 order on wool defigned for the manufacture of 
 tapeftry to afcertain the c^egree of goodnefs of 
 each colour, and the moft convincing proofs of 
 each. 
 
 For this purpcfe, fine wool was dyed in different 
 colours both in the great and lefier dye, and ex- 
 pofed to the air and fun during a proper time ; the 
 good colours kept tl>emfelves perfectly, and the 
 falfe ones were carried cff more or lefs according 
 to their bad quality ; and as a colour is only to be 
 accounted good inafmuch as ii refirts the adlion of 
 the air and fun, this proof (erved 33 a rule to decide 
 the goodnefs of different colours. 
 
 After this, feveral proofs were made on the fame 
 wool whofe patterns had been expcfed to tl.e air 
 and fun, and it was in-. mediately found that the 
 fame trials could not be indifferently ufed i'l prov- 
 ing of all colours ; for it often happened that one 
 colour, known to be good by expofi!ion to the air, 
 was confiderab'y changed by the effay proof, and 
 that a falfe colour ftood the fame prcct. 
 
 Thefc experiments exploded leiVion juice, vine- 
 gar, four waters, and ftrong waters, as it was im- 
 poflible to afcertain the degree of acidity of thefe 
 liquors ; and it appeared that the fureft method is 
 to ufe ingredients with common watefj whofe ef- 
 fects are always equal. 
 
 In following th:s plan, it has been judged necef- 
 lary to divide into three claffes ail the colours in 
 which wool is dyed, either m the great or JeiTer , 
 dye, and to fix the ingredients that are to be made 
 ufe of in the effay proo's of the c>. lours, compre- 
 hended in each of t{:efe three claffes. 
 
 T he colours comprehended in the firft clafs ar« 
 to undergo the proot of Romati alum, thofe of the 
 fecond w.iih while foap, and thofe of the third with 
 led tartar^ 
 
 But 
 
THjB dyer's Assistant. 20:9 
 
 But It is not fufficient to be afTured of the good- 
 nefs of a colour by ufingin the proof, ingredients 
 vwhofe efFed^ may always be equal ; it is alfo necef- 
 fary, that not only the duration of this trial be 
 exacStly determined, but even the quantity of water 
 fixed ; for the proportion of water confiderably 
 augments or dimimlhes the adivity of the ingre- 
 dietits which are put into it. The method of pro- 
 ceeding m thefe different proofs fliall be fet forth in 
 the foHowing articles : 
 
 Article I. 
 
 The proof of Roman Alummufihe made as follows: 
 
 Qnt? pound of wator and half an ounce of alum 
 are to be put in an earths rnveffel or pan. Tliie 
 veflel is to be placed on the fire, and when the 
 water boils ftrongly, tlxe wool is put in and left to 
 l>9il for iiye minuies, after which it is to be taken 
 out and waflaed in cold water j the weight of tlije 
 pattern of wool muft be a drachm cr thereabouts, 
 
 II. 
 
 When feveral patterns are to undergo the proof 
 together, the quantity of water and aluai is to be 
 doubled, or even trippled, which will no ways 
 change the ftrength or effedt of the proof, if you 
 ohferve the fame proportion of water and aluin, 
 fo that for each pound of water there may be one 
 ounce of alum. 
 
 III. 
 
 To render the effecSl of the proof more certain, 
 care muft be taken not to try together wool of dif- 
 ferent colours. 
 
2IO THE DYERS ASSISTANT. 
 
 IV. 
 The Proof with White Soap is to be made after the 
 following Manner. 
 
 ' To one pound of water add two drachms of 
 white fcap, and place the vefiel on the fire; ftir. it 
 with a ftick that the fo^p may be thoroutihly rtif- 
 folved , when it is fo, and the water boils ftrongly, 
 the woollen pattern is put in, which is to boil for 
 five minutes. 
 
 V. 
 When feveral patterns are to undergo this proof, 
 the fame method is to be obftrved as in the fecond 
 article, that is, to put to each a pound of water 
 two drachms of foap. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The proof with red tartar muft be exactly the 
 fame, with the fame proportions as the proof with 
 alum, taking care that the tartar rs finely powdered 
 and well diffolved in the water before the pattern is 
 put in. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The follov/ing colours are to be proved with 
 Roman alum, viz. crimfon of all fhades, Vene- 
 tian fcarlet, flame colour or common fcarlet, cherry- 
 colour and other fhades of fcarlet, violets and ^;,r- 
 de-lin of all (hades, purples, lobfter, pomegranate, 
 flate greys, lavender creys, violet greys, vinous greys, 
 and all other like fhades. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 If, contrary to the orders of the regulations on 
 dying, any ingredients of the falfe dye have been 
 
 made 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 211 
 
 made ufe of for fine wool dyed in crimfon, the 
 cheat will be eafiiy found out by the proof of alum, 
 for it changes the fine crimfon a little on the vio- 
 let, tliat is, makes it border a little on the gris-de- 
 lin, but it deftroys the higheft (hades of the baftard 
 crimfon ; thus this proof is a fure method to dif- 
 tinguifh falfe crimfon from fine. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Scarlet of kermes or grain, commonly called 
 Venetian f arlet, is no wife prejudiced by this 
 proof ; it raifes the fire-colour fcarlet to a purple, 
 and gives a violet colour to the lighter (hades, fo 
 that they border on the gris-de-lin^ but it carries 
 off the greate(t part of the falfe Brazil fcarlet, and 
 brings it to an onion- peel colour; it has yet a 
 more fenfible effea on the lighter fhades of this falfe 
 colour. 
 
 The fame proof carries off almoft entirely the 
 fcarlet of flock and its fliade. 
 
 X. 
 
 Though the violet is not a fimple colour, but 
 formed of blue and red (hades, it is'tieverihelefs 
 of fo much confequence as to merit a particular in- 
 quiry. 
 
 Tht fame proof with Roman alum has fcarcely 
 any effedt on the fine violet, whereas it confider- 
 ably alters the falfe ; but it mufi be obferved, that 
 It does not always equally carry off a great part of 
 the (hade of the falfe violet, becaufe this colour 
 has fometimes a ground of woad or indigo: now 
 this ground being of the good dye, is not carried 
 off by the proof, but the rednefs goes off, and the 
 brown (hades become ,ahnoi\ blue, and the pale 
 ones of the colour of lees of wine. 
 
 XI 
 
112 THE dyer's assistant, 
 
 XT. 
 
 With regard to half fine violets, forbidden fcy 
 the prefent regulations, they muft be ranked in the 
 dafs of falfe violets, and do not ftand the proof. 
 
 XII. 
 
 The fine grls-di-lin may be known from the 
 fialfe by the lame method, the difference is but 
 trifling] the gris-de'lin of tnegood dye lofes a little 
 lets tiian that ot the falfe. 
 
 XIII. 
 Fine purples entirely refift the proof with alum, 
 whereas the falfe entirely lofe the greaieft part of 
 their colour. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Lobfter colours and pomegranate ftrike on the 
 purple after the proof, if thev have been made 
 with cochineal, whereas they will pale greatly if 
 fuftic has been ufed j the ufe of which is prohi- 
 bited. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Blues of tlie good dye will lofe nothing in the 
 proo*^, whether of woad or indigo; but thofe of 
 the lefler dye will lofe the greateft part of their 
 colour. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The flate greys, lavender greys, violet greys, and 
 vinous greys, lofe ahnoft all their colour if they are 
 of the falfe dye; whereas they psrfeClly maintain it, 
 if of the good. 
 
 XVII. 
 
THE oyer's assistant, 213 
 
 xvir. 
 
 The proofs of the following colours are to be 
 made with white fcap; yellow, jonquiH or lemon 
 colour, orange, and all the fliades of yellow ; all 
 green (hades from the yellow green or light green, 
 to the cabbage or parrot green » the reds of madder, 
 cinnamon, tobacco, and fuch like. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 This proof perfe£lly (hows if the yellows and 
 other (hades derived from it are of a good or falfe 
 dye ; for it carries off the greateft part of their 
 colour if they have been made with grains of 
 Avignon, roucou, turmeric, fuftic, or faffron, whofe 
 ufe is prohibited for fin« dyes, but it po ways 
 impairs the yellows made with favory, Dyers' 
 wood, yellow wood, weld, or fenugreek. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 The fame proof will alfo (how the goodnefs of 
 -greens, as thofe of the falfe dye lofe mo(\ of their 
 colour, or become blue if they have a ground of 
 woad or indigo ; whereas thofe of the good dye 
 lofe almoft nothing of their (hade, but remain 
 green. 
 
 XX. 
 
 The reds of pure madder lofe nothing by the 
 foap proof, on the contrary become (iner, but if 
 Brazil wood has been ufed, they lofe their colour 
 \n proportion to the quantity of it in the compo- 
 fition of the dye. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Cinnamon, (n\iff colours, and others of this 
 
 caft, are fcarcely altered by this proof, if of the 
 
 3 good 
 
214 "^"^ dyer's assistant. 
 
 good dye, but they Icfe confiderably if roucou, fuf- 
 tic, or diffolved flock has been made ufe of. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 The proof of alum would be of no ufe, and 
 might even lead us into errors with regard to feve- 
 ral colours belonging to this fecond clafs, for it no 
 ways alters the fuftic nor the roncou, which never- 
 thelefs do not withftand the adlion of the air ; on 
 the other hand, it carries off a great part of the 
 favory and of the Dyers' wood, which are very good 
 jellows and greens. 
 
 XXIII. 
 All the brown or root colours Ihould undergo 
 the proof with red tartar. The Dyers call by this 
 name all colours that are not derived from the five 
 primary colours; they are made with rinds and 
 roots of walnut, alder-bark, fumach or roudoul, 
 fantal and foot ; each of thefe ingredients gives a 
 great variety of (hades, which are all comprehended 
 under the general name of brown or root colour. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 The above-namtd ingredients in the preceding 
 article are good, except the fantal and foot, which 
 are not quite fo good, and make the woi 1 ftifF 
 when too great a quantity is ufed, fo that all this 
 proof can (how on thefe kind of coiouis, is, whe- 
 ther t'lo much fantal or foe)t has been put into 
 them ; in this cafe they Icfe cot fiderably by the 
 pr< o. with tartar; but if made with other ingre- 
 dients, W' h only a moderate quantity ot fantal or 
 foot, they Ibnd a Rreat deal better. 
 
 XXV. 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 11^ 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Black IS the only colour which cannot be com- 
 prehended in any of the three clafles above-men- 
 tioned, and a much more active proof muft be 
 made ufe of. To know if the wool has had a 
 deep ground of blue, conformable to the regula- 
 tions, the proof is to be maie in the following 
 manner : take a pint or pound ot water, one ounce 
 of tartar, and the fame quantity of Roman alum 
 well powdered ; boil ir, and then put in the pattern; 
 let it boil ftrongly for a quarter of an hour, and af- 
 terwards wafh it in cold water; you will thea 
 eafily know if it has had the proper blue ground, 
 for if fo, the wool will remain of a dark blue almoft 
 black i if not, it will turn very grey. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 It is common to brown certain colours with 
 galls and copperas ; this operation is called brown- 
 ing, which is to be permitted in the good dye; 
 but as this may caufe a particular efre6i in proving 
 of thefe colours, it is to be obferved that although 
 the proof liquor appears loaded with dye as the 
 browninti is carried off, the wool muft be reputed 
 of a good dye if it ftiil prelerves its ground ; if on 
 the contrary it lofes it, it is then deemed to be of 
 the falfe eye. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Al'hough the brownmp, which is made of galls 
 and topper s, if ot the good dye, yet, as it hardens 
 the wu I, «t IS brtter to make ufe of the indieo or 
 woad vat in uicierence. 
 
 XXVIJL 
 
2l6 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Common greys made with galls and copperas 
 are not, to undergo any of thefe proofs, becaufe 
 thefe colours are of the good dye, and are not 
 otherways made ; but it is to be obferved, that 
 they are firft lobepaffed through the liquor of galls, 
 and afterwards through a fecond liquor, containing 
 the copperas, which muft be much cooler than the 
 firft, for by this ihethod they are made finer and 
 more lafling. 
 
 TH€ 
 
THE 
 
 DYER'S ASSISTANT. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 ADDITIONAL ARTICLES. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF FLOWERS. 
 
 MONG the infinite variety of colours which 
 glow in the flowers of plants, there are very 
 few which have any durability, or wliofe fugitive 
 beauty can be arreted by art, fo as to be applied 
 to any valuable purpofes. The only permanent 
 ones are the yellow. The red, the blue, and all 
 the intermediate (hades of purples, crimfons, 
 violets, &c. are extremely perilhable. Many of 
 thefe flowers lofe their colour on being barely 
 dried ; efpeciiliy if they are dried flowly, as has been 
 ufuaily directed, in a Hiady and not warm place. 
 The colours of all of them peri(h, on keeping, 
 even in the clofeft vefleis. The more haflily they 
 are dried, and the more perfectly thiiy are fecured 
 from the air, the longer they retain their beauty. 
 The colourmg matter, extracted and applied on 
 certain bodies, is ftill more peri Chable : oftentimes 
 it is changed or defiroyed in the hands of the 
 operator. 
 
 K Of 
 
2l8 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 Of Blue Flowers. 
 
 The colour of many blue flowers is exJ^cS^ed 
 by infufion in water, but there are feme from 
 which water gains only a reddifli or a purplifh 
 hue. Of ihofe that hsve heai tried, there is not 
 one wjiich gives any blue tincture to fpiritu us 
 liquors : fome give no col 'ur at all, and fome a 
 red( ilh one T he juice prefl out from the frelh 
 fit wers is for the mft part blue. 
 
 The blue juices and ir.fufions are changed red 
 by al! acids ; the inarine acid feems to llrike the 
 moft finid red Th.e flowers themfefves, macer- 
 . ated in acid liquors, impart alfo a deep red tinifiurc. 
 Alkalis, both hxt and volatile, and lime water, 
 change them to a green. Thofe inl'ufions or juices, 
 which have notlang of the native colour of the 
 flower, TufTer the fame changes from the addition 
 of acid and alkaline liquors j even when the flowers 
 have been kfpt till their colour is loil, infufions 
 made from them acquire flill a red colour from the 
 cne, and a green from the other, though in a lefs 
 degree than when the lowers were frefh. 
 
 The red colour proouced by acids is Scarcely 
 mere durable than the original blue, applied upon 
 other bodies, and expofed to the air, it gradually 
 def.enpraTes into a faint purplish, and at iengih f if- 
 appears, leaving hardly ^^ny fiain behind. The 
 green produced by alknlis changes to a yellc«%-, 
 vhicn dots not fade fo foon. The green by lime 
 water is more pernianent and mor« beautiful. 
 Green lakes, prepared from thefe flowers by lime 
 water, have been uled as pigiricnts by ihe painter. 
 
 The flowers cf cyar.ub have DCs-n greatly re- 
 comnienv;ed, as aflfv^rding elec!ant and durable blue 
 pigments ; but i nave never been able tn extrift 
 from ihem any blue colour at ai). They retain 
 their colour indeed, when haftily drie^i, longer than 
 
 fome 
 
THE dyer's assistant. llQ 
 
 fome other blue flowers, but ihey cooimunicate 
 nothing of it to any kind ot menftruu.n. Infu- 
 fions ot them in watery, fpiritunus, and oily liquors, 
 are all more or lefs of a reddilh cad, withrur any 
 tendency to blue. Alum, which is laid to hei^^htea 
 and prcferve their blue cclour, changfs it like th?.t 
 of other blue fiuwers, to a purplifti red ; acids to 
 a -deep red ; alkalis and lime water to a green. 
 
 Solution of tin, added to the watery infufion^ 
 turns it to a fine crinifon ; on (landing, a beautiful 
 red fecula fubfides, but it lofes all its colour by the 
 time it is dry. The wattry infufion, infpir.ffared 
 to the confidence of an extrat^t made with redinei 
 fpirit, is of a purplilh colour. The colour of both 
 extra6ts, fpread ihin and expofed to the air, quickly 
 fades. 
 
 The flowers employed in thefe experiments were 
 thofe ot the common blue bottle oi the corn-fields; 
 cyanus fegetum C. B. centauria calycibus ferratis ; 
 foliolis linearibus integerrimis ; irfimis dcntatis linn, 
 fpcc. 
 
 Red Flowers. 
 
 Red flowers readily communicate their own red 
 colour to watery menilrua j among thofe that have 
 been tried the^' is not one exception. Thofe of a 
 full red colour, give to redtified fpirit a'fo a .cep 
 red tincture, brighter, though fomowhat paler thaa 
 the watery infufion ; but the lighter red flowers, 
 and thofe thst have a tendency to purplifh, imparc 
 very little colour to fpirit, and feem to partake fi'ore 
 of the nature of the blue flowers thm of the pure 
 red. 
 
 Infufions of red flowers are fuppofcd to be 
 heightened by acids^ and turned green by alkalis, 
 like thofe of tlie blue ; but this is far f'roa) being 
 univtrfal. Among thofe I l!2ve exainined, ti)e 
 rofe colours and purpiifh reds were all chaneed 
 K 2 nearly 
 
220 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 nearly in the fame manner as the blues, but the 
 full deep reds were not. The deep infufion cf red 
 poppies is turned by alkalis, not to a green but to 
 a dufky purple. 
 
 Yellow Flowers. 
 
 The colours of yellow flowers, whether pale or 
 deep, are in general durable. Many of them are 
 as much fo perhaps as any of the native colours of 
 vegetables. The colour is extrailed both by water 
 and by fpirit ; the watery infufions are the deepeft. 
 Neither acids nor alkalis alter the fpecies of colour, 
 though both of them vary its fhades j acids render- 
 ing it paler, and alkalis deeper : alum likewife 
 confiderably heightens it, though not fo much as 
 alkalis. 
 
 Wool or fiik impregnated with a folution of 
 alum and tartar, receives, on being boiled with 
 the watery infufion, or decoftion, a durable yellow 
 dye, more or lefs deep according as the liquor is 
 more or lefs faturated with the colouring matter. 
 
 An infufion of the flowers made in alkaline ley, 
 precipitated by alum, gives a durable yellow lake. 
 Some of thefe flowers, particularly thofe of the 
 chryfanthemum, or corn- marigold, appear (from" 
 the An Tin£icra Fundamental'! i. publifhed by Stahl) 
 to be made ufe of by the Germaii Uyers. 
 
 In fome of the deep redd fh yeliow, or orange- 
 coloured flowers, the yell w mattei feems to be of 
 the fan e kmd with that of the pure yellow flowers, 
 but the red to be of a different kind trom the pure 
 red ones : watery menftrua take up only the yellow 
 and leave the red, which may afterwards be ex- 
 tracted by recfitied fpirit of wine, or by water 
 adluated v.ith fixed alkaline fait. Such particularly 
 are the f^ffron- coloured flowers of carthamus. 
 Thefe, after tiie yellow matter has becii extracted 
 by water, are faid to give a red tincture to ley ; 
 
 from 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 221 
 
 from which, on ftanding at reft for feme time, a 
 deep bright red fecula fubfides, called, from one of 
 the natnes of the plant which produces it, faf- 
 flower, and from the countries whence it is com- 
 monly brought to us, Spanifh red, and China lake ; 
 this pigment impregnates fpirits of wine with a 
 beautiful red tindure, but communicates no colour 
 to water. 
 
 I have endeavourrd to feparate by the fame treat- 
 ment, the red matter of fome of the other reddifli 
 yellow flowers, as thnfe of the garden marigold, 
 but without fuccefs. Plain water extracted a yel- 
 low colour, and alkaline ley extracted afierwnrds 
 only a paler yellow ; though the digeflions were 
 continued till the flowers had loft their colour, the 
 tindures were nocther than yellow, and not h deep 
 as thofe obtained from the pure yellow flowers. 
 
 The little yellow flofculi, which in fome kinds 
 of flowers are collected into a compact round difc, 
 as in the daify and corn- marigold, a^ree fo far as 
 they have been examined with the expanded yellow 
 petala. Their colour is affeded in the fame man- 
 ner by acids, by alkali;, and by alum, and equally 
 extracted by water and by fpirit 
 
 But the yellow farina or fine duft lodged on the 
 tips of the ftamina of flowers, appears to be of a 
 diiferent kind. It gives a fine bright yellow to 
 fpirit, and a duller yellow to water; the undiflbived 
 part proving, in both cafes, of a pale yellowifh 
 white. Both the watery and fpirituous tindures 
 were brightened by alkaline liquors, turned red by 
 acids, and asain a deep yellow on adding more of 
 the alkali. 1 know no other vegetable yellow that 
 is changed red by acids. 
 
 TFkiie Flowers. 
 White flowers are by no means deflitute of 
 colouring matter. Alkaline lixivia cxtrad from 
 K 3 fome 
 
222 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 fome of them a green tinfrure, and change their 
 C' louriefs expreiTed juices to cne fame colour. But 
 ] have not ohferved that they are turne<l red by 
 at'u 5. T!ie 3uwers of the common wilJ convcl- 
 vlIus or bnd-weed, which in al! their parrs are 
 v.liiic", tive a deep yellow or orange tiniture to 
 plain wa'cr, which, like tlie tmftures of flowers 
 v.!iic-h are raturai'y of that co! ur, is rendered 
 -paler by acids, heightened a liule bv alu n, and 
 more r( nfl-:^erably by aikaiine fairs. The vapours 
 of the volatile v)trloIic acid, or of burning fjiphar, 
 v-hi-h whiten or deftroy the colour or the coloured 
 fi.wers, make no change in the white. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF FRUITS. 
 
 THE red juices of fruits, as red currants, 
 mulbeniei, elder berries, and Morelio and 
 b -.ck. cherries, &e. gently iiifpilTated to drynels, 
 d;iT Ive again almcft total y in water, and appear 
 neafiy of the fame red colour as at firft, Rect.tied 
 fpirit extracts the t.nging parucles, leavn^ a con- 
 fi/ierabi-: portion or inucitaginous matter undif- 
 i:,\\-t-A : ar.d he.ice the fpirituous tiadure proves 
 of a bri.'hter colojur than the watery. The r-.d 
 folutions and the jujces thetrf-lves are fometimes 
 made dull, and fometimes more flond, by acids, 
 anJ generally turned purp.ifh by alkaiis. 
 
 The colours of ihsle juices are tor the moft part 
 perifnible. They reiift mited the pov/er of fer- 
 n.entat.on, ani conti:iue almoft unchang d after 
 the liquor hss been converted into wine. Bur when 
 th; iul.;e is fpread thinly on otijer bodies, ex jccated, 
 and' expcied to the air, the colour quickly alters 
 and decays : the bright hvely reds change the 
 fooneft. The dark, dull red ilain from the juice 
 of the black- cherry, is of coniiderabie durability. 
 
 1 lie 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 223 
 
 The fruit of the American opuntia, cr prickly 
 pear, the plant upon which the cochineal inicdl: is 
 produce^), is perhaps aa exception : this bright red 
 fruit, according to Labat, gives a beautitul red 
 dye. Some experiments, however, made upon the 
 juice of that fruit, as brought into tngland, did 
 not feem to promife any great advantage hoin it; 
 but the particulars I cannot now recoUeii:. 
 
 The ripe berries of buckthorn ftain paper of a 
 green colour. From thefe is prepared the luidUnce 
 called fap-urcen, a pigment fufHcictitly durable, 
 readily folubie in water, but not mifcible with oil. 
 The berries dried whilft green, and macer:ited in 
 alum-water, are faid to yield a yellow pigment ; 
 aiid when they liavs grown over- ripe, fo as- to fall 
 cfF fpontaneuully, a purple or,e. Woollen cloth, 
 prepared with alum and tartar, receives, on being 
 boiled with the berries, a pcrifliable yeliovv dye. 
 The French berries, or grained Avignon of the 
 French Dvers, one of the moft falfe, that is, the 
 moft perilhable of the yellow dyes, is the berry of 
 a fpecies of buckthorn fmaller than that which 
 gr ws wild among us. 
 
 It is fiid that the berry of the Heliotroplum 
 triccccum^ which grows wild about Mo^itpeliery 
 ftains paper ot a grten colour, and that this green 
 turns prefeiuly to a blue: tiat the common blue 
 paper receives its colour from this juice : and that 
 the red rags, called turnj l, employed for colouring 
 wines- and other liquors, are tinctured by the fame 
 juice, turned red by acids. According to M, 
 Nijfolle of the French academ.y of fciences (as 
 quoted by Savarv in his Di^ionaWe de Commerce) 
 the colouring juice is obtained, not from the 
 berries, but \xo\n the tops of the plant, gathered in 
 Augufl, ground in mills, and then committed to 
 the prefs. 1 he juice is expofed to the fun about 
 an hour, the rags dipped in it, dried in the fun, 
 K 4 moiilened 
 
224 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 inoiftened by the vapour which arifes during the 
 flacking of quick, lime with urine, then dried again 
 in the fun, and dipped again in the juice. The 
 Dutch and others are faid to prepare turrifol rags, 
 and turnfol in the m?.fs, from different ingredients, 
 among which archil is a principal one. 
 
 In fome plants, peony for inftance, the feeds at 
 a certain point of maturity are covered with a fine 
 fhining red membrane: the pellicles of the feeds 
 of a certain American tree afford the red maffes 
 brought into Europe under tlie names of annotto, 
 orlean, and roucou. The red feeds, cleared from 
 the pods, are lleeped in water for feven or eight 
 days Or longer, till the liquor begins to ferment ; 
 then ftrongly ftirred, and llamped with wooden, 
 paddles and beaters, to promote the feparation of 
 the red ikins ; this procefs is repeated feveral times 
 till the feeds are left white. The liquor paffed 
 through ciofe cane fieves is pretty thick, of a deep 
 red colour, and a very ill fsricll. 'In boiling it 
 throws up its colouring matter to the furface in 
 form of fcum, which is afterwarc's boiled down by 
 itfelf to a due confidence, and made up, while fofr, 
 into balls. 
 
 The annotto commonly met with among us, is 
 moderately hard and dry, of a brown colour on 
 the outfide, and a dull red within. It is with 
 difficulty acted en by water, and tinges the liquor 
 only ot a pale brownifn yellow colour. In rectified 
 fpirit of wine it readily diffolve?, and communicates a 
 high orange or yellowiffi red. Hence it is ufed as 
 an ingredient in vsrniflies, for giving mere or lefs 
 of an orange caft to the fimple yellows. Alkaline 
 falls render it perfcciiy foiuble in boiling water, 
 without altering its colour. Wool or filk boHed 
 in the folution, acquire a deep but not a very 
 durable orange dye. its colour is not changed by 
 alum or by acids any mere than by alkalis ; but 
 
 wlien 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 225 
 
 when imbibed in cloth, it is difcharged by foap, and 
 deftroyed by expofure to the air. 
 
 Mr. Pott, in the Berhn memoirs for the year 
 1752, mentions -a very extraordinary property of 
 this concrete. *' With the vitnohc acid, it pro- 
 ** duces a blue colour, of extreme beauty, but with 
 ** this capital defedl, that all Jalts and hquors, 
 ** even common water, deftroy it." The fpeci- 
 men of annotro which I examined, was not fenfibly 
 adted on by fpirit of vitriol. It received no change 
 in its own colour, and communicated none to the 
 liquor. Nor did any vifible change enfue upon 
 dropping the acid into tinctures of annotto made 
 in water or in fpirit. 
 
 Labat informs us, that the Indians prepare an 
 annotto greatly fuperior to that which is brought 
 to us, of a bright fliining red colour, almcfl equal 
 to carmine; that tor this purpofe, inftead of keep- 
 ing and fermenting the feeds in water, they rub 
 thetn with the hands prcvioufly dipt m oil, till the 
 pellicles come off, and are reduced into a clear 
 pai^e, which is fcraped off from the hands with a 
 knife, and laid on a clean leaf in the fli^de to dry. 
 De Lacet^ in his notes on Marcgrave's Natural 
 Hiffory of Brazil, mentions alfo two kinds of an- 
 notto, one of a permanent crimfon colour, (cocci- 
 neus) ufed as a fucus ; and another which gives a 
 colour inclining more to that of faffron. This laft, 
 which is our annotto, he fuppofes to be a mixture 
 of the hrft fort with certain rezinous matters, and 
 with the juice of the root of the tree. 
 
 Ximencs reUtes, tiiat annotto with urine ffains 
 linen of luch a permanent colour that it can never 
 be wafhed out. Perhaps the firfl fort is meant. Our ■ 
 annotto boiled in urine, imparted to linen a deep 
 yellowifli red : the ftained linen, hung out in the 
 air in fummer, in feven or eight days loft: all its 
 colour and became white ajain. 
 
 K's Ci:iAP. 
 
226 THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 OF LEAVES. 
 
 THE green colour of the leaves of plants b 
 extracted by redified fpirit of wine and by 
 oils. The fpiritucus tiniiures are generally of a 
 fine deep green, even when t e leaves themfelves 
 are dull col ured, or yellowifh, or hoary. The 
 colour however feldcm abides 1< ng even in the 
 liquor ; much lefs when the tinging matter is fe- 
 parated in a folid form, and expofed with a large 
 furface to the air. The editor of the IVirttmberg 
 Pharmacopoeia obferves, that the leaves of acanthus, 
 brankurfire or bears- t-reech, give a more dura::>le 
 green tincture to fpirit than thofc of any other herb, 
 i^lkalis heighten the col(5ur both of the tinctures 
 and green juices. Acids weaken, deflroy, or change 
 it to a br»<wnilb. Lime water improves both the 
 colour and the durability. By means of lime, not 
 inelegant green lakes are procurable from the leaves 
 of acanthus, liliy of the valley, and feveral other 
 plants. 
 
 There are very fevs? herbs wlich communicate 
 any fnare of tl-.eir green colour to water; perhaps 
 none that give a green of any cor.fiderable deep- 
 nefs.. It is faid, however, that the leaves of fome 
 plants give a green dye to wooLen, without the 
 addition of any other colouring matter; pariicularly 
 thofe of the wild chervil or cow weed (Myrrhis 
 fylvefiris feminibus IcevthtHy C. B) the common 
 ragwort, and devil's bit. The procefs with this 
 laff, as defcribed by Linnaus (in the Svenfca Acad. 
 Handle, cirs, 1 742) is pretty remarkable. The 
 peafanis, he informs us in fome of the Swedifh 
 provinces, flratify the frelh leaves with woollen 
 yarn> and boil them about 2s long as h is cuftomary 
 to boil fifli. 
 
 The 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 22; 
 
 The whole is fufFered to ftand in the veflel for 
 a night. The wool, taken out in the morning, 
 does not appear to l^ave received any colour. The 
 pot is again made i^ot, and the yarn hun^ over it 
 upon a Hick, covered with an inverted A\(h t > con- 
 fine the fteam, for this fteain is l'upp')led to be 
 efiential to the colour. The yarn is afterwiids 
 wrung, the leaves taken out of the. boiung .iqujr, 
 a littie treili water added to the decoction, and the 
 wool frequer.tiy dipt therein, till it appears fuf- 
 ficiently coloured. 
 
 The ieav s of many kinds of herbs and trees 
 give a yellow dye to woo! or woo len cloth that has 
 been previoufly boiied with a folution of alu n 
 and tartar: weld in particuiar afford- a fine ye. low, 
 and is commonly made ufe-uf for this nurpofe by 
 the Dyers, and cultivated in large quaiitities in 
 fome parts of England. There is no co;aur for 
 w-hich we have fuch plenty of materials as for 
 yellow. Mr. Hel'jt obferves in h:s 4rt cie Tcindre^ 
 that all leaves, barks, atid roots whi.h on being 
 chewed difcover a flight allring-ncy, as the le.ives 
 of the almond, peach, and pear-trees, afh-bark, 
 fefpecially that taken '.■ ft' after the lirit nfing ot tne 
 fap in fpringj the roots of wild patience, &c. yield 
 durable yellows, more or lefs- beautiful ace jrding to 
 the length of time that the borling is ■ continued, 
 and the proportions of alum and rartar in the pre- 
 paratory liqu.r: tliat a lar^e quantity oi alu a 
 makes thefe yellows approach to tne elegant yellow 
 of v/eld: that if the tartar is nade ro pre\'ail, it in- 
 clines them to an orange: that if the roots, barksy 
 or leaves be too long boile I, th^ yeiiow proves 
 tarnifhed, and acquires (hades of brown : t'lat f t 
 dying with weld, the bell proportions of th.^ fa ts 
 are, four parts of aium and one of tartar t> iix- 
 teen of the wool : and that the vvjol prepared with 
 thefe is to be boiled again with tive or fix li nes its 
 K 6 quanti:y 
 
22S THE dyer's ASSISTANT. 
 
 quantity of weld : that for light (hades, it is 
 cuftomary to diminifh the alum and oniit the tar- 
 tar; and that in this cafe the colour is more ilosvly 
 imbibed, and proves Jefs durable. 
 
 Of all the colours or" the Dyer, we have the 
 fe. veil materials for blue; the mineral and animal 
 kingc^oms afF^rd none, excepting perlups PrufTiaa 
 b!ue, whicli Mr. Macquer has lately attempted to 
 introduce in this" art. The veeetable yields but 
 two, which are both produced from the leaves of 
 plants, indjgo and woad. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 MR. lewis's history Of MADDER, AND MAN- 
 NER OF TRtATiSG IT. 
 
 MADDER (Ruria Un£iorutn fctiva, C. B.) 
 i cne of the afpcrifoiious lleiiated plants, 
 cr of thcfe which have rough narrow leaves, fet i:i 
 form of a Itar at the joints of the ftalks. Ths 
 roct, which is the only part :nace ufe of, is Jong 
 and flender, of a red colour both on tiie outiide and 
 v.i:!i n, excepting a whitiih pith which runs along 
 the middle. 
 
 This piant was formerly cultivated among us in 
 great quantity for the u^e of the Dyers, who for fome 
 time paft have ^een fupp.ied from H haiid and Zea- 
 land. Its culture is now aeain fet on foot in this 
 kingdom, unc:er the laudabic encoi:ratemenr oi a 
 public fcciety. lA'^idex is not like alkanet, and 
 other exotic plants, thee- lour of which degenerates 
 in our ciiT»a'e*, for tr.gJfh madder is equal to the 
 bell that is brought trom abroad. 
 
 Aladdcr root gives out its colour both to water 
 and to rectified fpirit ; the watery tincture is of a 
 dark, dull red, the fpiritucus of a deep bright cne. 
 T^aken interrally (for it has f mstin.es been uled 
 u-.edicinaiiy as an aperient and diuretic; it tinges the 
 
 urine 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 229 
 
 urine red. In the Philofophical Tranfafiions, and 
 in the Memoirs of the French Acade^iiy, there are 
 accounts of its producing a Hke effedl upon the 
 bones of animals, to whom it had been given with 
 their food. All the bones, particularly the more 
 folid ones, were changed horh externally and in- 
 ternally ta a deep red, but neither the cartilaginous 
 nor fleOiy part fufFered any alteration. Sotne of 
 thofe bones, macerated In water for many weeks 
 togetiier, and afterwards rteepe i and boiled in fpiric 
 of viK'e, loft nothing of their colour, nor com- 
 municated any tinge to the liquors. 
 
 T he dealers in this commodity make three forts 
 of it ; madcer in the branch, madder in the bunch 
 or in the bundle, and madder unbundled. 
 
 Madder in the branch is the entire root dried. 
 This grouted in milis to a grofs pjwJer is the un- 
 buniUed madder. The bundled or bunch madder 
 is a powder ot the fi:;er roots, freed from the outer 
 bark and from tlie pith. It is faid that by keeping 
 for two or three years in clofe cafks the colour is 
 improved •, in open veflVls it decays. 
 
 Madder imprarts to woollen cloth, prepared with 
 alu n and tartar, a very durable, though not a very 
 beautiful red Jye. As it is the cheapeft of all the 
 red-i-rugs that give a durable colour, it is the prin- 
 cipal one commo'iy made ufe of for ordinary ItuiTs. 
 Someti i;es its dye is heightened by the addition of 
 Brazil wood; and fometimesit is emplojed in con- 
 junction with the dearer reds, as cochineal, for 
 demi-fcarlcts and demi-crimfons, Mr. Hellot in- 
 forms us, that thofe who dye the beft madder reds 
 are particuiarly careful to keep the liquor of a heat 
 confiderably below boiling, increafing the lire only 
 towards the endy fo as to make it boil for a minute 
 or twojuft ojtoro the cloth is taken out to confirm 
 the iiye ; a boilmg heat enables water to extract not 
 only the red, but a tawny or brown;ih matter, 
 which debafes the red to a dull brick colour. 
 
 The 
 
230 THE DYER S ASSISTANT. 
 
 The proportion of madder is about half thff 
 we ght or the cloth. The beft: proportion of falts 
 for preparing the cloth to receive tlie dye, feems to 
 be five parts of alum and one of red tartar for 
 fixt.en of the ftuffj which is to be boiled with 
 thefe for two hours or longer, then kept moift for 
 fome days, and afterwards digtfted with the mad- 
 der. 
 
 A variation in the proportion of the falts, varies 
 the colour cmmunic ted by the madvler, and not 
 only ihe (hade, bur the Ipecies of colour. 
 
 Ir the alum be dininifhed, and the tartar in- 
 creafed, the r'ye pr-ves a red cinnairion ; if the. 
 alum be entirely omtited, the red is deftroyed, and 
 a very durable tawny cinnamon is produced. 
 
 On boiling the dyed cloth in weak alkaline ley, 
 great part of rhe colour is c'elVoyed, and the re- 
 mainoer appears of a dirty or a kind or fallow hue. 
 Solution of f'ap, on the oth^r hand, difcharges a 
 part, and leaves the remaining red more lively than 
 before. 
 
 V' latile alkalis heighten the red colour of mad- 
 der, but at the fime time render* it fugitive like, 
 thenifelves Madder prepared with line and urine, 
 after the manner praciifed for archil, loft its red 
 colour on attempting to dye with it, and commu- 
 nicated to the cloth only permanent nur- colours. 
 
 If a pure red, as that c cochmea!, be applied on 
 cloth which has been previoufly dyed blue, and 
 afterwards prepared tnr receivn;g this red by boil- 
 ing with aluin and tartar, a purpie or violet will 
 be produced, according as tht blue or the red pre- 
 vail. The madoer red has !.•! tins rfT-6f, for as 
 its colour is not a pure red, but is 'arndhed by the 
 tawny matter which its woody fi^^res nave in com- 
 mon with oilier roots, it gives upon blue only a 
 chelrut dye, more or iefs deep according to the 
 deepnefs of the blue applied firft. 
 
 There 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 231 
 
 There are, however, means of obtaining from 
 madder a fine purple, without the addition of jny 
 other Colouring f'rug. A piece of white woollen 
 cloth, weighing half an ounce, was boiled tor half 
 an hour with ten grains of Roman alum and fix 
 grains ot cryftals of tartar, and then taken out, 
 fqueezev, and fuffi.red to cool. Twe ty-four 
 grams ot bunch madder were added to the fame 
 liquur ; and artcr the madder harl given out iis 
 colour, twenty drops of a folurion of bifmuih 
 (made in fpirit of nitre, diluted with equil its 
 weight of water; Wi-re dropped in. The cloth 
 was now dippe.t again, and in halt an hour taken 
 out, fqueeze<i, and \va(he;i. It appeared ot acrnn- 
 fon colour, nearly as beauii'ul as ir it had been dyed 
 with cochineal. To try the eff d. of loading it 
 further with^the colouring matier, it was returned 
 into the liquor and boiled for a quarter of an hour 
 longer: it had now acquired a purple colour fufH- 
 ciently vivid. 
 
 On varying this experiment by keeping the cloth 
 moift for fome days after the preparation with alum 
 and tartar, then dipping it in a plain deco<3ion of 
 madder made as ufual without falts, ami adding, 
 when it bad gained a bright cinnamon colour, the 
 fame folution of bifmuth, the dye inftead of purple 
 proved only a chefiiut. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 OF FUSTIC. 
 
 FUSTIC is the wood of fpecles of mulberry- 
 tree, growing in Jamaica and Brazil, called 
 by Sir Hans Sioane^ Morus Fru£iu Firidi Ligno 
 Sulphureo linSlorio. It is of a deep fulphur yeilow 
 colour, which it readily gives out both to water 
 and fpirit. The watsry dtcodion dyes prepared 
 woollen of a very durable orange yellow: the colour 
 
 is 
 
232 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 is imbibed by the cloth in a moderate warmth 
 without boiling. 
 
 Tlie fjftet cr fuftel of the French is a yellow 
 wood or root very different from our fuftic. It gives 
 a fire orange eye to woollen, but the colour is ex- 
 tremely perifhable in the air. The plant grows wild 
 in Italy and Provence, and is cultivated with us in 
 gardens on sccount of the beauty of its flowers. 
 It is called Ven'ia fumachy cotinus cotiaria, cocagriai 
 citlnus matthioli, C. B. 
 
 CHAP. vr. 
 
 NEPHRITIC WOOD. 
 
 THIS wood is brought from the eaflern coun- 
 tries in laige pieces, covered with a dark 
 blackifh bark. The wood is hard, heavy, com- 
 pa<5^, of a fine grain, of a whitilh or pale yellow 
 colour on the outfide, and a clufky reddifli brown 
 in the heart. Of the tree we have no very certain 
 account. 
 
 This wood, particularly the outer pale part, gives 
 out both to water and to revStified fpirit a deep 
 tiniiure appearing, v^hen placed between the eye 
 and the light, of a golden colour; in other fituations, 
 blue. Kence it is nrrred by Cafpar Bauhinc^ lig~ 
 r.u^n ^eyegrinum^ aquam cceruleam redaen. 
 
 Ey this mark it is ealily diftinguilhed from pieces 
 cf a ciifierent kind of weed, which are fometimes 
 niixt with it, and which give on-y a yellow tinc- 
 ture to water. 
 
 It is remarkable, that the blue colour of the in- 
 fufion of nepliritic wood is dertroyed by acids, the 
 IquLT after the admixture of thefe appearing in all 
 fituaticns yellow ; and that the addition of alkalis, 
 either of the fixt or volatile kind, in quantity fuf- 
 ficient to neutralize the acid, reftores the bluenefs. 
 No ciher w'oody matter is known that gives any 
 
 degree 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 233 
 
 degree of blue 'cin£lure, and no other vegetable blue 
 is known that is thus deftrudtible by acids. 
 
 This wood is at prefent rarely met with in the 
 ihops ; nor is it applied to any ufe, except that 
 fome have employed it medicinally, and expeded 
 from it diuretic virtues, whence its name nephritis 
 tuood. 
 
 CHAP. VIL 
 MR. Ferguson's history of logwood- as a 
 
 COLOURING DRUG. 
 
 OGWOOD or Campeachy-wood [Lignum 
 \^_j Brazilo-fimile^ cceruleo tingens^ y. B.) is ihf^ 
 vcod of a low prickly tree, which grows plentifully 
 about Campeachy or the Bay of Honduras, and has 
 of late been introduced into fome of the warmer of 
 the Britilh plantations, particularly Jamsica. it is 
 a n-ative of the low marlhy places. The wood 
 comes over in pretty large logs, cleared from the 
 bark. It is very hard, compact, lieavy, and of a 
 red colour. 
 
 Logwood gives out its colour both to watery 
 and fpirituous menllrua, but not readily to either. 
 It requires to be rafped and ground into fine 
 powder, and boiled in feveral frefh parcels of the 
 liquors. Rediiied fpirit extradls the colour more 
 eaiily, and from a larger proportion of the wood 
 than water does. 
 
 The tindtures both in water and in fpirit arc of 
 a fine red, with an admixture, particularly in the 
 watery one, of a violet or purple. Volatife alka- 
 line falts or fpirits incline the colour more to purple. 
 The vcgetat)ie and nitrous acids render it pale, the 
 vitriolic and marine acids deepen it. 
 
 The watery decodtion, wrote with on paper, 
 lofes its rednefs in a few days and becomes wholly 
 viokt. This colour it communicates alfo to 
 
 woollen 
 
234 THE dyer's ASSISTAN'T. 
 
 woollen cicth previoufly prepared by boiling with 
 a foluiion of aluin and rartar. The dye is beau- 
 tiful, but very perllhabie. It is often ufed by tiie 
 Dyers as an inj^redient in compound colours, for 
 procuring certr,in fliacies wiiich are not eafii}- hit by. 
 other materials. 
 
 With chalybeate folutions it ftrikes a black. 
 Hence it is employed in conjunclion with ihofe 
 liqujrs tor ftaining wood black ror picture frames, 
 &c. and \viti\ tiie addition of galls for dying cloih- 
 and hats black. The black dyes in which tliis 
 wood is an ingredient, have a particular lulVe and 
 fofrnefs, far beyond thofe made with viir.ol and 
 •galls alone. The beauty however whi.h it here 
 imparts is not perrnanent, any mere than as own 
 natural vio'et d\e. 
 
 On the fame principle it improves alfo the luftre 
 and blacknefs of writing-ink. Ink made with vi- 
 triol and gaiis does not attain to its full blacknefs, 
 ti ] atier it has Iain fome time upon ine paper. A 
 due addition or Logwood renders it of a deep black 
 as u flows fro.n the pen, efpeciaily vvhen vinegar or 
 white wine is ufed for tiie .nenlfruum. 
 
 Decoctions and exrraits ma.le from logwood 
 have an agreeable fweetifti tafte, followed by a flight 
 aftri'.gency. Ihey haveJa'eiy been introducea in-^ 
 to medicme, and given with fuccefs m cafes where 
 mi! i reftnngents are required. They ot'ten tinge 
 the ilools, and fometimes the urine of a red colour. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 THE PROCESS OF PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 PRUSSIAN blue is prepared by precipitating a 
 folution of green vitriol and alum with a 
 hxivium drawn from fixe i alkali e fait that has 
 been calcined with ani.nal coals. Commonly about 
 three parts of alkali and two. of dried ox.- blood jre 
 
 ealcined 
 
THE dyer's assistant. 235 
 
 calcined fo long as any flame appears, then thrown 
 into boiling water, and the ftrained decoiEtion 
 poured into a hot mixture of folutions of four parts 
 of alum and one or lefs of vitriol. The liquor be- 
 comes inftantiy thick or curdly, and looks at firft 
 of a greyilh colour, which changes to a brown and 
 in a little time to a bluifti green. The matter, be- 
 ing well ftirred together, and mixed with a quantity 
 of hard fpring water, a green precipitate fubfidcs : 
 fpirit of fait poured upon the edulcorated powder 
 diflblves a part, and leaves therefl blue. 
 
 Mr. Geoffrey is the fir(\ who has given any 
 plauuble theory of this procefs, or any rational 
 means for improving it. He obfrrves, that the 
 Pruffun blue is no other than the iron of the vitriol, 
 revived by the inflammable matter of the alkaline 
 lixiviuot, and ptrhaps brightened by an adinixture 
 of the white earth of alum ; that the green colour 
 proceeds fron a part of the yellow ferrugineous 
 calx or ochre unrevived, mixing with tlie blue, 
 and that the fpirit of f;lt diflolves this ochre more 
 readily than the blue part, though it will dilTolve 
 that alfo by long ftanding, or if ufed in too large 
 quantity. From thefe principles he was led to in- 
 creafe the quantity of inflammable matter, that 
 there might be enough to receive the whole of the 
 ferrugineous ochre, and produce a blue colour at 
 once without the ufe of the acid fpirit. In this he 
 perfectly fucceeded, and found at the fame time that 
 the colour mi^ht be rendered of any degree of deep- 
 nefs or lighmcfs at pleafure. 
 
 If the alkali is calcine' with twice its weight of 
 dried blood, and the lixivium obtained from it, 
 poured into a folution of one part of vitriol, to 
 fix of alum, the liquor acquires a very pale blue 
 colour, and depofits as pale a precipitate. On 
 adtiing more and more of a frefli folution of vitriol, 
 the colour becomes deeper and deeper, almoft to 
 
 blacknefs, 
 
236 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 blacknefs. He imagines with great probability, 
 that ttie blue pieinent thus prepared will prove more 
 durable in the air, mingle more pertecliy with other 
 colours, and be lefs apt to injure the luflrc of fuch 
 as are mixed with, or applied to its neigl\bourhood, 
 th:m that made in the common manner; the tar- 
 iiiih and other inconveniences to which the com- 
 mon Prufilan blue is fubject, feeming to proceed 
 from the acid and fpirit, which cannot be totally fe- 
 parated by any ablution. 
 
 He takes notice alfo of an amufing phaenomenon 
 which happens upon mixture. When the liquors 
 are well ftirred together, and the circular motio;i 
 as foon aspoffibie llopt ; fome drops or folution of 
 vitriol (depurated by Jong fettling) let tall on dif- 
 ferent pans of the furface. divide, fpread, and form 
 curious reprefen-ations of flowers, trees, fhrubs, 
 fiying inftcS^s, ^:c. in great regularity and perfec- 
 tion. Thefe continue ten or twelve minutes, and 
 on ftirring the liquor again, and dropping in fome 
 more of the folution ot vitriol, are fuccceded by a 
 new pidure. 
 
 Mr, Alacquer has ingenioufly applied the pre- 
 paration of this pigment to the dying ot wool and 
 filk, and found means of fixing the blue fecula in 
 tiieir pores. By dipping cloth firft in a diluted 
 folution of vitriol and alum, then in the ley di- 
 Juted, and afterwards in water accidulated with 
 fpirit of vi'riol, it acquires a light blue colour, 
 which becomes deeper and deeper on repeating the 
 dippings alternately in the fame order as before ; 
 adding to the liquors each time a little more of the 
 refpecltve faline nntters. The blue dye, he fays, 
 in beauty and luftre exceeds that of indigo and 
 woad, as far as fcarlet does the madder red, and 
 penetrates the whole fubft:ance of fulled cloth with- 
 out weakening it. The colour is durable in the 
 air, and ftands boiling wiili alum water, but is dif- 
 
 charged 
 
THE DYER S ASSISTANT, J37 
 
 charged by foap, and, without certain precautions, 
 liable to be fpecky or unequal. See the Memoirs of 
 the French Academy for the year 1749. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 ALKANET-ROOT. 
 
 THE roots of alkanet in many rei'pecls very 
 much refemble faunders wood, but differ 
 from it remarkably in others. They impart an 
 elegant deep red to pure fpirit of wine, to oils, to 
 wax, and to un<5luou3 fubflances : I do not know 
 of any red drug that tinges oil of fo fine a colour. 
 To water they give only a dull browniih red. The 
 fpirituous liquor, on being infpifTated to the con- 
 fiftence of an extradl, ir.ftead of preferving its fine 
 red like that of faunders, changes to an unfightly 
 brown. 
 
 Volatile fpirits have been faid to gain from this 
 root a beautiful violet or amethyft colour; but I 
 have not found that they extradt any colour but 
 a dull reddilh brown. 
 
 The alkanet plant is a fpecies of buglofs, named 
 by Tournefort, buglojfum radice rubra, five dnchufa 
 vu/gatior Jloribus cceruleh. It is a native of the 
 warmer parts of 'Europe, and cultivated in fome of 
 cur gardens. The greatefl quantities are raifed in 
 Germany and France, particubrly about Mont- 
 pelier, from whence we are chiefly fupplied with the 
 roots. 
 
 The alkanet root produced in England is much 
 Inferior in colour to tiiat brought from abroad j 
 the former being only lightly reddiOi, the latter of 
 a deep purplifli red. This has induced fome to 
 fufpecl: that the foreign roots owe part of their 
 colour to art, but a chymical examination teaches 
 
 other- 
 
238 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 otherwife. The cclourine matter is found upon 
 exrs rinient, to be of the fame kind in bcth, and to 
 differ in feveral of its properties from that of ZA the 
 ct;.er known red drUi:S ; fo that no art.fi:e appears 
 to be practicable without difcovcry, unlefs if was 
 concentrating the colour of two roots into one, or 
 fjperfaturating ore root with the colour extracted 
 from an th '-r. 
 
 The principsi ufe of a!kanet-rcot is for colcur- 
 irg 01 s, unguents, hp-falvej, plaiders, Sec. W zx 
 ti'-ged with it, applied on warm raarble, ftains it 
 of a flefh col'.ur, which finks deep into the ftone. 
 The ipirituous tincture gives a deep red ftain. 
 
 The colour of this root is confined to the cor- 
 tical part, the p.th bring vhitiih ; hence as the 
 fm.all roots have more bark in proportion to their 
 bu k than the large ones, thofe ahb contain moit 
 colour. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 OF ALUM. 
 
 NATURE produces no perfect alum, but 
 affords the materials for it in fundry ores, 
 pvrirce, ftoncs, fiates, earths, v.'iters, and bitun.ens, 
 as pit coal. Some late experiments by Mr. 
 Gecffrey and Mr. Pot have fiiown that the earth 
 of 3ium is contained in cJay, and that a true alum 
 may be prepared by digeffing clay in the vitriolic 
 acid. Both thefe geiitlc-men imagine tnat only a 
 particular part of the cia) is here extracted. 
 
 Whether it exifted originaliy in the cisy, pof- 
 fcfTed or the fame properties which it is round to 
 have when extracleri, or whether it has fufFered a 
 change in the cperaticn, they have not de;ermined. 
 From the experia.ents I have made, the latter 
 2 feems 
 
THE over's assistant. 239 
 
 feems to be the cafe. Powdered tobacco-pipe-clay, 
 bein^ boiledy in a confiderable quintity or oil of 
 vitriol, and the fire continued to dryntfs, the mat- 
 ter, exa<nined when srown cold, c'llcovers fcircely 
 any tarte, or only a flight acidul us one. On ex- 
 pofure to the air f .r a tew clays, tlie gre'teft part of 
 it is found changed into ianugir'ous efflorefcences 
 in tafte exatftly like aiuin : the remainder treated 
 ■with frelh oil ot vitrio) in the fame manner, exhi- 
 bits the fa i.e phaenomena, and this repeatedly, till 
 nearly the whule of the clay is converted into an 
 aftnngent fait. 
 
 If the earth be feparated again from the acid, (hy 
 difljlving the fait in water, and precipitating with 
 any alkaline fait) it is now found to diflblve with 
 cafe in every acid ; to form wirn the vitriolic alum 
 again ; with the nitrous, a compouno refembling 
 alum in taftej with tiie vegetable acids, a fub- 
 ftance lefs aftringem and lefs ungrateful. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 CHYMICAL HISTORY OF SAUNDERS, AND ITS DIF- 
 FERtNCE FROM OTHLR RED-WOODS. 
 
 RED faunders is a hard, compad^, ponderous 
 wood, ot a dark blacktfli red on tiie outfide, 
 and a light red colour within ; of no particular 
 fmell or tafte. It is brought from the Coromandel 
 coaft and from Golconda Ot th; tree we have 
 no certain account. Its principal ufe is as a col' ur- 
 ingdrug. Tnofe whofe bufmefs it is to rafp and 
 gritid it into powder, probably employ certain 
 faline or other additions to improve the colour j 
 whence the remarkable differences in tl^e colour of 
 powdered faunders prepared in different places. 
 That of StrcAurgh is of the deepeft and livelieft 
 red. Some forts are of a dead dark red, and fome 
 
 of 
 
J40 THE dyer's assistant. 
 
 t 
 
 of a pale brick red; fome incline to purple or 
 violet, and fome to brown. 
 
 The colour of this wood refides wholly in its 
 refin, and hence is extracted by redlified fpirit, 
 whilft water, though it takes up a portion of 
 mucilaginous matter, gains no tinge, or only a 
 flight yeJlowlfh one. From two ounces of the 
 wood were obtained by fpirit of wine three drachms 
 and a half of relinous extra6t, and afterwards by 
 water, a fcrup'e of mucilage. By applying water at 
 iirft, 1 obtained from two ounces two drachms and 
 fix grains of a tough irjucilaginous extract, which 
 could not eafily be reduced to drynefs. The re- 
 mainder ftil! yielded, with fpirit, two drachms of 
 refin. The indifoluble matter weighed, in the 
 firft cafe, an ounce and a half and fifteen grains ; 
 in the latter, nineteen grains lefs. Neither the 
 diiliHed water nor fpirit had any remarkable tafte 
 or f.riell. 
 
 "I^he red colour of faunders appears to be no 
 other than a concentrated yellow, for by bare dilu- 
 tion it becomes yellow. A grain of the refia- 
 ous extract, diffolved in an ounce of reclified fpirit, 
 tinges it red, but this folution, mixt with a quart 
 of fredi fpirit, gives only a yellow hue. HofFmaa 
 reports that this refin does net give a tincture to any 
 kind of oil. 1 have tried five oils, thofe of amber, 
 turpentine, almonds, annifeeds, and lavender. It 
 gave no colour to the two firft, but a deep red to 
 the laftj and a paler red to the other two. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 OF YERDIGRISE. 
 
 IT may not be amifs to give the reader a chyml* 
 cal hint of verdigrifc. 
 
 \ciz- 
 
THE DYfR's ASSISTANT. 24T 
 
 Vegetable acids diffolve copper flowly, but in 
 confiderable quantity ) the folution (hoots into 
 bluifh green cryftals, fimilar to the verdigrifcj 
 arugo or viride aris^ of the (hops. This prepa-- 
 ration is made in large quantities in France, parti- 
 cularly about Montpelier, by ftratifying copper- 
 plates with the.hufks of grapes remaining after th3« 
 juice has been preft out. Thefe foon become acid, 
 and corrode the copper. 
 
 Verdigrife (hould be chofen in cakes, not moid" 
 or undtuous, but dry, compact, and of an uniform 
 texture, of a lively green colour throughout, as 
 free as- poflible from white and black fpecks, and 
 feeds or ftalks of the grape. It is purified by 
 folution in , diftilled vinegar, and cryftalization^ . 
 and then called, improperly, diftilled verdigrife or 
 flov^ers of copper. The Dutch who prepare thefe 
 cryftals in large quantities, after duly evaporatiiig 
 ihe folution, fet it to fhoot, not, as is cuftomary, 
 in a cold but in a warm place, as praiTiifed in mak- 
 ing fugar- candy. 
 
 If redtified fplrlt of v/inc be added to the folu- 
 tion, or if volatile alkalis be added to a folution of 
 copper and fpirit of wine to this mixture, fmall blue 
 chryftals v^ill .be immediately formed. Thefe are - 
 called by fome antepileptic cryftals of copper. 
 
 Highly re61:ifisd f(;irit of wine, digefled on half 
 an ounce, or twelve fcruples of powdered verdi- 
 grife, difTolved three fcruples and a half 5 ordinary 
 redtified fpirit, four fcruples ; common malt fpiriis, 
 four and a half, and French brandy kvcn and a 
 half. Water diiTolved, out of the fame q'jantity, 
 five fcruples. Common wine vinegar dillblved lill 
 but fifteen grains, and diftilled vinegar, all but tsa 
 grains. Tiic whole quantity of verdigrife dilTolved 
 in either kind of vinegai, could not be recovered 
 again in a cryftaline form. 
 
 L.. From ; 
 
24'2 ^^2 dyer's assistant. 
 
 From the common vinegar only tv/o fcruples and 
 five grains cryftalized, and from the diftilled vine- 
 gar three fcruples. The refiduum in the firft cafe 
 continued fcfrifh, in the latt<:r dry. With French 
 brandy there was no cryftalization at all; the 
 whole that the fpirit had taken up remaining uni- 
 formly mixt into the confiftence of an extra£l. 
 
 A HINT 
 
H I N 
 
 TO THK 
 
 Dyers and Cloth-Makers. 
 
 AND WELL WORTH THE NOTICE OP 
 
 THE MERCHANT. 
 
 By JAMES HAIGH, 
 
 SLATE SILK AND MUSLIN-DYER, LEEDSo 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 / e ^HE Author of the Dyer's Assistant 
 X thinks it his duty, in gratitude to the pro- 
 feffors in that noble art, to fubfcribe his hearty 
 thanks for their approbation of, and encourage- 
 ment given to that work, in this and every part of 
 England. It is well known my defign is not to 
 teach ftrangers to dye ; but to help the thinking 
 part of the Dyers to improve ; and to fhov/ them 
 how I fpend fome of my leifure hours to help 
 them, as well as myfelf, to a moft neceilary know- 
 ledge. It is well known by that body of people, 
 and felt too by fome, that the price for dying 
 woollen goods nath been much reduced of late. 
 Many circumftanccs having determined me, long 
 fince, to acquire all pofiible knowledge in th& 
 practice of dying, I am therefore conftrained once 
 more to recommend a ftri6l inquiry into the ori- 
 ginal quality of all the drugs they ufe, that thereby, 
 if poilible, they may difcover fome of the man/ 
 hidden advantages that mayjuftly be expsdled 
 therefrom. 
 
 i am aftonifhed that no artift has ever attempted 
 to improve this mofl ingenious art on chymical 
 principles. I begun the work, in hopes that my 
 mafter-piece would undertake to improve it> but 
 in vain do 1 expedl it. 
 
 L 3 A word 
 
246 PREFACE. 
 
 J Word to thethhiklng Part of Dyers, 
 
 If you were fenfible of the double advantage 
 that migiit be acquired in the ufe of many of vour 
 vegetable drugs, which muft be firfb grounded on 
 chymical experiments in miniature, which will be a 
 certain rule to the practice at lar^e, I am certain 
 you would not reft till you had made ibme im- 
 proverrient. 
 
 If after you h?.ve been dying with that refinous 
 drug, faunders, when einptying the veiTel you take 
 up a handful, dry it and digeft it in a phial with 
 fome pure fpirits of wine, and it will c^fFcrd you ari 
 excellent red, water being infufficient to ciiTolve the 
 refin, and let out the prime part of the colour^ 
 Many others may be difcovered if an unwearied at- 
 tention was paid. 
 
 Many will cenTure and dfefpife this, tor no other 
 reafon than bec-ufe th^y cannot fee into it; nor 
 will they be at any pains tc earn and improve their 
 talents. They feem rather to choofe the old 
 round, like a horfe in a mill, having no fjirit or 
 courage to improve, but content with each know- 
 ing the other's method, without ftnving to excel, 
 and oifc-'^ver more complete and lefs expenfive 
 ways ot working, and uHng the drugs to the beft 
 advantage. 
 
 I know not how men can fjt ftill when there is 
 more to learn. Let it not be faid of you, as of one of 
 old, *'he lived and died and did nothing ;" perhaps 
 he worked with his hands, -ut his head was aileepj 
 and therefore he was an unprofitable fervant, and 
 when dead, his memory was no more. Sure it is, 
 the invitation I have to write and publifh this 
 fmall pamphlet is not fo much to pleale oilers, or 
 to fhow any thing I have is capable of the name 
 
 of 
 
PREFACE. 247 
 
 of parts, but to communicate my good wlfhes for 
 improvement to my brethren the Dyer?, and to 
 fhow them my willingnefs to help to perfe6l one of 
 the moft ufeful arts in the world. 
 
 I (hall leave all to itfelf, and to every man's 
 juft liberty to approve, or difapprove, as he pleafes. 
 And however it be, the author fhall not be much 
 troubled, for he is certain no man can have a 
 lighter efteem for him, than he has for himfelf ; 
 who, however, will be bert pleaftd, if any man 
 fhall find benefit by what he has wrote. If any 
 fhould allege a general acceptation, that, to the 
 author, will be no prevailing argument ; for the 
 multitude, though moft in number, are the worft 
 and moft partial judges. He does not plead the 
 importunity of friends fcr the publication of this. 
 If it is worthy, it needs no apology; if not, ht it 
 be defpifed i and I remain the fame friend to trade. 
 
 JAMES HAIGH. 
 
 L4 AHIN' 
 
A HINT TO THE DYERS, &c. 
 
 BLACK being a primitive colour, and one of 
 the moft difHcuit to perfe£t, deferves a few 
 remarks. If I afk a Dyer what ingredients com- 
 pofe a black, the anfwer will be this : Logwood, 
 fhumac, bark, and copperas j and if he knows it, he 
 will add a little afties and argol in the laft wet. If 
 I afk him which of thefe drugs contain an acid, 
 which an alkaline, and which a neutral quality, he 
 cannot give me an anfwer : fo you fee he knows 
 the effed, but a ftranger to the caufe, and every 
 elfe thing feparate from fail and cuftom. 
 . What a pity it is that men will not fearch things 
 to the bottom, when they might be able to find 
 out the caufe of mifcarriages, for which goods are 
 frequently throw^n afide to be dyed other colours, 
 greatly to the Dyer's lofs. In converfing with a 
 fenfible Dyer, I fimply alked him, What part does 
 logwood a£l in the black dye? the honeft man 
 as fimply anfwered, " It helps to make it black." 
 No other proof was wanted to know that he alfo 
 followed his forefathers in the old round. But the 
 
 reader* 
 
250 A HINT TO DY£RS, &C. 
 
 reader, by now, thinks it time to be informed of 
 the bufinefs of logwood; which is (it ufed in a 
 right proportion) to foften the goods, and give 
 luftre to the colour. Logwood being pofieffed of 
 a moft excellent aftringent quality, fixes itfelf in 
 the pores of the goods, and gives them a velvet- 
 like feel and glofs. 
 
 Some will obje£^ to tliis afiertion, and fay, but 
 cur blacks have not that velvet-like feel and glofs. 
 True, Sir, but don't you know the reafon ? you 
 dye your blacks without fcouring, forgetting, or 
 not knov/ing, that when the goods enter the boil- 
 ing dye- liquor, they grow harfh, and the oil con- 
 tained in ihem forms a fort of refin, which be- 
 comes ss fixed as if it was pitch or tar. This is 
 one great caufe why blacks are fo liable to foil and 
 dirty linen, becaufe the dye is in fome fenfe held 
 in an out fide or fuptrficial flate. Think then, is 
 it poflible fhefe goods fhculd finifh foft like velvet, 
 or fhine like a raven's feather ? No, on the con- 
 trary they fpoil the prefs papers, and come out 
 flifF and hard like buckram, (not velvet) and are 
 often three-parts perifl^ied in the finifhing. No 
 greater caufe can be aflljned for it than that of 
 not fcouring. This is the reafon of the great dif- 
 ference, fo fRUch fpoken of, between the London 
 blacks and thofe dyed at Leeds. If the Leeds 
 Dyers would t ike the fame pains as the Londoners 
 do, I think they would excel, in faft, if not in 
 name. 
 
 The finifhing (hops in London are not more 
 than half fo well fumifned with tools as thofe at 
 Leeds are ; and therefore let the Leeds Dyers be 
 equally tight and clean in their performance, and 
 there is nothing to prevent their fuperiority. But 
 the mafter Dyers give a very reafonable anfwer to 
 the foregoing. They fay, the price is too low, 
 
 and 
 
A HINT TO DYERS, &C. 25! 
 
 and they cannot afford to take (o much pains. 
 V/hat a pity that the merchants do not confider 
 this ! if threepence a piece was added to the price 
 for dying.. thin goods black, it would about pay for 
 the fcouring, and tiie poods would be finiilied with 
 a brilliant luftre, and yet foit like a ruffe). 
 
 I fhould fpeak a httle to the nature and bufinefe 
 of the other drugs, which enter the compofition of 
 black, had I not cone it before, (fee the article 
 blacky Dyer's ^JfijUm^ p. 14.6 J 
 
 I am aftonifhed at the ignorance of the poor 
 clotli-makers, many of whom have applied to me 
 frequently for inflru6tions; one of them, on being 
 afl^ed what fort of ware, and -how much he ufed 
 to dye fuch a colour, ihowing him a pattern, he 
 anfwered, When i have a pattern given me by a 
 merchant, I go to the fairer, (hew hiin the order, 
 <tvA be fcrves me witli what is wanted, 1 con- 
 verfed with him feme time, and would have in- 
 ftru6ted him, but alas ! he had left his capacity at 
 home, and I might as weJl have read tiie nevi'S- 
 paper to him. What a pity it is that fo many 
 hundreds of that noble branch of bufinefs work, 
 as it were, blindfolded, and poverty bitten too, for 
 want of inftrudl'ions, v/hich they have no fpirit to 
 feekj.wiio, when they bring a cloth to the market, 
 are glad to fell it for one and fixpence, or two 
 fhillirigs in the pound profit, when they ini^ht as 
 eafily gain five or fix (hillings, if they knew how 
 to ufe their drugs. But I defpair ot doing that for 
 them, which nature has left undone; for, with- 
 out I could teacii them to fee wl:h a Dyer's eye, I 
 might taik and write for ever in vain. 
 
 But there is another clafe of cloth- makers, to 
 whom I will give a ufeful hint, and have done. 
 
 The article Iky blue dcferves our notice. This 
 colour is often fubftituted, (even on fine cloth) by 
 
 -the 
 
252 A HINT TO DYERS, kc. 
 
 the Saxon blue, on account of its brilliancy and 
 fine luftre; but, like a fugitive, it only {lays for a 
 feafon. A little experience has taught me, that if 
 a parcel of fine wool be well fcoured, then ful- 
 phured or ftoved, than which nothing can make 
 it whiter, and then dyed in a weak vat, it will have 
 all the beauty of the Saxon blue, without its im- 
 perfedlions. The vat ufed for this purpofe ftiould. 
 be fet with a fmall quantity of indigo, on purpofe 
 for light (hades, when the (hades will be always 
 brighter than when dyed in an old vat that has 
 been weakened by dying dark colours. But the 
 Jjyers tell you that blues bear fo low a price, and 
 indigo is fo dear, that they cannot afford to fet 
 frefh vats for light (hades. Here is a fufficient 
 caufe, and one very great reafon of retarding the 
 perfedion of many colours. If the wool before- 
 mentioned (hould be obftrucSled in the milling, by 
 means of the fulphur, (of which I have not had 
 experience) I would commend the dying of the 
 wool after fcouring only, and (love it after it is 
 milled, which I think will anfwer the fame pur- 
 pofe ; and the beauty of the colour will amply pay 
 for every fuperfluous work. 
 
 I would recommend to the Dyers, after wafhing 
 the dark blues well at the river, to turn the cloth 
 very quick through a warm vefTel of water, in 
 which has been dKTolved a little alum, and they 
 will fee a furprifing change in the luftre from that 
 ilmple procefs. 
 
 I am not willing to omit any thing worth notice 
 in the courfe of my experiments. I will, there- 
 fore, lightly touch the properties of common 
 water. By a great number of experiments, I am 
 thoroughly convinced, that different waters with 
 the fame ingredients ftrike different colours. I 
 
 find 
 
A HINT TO DYERSj &C, 1^^- 
 
 find that the pureft and llghteft v/aters flrike the 
 beft light colours. 
 
 All the dye-houfes at a diftance from the river- 
 in London are furniflied with wood cifterns which 
 hold perhaps from one to two hundred hogfheads 
 of water, which is fupplied from the water works,, 
 and is always impure, and frequently muddy; when 
 on {landing a confiderable time, as is the cafe at" 
 fome feafons of the year, it becoi'.es putrid and 
 emits a foetid fmell ; if fufFered to fland longer, it 
 purifies itfelf, and becomes fweet and clear, as well 
 as confiderably lighter. I have fometimes filled a 
 veffel wiien the water has been all of a ferment, 
 and flunk almoft beyond bearing, which at a 
 boiling heat was no more felt ; by adding a handful 
 of common ftarch and a fmall bit of alum, all the 
 filth is made to rife, and is taken off with a ladle 
 for that purpofe. The fuperior goodnefs of the 
 water obliges us to afcribe an advantage to the - 
 London Dyers of light colours; add to this their 
 remarkable cleanlinefs. When a vefTel is boiling • 
 they watch it carefully ; and with a mop, kept for 
 that purpofe, they rub off the fcum all round at 
 the water's edge, fo that the liquor is perfedly 
 clear. 
 
 AJhort Remark on the Dye of Brazil wood. 
 
 Tt is impoflible to wear a red, a dove colour, a 
 crimfon, purple, light or deep violet, or any other - 
 colour, the produce of Brazil wood ufed recently 
 many wceks^ without fading, fpotting, or foiling. 
 If thefe colours were dyed in grain they would in- 
 deed coft fomething more, but you have then a 
 colour which will continue beautitul as long as the 
 ftljfF or cloth will lad ; and if fpotted with dirt of 
 greafe, can eafily be fcoured and cleaned withou?^ 
 danger of lofmg or injuring the colour, 
 
 I boiled 
 
254- A KIN'T TO DYERS, SCC. 
 
 1 boiled fifty pounds of Brazil chips one hour, I'tt"- 
 a copper of the hardeil fpring water I could find, 
 and carefully, took off the fcutr, turned this liquor 
 over into a brge tub, and re-heated the copper to 
 boil the chips a fecond time, when the colour was 
 ail extracted. I tu?n piit both liquors together, 
 and let it fiaad fix months^ when it was ropy and 
 thick like oil. Now having prepared a fmall piece 
 of fine cicth in alum and four bran-water, and 
 kept it rooift five days unwafhed out of the alum, 
 I boiled one nut-gall and one quart of Brazil liquor 
 ten nninutes, then lir.fed my "icce of cloth, and 
 dyed it a very teautiful marone. But the chief 
 renwrk I intend to make here, is, that I hung this 
 piece of cloth in the open air nig";;t and day during 
 four feverc winter months, and it lad rather gained 
 in beaaty of colour, and was grown rather deeper. 
 This is a f.fEcient proof that chyiriiftry hath a power 
 of fecuri^g the fire particles of thofe vegetables 
 which are now called baftard drugsj Experiments 
 (which are the beft guides in natural philofophv, 
 ss well as in arts) plainly ihow that a great ad- 
 vantage might arifc in favouf of the ftudious prac- 
 titioier, who is not weaned if he mifs his defign 
 after twenty or diirty trials, ' ut ftiil purfues his plan 
 till he has hit it ; for nothing of the kind feems to 
 be impoffible. 
 
 A fiw Experimental Obftrvations en the Dye cf 
 Co:hineal. 
 
 After all the common procefles of dying with ■ 
 cochineal, there is found at the bottom of the veflel 
 a deep brown fediftient. This fediment appears to 
 •C^nfift or the impurities of the tartar, and the ■ 
 groifer parts of the powdered cochineal. This 
 being Ughtly waihed with clear cold water, dried 
 
 and 
 
A HINT TO DYSRSj &C. 255 
 
 and ground on a marble, with one fourth its 
 weight of fine tartar, into an impalpable powder, 
 and then put into water with a little alum, a piece 
 of white cloth boiled in this. liquor three quarters 
 of an hour acquired a very beautiful cricnfon dye. 
 
 This experiment evinces, that, by reducing 
 cochineal into a powder of moderate finenefs as 
 commonly prailifed, we do not gain all the advan- 
 tage which this- valuable commodity is capable of 
 yielding. 
 
 If the cochineal, when taken from the vefiel,. 
 (after the fcarlets are dyed) is treated as above, the 
 laving in the cochineal, whether for fcarlet or crim- 
 fon, will be about one third. Though lefs tartar 
 is ufually employed in the dye-liquor, yet this 
 quantity here directed does no harm ; it appeared 
 on trial that the colour was rather the more folid 
 for it. All urinous and alkaline liquors or fub- 
 ftances ftain fcarlet to a crimfon, by deftroying the 
 effect of the acid. Hence, in pure country air, 
 fcarlet retains its luftre much longer than in cities 
 and tov/ns, where alkaline and urinous vapours 
 are more abundant. 1 he dirt of roads and fundry 
 fubftances of the acrid kind, leave no ftain oii 
 fcarlet, if the part be wafhed immediately in pure 
 water, and wrung in a clean linen cloth. If the 
 dirt is fuffered to dry, a blackifh violet fpot will 
 remain, which can only be difchargeJ by mild 
 vegetable acids, as vinegar, citron juice, a warm 
 dilute folution of cream of tartar, or four bran- 
 water i if thefe acids, however, be not applied v/ith 
 a good deal of addrefs, v/hilfl: they take out the 
 blackifh ftain they leave a yellow one, by diflblving 
 the colouring particles of the cochineal itfcif. 
 
 After at leaft a thoufand experiments, I am 
 obliged to conclude, that tiie dying of wool is the 
 mort extenfive branch of this art, it may be con- 
 
 fidered 
 
256 A HINT TO DYERS, &C. 
 
 ](Tdered as its bafis ; but the dying of fi!k, thread, 
 and cotton, deferves alfo our attention. 
 
 The gieat difference between thofe fubftances, 
 and thst of wool, is well known to the calico 
 printers, vvhofe grand care it is to find means of 
 making linen receive the fame dyes as wool does. 
 The phyfical caufe of the difference feems yet un- 
 known ; and indeed, as before obferved of dyes in 
 general, we know as yet very little. Are animal 
 filaments tubular, and the colouring atoms received 
 within them ? are vegetable tilaments foiid, and the 
 colour depoured on the furface ? or, does not their 
 different lufceptibiNty of colour depend rather on 
 the dinerent intrinfic properties of the two? An 
 anfwer to this would doubtlefs prove of great 
 utility. 
 
 I fhould be happy to find fome artif^ undertake 
 to improve what 1 have in a poor way begun. 1 
 long to fee the art in perfe<5lion, one half of which 
 is yet in oblivion. 
 
 The reader may be aflured, that what is here 
 recited is purely the refult of the author's own ex- 
 perience, (not theory) and part of the effects of 
 many years fludy. 
 
 THE end; 
 
 Pontsdby T. V.ULSON an3 R.. SPENC3,- 
 KJgl Culegatt, ycrtt.