dissolved. Dip the wool in and leave for 2 minutes, then squeeze gently and wash in warm water until quite clear.

Or to 10 gallons of water add 6 oz. ammonia and 3 oz. soft soap. The water should never be above 140°F. and all the washing water should be of about the same temperature.

Fleece may be washed in the same way, but great care should be taken not to felt the wool—the less squeezing the better.

There are four principal methods of dyeing wool.

1st.—The wool is boiled first with the mordant and then in a fresh bath with the dye.

2nd.—The wool is boiled first with the dye, and when it has absorbed as much of the colour as possible the mordant is added to the same bath, thus fixing the colour.

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

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

4th.—The wool is mordanted, then dyed, then mordanted again. This method is adopted to ensure an extremely fast colour. The mordant should be used rather sparingly.

SILK

There are two kinds of silk (1) raw silk (reeled silk, thrown silk, drawn silk), and (2) waste silk or spun silk.

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

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

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

COTTON

Cotton is the down surrounding the seeds in pods of certain shrubs and trees growing in tropical and semi-tropical countries. First introduced into Europe by the Saracens, it was manufactured into cloth in Spain in the early 13th century. Cotton cloth was first made in England in the early 17th century.

The colour of cotton varies from deep yellow to white. The fibre differs in length, the long stapled being the most valued. It is difficult to dye and requires a special preparation.

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

LINEN

Linen is flax, derived from the decomposed stalks of a plant of the genus Linum.

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

To Bleach Linen—(For 13 to 15 yards linen). Boil 1/2 lb. soap and 1/2 lb. soda in a gallon of water. Put it in a copper and fill up with water, leaving room for the linen to be put in. Put in the linen and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 hours, keeping it under the water and covered. Stir occasionally. Then spread out on the grass for 3 days, watering it when it gets dry. Repeat this boiling and grassing 3 weeks. The linen is then pure white.

To bleach linen a cream colour—Boil 1/2 lb. soap and 1/2 lb. soda in a gallon of water. Fill copper up with water and put in linen. Boil for 2 hours. Repeat this once a day for 4 days. The linen should not be wrung out but kept in the water till ready to be put into the fresh bath.

CHAPTER II

MORDANTS

Any dye belongs to one of two classes. Substantive, giving colouring directly to the material: and adjective, which includes the greater number of dyes and requires the use of a mordant to bring out the colour.

There are thus two processes concerned with the dyeing of most colours; the first is mordanting and the second is the colouring or actual dyeing. The mordanting prepares the stuff to receive the dye (mordere, to bite).

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

In early days the leaves and roots of certain plants were used. This is the case even now in India and other places where primitive dyeing methods are still carried on. Alum has been known for centuries in Europe. Iron and tin filings have also been used. Alum and copperas have been known in the Highlands long ages.

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

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

Silk and wool require very much the same preparation except that in the case of silk, high temperatures should be avoided. Wool is generally boiled in a weak solution of whatever mordant is used. With silk, as a rule, it is better to use a cold solution, or a solution at a temperature below boiling point. Cotton and linen are more difficult to dye than wool or silk. Their fibre is not so porous and will not hold the dye stuff without a more complicated