296 CHAY ROOT FOR DYING RED. 



On this account I am furprifed at the meafiire which has been 

 adopted, of fending round hither fuch a large quantity of tlie 

 Chay root from the coaft. I apprehend very little or none of it 

 will bepurchafed at the approaching fale, in which cafe it muft 

 be either returned to Madras or fent to England. The expe- 

 diency of this laft meafure mufl depend on the poflSbility of fo 

 abridging the procels of dying, or printing cottons with Chay 

 root, that the Englifli artifts may find it worth their while to 

 have recourfe to it for the reds and purples, inftead of the 

 Smyrna madder, or whatever other drugs they ufe for thofe 

 purpofes at prefent, 

 Bxperiments to To afcertain this point, I have, agreeably to the indruClions of 

 the^hay root ^^^ Board, made feveral experiments with the Chay root; indeed 

 might beof va- as many as the fhortnels of the time, and my other avocations 

 l^e in Europe. ^^y|j permit. From the refultof thefe trials, I entertain great 

 hopes that the Englifti calico-printers will not only fhorten the 

 procefs, fo much as to finifh it within a tenth part of the time 

 required for the Indian procefs, but that they will by the Chay 

 root dye their cottons of a brighter red than can be done by- 

 madder, or any other vegetable. 

 Cotton was It is needlefs to detail the many trials I made, which either 



iurted or ga e } ^^jjgj altogether, or fucceeded in a very imperfe6l degree. I 

 fhall therefore only m.ention that procefs which I found to an- 

 fwer beft, and by which the piece of cotton cloth, which I 

 herewith fend you for the infpe6lion of the Board, was printed. 

 Having made a deco6lion of two ounces of powdered Hurr, 

 (the fruit of the MyrobolonaCitrona*) in a quart of water, I 

 took a piece of Madras cotton cloth, and boiled it in the de- 

 then wafhedj coflion for about half an hour. Having taken out the cloth, 

 and waflied it well with cold water, I dried it in the fun, and 

 afterwards had it properly ironed and fmoothed for the pencil, 

 and a defign I then took feme of the acetite of alumine, made in the man- 

 made with ace- ^gj. jire6led by Dr. Bancroft, and, thickening it properly with 

 txte of alumine } ^ , ,. , J -i ,• t - , 



gum-arabic, I delmeated a flower with this mordant upon the 



walhcd, cloth, and dried it in the fun, I afterwards wafiied the cloth 



in cold water, to clear it of the fuperfluous acetite, and dried 



it again in the fun. I then infufed about two ounces of the 



Chay rooty coarfely powdered, with about a quart of water, 



^ in a veiTel well tinned, and fetting it on the fire, as foon as the 



* Aleppo galls will probably anfwer as well as the Hurr. 



liquor 



