246 ANNUAL REPOKT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



ago may have thought that so much had been accomphshed ui this 

 field that nothmg more was left to be done. The countless dyestuffs, 

 giving all the colors of the rambow, might well have given rise to the 

 belief that there was already a surplus. But here the course of 

 events was just as it generally is in life. With growing possessions, 

 man's needs and demands also multiply. Wliile people were formerly 

 content to produce with coal-tar colors every possible shade in 

 undreamt-of brightness in the simplest wa}^, they gradually began to 

 make more and more exacting demands as regards fastness. Not 

 only must materials to be dyed be a pleasing shade, but they also 

 must be fast to washing and light. Thus new, allurmg problems 

 were submitted to the color chemist, and his indefatigable efforts have 

 aheady carried him a long way toward the desired end. Strange 

 to say, amongst the public you will frequently meet the view that 

 artificial colors do not give fast dyemgs. This is a decided error 

 which can not be too emphatically contradicted. To-day we can 

 produce almost any shade "with any desired degree of fastness on any 

 kii:id of material, whether it be wool, cotton, silk, or paper. If the 

 dyer does not always produce such shades it is the fault of the trade 

 which does not express its demands forcibly enough. Of course, the 

 dyeing with fast colors entails a somewhat greater expense which 

 must naturally be borne by the consumer. 



Just at this point, before discussing the progress made in the 

 manufacture of fast colors and in order to prevent misunderstand- 

 ing, I should like to emphasize the fact that the old colors, though 

 not as fast as those more recently discovered and though perhaps 

 quite fugitive in some respects, still have a right to exist. It would 

 be quite foolish to dye certain kinds of paper intended to be in 

 use for only a very short time with colore absolutely fast to light, 

 or to dye cloth never to be washed with expensive colors fast to 

 washing, or, again, to treat lining, which is but slightly exposed to 

 sunlight, in the same Avay as materials which must be exceedingly 

 fast to light. Everytliing according to reason. For many purposes, 

 however, the need for shades fast to light or to both light and wash- 

 ing is so great that it must be given every consideration. How 

 mortifying it must be to notice shortly after you have decorated the 

 walls of your home with most beautiful and expensive materials, that 

 the lovely colors daily grow more imsightly, and to see a solitary'- 

 patch showing up in all its pristine glory amidst a faded background 

 when a picture or other piece of furniture is moved to another place. 

 As it is possible to guard ourselves against such occurrences, we 

 should certainly do so. To-day we are able to produce the most 

 beautiful colored Avail coA^erings, whether of paper or of woven or 

 printed fabrics, to meet every i-equirement in regard to fastness. 

 This is proved by the large collection of all kinds of woolen and 



