406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950 



Government is trying to reestablish this art in the poorer farming 

 and fishing districts where these skills have been lost. That there is 

 a good economic reason for such revival may be noted by the fact that 

 the production of Harris tweed, originally dependent upon lichen 

 dyes, is a carefully organized industry in Great Britain producing a 

 luxury cloth of standard quality and great demand. The most attrac- 

 tive feature of home-dyed and woven cloth is not only the dye utilized 

 in its manufacture but also the individuality of the patterns evolved 

 by a particular household or community. "When these are standard- 

 ized, as they may be through government and association intervention, 

 they lose much of their appeal to the retail trade. Under such con- 

 trols, prices tend to rise in excess of the true value, even for handicraft. 

 It has been observed that wool dyed with lichen dyes is not attacked 

 by cloth moths, which accounts in part for the durability of this cloth. 



In response to a query, the Harris Tweed Association, Ltd., reported 

 in 1948 that "just prior to the war a certain amount of the dye used 

 in making the crotal shade (brown) of Harris tweed was produced 

 from lichens but during and since the war economic conditions have 

 altered so quickly that the dyeing of crotal by lichens has decreased. 

 It takes a person nearly a whole day to collect sufficient lichens to dye 

 50 to 60 lbs. of wool." The Imperial Institute reports that the use 

 of lichens for this purpose has practically ceased. From 1925 to 

 1939 a considerable expansion took place in the Harris tweed indus- 

 try, primarily in the export trade ; the decreasing availability of lichen 

 dyes made it imperative to use other dyes. "In recent years the 

 crofters have realised the ease with which synthetic colors can be 

 employed and they buy in small quantities direct from the dye-stuff 

 makers. There are now four fairly substantial dye-works in Stor- 

 noway and these only use commercial synthetic colors; logwood and 

 fustic are the only natural colorings still employed." Kemp, Blair & 

 Co., Ltd., of Galashiels, Scotland, contributed a note of further inter- 

 est : "Considerable knowledge existed in the Hebrides with regard to 

 the use of other vegetable growths such as heather tips and roots, but 

 the quantities of these in use . . . could be considered practically 

 negligible. It is likely that the quantities of Crotal used will grad- 

 ually increase again but it is doubtful if it will ever again regain its 

 prewar quantity." • 



Mairet (13) states that none of the great French dyers used lichen 

 dyes, nor are they mentioned in any of the old books on dyeing. Yet 

 Amoreux, Hoffman, and Willemet (13) published simultaneously in 

 1787, giving directions and samples with color names of lichen dyes 

 as used by the French "tinctures" of their day, reflecting in part the 

 universal application of these plants. Westring's (22) treatises on 

 this subject, published from 1791 to 1806 in Sweden, are collectors' 

 items, containing hand-colored plates of the lichens and small water- 



