406 MINOR PRODUCTS OF PHILIPPINE FORESTS 



orange-reds with alumina, bright orange with tin, and dark purple and 

 black with iron mordant. All the colours referred to are as fast to soap 

 as the corresponding madder colours. With respect to wool and silk in 

 the unmordanted condition, these fibres may be readily dyed both with 

 the washed and unwashed root, more or less rich orange or yellow colours, 

 the brightness of which is enhanced by the addition of a little acetic 

 acid to the dye-bath. These colours, however, which appear to originate 

 from the glucoside morindin itself, are of sensitive character towards 

 alkalis and of little value. 



Perkin and Everest state that in order to obtain good results 

 it is necessary to neutralize, or better still to remove, the free 

 acid which exists in considerable quantities in the roots, and 

 that experiments with powdered Morinda root which had been 

 allowed to ferment or had been digested with boiling, dilute 

 acid, showed that these preparations dyed exceedingly well when 

 one per cent of chalk was added to the dye-bath. 



According to Brooks * this dye is not commonly used by the 

 Filipinos, probably for the reason that it does not directly dye 

 cotton. 



Morinda citrifolia is an erect, smooth shrub or small tree 

 3 to 10 meters high. The leaves are broadly elliptic to oblong 

 and from 12 to 25 centimeters long. The fruits are ovoid, 

 fleshy, white or grayish white, and from 3 to 6 centimeters 

 in length. 



This species is found from India through Malaya to Australia 

 and Polynesia. It is widely distributed in the Philippines in 

 thickets and second-growth forests. 



* Brooks, B. T., The natural dyes and coloring matters of the Philip- 

 pines. Philippine Journal of Science, Section A, Volume 5 (1910), No. 

 6, page 444. 



