I'uuiid divested oi tlieir gum, because the hanks which have been first 

 soaked, are always sooner freed from the gum than the other. 



The silk, being thus ungummed, is to be wrung upon the pins tu 

 remove the soap in it; then to be dressed; that is to say, it is to be ar- 

 ranged upon the pins, and upon the hands, in order to disentangle itj 

 then a cord is to be run through the hanks, to keep them down during 

 the boiling: this is termed putting on the line. About eight or nine 

 lianks may be placed upon a cord; after this, the silks are to be put 

 into bags of strong coarse linen. These bags are to be fourteen or fif- 

 teen inches wide, and four or five feet long, and closed at both ends, 

 but open the whole length of the side. When the silk is placed in 

 them, they are to be stitched up the full length of the side with pack 

 thread, which is to be knotted at the end when the sewing is done. 

 From twenty-five to thirty pounds of silk are put into each bag: this 

 operation is called bagging. 



After this, a new soap bath is to be prepared like the former, with 

 the same quantity of soap per cent. : and when it is dissolved, and the 

 boiling stopped by means of fresh water, the bags are to be put into 

 it, to undergo a strong boiling for a quarter of an hour; when it begins 

 to boil over, it is to be checked by a little cold water. During the 

 boil, care must be taken to stir often with a bar or staff, and to bring up 

 to the top such bags as are at the bottom, to prevent the silk from burn- 

 ing, by lying too long at the bottom of the caldron. This move- 

 ment causes the silk to boil with more uniformity and readiness. 

 This operation is performed with silks which are to remain white, * 



Of the boiling of Silks which are to be died. 



For boiling silks intended for common colors, we put twenty pounds 

 of soap to each cwt. of raw silk. The process of boiling is the 

 same as the one just described, with this difference only, that, as 

 the silk is not to be freed from its gum, the boiling is to continue three 

 hours and a half, or four hours, taking care to fill up, from time to 

 time, with water. 



If the silks are intended to be died blue, or iron gray, sulphur, or 

 other colors, which require to be set in a very deep white ground, in 

 order to acquire the desired beauty, there are to be used thirty pounds 



* The process for ungumming and boiling' silk for white, is more full in Homassel, 

 and may be seen in Dr. Cooper's work. The process for dying fine crimson is that 

 long since published by Macquer, and is given by Dr. Cooper, Vitalis, Bergues, (a) 

 and Baillot. The passage having been translated from the last author, and printed 

 before this fact was discovered, it is retained; tlie receipt is probably the best extant. 



Before diers condemn any process, they ought to reflect upon the following causes, 

 which more or less influence their success. 1. The purity of the water. 2. The de- 

 gree of heat to which it is raised. 3. The nature of the metal of the boiler. 4. Its 

 state of cleanliness. 5. The length of time in which the article is boiled. 6. The 

 quahty of the vegetable die, as connected with its growth, preparation, time of dry- 

 ing the plant, the age of the infusion. 7. The purity of the mordant, and of the 

 acids and salts used to fix it; mode of using them; the proportions used. 8. The 

 state of the atmosphere when the dying process is going on. 'J'here may even h' 

 other causes, which contribute to success or defeat 

 ■'n) L'Artdu Ttintiirier, Paris, 1827. 



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