390 BLEACHING 



By the above process, 690 Ibs. weight of alkali is taken to bleach 360 pieces of linen, 

 each piece consisting of 35 yards in length ; so that the expenditure of alkali would 

 bo somewhat less than 2 Ibs. for each piece, were it not that some parts of the linens 

 are not fully whitened, as above noted. Two pounds of alkali may therefore be stated 

 as the average quantity employed for bleaching each piece of goods. 



What is called the old method, or that used from about the introduction of bleach- 

 ing-powder, at the beginning of the century, till within ten or fifteen years, required 

 bleaching on the grass ; and the mode in which it was managed in Ireland and Scot- 

 land, where it held its ground longest, is as follows : 



1. They were rot-steeped in a weak solution of potash, at about 130 F., for two 

 days, until the dressing used in manufacturing the cloth was removed. 



2. Washed. 



3. Boiled or bowked in potash-lye at J Twaddle, for ten hours. 



4. Washed, and the ends turned so that the whole might be equally exposed to 

 the lye. 



5. Boiled or bowked in a similar lye to the above for twelve hours. 



6. Washed well. 



7. Exposed on the grass for three days, and watered. 



8. Taken up and soured with sulphuric acid, at 2 Twaddle, for four hours. 



9. Taken up .and washed well. 



10. Boiled again for eight hours in potash-lye, at 1 Twaddle, to which had been 

 added black or soft soap, about 20 Ibs. to a kier of about 300 gallons. 



11. Washed. 



12. Crofted, or exposed on the grass, as before. 



13. Treated with chloride of lime at li Twaddle, for four hours. 



14. Washed. 



15. Soured in sulphuric acid, at 2 Twaddle, for four hours. 



16. Washed. 



17. Boiled for six or seven hours with soap and lye, using in this case more soap 

 and one-third less lye than in the former bowkings. 



18. Drawn out and put through rub-boards. This is a kind of washing-machine, 

 made of blocks of wood, with hard-wood teeth. The goods are washed by it in a soapy 

 liquid. The teeth moving rapidly, drive the soap into the cloth. 



19. Boiled in the lye alone for six hours. 



20. Washed. 



21. Crofted, keeping them very clean, as this is the last exposure. 



22. Treated with chloride of lime. 



23. They are then starched, blued, and beetled, to finish them for the market. 

 These operations last six weeks. 



New System, as practised in Scotland and Ireland, Directions given by an extensive 



Bleacher. 



1. Wash. 



2. Boil in lime-water ten or twelve hours. 



3 Sour in muriatic acid, of 2 Twaddle, for three, four, or five hours. 



4. Wash well. 



5. Boil with resin and soda-ash twelve hours. 



6. Turn the goods, so that those at the top shall be at the bottom, and boil again 

 as at No. 5. 



7. Wash well. 



8. Chemick, at \ Q Twaddle, or 1002-5, four hours. 



9. Sour, at 2 Twaddle, or 1010- specific gravity. 



10. Wash. 



11. Boil in soda-ash ten hours. 



12. Chemick again. 



13. Wash and dry. 



This is the system chiefly adopted when the goods are to bo printed. 

 The following is the system practised in the neighbourhood of Perth, M'here the 

 chief trade is in plain sheetings : 



1. Before putting them into operation, they are put up into parcels of about 35 cwts. 



2. They are then steeped in lye for twenty-four hours. 



3. Then washed and spread on the grass for about two days. 



4. Boiled in lime-water. 



5. Turned, and boiled again in lime-water, those at the top being put at the bottom. 

 60 Ibs. of lime are used at a time, and about 600 gallons of water. 



6. Washed, then soured in sulphuric acid of 2 Twaddle, or 1010' sp. gr., for four 

 hours, then washed again. 



