CALICO-PRINTING 635 



series. Clean soap liquor is kept flowing into the last beck of the series ; and as each 

 beck is connected by a pipe with the next, the soap solution is flowing all the time in 

 a contrary direction to the pieces and leaves the first beck in a thoroughly exhausted 

 condition ; the pieces in their onward passage keep meeting with soap liquor less 

 charged with colouring matter and impurities, until finally they pass through almost 

 unsoiled soap solution. The passage of a given point of a piece through the series, 

 occupies about half-an-hour. Fig. 382 shows two of these becks in action ; they are 

 those of Mather and Platt. A, cast-iron soap-becks ; B, fixings for carrying rollers ; 

 c, wooden rollers ; Cj, square wooden doffing roller ; D, cloth being soaped on the conr 

 tinuous system, any number of becks may be used for this purpose, they are generally 

 worked in ranges of 7 ; 2 only here shown ; E, spur wheel and catch box for driving ; 

 F, driving shaft ; G, handles and tappet shafts for putting in motion or stopping the 

 rollers ; H, steam-valve ; i, steam-pipes ; K, water-valves and pipes ; L, perforated 

 steam-pipes passing through becks ; M, midfeather ; N, delivery wince on each beck, 

 which can be used if necessary ; o, peg rail. 



The waste soap liquor at present allowed to run into the rivers, polluting them, and 

 being the means of keeping in suspension for a long distance fine particles of dye- 

 stuffs, will probably be soon turned to advantage by the printer, for the experiments 

 on the large scale of Mr. John Thorn, of Birkacre, have conclusively shown that by a 

 very simple and easy process, all the fatty matter with the coloured impurities dis- 

 solved in the soap can be precipitated and collected, and a patent taken out by Thorn 

 and Stenhouse in 1872 describes methods of separating useful and commercial articles 

 from these precipitates. After soaping, the pieces are well washed in the washing 

 machine. 



Pieces of any style, after undergoing the final process, are passed through a pair of 

 squeezing rollers, or put in the hydroextractor, when the moisture is driven out by 

 centrifugal force ; they are then dryed on the cylinder drying machine. See HYDBO- 



EXTBACTOE. 



Plate Purple is a style composed of black and one or more shades of purple only, 

 and requires a little different treatment. Print in black No. 4, dark purple to shada 

 No. 27 and acid, say No. 35, cover pad in pale purple No. 30, age. Ply dung at 170 

 F., second dung at 165 F. half an hour ; wash and ground with dry Turkey madder 

 root giving ith of its weight in chalk, and 3 quarts of bone size to the beck ; bring 

 to 175 F. in two hours, and keep at 175 F. half an hour ; wash well and soap 15 pieces, 

 |ths, 30 yards, half an hour at boil with 5 Ibs. soap to 15 pieces ; wash well and wince 

 5 minutes at 140 F. with 2 quarts chloride-of-lime liquor at 8 F. to 300 gallons ; 

 wince and soap again at boil half an hour with 3 Ibs. soap to 15 pieces ; wash and 

 wince 5 minutes in 4 quarts chloride of lime at 8 F. and 2 Ibs. carbonate-of-soda 

 crystals to 200 gallons water at 160 ; well wash and dry. 



In this style, as in any where there is severe soaping, it is necessary to give a 

 Blight excess of madder in the dye, so as to ensure perfect saturation if this is not 

 done, the colour speedily degrades, and becomes impoverished. It may be observed 

 here, that the style Plates are such as formerly were printed by the plate or flat press, 

 and are generally small patterns, with padded or well covered grounds, the colours 

 being few, and frequently only different shades of one colour. 



Plate Pinks or Swiss Pinks. A style imported from Switzerland, consisting of 

 various shades of red and delicate pinks, produced as follows. Print in No. 6 with 

 second or third shades as No. 7 acid No. 34 may bo also printed and a very pale 

 shade of red covered, aged two or three days, dunged at 160 F. if dung-substitute 

 is used, care must be taken to use one that is not caustic from free alkali : the 

 dyeing must be done with the finest quality of French or Turkey madder. The 

 pieces must have sufficient madder allowed to over-dye them, or dye a heavy brownish 

 red. For a full plate pink on |ths cloth, from 4 to 6 Ibs. of French madder will be 

 required. About 5 per cent, of chalk may be added to the dye where the water is soft. 

 The heat should be raised to 150 F. in 2 hours, and kept at that heat half an hour. 

 It is necessary to keep the heat low in dyeing French pinks, to prevent the impurities 

 from fixing on the mordants, as only the very finest portion of the colouring matter 

 must be fixed after dyeing, the pieces are well washed and soaped with about half 

 a pound of soap per piece in a beck at 140 F. for half an hour, they are then well 

 washed and entered in a beck with cold water to which has been added sufficient 

 oxymuriate of tin or sulphuric acid to make faintly sour, a little steam is turned on, 

 and the heat raised to about 120 F. in half an hour; the colours which on entering 

 the beck were full shades of red, gradually assume an orange tint, and when of a 

 bright orange colour, the pieces are taken out and winced in water. This operation, 

 termed cutting, is the one that decides the depth of tint in the finished pieces. The 

 longer the pieces are kept in the bock and the greater the heat, the paler and more 

 delicate the shade of pink obtained. After this treatment they are put in a beck 



