CARUTO 737 



Dobereiner regarded the red coloiiring matter of carthamus as an acid, and the yellow 

 as a base. His carthamic acid forms, with the alkalis, colourless salts, decomposed 

 by the tartaric and acetic acids, which precipitate the acid of a bright rose-red. Hoat 

 has a remarkable influence upon carthamus, rendering its red colour yellow and dull. 

 Hence, the colder the water is by which it is extracted, the finer is the colour. 

 Light destroys the colour very rapidly, and hitherto no means have been found of 

 counteracting this effect. For this reason this brilliant colour must be dried in the 

 shade, its dye must be given in a shady place, and the silk stuffs dyed with it must be 

 preserved as much as possible from the light. Age is nearly as injurious as light, 

 especially upon the dye in a damp state. The colour is very dear : a thousand parts 

 of carthamus contain only five parts of carthamine. 



In preparing the finest rouge, the yellow colouring matter having been separated by 

 washing with water, the red is dissolved by the aid of alkali, and is thrown down on 

 linen or cotton rags, by saturating the solution with vegetable acid. The colour is 

 rinsed out of these rags, dissolved anew in alkalis, and once more precipitated by 

 lemon-juice. The best and freshest carthamus must be selected. It is put into linen 

 bags, which are placed in a stream of water, and kneaded till the water runs off colour- 

 less. The bags are then put into water soured with a little vinegar, kneaded till the 

 colour is all expelled, and finally rinsed in running water. 



There is a considerable consumption of safflower in the manufacture of rouge, for 

 which there is a far greater demand than is generally supposed, this colour being 

 employed not only as a ' toilet appendage ' of the monde, but for theatrical use. 



Rouge consists of carthamine and very fine burnt talc made into a paste with water. 

 It is made of five regular shades, known as Nos. 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, varying in depth of 

 colour as the numbers increase; Nos. 6 and 8 are used by fair beauties, No. 12 is 

 medium, while Nos. 18 and 24 are for dark complexions. 



Pink saucers, formerly in great request for dyeing silk stockings at home, and even 

 now not wholly unknown to trade, consist of a shallow porcelain saucer into which a 

 film of carthamine has been allowed to precipitate, and then is dried. The Chinese make 

 a ' Book Rouge ' in a somewhat similar way ; a very strong solution of the carthamine is 

 brushed over a cardboard, which when dry ' is fit for ladies' use.' The card is, how- 

 ever, no longer pink or red, but of a beautiful metallic green colour due to some 

 special optical reason not' yet explained ; the pink saucers made in England exhibit in 

 a very slight degree the same effect, which the surface of indigo also in some 

 measure resembles. 



Carthamus is the material used for dyeing ordinary red tape, and there is a curious 

 prejudice against using other colours for this purpose, the trade objecting to any 

 deviation from the conventional shade. 



Salvetat has found it advantageous to mix the red of safflower with the pigments 

 used in porcelain painting for purple, carmine, and violet, colours which, in conse- 

 quence of the difference of their shade before and after firing, are very liable to mis- 

 lead. To avoid this, he imparts to the pigment (consisting of flux, gold-purple, and 

 chloride of silver) by means of the red of carthamus suspended in water, the same 

 shade which he desires to obtain after firing. 



The colouring matter of saiHower has been examined by Salvetat, who has found 

 much difference in carthamus of reputed good quality. The following Table gives 

 some of his results : 



CARTON PIERRE. A composition of paper mixed with whiting or glue for 

 imitating stone or bronze. See PAPIER MACHE. 



CART7TO. The fruit of the Genipa Americana, a native plant of British Guiana, 

 yields the dyo to which this name is given. It is of a beautiful bluish-black colour. 



VOL. L SB 



