266 



DYEING. 



Preparation 

 of the stuff 



llvol ; 



Saxon 

 green. 



Greens 

 from tur- 



to dye a given quantity of cloth in this Way, vrill cost 

 less than the much greater quantity (six. or < i-Jit times 

 more) of fu-tic, with the alum necessary for dyeing it 

 in the common wa\ ; the -idph.ite of indigo being the 

 same in both cases. Hut in dyeing with the bark, the 

 vessel is only to be filled and heated once ; and the 

 cloth, without any previous preparation, may l>e com- 

 pletely dyed in half an hour ; whilst, in the common 

 way of producing Saxon greens, the copper is to be 

 twice fined ; and to this must be joined the fuel and 

 labour of an hour and a half's Ixiiling and turning the 

 cloth in the course of preparation, besides nearly as 

 much boiling in another vi- M'!. to extract the colour 

 of the fustic; and, after all, the dyi ; i re- 



mains to be performed, which will be equal in time 

 and trouble to the whole of the process for producing 

 a Saxon green with the bark ; so that tliis colour ob- 

 tained from bark will not only prove superior in beau- 

 ty, but in cheapness, to that dyed as usual with old 

 fustic." See Phil, of Perm. Col. voLii. p. 136. 



II. Proceuctfor Dyeing Silk, Green. 



381. When silk is to be dyed green, the process of 

 scouring is the same as for other colours; but when the 

 lighter shades are to be applied, that operation must be 

 performed as effectually as for blue. The dyeing process 

 is managed a little differently from that of woollen 

 stuffs. The silk, after being well alumcd, is slightly 

 washed at the river, and divided into small hanks, that 

 it may receive the dye as equally as possible, it being 

 extremely difficult to prevent the green being sjwtted 

 or Griped. It is then put into the weld bath, and 

 carefully turned. After the ground is thought suffi- 

 ciently deep, a pattern is tried in the vat, to ascertain 

 if the colour has acquired the proper shade ; if not, de- 

 coction of weld is added until this is the case. The 

 silk is then taken out of the bath, washed, and {lipped 

 in the vat as for blue. To deepen and vary the hue, 

 decoction of logwood, fustic, or annotta, are sometimes 

 added to the yellow bath, after the weld has been ta- 

 ken out or exhausted ; and for the very light shades, 

 such as apple and sea-green, a much weaker ground is 

 given. Yellow baths, which have been already used, 

 answer best for the delicate shades, as the silk takes 

 the colour from these more slowly and uniformly. 



382. When the blue vat is employed to dye green, 

 saw-wort (159.) may be substituted for weld; it is even 

 preferable, because its yellow is naturally of a greenish 

 cast : dyers' brown may also be used, and sometimes 

 these substances are mixed together. Other substances, 

 affording a yellow colouring matter, may be employed 

 for the same purjMJse, and particularly quercitron, which 

 affords so many beautiful shades of yellow. 



383. Saxon green may be communicated to silk, ac- 

 cording to fiiihlichc, by three yellow substances, tur- 

 meric, fustic, and French berries ; and to these may 

 be added quercitron. The greens obtained by means 

 of turmeric, are the most beautiful and delicate, but 

 they are also the most fading. The silk is alumcd in 

 the proportion of four ounces of alum to the pound, 

 and left twelve hours in the solution when cold. A 

 bath is prepared with an ounce of pounded turmeric, 

 to which as much sulphate of indigo as will give it a 

 sufficiently green colour is added; an ounce of solu- 

 tion of tin is then mixed with it, and the alumed silk 

 dipped until it has acquired a fine green colour. It is 

 then wrung, washed, and dried in the shade. When 



C is used, the yellwwing is conducted in the si 





manner us with weld. If the tincture of French ber- 



rits in ncetti-citlic acid be employed, half the quantity "' ' 



of alum may be taken that has been recommended for " " ' ~" 



turmeric ; in other respects, the process is the came. 



.'iSi. Dr Bancroft gives the following simple proc 

 for producing, w ith quercitron, Saxon grecn> by one i 

 operation. lloil, after the rate of four pounds of quer- 

 citron bark with three pounds of alum, and two pounds 

 of murio-sulphate of tin, in a suitable quantity of wa- 

 ter, for ten or fifteen minutes : u hen the heat of the 

 liquor is afterward- reduced, so tliat the hand can lear 

 it, put in the silk, and retain it a proper time in the 

 bath, taking care, however, to agitate the liquor con- 

 stantly, that the colouring matter, which would other- 

 wise subside, may be kept equally diffused. By ad- 

 ding suitable proportions of sulphate of indigo to this 

 yellow liquor, and keeping it well stirred, various and 

 beautiful shades of Saxon green ni.-iy be dyed in the 

 same way, of a uniform hade, and at a small expcnce. 

 The shades intended to incline most to the yellow, 

 should be first dyed, and afterwards, by adding more 

 sulphate of indigo, those partaking more of the blue 

 may be readily produced ; and, indeed, says Dr Ban- 

 croft, nothing can be more commodious or certain, than 

 this way of dyeing the most beautiful Saxon greens 

 upon silk. See Phil, of Perm. Col. vol. ii. p. 1 17. 



385. A dye called English green, which unites the 

 beauty of Saxon with the durability of common green, 

 is sometimes applied to silks. In order to give this 

 green, Guhliche first gives the silk a light blue in the 

 cold vat, soaks it in warm water, and washes it in a 

 stream ; he then dips it in a weak solution of alum, 

 prepares a bath with the sulphate of indigo, an ounce 

 of solution of tin, and the tincture of French berries. 

 In this bath the silk is kept till it has taken the desired 

 shade of green, when it is washed and dried in a shady 

 place. The shades are rendered more or less blue or 

 yellow, by the proportions of the ingredients by which 

 these colours are communicated. When a gosling green Gosling 

 is to be given to silk, it is first dyed of a light blue, K rcen - 

 then passed through hot water, and washed in a stream; 

 lastly, while still moist, it is dipped in an unnotta 

 bath. 



III. Processes for Dyeing Cotton and Linen, Green. 



38C. When cotton or linen is to be dyed green, a Ground 01 

 ground of blue is commonly applied first, the stuffs bine first 

 having previously been properly scoured. The pro- g' ven - 

 portion of yellow is regulated by the shade of colour 

 to be given ; and so also is the previous ground of blue. 

 1'ileur de Apligny has described a process for dyeing 

 cotton, or skains of cotton, of a sea or apple green, Sea or apple 

 in a single bath. For this process, verdigrise is mixed "*~ " 

 with vinegar, and the mixture kept well stopped fifteen 

 days in a stove ; four hours before using it. a solution 

 of potash, equal in weight to that of the verdigrise, is ad- 

 ded, and the mixture is kept hot. The cotton thread 

 or velvet are prepared, by being soaked in a warm so- 

 lution of alum, made in the proportion of one ounce 

 of salt, and five quarts of water, to the pound ; they 

 are then taken out, and the verdigrise mixture added 

 to the bath, into which they are returned, in order to be 

 dyed. 



387. To dye beautiful greens upon cotton, ( hapta] ChaptaTs 

 has recommended that it be first dyed of a sky-blue 

 colour, by means of indigo dissolved by potash and 

 orpiment, and afterwards macerated in a strong decoc- 

 tion of sumach ; it is then to be dried and soaked in 



