76 FIRESIDE SCIENCE. 



Hence it was that hair-dyes came into use ; and a 

 brisk demand for substances capable of changing 

 the color of the hair has been maintained for thirty 

 centuries. 



The substances employed before the science of 

 chemistry was understood were usually quite inef- 

 fectual in their influence. They were, for the most 

 part, fugitive vegetable stains, which water would 

 easily remove. There was, however, a metallic 

 mixture made in Egypt which possessed qualities of 

 the highest excellence. If the statements of some 

 writers can be relied upon, this mixture was far 

 superior to any form of hair-dye known to modern 

 chemists. There is at the present time a dye 

 used by the Armenians, in the East, which may 

 be, in many respects, like the ancient dye. It 

 is a metallic substance, resembling dross. This 

 is powdered, and mixed with fine nut-galls, and 

 moistened. A little of the paste is taken in the 

 hand and rubbed into the hair or beard, and in 

 a few days it becomes beautifully black. Those 

 who have visited the Armenian convents in Turkey 

 must have admired the fine black beards of the 

 monks, even those of advanced age. This dye is 

 undoubtedly composed of a mixture of iron and 

 copper, which metals, in conjunction with the gallic 

 acid formed from the galls, produce a dye of . 

 superior excellence. 



