RED, PURPLE, AMBER, AND BROWN. 91 



and white feathers a yellow. If a small piece of 

 copperas be added, the latter colour will become 

 a useful muddy yellow, darker or lighter as may 

 be required, and approaching to a yellow-olive 

 dun, according to the quantity of copperas used. 



To dye feathers dark red and purple. 

 Hackles of various colours, boiled (without alum) 

 in an infusion of logwood and Brazil-wood dust 

 until they are as red as they can be made by this 

 means, may be changed to a deeper red by putting 

 them into a mixture of muriatic acid and tin, and 

 to a purple by a warm solution of potash. As 

 the muriatic acid is not to be saturated with tin, 

 the solution must be made diluted. If it burns 

 your tongue much, it will burn the feathers a 

 little. 



To dye feathers various shades of red, amber, 

 and brown. First boil them in the alum mordant 

 already mentioned ; secondly, boil them in an 

 infusion of fustick strong enough to bring them 

 to a bright yellow (about a tablespoonful to a pint 

 of water) ; then boil them in a dye of madder, 

 peach wood, or Brazil wood. To set the colour, 

 put a few drops of dyer's spirits (i.e., nitrate of tin 

 combined with a small quantity of salt), which 

 may be had from a silk-dyer, into the last- 

 mentioned dye. 



To stain gut the colour of weeds, water, &c. 

 Make an infusion of onion coatings, as before 



