DYEING, BLEACHING, ETC. 51 



tained. This will put the machine into rapid 

 motion, which can be kept up as long as is desired, 

 in the same manner as it was begun. The 

 greater part of their moisture will be immediately 

 thrown off the. feathers, and after a short time 

 they will be completely dried. If convenient, the 

 machine should be placed closely in front of the 

 fire while it is spinning. The rapid rotation will 

 prevent the feathers from being scorched, and 

 they may be thus dried in about three minutes. 

 The tin shield on one side of the frame serves 

 both to reflect the heat back on the feathers, and 

 to prevent the drops of water, which at the first are 

 thrown off profusely, from reaching the operator's 

 clothes. Without a fire feathers may be dried 

 perfectly in about ten minutes. My machine runs 

 for six minutes, and at a high speed for about 

 four. When the feathers are dry, the colander 

 should be removed from its frame, and turned 

 upside down in the hands. The operator should 

 then blow round the side, so as to cause the 

 feathers to fall loosely into the perforated lid, 

 whence they can be easily removed to their 

 proper destination. It is no easy matter to 

 remove small feathers from the colander while 

 they are wet, so that in many ways my invention 

 will be found a great saving of time and labour. 

 The common method of drying feathers is to 

 shake them up in a band-box in front of the fire. 

 A single hackle may be quickly dried by stroking 

 its fibres alternately backwards and forwards. 



For vessels in which to use the soda, dye, and 

 alum, I generally employ common 21b. jam pots, 

 partially immersed in a saucepan of boiling water. 

 A few folds of paper should be placed beneath the 

 jam pot, to guard against the possibility of 

 its cracking, by preventing the heat from passing 

 directly to it from the bottom of the saucepan, 

 and steam from collecting beneath it, should its 

 D 2 



