126 THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY; 



which were afterwards furnifhed by America. 

 The name braxilis no doubt was derived from 

 fome other place than the IkufiU, which in 

 thofe days was yet undifcovered; and the in- 

 digo feems to be the fame pigment with what 

 is called imUcum by Pliny *. - About the 

 year 1300 a Florentine merchant difcovcred by 

 accident that the mofs of Roehelle (called by 

 the Englifh manufacturers cudbear) gave a blue 

 tinge to urine ; and, making repeated experi- 

 ments, he learned to ufe it fo fuccefsfully in dy- 

 ing this colour, that it not only procured wealth 

 to himfelf, but was fo advantageous to the 

 Florentines, that his dependents all went by the 

 name of Ruce/fianf. In 1429 the Venetians pre- 

 fcribed rules to their dyers; which were render- 

 ed more perfect, and rcpublifhed in 1510 by John 

 Ventura Rofetti, under the feigned namcof Plich- 

 tus. With thefe i nit ruction? tho art improved 

 clfewhere, and was daily extending : iiut the 

 materials afforded by the difcovery of America, 

 of which the principal were the indigo and co- 

 chineal, ccntributed more than any thing die- 

 to its great increufc. Indigo, however, \\.is not 

 altogether trufled, and, for a long time, was not 

 in fuch eilirhation as woad ; and the ufe of log- 

 wood too was often prohibited. During the 

 reign of Francis I. of France, Cillcs Gobelin at- 

 tempted thy dying of fcarlct. His iirft cilliy* 



* JI. K. 1. xxxvl. c. 6 



