CHAPTER XX 



DYE WOODS AND MATERIALS 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION 



FROM the earliest times various forms of natural dyestuffs have been 

 used for coloring purposes. The principal sources of these vegetable 

 dyes have been the roots, bark, leaves, fruit and the wood of trees and 

 other forest-grown material. Until the Civil War and shortly thereafter 

 practically all of our dyestuffs came from some form of vegetable origin. 

 Later the aniline dyes were introduced and came into prominent use. 



Many of our important industries are dependent upon these dye- 

 stuffs and their consumption has increased very rapidly within the past 

 decade. The industries consuming the largest quantities of dyestuffs 

 are the textile for cotton, silk, wool, etc., paint, varnish, ink, leather, 

 paper, wood, etc. 



At the present time aniline dyes compose a large percentage of all the 

 dyeing materials used. For certain purposes, however, a few dye woods 

 are still held in high esteem in the textile and leather trades and other 

 fields which consume large quantities of dyeing materials. For the 

 fiscal year 1913 this country expended over $12,000,000 for foreign 

 artificial dyestuffs imported to this country and only $961,534 for for- 

 eign importations of natural dyestuffs. 



Germany has been the principal source of artificial dyes and before 

 the war produced about 90 per cent of the dyestuffs consumed in the 

 world's markets. These were manufactured from coal tar products 

 made in Germany. 



Since 1914 there has been a great impetus in the importation of 

 natural dyes and in the introduction of new sources, notably osage orange 

 which, before the coming of the white race to this country, was exten- 

 sively used by the Indians to decorate their war bonnets, bows, arrows, 

 etc. This and many other natural coloring agents were adopted from 

 the Indians by the early colonists in the dyeing of their homespuns, etc. 

 It is said that even during the Civil War, butternut dyes obtained 

 from the husk of the nut were used to color the dull yellow suits worn by 

 the Confederate soldiers. 



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