YELLOW DYES. 399 



houses since this observation was made, which there- 

 fore applies equally to the present day. 



Mr. Clarkson, in his Essay on the Impolicy of the 

 African Slave Trade, has related, that a gentleman 

 residing on the coast of Africa, ordered some wood to 

 be cut down for the purpose of erecting a hut. 

 While he was witnessing the process of the work, 

 some of the juice which was expelled from the bark 

 reached him, and stained one of the ruffles of his 

 shirt yellow. He found that the spot became of a 

 much more bright and beautiful colour by the applica- 

 tion of soap and water, and that it gained in lustre 

 with every subsequent washing. Pleased with the 

 discovery, he sent home a small sample of the bark, 

 which produced a valuable yellow dye, far beyond 

 any other ever in use in this country. In the mean 

 time the gentleman unfortunately died, and with him 

 the knowledge of the species of tree that had pro- 

 duced this bark, which still remains undiscovered. 



The manner in which the double process of tan- 

 ning and dyeing yellow is carried on among the Arabs 

 of the' desert is so curious as to deserve our notice. 

 It is this : " To render the camel's skin yellow 

 (no other skin is ever dyed), they cover it with salt, 

 which is left upon it for two or three days ; they then 

 steep it in a liquid paste made of barley-meal mixed 

 with water, where it remains for seven days ; then 

 they wash the skin in fresh water, and clear it easily 

 of the hair. Next they take the peels of dry pome- 

 granates (a fruit which they purchase in the Syrian 

 towns, or from the Menadhere Arabs, or from the 

 Fellahs on the Euphrates), pound them, and mix 

 them with water ; they let the skin remain in that 

 mixture three or four days; the operation is thus 

 completed, the skin having acquired a yellow tint. 

 They then wash and grease the leather with camel's 

 fat to render it smooth. If pomegranates cannot be 



