ON COLORING. 61 



and put it into the yellow dye from which the cloth has been just 

 taken, or into a suitable quantity of clean water, with one ounce 

 of murio sulphate of tin. Put in the cloth, and boil it for fifteen 

 or twenty minutes, wash and dry as usual. 



To color cotton red, with Br^izil or redwood, Nicaragua wood 

 or madder, it must be soaked in alum water, and otherwise 

 managed as directed for yellow, the red wood, he. being used 

 instead of the quercitron barL 



BL.\CK. 



To dye woolen goods black, perfectly and most durably black, 

 they must first receive an indigo blue, as described in our first 

 method, and be well scoured out afterwards. The mordant used 

 in dying black is iron — sulphate of iron (copperas) is most gen- 

 erally used for wool. There are a great number of dye-stuffs, 

 both native and imported, used in coloring black. Nutgalls are 

 usually considered the best for this purpose, but Bancroft says, 

 and we think correctly, that the bark of the red flowering ma- 

 ple (acer fiubrum) so common in swamps in this county, gives 

 " a more intense, pure and perfect black than even galls, or any 

 other vegetable matter within our knowledge." Logwood is a 

 useful addition, especially where the cloth has not received an 

 indigo blue. It certainly improves the appearance of the black 

 dyed from galls and iron, by rendering it more intense, glossy 

 and soft. In fact it seems that almost every coloring vegetable 

 matter for which the fibres of wool have an affinity, adds some- 

 thing to the body of black, and lessens the hardness or harshness 

 which iron gives to wool. Among other articles, therefore, 

 which may be advantageously used in black dyes, are the barks 

 of our common elm and alder, and several species of lichen, or 

 mosses, which grow on rocks, and have long been in use among 

 us for dyeing various cheap colors. 



FOR BEST BLACK, 



On cloth previously colored blue with indigo, take dried ma- 

 ple bark 12 ounces, or 1 lb. of the fresh undried bark, logwood 

 6 ounces, elm bark 8 ounces, and boil them in two gallons of 



