FRENCH OR AVIGNON BERRIES. 



519 



dye. Tunnei'ic is very rich in colour, but it pos- 

 sesses no durability, nor can any combination of 

 mordants give to it this quality in a sufficient 

 degree. Chloride of sodium and muriate of 

 ammonia are the substances which best fix the 

 colour, but they spoil its beauty by deepening 

 its hue almost to brown. It is sometimes em- 

 ployed to impart a golden cast to yellow made 

 from weld, or to give an orange tinge to scarlet ; 

 but the shade which it imparts is very evanes- 

 cent, and soon vanishes on exposure to the air. 



This root was at one time much employed in 

 medicine, chiefly for obstructions of the bowels 

 and liver. It has now entirely fallen into dis- 

 use. 



It readily gives out its active matter both to 

 water and spirits. In distillation with water, it 

 yields a small quantity of a gold coloured essen- 

 tial oil, of a moderately strong smell, and pun- 

 gent taste. 



In Europe it is sometimes employed as a sub- 

 stitute for saffron to heighten the colour of cer- 

 tain culinary preparations. It is very often used 

 as an ingredient in yellow varnishes. 



Sixteen thousand and sixteen liags of turmeric 

 were imported into England in 1830, each bag 

 weighing from one to two cwt. 



That received from our own possessions is sub- 

 jected to an import duty of 2s. 4d. per cwt. ; 

 coming from foreign countries the duty is quad- 

 rupled. The price of Bengal turmeric is from 

 22s. to 24s. per cwt., and of the best Chinese 32s. 

 per cwt. 



Fkench or Avignon Berries are known in 

 commerce as a yellow dye. They are the unripe 

 berries of a species of buckthorn, the rhainnus 

 infectoriits, which is an evergreen shrub, a native 

 of Spain and southern France. It grows to the 

 height of ten or twelve feet, sending lorth many 

 branches from the bottom. 



A particular variety of this plant grows in 

 Candia and other parts of [lie Levant, yielding 

 berries larger than those which are brought from 

 the south of France. They are distinguished by 

 the name of Turkey berries, and are prefeiTed to 

 the French. Both kinds yield a very beautiful, 

 but remarkably fugitive colour. No mordant 

 has yet been discovered with sufficient affinity 

 to this colouring matter, to render their combin- 

 ation permanent. It therefore cannot be used 

 with advantage to the consumer, except where a 

 fine but very transient colour is required. These 

 berries are, however, of very common use in our 

 dye-houses. 



Three thousand four hundred and twenty-five 

 cwts. were imported in 1831. They are admitted 

 on a duty of 2s. per cwt. Their average price 

 for the last five years was G83. 



Yellow berries of another description are 

 brought from Persia, and from some parts of 

 Asia Minor ; these are much superior to the 



French berries. They are very soluble in salt 

 water. A gentleman on a passage from Smyrna, 

 on board a ship that carried a few bags of these 

 j'ellow berries, observed, that when a leak was 

 sprang, and the pumps applied, the water brought 

 up from the hold ^-as almost immediately of a 

 bright yellow colour. This curious effect, which 

 gave to the deck of the vessel the iippearance of 

 a dj'e-house, continued for two whole days, or 

 until the circumstances of the navigation allowed 

 the sailors to remove that part of the cargo from 

 the action of the sea- water. 



The well known pigment, sap-green, is simply 

 the concentrated juice of the ripe berries of 

 buckthorn. 



Common Saw-Wort (serratula tincioria), is a 

 perennial plant indigenous to England, growing 

 in woods and in pasture grounds, where it flowers 

 in month of July. 



Dyer's Broom (genista tinctoria). Natural 

 family, Icguminosat ; diadelphia, decandria, of 

 Linnaeus. This plant is a native of Britain, and 

 grows on dry .and elevated grounds. It attains 

 the height of about three feet ; its shrubby stalks 

 are tenninated by spikes of yellow flowers suc- 

 ceeded by pods. The leaves are spear-shaped, 

 and placed alternately on the branches. The 

 colour produced by a decoction of these branches 

 cannot be compared in beauty with that of weld 

 or saw-wort, but it attains sufficient permanency 

 by means of mordants. It is sometimes used for 

 inferior woollen goods in combination with alum 

 or tartar, and sulphate of lime. The Romans 

 employed this plant for dyeing, and it is described 

 by several of their writers. It is still applied to 

 the same purposes in some of the Grecian islands. 

 Toumefort thus describes the process which he 

 witnessed at Samos. " To dye yellow, they 

 throw into boiling water the extremities of the 

 broom ; after several boilings, they add a little 

 alum to the decoction. Then they plunge into 

 it linen, woollen, cloth, or leather, or whatever 

 they wish to dye, and removing the cauldron 

 from the fire, leave the material to soak all night. 

 The yellow imparted is tolerably fine, and no 

 doubt more skilful operators might make a more 

 perfect colour of it. This Grecian plant differs 

 from that which grows in the coast of Provence, 

 only in having its leaves narrower and larger." 

 The seeds powdered operate as a mild purga- 

 tive, and a deception of the plant is used as a 

 diuretic. 



Sumach (rlius coriaria). Natural family, 

 tercbintacew ; pentandria, trigynia, of Lin- 

 niEus. This tree is a native of Syria, and is 

 diligently cultivated in Spain and Portugal, and 

 in some parts of Italy and Sicily. The stems 

 are ligneous, dividing at bottom into many irre- 

 gular branches, attaining to the height of eight 

 or ten feet. The bark is hairy, and of an her- 

 baceous brown colour. The leaves are winged, 



