DYEING OF FEATHERS. 129 



two. The shorter the simmering the paler the yellow of 

 the feathers ; take them out and wash them in clean hard 

 water." "When there is occasion for dyeing yellow green, 

 add a little blue, more or less according to the shade of 

 green you wish to give to the yellow. If Judson's dyes are 

 used, the feathers must be washed and prepared to receive 

 the colour as above, and a green can be mixed easily to the 

 exact tint. Mr Eonald, the great authority on flies, gives, 

 however, another method. He makes a mordant by dis- 

 solving about a quarter of an ounce of alum in a pint of 

 water, and then to slightly boil the feathers in it to get 

 the grease out of them, after which to boil them in an in- 

 fusion of fustic to procure a yellow, and then subdue the 

 brightness of the yellow by a little copperas. 



Dun feathers. Feathers may be dyed any shade of 

 dun and yellowish dun by this means, which is the founda- 

 tion of all good dyes. The feathers are placed in a sauce- 

 pan with a quantity of soft water, and when thoroughly 

 wetted, a small quantity of copperas (sulphate of iron) is 

 added, and the whole simmered gently for a few minutes. 

 Tbis gives the mordant a base. The liquor is then re- 

 moved, and the feathers are covered with a small quantity 

 of soft water, and when simmering a small quantity of 

 powdered Aleppo galls is added. Of course the tint will 

 depend on the quantity of each material used, for by in- 

 creasing the quantities the colour changes to almost every 

 tint of dun. Logwood, madder, walnutpeels, alder tree, bark, 

 and other astringent dye-woods may be used instead of galls, 

 always using soft water, and obtaining the light colour be- 

 fore the dark. The fixing liquid is made from copperas, 

 sulphate of alum, acetate of alum, or acetate of copper; 

 it they are then well washed and simmered in a strong 



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