170 
a muslin sieve), so that about 5th of the white of egg will have 
been added (or even less may be tried at first), this must be well 
stirred in. Set the saucepan on the fire to warm, not boil, in- 
terposing the tongs between the heated coals and the bottom of 
the saucepan. As soon as the saucepan begins to sing, it must 
be removed and examined, if the liquor be not yet curdled the 
saucepan must be replaced on the fire, but if curdled, the 
contents must be stirred and transferred to a clean tinned vessel 
of the milk-can form, set in a basin of cold water, to cool, and 
left for about twenty minutes. At the end of this time the 
carmine will have gone to the bottom, and the supernatant 
liquor may be decanted off, and kept for purposes presently to 
be described. The carmine will now be collected on a filter, 
washed with a little pure rain-water, scraped off with a silver 
spoon, and set on a cushion of filtering paper to dry in a dark 
closet. The greater part of the remaining one-third of the 
scarlet liquor may be decanted cautiously off the dregs and by 
means of two or three decantings freed from uncombined chalk 
and animal matter. It will yield a carmine of good quality but 
not so good as the first two-thirds. The carmine obtained from 
the first two-thirds will be of a magnificent geranium scarlet, 
lighter and brighter with 37 of alum than with 40, but perhaps 
richer with 40. I do not know where carmine so brightly 
scarlet can now be met with, though the best carmine made 
many years ago by the then well-known chemical and colour 
manufacturers the Bergers, and which, notwithstanding its high 
price, enhanced no doubt by a protective duty, was found so 
superior to any French carmine, as to be largely used by the 
artificial flower makers at Paris, was to say the least as bright 
as what I have made; but there is no longer such good cochi- 
neal to be met with, as was the case then. However, I do not 
think that carmine is to be purchased now so bright as that made 
by my own method, which though based on the French method 
described in Dr Ure’s dictionary is essentially different in its 
