1 Co^gYgrU TheophntHi 

 Venice Sumach. 



Figure 8. — -Young fustic plant 

 (Gerard, 1597). Library of 

 Congress photograph (LC- 

 25901). 



American dyers during the 18th century it was never used a great deal in 

 America. Its cultivation here is mentioned briefly and hopefully by a few 

 dyers; however, limited demands appear to have been met by importation 

 of weld from England. Besides being expensive, great quantities of the 

 dried branches and stems were needed and its bulk added to the difficulty 

 of shipping. 



Gilroy, in 1859, criticized a fellow dyer, William Partridge, for his lavish 

 praise of weld, remarking that Partridge 



is completely in love with weld as a tinctorial substance. This dyewood is indeed, as 

 every practical man knows of great value; but nevertheless, we are not prepared to go 

 to the same extent in its praise, that Mr. P. has: "(its) . . . color . . . (is) more 

 permanent . . . than any other yellow dye . . . but its chief superiority consists in . . . 

 a very superior degree, of imparting a great degree of softness to the woolens dyed with 

 it" (Gilroy, 1859, p. 127). 



38 



