488 



DYES AXD COLOEIX& STUrrS. 



3. Moisture, iSrc. -i. Atmnspiic-ric ricissitudes. 5. Season of the year, 6, 

 atiu-e of tlie Goniclic reprodiicti' n ' . gr mmation). 7. Mature uf hatitat. 

 8. Organic decomposition, 9. C- u]. j. . ..f jarts, monstrosities, kc. 



Under the second section, lie tru-.x d l.i- 1 rir-'Hy the mannfaetiire of Lieli en- 

 dyes, and tlie native use of Lichen; as tlyo r.g-.i.ts, air. ng dilfcront nations, frcn 

 the times of Theophrastns. DiosL-orides. and Pliny, do^n to the present day, 

 stetching triefly the ancient and modern history of orchil, cudhear. and 

 litmns, and sx)ecifying the native nse of ii' r. -'a. r_t c^^nntries of 



Europe. Asia, and America. He allitd'.J n. :r application 



to the dveina: of Tarns, ^:c.. hv th-^ tc:. . , a. _ ; tLc nanie of 



" G-o«/e^s." Tlie process of tile ; a e ■ i .he various crcith ^. L viicrally 



consisted in macerating the pc-^-. . . ' i r ivo cr three eih-. in 

 stale urine, exposing the mass freely to the . ; ' ^ hni-a. and adding 



lime, salt, alimi, or argillaceous and other _ r to hei_h:en the 



color or impart consistence. To such an eia;.:/ . .iist'in at one time 



prevail, that, in several of our northeam ccnni; : in a r.d cottage had 



its tanh or hsn-el of putrefying luine. a homely 1 a ly - tdcient mode of 



generating the necessary amount of airiie nia. In tL..- e omty of Ahc-rdc-en. in 

 particular, every homestead had its rcs-.rvLir cf "Ovuith."'* and the "■Lit-pigd't 

 "vrhich stood hy every fireside, -rvas as l ..miliar an article uf fiir:.--iii.- in the cots 

 of the peasantry, as the "cuttie-s'-o Id' ■■rthc "meal drneld" > as iS-il 



(and I T)resume the practice continues 1 d y - ^ "h^^-, i d n- n stated 

 that, of four or five native dyes, us. i dith and 



yams, t"wo at least were furnished hy . n-, iin., . in I'-^-n'tlia 



■sao:atiIis, under the name of "Scrottyie," and a rtd one fi'on; .: " '--'a, 



imder that of " Korhi.lett.'" It is very prohahle. hoTrevfr. t: - . ■ : i ..r.d dree 

 trade have gradually dispelled this st'':'!] chl cn-tcnn c-Tcn in :he r. ni-t.r C'jinc-rs 

 of our island ; machintry-niadL a:ti<.h_s Im.:::-. r^.^-r r^, ddi' -■y nhL h at a rate 

 so exti'aordinarily cheap, as to render it absulutely expensive ^ns to time, if not 

 also as to money) to prepare colors, even by a process so simjde and inexpensive 

 as that just mentioned." 



Under the thii-d head, he examined, in a general "way, the chem.istry of the 

 colorific and coloring matters of the lichens and the results to which it has led, 

 avoiding as much as p n^-ihle the technicalities inseparable frnm such a snhiect, 

 andgivii^g a sho.t a ■ -1 ilie researches of Hecren. Kane. Eochdleder. and Heldt, 

 Stenhouse, Schun^. k. Laurent, and Gerliaidrr. an-i ■ id' r- "Oar untaught 

 senses should unduiibtedly lead us to enp. , : tp, ; . tnalln^ exhibits 



the brightest tints, to yield the hnest dy .s. and n.' - f a in d-r similar to 



that of the thaUus, but experience teaches us that the i laiiriinl reddish or 

 pui-plish coloring-matters are producible in the greatest adrundance by the veiy 

 species from which we should least expect to derive any, viz.. in those most 

 devoid of external color. This, though at first sight very remarkalde. is easily 

 explicable, when wo remember that, in most of the so-called dye-lichens, 

 colorific principles exi-t in a cd.crless form, and crd:y be.rnne cmvcrted into 

 colored substances undir a pvculiar combination of circum.-tances. 



"Some lichens contain coloring matters, ready formed, and these exhibit 

 themselves in the tint of the tliallus of the plants, e.ff. chrysophanic [or pradc- 

 tinic] acid hx Foriudia paridi/^'j. and vrdpinic acid in Frenu'a xnlpina. In other 

 species we find principles, which, while in the plant, and unacted on by chemical 

 re-agents, are colorless, but which, when the lichens are exposed to the com- 

 hined influence of atmospheric air. wa.tLr. and ammonia, yield colored substances. 

 This series of colored lu'oducts is usnaliy comprehended more for convenience 

 saike than on account of chemical identity, nndor the acUL-ric tirm crceine,'' 



The whole subject of the chemistry of the se h-d:r-« is at rr ^nit in a most im- 

 satisfactory condition, demanding fre>h inv- - ' - - - d, ni ilinstration 

 of which, the author exhibited tables ct tic _ viinciples. so 



far as they are at present known, showing n^.n- ^i.^nnL.-.i i . unuhe and the 



* The Ternacnlar name for stale or putrid urine, 

 t "Lit" was the rame applied to the plant, from wliich the dye was to lie prepared, and 

 - • pig" is the Scotch svnonyn^ for any kixid of earthenware vessel— in which the maceration 

 was generally carried on. 



